Crooked Cop

In the second episode of The Terminal List, James is forced to relive the worst moments of his life. His wife and daughter are dead. Half his squadron are dead and so too, it seems, are his memories of what really happened across all of this. ..

James listens to stories about Lauren at the funeral from those closest to him, but it’s too much; he eventually heads home. Lauren’s death has left a large hole in his life. James tries to find ways to cope with the pain, but it’s too much.

James Reece is left to wrestle the ghosts of his past in the dark, cold silence of his house. Naturally, we see a good number of flashbacks here; the idyllic family life that turns into a nightmare. ..

NCIS visits Reece this morning to ask about a discrepancy in his story about the gun in the safe. They believe that there may be an assassin on the loose and Reece is convinced of it. However, Special Agent Joshua Holder is not so sure and wants to know where the gun was actually stored. He also believes that Reece may have been mistaken about where it was actually located. ..

James brings his theories to Admiral Pillar, believing this is retaliation from the covert operation that went sideways. The Admiral is not happy, pointing out once more at James’ mental state and how he’s lucky to still have a job. Quick as a flash, he leans over the table and holds Pillar up by the throat against the wall. Eventually though, he does release him. ..

Meanwhile, Katie meets Holder, who admits he’s currently theorizing that Reece is the one who potentially killed his own family. However, Katie has a different theory. Katie met Holder and he admitted that he’s currently theorizing that Reece is the one who potentially killed his own family. However, Katie has a different theory and she wants to share it with him. ..

At the crime scene, Reece realizes there are no bullet fragments or evidence of a scuffle taking place. This means Reece has either imagined the whole thing…or someone has done a very thorough job of covering their own tracks and making Reece look like a villain. I’m gunning for the latter option here guys! ..

Katie brings this exact same theory to James Reece, deciding they should work together to try and clear his name. Reece is adamant Holder wants him to go down for this, but given the soldier is still walking free, the facts would prove otherwise – at least for now. ..

Josh Holder, the man in the balaclava mask who attacked Reece that night, was also the first one at Boozer’s apartment. James recognized his eyes from their scuffle up close and realized that he could have killed his family too. ..

Katie liaises with her boss, Jordan Groff, updating him on the investigation and how she’s doing with her story. He’s growing impatient, wanting something to run in less than 24 hours, as Katie’s timeframe is pushed up.

That’s just as well, given James turns his attention to Josh Holder, determined to learn whether he’s really a crooked agent or not. Reece breaks into his apartment and teams up with Ben Edwards to track down whether he’s really a dirty agent.

Secretary Hartley interrupts James to ask him about his actions against Admiral Pillar earlier in the episode. Hartley is concerned about how Holder could be connected to this situation. James tells Hartley that Holder could be connected to the Iranian Chemical Weapons Specialist – the one Reece was originally after – who has been killed.

Reece is home and learns that Holder actually pulled his prints several days prior to the break-in, meaning he could have used this to break into the sophisticated safe that held his gun. This could be their guy.

Katie is desperate to get a hospital report that will confirm her story of improvement. She rings Jordan, urging him to get a neurologist to see her as she claims the story “just keeps getting better.” ..

James Reece heads to the scene of a crime in the early hours of the morning. He finds Josh Holder, who has been shot and is lying on the ground. Reece demands to know if there is any knife wound, but Holder tells him there isn’t. Reece is convinced that Holder set him up and decides to take him into custody.

Eventually Holder spills the beans, claiming he was paid off for information. “Saul Agnon” he eventually says, claiming he’s the guy whom Reece wants.

When Holder suddenly jumps at James, he pulls the trigger and kills the officer in cold blood. Reece sets up the scene to make it look like a suicide and takes off into the night. ..

The Episode Review

We now have another name – Saul Agnon – and it appears this conspiracy is going deeper than we imagined. It’s now becoming increasingly clear that James is right and there’s definitely forces working against him. But why? For what end? I’m sure we’ll find out over time, as this series begins to tighten the screw and dive deeper down the rabbit hole.

This follow-up chapter is slow out the gates, especially given we get a good amount of time for James to process the death of his family. We do get a good amount of time to include the investigation toward the end though and the big reveal wit Josh Holder is certainly a surprise. Things are just starting to heat up now and quite what’s in store for our characters next, is anyone’s guess.