Call To Action
The Terminal List is a series of articles that follow the lives of soldiers in the military and their families as they are put through the wringer of war. This particular article follows Lieutenant Commander James Reece as he leads a mission to take out a Syrian convoy.
As they creep through a sewer, the squadron comes under fire from enemy soldiers.
The Navy SEALs were killed in action, partly because one of the men rushing forward knocked a tripwire and caused an explosion. James Reece survives along with a rabble of others, but it’s a disastrous outcome.
The mission went wrong when Reece was forced to abort. He was interrogated by his superiors, but the audio recording from that event appears to be different from what he remembered. ..
Reece is checked out by the doctor and is told to lay off the alcohol. So naturally, the next scene we see him at the bar drinking! ..
James Reece returns home to find that his friend Bed Edwards has already taken care of everything. James tells him that the whole event was an ambush and it seems as though the audio files his superiors have – the ones played earlier on – could well be deepfakes. Ben agrees to look into this for him.
James returns home to his family after a long mission. His wife, Lauren, and their kid Lucy show him a drawing of them together - but James doesn’t remember the drawing. Now, whether this is just a result of the PTSD and concussion or another example of him forgetting crucial details from the mission is left up for debate.
James is confused and angry as he receives the call from Ernest “Boozer” Vickers. Vickers shot himself with the team’s gun, and Reece is confused and angry because Boozer always said he hated this pistol. James realizes that they were drinking at the bar together the day before, but Boozer was adamant that he didn’t like this pistol.
Reece begins to spiral when he learns that he’s actually been dead for two days, not one. It’s another twist in this tale, something that sees James head straight back to base to try and get answers. James Reece is convinced that the audio files have been tampered with and the intel he was given was bad from the start; they walked into a trap. ..
Reece is feeling isolated in his theory, prompting him to message Katie Buranek. She’s a reporter who believes there’s a conspiracy going on, having met him earlier on in the bar with Boozer. Back then, he shrugged off her ideas. Now though, he emails her and she shows up at his place. ..
Katie is convinced that something is going on with her group, but she’s not sure what it is. They’ve had less downtime than anyone else and as a result, they could be at risk of over-exhaustion.
James wakes up in the MRI machine and flashes back to memories of the op. He realizes that something is wrong and needs to see a doctor.
James Reece is suddenly attacked by several assassins who break into the room and attack him. James Reece grabs the pistol from one of the men and shoots him dead. The other manages to get away, although Reece does manage to see his face. When he examines the pistol though, he realizes the guy is holding his own pistol – the one he stashed away back home.
James realizes his house could be compromised and quickly returns home. The worst outcome becomes a reality: His wife and daughter have been killed. ..
The Episode Review
The Terminal List is a gripping, fast-paced show that starts off strong. The premise is interesting and the show does a good job of developing its characters. However, the first episode feels a little slow at times and there are some inconsistencies in the plot.
With James’ wife and daughter dead, it’s clear he’s going to go after those responsible but it would appear that this goes all the way up the chain of command.
The show has done a good job setting the scene for what should be a very dramatic and lively season to come.
