‘The Terminal List’ Recap: ‘Consolidation’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘The Terminal List’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Over the course of the past couple of weeks, we’ve pondered at length about the genuine possibly that Lieutenant Commander James Reece, the main character of The Terminal List on Prime Video… might be a broken hero. For the first two episodes of this dynamic and engaging series, have provided clues to the very real possibility that Reece is mentally ill and sliding into darkness and that he may have hurt his family and done worse acts as a result of that guilt. While at the same time toying with us and leaving us wondering if that actually is the case, since there have been hints of something sinister here. A move that has definitely kept us engaged in the hopes of garnering the definitive truth as to whether or not this is going to be a sorrowful story about a lost and broken hero or a story of redemption where said hero brings down an ugly conspiracy.

Well, after toying with us for two entire episodes, the writers’ room of this dynamic show decided the time had come to provide us with the truth. For ‘Consolidation’ revealed unto us quite a bit of stunning knowledge about what’s really going on with James, but not before messing with us just a little bit more. For when we catch up with Reece in this tale, he has scheduled a meeting with Kelly to discuss all the incredible discoveries he has made after that harrowing ending to last week’s tale. Such as how he has concerns about a man named Saul Agnon, who just so happens to work for a company known as Capstone Industries and how he and this company tied into all of this. Making it appear as though he was slipping deeper into madness, a possibility reaffirmed by the revelation that he has a brain tumor that could be impacting his memory and his emotions. 

But the arrival of an assassin, made it clear that at long last, that James Reece isn’t losing his mind. He is legitimately being hunted by Capstone Industries and that reality, changed the nature of this story completely and engaged us at a whole new level. Especially when one considers that we were able to meet Saul and experience his fear over James coming to learn about his name and his existence and being able to see inside Capstone Industries and also be introduced to Saul’s boss, Steven Horn, truly made it apparent that something sinister is indeed happening on American soil and that James is just scratching the surface of his concerns. Shifting the tone of this story into a grand mystery of sorts, one that wasted little time in expanding upon said mystery through Saul. 

For he was right to fear James. For Reece sent Ben to spy on Saul and track his every movement and that of course, brought forth an impromptu meeting between Reece and Saul in the middle of the night. One where Saul suffered greatly, so that James could finally get some answers. Such as the fact that assassins from south of the border were hired to kill his family and that yes, Steven Horn was the mastermind of all of this and that a strange compound known as RD4895 might somehow play into the horrible events that have recently plagued Reece and well… those revelations put him at quite the crossroads. In that, he could either go right to the source and demand some answers or he could take the other half of that information and find justice for his family by making the assassins and their handler pay and well, for now at least… this mystery will persist.

Because the men that crossed that ugly line are about to pay and pay dearly and it will be fascinating to see how long it will take James to find justice for his family before resuming the search for answers. But while we wait to see how that pans out, we can celebrate one incredible episode. For this one really did lean hard into our worries about James and his mental state before outright surprising us in a stunning manner. For no one saw that conspiracy twist coming, nor were we prepared to learn how deep this might go since clearly, Capstone has a lot of secrets and a lot of people working to keep them that way and well, in the end, that incredible twist really does compel one to continue the journey. To see if revenge will bring Reece, peace, and to learn everything there is to know about this fascinating conspiracy. Until next time.  

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