Jack Ryan: S2E4

Remember the wonderful research Jack had done in season 1 to connect the dots between the monitory transactions and Suleiman's plan? Episode 2 of Season 3 of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan also starts with such an intensive tour of Jack's 'beautiful mind' when he connects the dots between the Mining equipment that we had found in previous episode and president Reyes's involvement in all of this as well as in the murder of Senator Moreno. But there is a missing link about a company in London. Unfortunately, Jack gets pulled off the case before he could investigate in London. But Jack being Jack, takes help from his Senator friend and goes to London on "vacation" ;-)

Meanwhile Mattice and his team are back in the Jungle to find Marcus but they are out of luck. Elsewhere General Ubbari's wife Cassandra and Nicolas Reyes's wife Claudia are having lunch where Cassandra asks Claudia if Nicolas mentioned anything about the americans who bugged their house but Claudia says she is unaware of any such thing. Greer does some follow up research on top of Jack's research and finds out about Gloria Bonalde's missing husband who was not a fan of Nicolas Reyes. Greer then decides to visit Gloria and offers to help her if she helps him in return. Gloria takes Greer in her husband room and gives him a rock that her husband was working on before he went missing. Reyes pays a visit to Gloria Bonalde and offers her a job if she agrees to drop out from the impending elections as a contestant. Gloria acts smart and asks for some time to think about it. Reyes doesn't like Gloria's answer and indirectly threatens her that she will lose the elections but Gloria replies that President Reyes's surprise visit suggests otherwise.

In London, after Jack's entry into the city, Max is also seen entering London dressed as a woman. Jack and Lee a.k.a. Harry visits the owner of the company that provides security to the mining operations in Venezuela and finds out that this company had introduced Max Shankel with Cinco Palmas in Venezuela. Max finds a date with a guy. This guy's sister is also his roommate and Max meets both of them. In Venezuela, Gloria's family is threatened; presumably by Reyes's men and she calls Greer for help with protecting her family. Max abducts his date's sister and makes the guy walk into a Cafe who is being watched by Jack, Harry and others from MI5. There is a wonderful chasing sequence between Max and Jack when Jack tries  his best to catch Max but fails. Max however learns that Lee or Harry is helping Jack. While all this is going on in London we forget about Mattice and his team looking for Uber Select in the Venezuelan jungles but Reyes hasn't forgotten about them. He gives Bastos the latest satellite technology which will help him finding the americans from the jungle and burrying them there. Brutal!

And just like that, we are midway between the season 2 of Jack Ryan. Do you like my blog? Do I write simple enough? Do you have any suggestions or questions for me? Do reach out to me on abhisheksathe12@gmail.com. See you next time!

Jack Ryan: S2E3

In case you missed reading my reviews of rest of the episodes, click the link below:

TV Series Reviewed: Jack Ryan

This season of Jack Ryan is different than previous season in that Jack spends no time exploring his romantic side. Previous episode also confirmed his relationship status as 'Single'. We still miss Cathy but there is no time to keep missing her since we have so much action packed story to cover.

Episode 3 of season 2 starts with Marcus joining Matice and his team. His buddies gives him a nickname as Uber which he doesen't really like. They get airdropped off the coast of Venezuela along with a boat. Meanwhile, Reyes announces to the world in a press conference that Senator Moreno's killers have been found and are going to get punished.

We have been hearing about Reyes's opponent Gloria Bonaldes since last two episodes. Finally we get to see her busy morning routine along with her family and closed ones. Jack and Greer decides to give a visit to Cinco Palmes but they couldn't find any leads. Uber fixes the boat and asks if he could get renamed to Black Mamba but all he gets upgraded to is Uber Select! Reyes and Ubbari discuss about the conversation that Ubbari and Cassandra had. They also talk about their childhood. Ubbari reminds Reyes that he has a responsibility towards Venezuela and Reyes confirms it. Elsewhere Gloria gives a speech to her supporters. She mentions how her husband has been missing after he dared to speak up against Reyes. Bastos is there in the crowd to evaluate her election campain. Jack and Greer leaves to pay a visit to a Foreign Militia Compound where Matice and his team will be there with them. Jack returns the pills to Greer that he had found earlier but Greer refuses to tell him anything about his health condition. When they meet with Mattice, Marcus and the rest of the team; Greer and Mattice gives instructions to the team about the nature of the operation to underline that there is no scope of making any mistakes. The first container doesn't have anything of value but Jack takes a huge risk and investigates a second container where he finds something suspicious. When he gets caught, Mattice saves him and they take an unarmed combatant into custody. Jack tries his method to ask questions and fails. Greer then tries his method, cuts the man's finger and tosses it to Jack saying that it will serve as a DNA.

Marcus observes that some soldiers were approaching and leaves the boat. Mattice and his party get into a minor fight and decides to flee without Marcus. Mattice confirms that after dropping off Jack and Greer, they will come back for Marcus. Bastos informs Reyes about the progress of Gloria's election campaign but leaves abruptly when Ubbari drops by in Reyes's office. Reyes asks Ubbari his honest opinion if he thinks Gloria could win. We don't see Ubbari giving him any answer but Ubbari's silence is enough for Reyes to understand what the Venezuelan people want. Finally Greer admits to Jack about his heart condition and we see how it makes Jack disturbed.

What do you think was there in the container that Jack found? What will happen in the elections when people will actually decide to vote for Gloria Bonaldes v/s Nicolas Reyes? We didn't see Max in the whole episode. What is he upto? And any leads about the missile launch in the south china sea? So many unanswered questions...Lets not lose patience and stay tuned!

Jack Ryan: S2E2

Jack announces at the beginning of the episode that he was not going back unless he finds out who killed Moreno. It is clear that Jack is here to stay. The intensity with which John Krasinski portray's the titular role is amazing. We understand why Moreno's death has affected him so much. Other thing to note is the locations which are filmed with so much precison that we end up experiencing the kind of turmoil that the people in Venezuela must be feeling in this political unrest and economic crises.

The police officer who took bribe to misguide Jack and team in the last episode; asks for asylum in US embassy who is questioned about the attack. Jack figures out Reyes's involvement. Jack then goes to a shipment to find more intel when he is saved my Lena or Lee and then Jack gets his hands on a recording between General Ubbari and his wife Cassandra. Jack decides to use this recording by capturing Reyer's head of security Mateo Bastos and playing this recording in front of him. When Lee visits Jack's room again Jack surprises her with the bugs she had planted in his room earlier. She reveals that she is finding Max Shenkel; the same person that attacked Jack's party last episode.

Elsewhere Matice (Remember him from season 1?) is trying his best to recruit Marcus. Marcus keeps on refusing his offers until the end when he finally decides to join him on a mission.

Jack and Jim attend a meeting with Reyes the next morning where Reyes brings justice to Moreno's death by announcing the killers in front of the world. Jack; obviously; figures out this bullsh*t and whispers in Reyey's ears that he knows Reyes is the real killer. He also grabs Mateo's arm which cause him a lot of pain. Clearly, he was the one who had attacked the police officer in earlier episode who got bitten by the dog. While Reyes is busy celebrating his daughter's grand birthday party, Jack is attacked, drowned, beaten by an attacker. Jack manages to put a knife in the attacker's eye. James hears this and tries to catch the attacker but fails due to his health condition. Lee tells Jack that it was Max who attacked him. Jack is disappointed to know that Lee knew that Max is a murderer and walks away from her.

Jack Ryan: S2E1

Before we jump into a brand new season, here is a link that will take you to rest of the episodes:
TV Series Reviewed: Jack Ryan

Season 2 of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan begins with a very short recap of previous season followed by a fresh title song. The song is full of glimpses about what can be expected in the new season. We start with a Missile Launch in South China Sea. Later we see James Greer in Moscow and we are reminded that he went there at the end of Season 1. Greer has formed an ally for obtaining more information related to the missile launch and believes it has something to do with Venezuela. After his meeting we learn that poor Greer has a heart condition. Also, similar to last season (when Syria was the country being looked at by the CIA) we have a new country to focus this season. We see Jack explaining to fellow agents at the CIA why he feels Venezuela is the largest threat to the US. Oh wait...Why is Jack still in DC and not with Greer in Moscow?

After the lecture Senator Moreno takes Jack to his house for a surprise birthday party. It was good to see Jack in a friendly environment but I was expecting to see Dr. Cathy somewhere around this scene when Jack's personal life is depicted. Looks like it didn't work out between Cathy and Jack after all!
Immediately after the celebrations, we are back to work when we see Jack and Senator Moreno discussing about the same suspicious ship which Greer is also tracking. When Greer learns that Jack is the only one from the CIA who is going to Venezuela to track the same suspicious ship, he asks for a transfer there. Senator Jim and Jack meets president of Venezuela Nicolas Reyes along with ambassador Lisa. Obviously, Reyes denies the claim that Russia is secretly supplying the weapons to Venezuela. We also see General Ubbari admitting to his wife Cassandra that according to a secret poll, Reyes's opponent Gloria Bonalde has a chance of winning the elections. Also, Cassandra thinks that her husband should lead the country and neither Reyes nor Gloria.

The series does a good job in explaining why there is a political unrest in Venezuela. We also learnt at the beginning how this country can be an actual threat to the US and not the commonly expected countries like Russia, China or North Korea. We also see how different characters have different motives behind the same crisis situation.

Finally Jack and Greer meet at a bar where we see Jack is being eyed by a woman named Lena. After spending some quality time with Greer and Senator Moreno, Jack turns his attention to Lena. After sleeping together, Lena bugs Jack's room and leaves quietly. It is finally reveled why Jack did not accept Greer's offer. We also see a police captain accepting bribe to supply information and the next morning when Jack, Moreno and rest of the team is attacked we learn why the police captain was bribed. The episode ends on a high note when Jack is seen calling Moreno's family to inform them of Senator Moreno's death. One difference in Last season's threat and this season's attack is that this time, its personal for Jack as we saw how close Jack and Moreno have been. The police captain who was bribed earlier is also attacked at his home but he manages to escape after his dog bites the attacker. The series doesn't waste any time in hooking the audience to binge the next episode. Gracias!

Here's the link to the next episode:
TV Series Explained: Jack Ryan: Season 2 Episode 2

Game Of Thrones: S2E9

The prenultimate episode of season 2 begins with Stannis's fleet slowly approaching King's Landing. Cersei prepares for the worst by obtaining Essence Of Nightshade from Grand Maester Pycell. Varys brings a map of the tunnels beneath the Red Keep to Tyrion. Joffrey asks Sansa to kiss his sword Hearteater as a symbol of the luck while he is going to fight. While Cersei keeps ordering more wine and spilling nuggets of wisdom to Sansa; Stannis's fleet is almost at the shores. Joffrey is furious to see only one ship sent by Tyrion who plans to please his nephew by displaying his trick with wildfire.

Boom!

Although Stannis undergoes a major loss, his dreams haven't died. He continues to sail his forces towards the mud gate even if this means that thousands of his soldiers will die because of the defense of King's Landing. When Cersei hears this, she orders to bring Joffrey back from the battlefield. Tyrion then decides to raise the morale of Joffrey's men by boasting their confidence. Sansa gets an offer to flee King's Landing with The Hound but she rejects this offer. Cersei is sitting on the Iron Throne with her youngest son Tommen and the vile of Essense of Nightshade in her hand. On the battlefield when Stannis has almost won the war, Tywin Lannister brings Lannister and Tyrell forces and sweeps away the victory from Stannis.

What an exciting episode it was! Did you enjoy it? Do comment below.
Chaos.

Game Of Thrones: S2E8

Sometimes you need just a small revision of where every character is placed and what will be they facing next. This was one of such episodes. Also, I think this was one of the slowest and uneventful episodes of Game Of Thrones season 2. Maybe they were warming up for the prenultimate episode to come.

If you also need a revision then you can read my reviews of all episodes of Game Of Thrones here:

TV Series Explained: Game Of Thrones

So Cersei accuses Tyrion of plotting to get Joffrey killed. As a safety measure for her son's life, she catches Ros instead of Shae thinking that Ros is Tyrion's w*ore and Tyrion is in love with her. Varys informs Tyrion about Danny and her dragons but he seems to be more focussed about the impending war at hand. Arya takes Jaqen's help and escapes Harrenhal with Gendry and Hot Pie. Robb hears that Jaime escaped the previous night. Upon returning to his camp, we learn that it was Cat who freed him in return of her daughters' safe return to her. Furious by his mother's deed, Robb imprisons her. That night he and Talisa finally decide to let their hair down and let their legs up; if you know what I mean!

Beyond The Wall, Jon is a prisoner along with Qhorin Halfhand who tells him to enter Mance's army to learn their secrets. Elsewhere Sam finds draggonglass weapons hidden inside an old Night's Watch cloak. We see Danny and Ser Jorah only for a couple of minutes where Danny orders Jorah to take her to The House of The Undying. Theon's sister Yara comes to Winterfell, not to help Theon keep the castle but to take Theon back with her who refuses to go with her. Maester Luwin follows Osha to the cripts of Winterfell where Bran and Rickon are hiding. He figures out that Theon murdered some farmer's boys and burned them to pass them off as Bran and Rickon and Bran overhears this conversation with a sorrowful expression on his face.

Game Of Thrones: S2E7

There were some intriguing questions asked. Some of them were answered and some of them were not. And some of them made us think. If both the members of the old houses such as the Starks and the wildlings shared the same origins then why was The Wall built? If Cersei and Jaime were noy fully convinced that The Targaryns interwedding themselves was alright then why did they do it themselves? Even after knowing the King Joffrey is a monster but Sansa is to be married to her, shouldn't she love her?

Welcome to Game Of Thrones. The seventh episode shows us Sansa finally getting fit to bear Joffrey's children. Tywin is on the hunt of his killer while Theon is on the hunt of Bran and Rickon. Robb continues her romance with Lady Talisa. Jon loses catch hold of Ygritte only to find himself surrounded by the wildlings. Jaime kills Ser Alton Lannister and a Karstark prison guard and escapes. He gets caught again and Lord Karstark demands killing him but Lady Catlyn urges him to wait till Robb comes back. Khaleesi is still searching for her dragons. She orders Ser Jorah to find her dragons to gain back her trust. Cersei shares some womanly advice with Sansa and tells her never to love anyone except her children. The new King of Quarth Xaro Xoan Daxos makes a deal with the warlock king who murders other members of The Thirteen. He also reveals to Danny that she should visit The House Of The Undying where he has kept her dragons. . Theon hangs burned bodies of Stark children to teach everyone else at Winterfell a lesson and to prove a point that he is the new lord of Winterfell and everyone should obey him.

Will Theon's lordmanship come to an end when Lord Bolton's basterd take back Winterfell or will Theon be able to get his sister's help to defend the attack on Winterfell? Will Lord Karstark be able to convince Robb to let him kill the Kingslayer as revenge? Will Sansa finally be married to Joffrey? And will Jon become Ygritte's prisoner now? Watch this space to find out...

Game Of Thrones: S2E6

The sixth episode of Season 2 of Game Of Thrones starts with a major turn of events when freshly minted ‘Prince’ Theon captures the castle of Winterfell. He also shocks everyone when he executes Ser Rodrik who denies accepting Theon as the new Lord of Winterfell.

Strange people doing unexpected things, isn't it? In case you also strangely stumbled upon this post out of nowhere and want to check out all my reviews about Game of Thrones then you can click here:

TV Series Reviewed: Game Of Thrones

Alright. Back to the current episode.
At King’s Landing, everyone is gathered at the riverside to see off Princess Myrcella who is being shipped off to Dorne for her safety. But Cersei is still thinking that this is some vicious plot by Tyrion against her and she threatens Tyrion that she will also take away some loved one from him one day as revenge. On their way back to The Red Keep, the people of King’s Landing who are unhappy because of the effects of the ongoing war, attacks the King and his entire party. The King orders everyone to be assassinated as an act of punishment but somehow everyone escapes. Everyone except, poor Sansa. Sansa is almost going to get raped and possibly killed when The Hound saves her and brings her back to the castle. Beyond The Wall, Jon and his brothers of The Night’s watch encounters some wildings who are killed off except a pretty wilding Yiggrite. Jon is unable to kill her and thus takes her as a prisoner and they begin to walk together in search of his other brothers. Lord Tywin is enraged when one of his council members sends a letter to the wrong house and is impressed to know that Arya who is posing as his cupbearer can read. Lord Bealish visits Tywin and he also notices Arya but Arya manages to keep her identity safe. She smuggles one of the notes with her that contains Lannister’s battle plan but is caught red handed by one of the Lannister knights. To save herself, Arya gets him killed before he could see Tywin. A wounded Sansa is being treated by Shae who gives her a good advice to never trust anyone to stay safe. At Winterfell, Osha lures Theon into bed thereby gaining his trust only to take Bran and Rickon to safety. Beyond the narrow sea, The Mother of Dragons is sad after meeting multiple Kings in Quarth because no one is ready to give her ships to cross the narrow sea so that she could take back all seven kingdoms. Upon returning home, she witnesses a mass murder of her people and also her dragons are missing. Finally we see dragons crying for help which are being taken away by a hooded man to The House of The Undying.

Are you keeping the count of how many new characters have been introduced recently? Have you stopped counting number of deaths per episode? Well I have. But the series somehow manages to keep the interest alive even with all the innovative ways to kill people, the politics, different houses and their allies and of course with so much nudity!

By the way, just in case you missed reading my reviews of Amazon Prime's Jack Ryan, click the link below:

TV Series Reviewed: Jack Ryan

Thank you!

Game Of Thrones: S2E5

The episode starts with Cat and Renly forming an alliance. But immediately after this, a shadow kills King Renly and Cat flees with Brianne.

In King's Landing, Tyrion learns that Cersei is preparing wildfire for protecting the city from Stannis's fleet and armies. Renly's Bannerman forces join with Stannis except The Tyrells. Jaquen agrees to kill 3 men named by Arya while Theon is disappointed when his men insults him and takes help from a stranger man to prove himself.

Beyond the wall, Jon Snow joins The halfhand to sneek into Mance's camp and kill him so that the Wildlings will be deafeted. Khaleesi looks beautiful in a blue dress that was gifted to her. She also gets a marriage proposal from Xaro in return of a promise of a lot of wealth which she can use to conquer Westeros. Ser Jorah advices not to accept this marriage proposal and make her own way. Finally, we see a  smile on Arya's face when she witnesses that Jaquen has successfully killed her first target and the episode ends.

This was one of the episodes which had slower momentum because it was setting up the storylines for what is coming up in future. Yet, as always it was filled with so much content that you can't afford to miss it.

Do you like my reviews? If you want me to write about some other show then do let me know in the comments. You can also reach out to me on abhisheksathe12@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!

Game Of Thrones: S2E4

Life is not simple. Sometimes you have horrible people in life. Sometimes your fate is just bad. Sometimes it's the combination of many unfortunate events that throw curve balls at you. What this episode of Game Of Thrones teaches is how to learn from your previous mistakes and adopt to your current circumstances to make the best out of available resources. Some of the major players are learning from maliable aquatic plants who survive even the worst of storms and floods because of their 'agility'. Because if you are stubborn and not ready to get adjusted to the surroundings then the chances of survival are pretty thin.
Okay. Enough of our free dose of life lesson parallels drawn out from the episode.

'Garden Of Bones' starts with Robb Stark winning yet another battle. He rejects Roose Bolton's advise of flaying the Lannister captors. He also meets a nurse who gives him a lecture on the cons of wars which was pretty convincing but Robb has totally forgotten about his bethrowed Frey girl and starts falling for this nurse girl.

In King's Landing, Joffrey has arranged for another one of his torturing sessions. He is making Sansa's life more miserable who gets saved by Tyrion just in time before Sansa was going to get badly beaten. Listening to Bronn's council, Tyrion sends two who*es to calm down Joffrey's raging hormones. But Joff being Joff; does unspeakable things to them and sends his uncle Tyrion a message. What a waste!

Littlefinger arrives at King Renly's camp. He meets Renly, Queen Margaery and they talk. But the main thing is when he talks to Cat. He lies to her face and offers her daughters back in exchange of Jaime. Yes he offers her both of her daughters. He also delivers Ned's last remains as a token of good faith. Meanwhile, King Stannis also arrives there. Cat tries to get the two brothers to be peaceful with each other and not go to war against each other but in vain!

At Harrenhal, Arya, Gendry and other prisoners are being tortured. Tywin Lannister arrives to stop this and recognizes Arya is not a boy but a girl posing as a boy. Smartness overloaded!

For Danny, there is a lot of Drama at the gates of Qarth. But after a considerable give and take with the 'Thirteen', the gates of Qarth are finally opened. At this point we understand the difference inside the gates and outside the gates and why the episode is named Garden Of Bones.

Back to King's Landing, Lancel Lannister (who is now doing Cersei because Jaime is unavailable) meets Tyrion to demand Grand Master Pycell's release from the jail. Tyrion agrees to Cersei's demand but he also makes Lancel to agree to secretly help Tyrion by giving him updates on Cersei moves (while he is moving it with Cersei; if you know what I mean!)

Finally, we again meet King Stannis who asks his man Ser Davos to take his woman Melissandre somewhere discreet. The episode ends on a horrific note when The Red Woman delivers an evil shadow like baby and even Ser Davos loses his sh*t after witnessing this incident first hand.

Breath.

Game Of Thrones: S2E3

It may have been a ride of adventures since we began our Game Of Thrones journey but wait... Have you started losing who's who and where are they now? Why dont we give you a quick revision of the locations and the important people?

So Jon, Sam etc are at Craster's Keep beyond the wall. Bran is currently running the show in Winterfell. Robb is at war. Cat is visiting King Renly Baratheon. Theon Greyjoy is in Iron Island with La Familia. Lord Tywin is making sure Robb doesn't win the war. Tyrion Lannister is Hand Of the King in King's Landing along with Queen Regent Cersei, King Joffrey Baratheon, Sansa, Pycell, Varys, Shae etc. Arya has escaped with Gendry. Jaime is Robb's prisoner. Stannis Baratheon is at Dragonstone with Melissandre making her pregnant and ignoring the Onion Knight. Robert's dead with his headless friend Ned. Drogo's dead. Viserys Targaryen is not a real dragon. And the mother of Dragons is toiling in the red waste.

Phewww! I guess that was needed, isn't it?

So season 2 episode 3 begins with Craster bringing Jon to his house and asking the men of the Night's Watch to get out. Cat meets Renly and his Queen Margaery Tyrell (sister of Ser Loras Tyrell who regularly fu*ks Margery's husband Renly) Crazy World I tell you!
Renly promises Cat revenge for Ned's murder. We also see Renly accepting Brienne of Tarth as a member of his Kingsguard. Balon and Yara are still treating Theon like sh*t so there's that.

Moving on, Shae finds her a new job as Handmaiden to Sansa. Tyrion pulls an amazing trick to figure out Cersei's spy by proposing Princess Myrcella 's wedding as a political move.
Maester Pycell is the one found guilty and Cersei is enraged again!

Renly couldn't sleep with Margaery. Theon decides to cheat Robb and stay loyal to House Greyjoy. Tyrion calms down angry Littlefinger by sending him on a mission which involves a meeting with Cat. Varys appreciates Tyrion's brains.

Arya learns how to handle emotions from Yoren who is killed by the gold cloaks who attacks the party in search of Gendry. Arya lies to them telling them that they already killed Gendry. Finally, the remaining members including Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie are taken to Harrenhal.

So much happened in so less time. Times are changing. People are getting more fierce. And Westeros is preparing for impending wars to come. Can't wait! Interestingly, we didn't visit Essos even once in this episode. God knows if our baby dragons could survive the heat of the desert? Stay tuned to find out...

Game Of Thrones: S2E2

The second episode of GOT season 2 starts with a bonding between Arya and Gendry. She reveals her true identify to him. She asks Gendry why were he wanted by the men who was looking for him. Gendry doesn't know. But we know that he is an illegitimate child of late King Robert and that's why Joffrey had sent men to catch hold of him.

At King's Landing, Cersei refuses to agree to Robb Stark's terms to end the war. She also rejects Night's Watch's request to send more men. Tyrion is threatened by Varys who finds out the truth about Shae but Tyrion warns Varys to not take any such step against him. Later, Tyrion questions Janos Slynt for his involvement in the mass murders of Robert's bastards and replaces him with Bronn as
Commander of the City Watch. Obviously, Cersei is not okay with this. Tyrion comments about her relations with Jaime. Cersei has a quick response to Tyrion that shuts him up about how their mother had died giving birth to Tyrion. We know that siblings have a love and hate relationship in general. But in Cersei Lannister's case, you either get loved or hated. There is no middle ground. Talking about people who like incestuous relationships and sex out of wedlocks, let's move to Dragonstone.

Ser Davos recruits Salladhor Saan and his fleet to Stannis's 'forces'. Meanwhile Stannis 'forces' himself inside Melissandre after being successfully seduced by the Red Woman who promises him a son. That scene though!

On Iron Islands, Theon is disappointed by his unwelcoming family. His father Balon Greyjoy also questions whether his loyalty lies with House Greyjoy or House Stark. By the way, the girl Theon was hitting on turns out to be his sister! I wonder how many incestuous relationships are yet pending?

Talking about families with incest, Danny's days are not getting any better. One of the bloodriders Rakharo returns but he isn't alive so no good news there. The red waste continues to haunt Danny.

Moving on to the most incestuous family, Sam saves one of Craster's daughters and/or wives; Gilly from Jon's direwolf Ghost. Jon rejects Sam's proposal of taking pregnant Gilly with them to Castle Black.
Remember there was a suspense about Craster's boys? Well, it is revealed; partially. Jon follows Craster who is taking his baby boy in the woods. We are as  shocked as Jon to see Craster leaving the baby to White Walkers. But before Jon could save the baby, he is hit on head and knocked down by a surprise attack from Craster.

Will Jon survive? Will Varys expose Shae's true identify?What will happen to Danny? How will Cersei answer Tyrion's moves? How will Theon pay the iron price? Will Gendry be caught?

Stay tuned to find out...

Game Of Thrones: S2E1

***ANNOUNCEMENT***

TV Series Explained just made its way into Top 50 TV blogs and websites list by feedspot and we are thrilled!
You can check out the list here:
Top 50 TV blogs
Clap Clap Clap!!!

Okay...now that's done, let's slip right into yet another season of Game Of Thrones. We were tired of Danny always keeping her eggs warm and finally we ended last season with three live screeching dragons...well baby dragons but still Hurrah!

So season 2 episode 1 begins with King Joffrey celebrating his birthday in a really horrible manner. However his celebrations are disturbed with Lord Tyrion Lannister (acting) Hand of the King's arrival. Cersei is also pi*sed off to meet her brother.

At Winterfell, Bran is the current Lord who is learning how to rule. He is then taken to Godswood with Hodor and Osha where they notice a red comet in the sky. Osha interpretes this as dragons' arrival. Although Danny's dragons are born, her life is still a struggle. She may have prepared to be a mother but she has no idea how to feed her dragon babies. Also, there is no food or water for her and her Khalasaar so she sends her riders in each directions to look for a place for shelter. Poor Danny!
Another comet transition.
We come to Craster's Keep; beyond the wall. This man takes incest to a new level. He marries his daughters and does something unknown with his sons. Jon doesn't really approve of this, but the brothers of the Night's Watch need Craster's place to stay.
Red comet.
At Dragonstone (historically House Targaryen's ancestral seat, currently ruled by Stannis Baratheon) we see Stannis writing letters to all Lords of Winterfell that he is the true heir after Robert's death. Earlier he has received Ned's letter from last season. We also see magical Lady Melissandre. Her nights are longer and full of terror. Maester at Dragonstone doesn't believe the red woman Melissandre's powers and sacrifices himself to prove his point. Meanwhile, Melissandre is safe and sound right there to help Stannis win the iron throne.
Again. Comet.
Jaime is still Robb Stark's prisoner. Robb sends Theon Greyjoy to his father for help in war against the Lannisters. Robb also sends Cat to make an agreement with Renly Baratheon. By the way, Renly has also started to call himself a King.

Back to King's Landing, Cersei and Littlefinger engages in a display of power play and Cersei clearly wins. Remember, 'Power is Power'. Joffrey has heard of rumors regarding the incestuous relationship between his mother and his uncle Jaime. He is worried that one of Robert's bastards may contend him as a better alternative for ruling the seven kingdoms. So he orders mass murders. All of Robert's bastards are killed. All of them except, Gendry who is now on the beautiful Kingsroad with Arya. The episode ends with both of them traveling towards the Wall as new recruits for the Nights Watch.

So much happened in an hour and yet we feel like we should immediately move to next episode, right? Let me know what do you think in the comments.

Also, do share the blog in your social circles. Now that TV Series Explained has made it's way into Top 50 TV blogs and websites list, we promise to bring more and better content regularly. Promise.

Game Of Thrones: S1E10

While we still can't bear the idea of Game Of Thrones without Lord Eddard 'Ned' Stark, Westerosis have already started to move on. Of course everyone is dealing with this news differently.

Sansa is still a captive. Arya runs away disguised as a boy along with Gendry (one of Robert's bastards) Robb is declared the 'King in the North'. Jon decides to break his oath and run away to help his loved ones but is convinced otherwise by his brothers Sam and Pyp. Tywin sends Tyrion to King's Landing as acting Hand Of The King. While he asks Tyrion to leave his mistress Shae behind, Tyrion does the opposite. Tywin himself plans to gather his remaining troops at Harrenhal.

On the other side of the narrow sea, Danny wakes up and learns that her son was a stillborn. She is curious to see what she gained after sacrificing her child. But another bad news is right around the corner. The Witch; Mirri; has saved Drogo but he is in a vegetative state with no chance of getting better. Furious and grieved by the outcome, Danny decides to punish the witch after giving sympathy death to Khal Drogo.
We will miss you Danny's sun and stars!
Danny orders that Mirri be tied to Drogo's funeral pyre and also puts her dragon eggs on top of it. Everyone including Ser Jorah is convincing her to not go inside the fire but Khaleesi is not in the mood to listen to anyone. There is a newfound fire and some sort of confidence in her eyes. The audience is left in a state of shock when Danny walks inside the fire as if nothing bothers her while Mirri is screaming with pain. The next morning, the remaining members of her Khalasaar and Ser Jorah are shocked to see Danny still alive. She rises; Unburnt; as a true Targaryen along with three screaming baby dragons.

All hail 'The Mother Of Dragons' !!!

Game Of Thrones: S1E9

Robb and Arya Stark are going to marry one of Lord Frey's children each. A condition upon which the Starks will be allowed to cross the river. The prenultimate episode of season 1 of Game Of Thrones starts at The Riverlands. This episode is a setting stone for all the upcoming seasons of Game Of Thrones dictating the second last episodes are going to be epic!

In case you need to refresh your memory, here is the link to all episodes of Game Of Thrones:

TV Series Reviewed: Game Of Thrones

Anyways, so Tywin Lannister who was expecting 20000 Stark men; thanks to Robb's smart plan; only receives 2000. Robb on the other hand wins the battle against Jaime's forces and captures him. Bravo Robb Stark!

Jon Snow is sad about not being able to join the war with Robb. He gets 'Longclaw', ancestral sword of house Mormont; from Jeor Mormont. He also learns a big secret. Maester Aemon is a Targaryen, Mad King (Danny's dad) Aerys's brother. Meanwhile, Danny is abandoned by the dothraki women during her labour pains and Jorah asks the witch(who is doing blood magic to bring Drogo back) for help. Poor Danny... when will she see better days?

Finally, in King's Landing Ned agrees to confess treason and accept Joffrey as one true King out of fear for Sansa's well being. Ned secretely hints Yoren to protect Arya who is watching the confession at the Sept of Baelor. But here comes a big twist. After confessing in front of the crowd, Joffrey changes his mind and cruelty (and stupidity) takes over him. Instead of showing mercy to him as promised earlier, he orders Ned's execution. But even at this point we feel that the other Lords and Cersei will stop this from happening. But we are proved wrong. Ser Illyn Payne swings the sword and a major character who we thought was the hero is dead.

Thoughts?

Jack Ryan: S1E8

Sandrine had described Jack as a wolf hidden in sheep. By sheep she referred to a nerdy analyst sitting behind the desk crunching numbers. By wolf she meant a brave, adventurous and super smart version of Jack who is excellent at getting his hands dirty in actual combat-like, risky operations. The journey that Jack's character arch has been throughout the season is fabulous. By the way the next two seasons have already been announced! But before getting too much ahead, lets focus on the task at hand first. We have reached the season finale of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. This episode starts on a slower pace than usual but then speeds up to an ultimate speed in no time. Its been a ride that's one of a kind.


In case you missed reading my reviews of rest of the episodes, click the link below:
TV Series Reviewed: Jack Ryan
By the way, I also write about Game of Thrones (just putting it out there, no pressure!) which you can read here:
TV Series Reviewed: Game Of Thrones


This episode begins with the news that the US president has been moved to an unidentified, safe location because he may have been infected with Ebola. We see Jack unable to sleep at night because he keeps on seeing the flashbacks of his past. Cathy goes outside the bedroom and Jack who is hesitant in the beginning then decides to tell Cathy about his past. We learn that he was on a mission to rescue a family while he was deployed in Afghanistan. We learn there was an orphan boy who seemed friendly to Jack pleads Jack to take him with him while the family was being rescued. Jack takes the boy with him in the helicopter but the boy takes down the helicopter with a granade. All his fellow marines and the family is killed and Jack is the only survivor in the accident. Cathy thanks Jack for trusting her. Although there are not many give and takes in the scene, we see the bond between Jack and Cathy getting stronger.

Elsewhere, Suleiman and Sameer are seen entering the US with fake identities. In Baltimore, a guy touches the contents leaked out from a vile that had been left behind by Suleiman's men earlier. The guy gets seriously ill and the CIA comes to know that he got in touch with Cesium 137; the same radioactive substance used in Chernobyl event. Everyone is very disturbed that the effects of an attack with such a radioactive weapon could last for generations taking lives of hundreds of thousands of men.

At Washington Memorial Hospital, Cathy examines the president and informs him about his stable health. Jack sees the pictures of the containers in which the radioactive material was brought in. It is confirmed that the quantity of the material is too less to carry out a very big attack. Jack draws parallels between the multi-step attack in Paris with the current plot. James asks him what could be the connection between Ebola and Cesium but Jack is unable to answer it. Suleiman's right hand guy; Ibrahim; demonstrates the plan of spreading Cesium 137 to Suleiman. Sameer secretly watches this demo. Then he also finds two dead bodies and gets afraid. Suleiman calms him down and tells him that once all of this is done, they will find Hanin and his sisters and be a happy family again. Jack meets Hanin and asks her if she knows anything about Suleiman's plan. Having already given all the information, Hanin rebukes Jack and asks him about his promise of returning Sameer to her. He tells her someone must have contacted Suleiman because of which his earlier plan failed but Hanin denies her involvement in contacting Suleiman. Sara secretly watches this and gets scared because earlier she had talked with Sameer using the messaging system in the game. Jack sees the boy who took down the helicopter in Afghanistan in a washroom in the office but is able to control himself as he knows its just his mind playing games with him. James informs Jack about the blast in a pizza grill that Ibrahim caused in Georgetown and they both rush to the crime scene. While on the way, James gets to know that Cesium wasn't used in the bomb. A bunch of ambulances are taking the casualties in the blast to Washington Memorial Hospital and Suleiman joins them. Jack figures out that the bomb blast was the first step of Suleiman's plan and his next step is at the hospital where the president, vice-president, many congressmen and other dignitaries are already present. He informs Cathy about the danger and Jack and James turn back and rush to the hospital.

Suleiman takes the two dead bodies to the Morgue where a hospital guy is killed. Suleiman's men opens the bodies of the corpses and takes out the Cesium vile to set it up for use. Secret Service agent Crawfferd lets Jack and James in the hospital and asks them to help coordinate the search operation. Suleiman and his men now goes to upper floors where they set up their weapon which can be detonated by a call from a cell phone which Suleiman has. Cathy who has been busy earlier gets Jack's messages and gets terrified. She asks Crawfferd about the happenings who tells her that POTUS will be rescued first and then the rest of the people. Unsatisfied with Crawfferd's response, Cathy pulls the trigger for emergency exit and then there is a complete chaos in the hospital. Jack finds the dead man in Morgue and the rush begins. A police car stops in front of the car in which Suleiman's man and Sameer is sitting because the policeman gets suspicious. James who is heading upstairs catches one of Suleiman's guy going in the opposite direction than everyone else and follows him. The man gets into the same elevator as that of Cathy. But James catches him on another floor and shoots him thus saving Cathy. Jack who is now headed upstairs hears gunshots and rushes down.Suleiman and his guy are out of the hospital and approaching their car when Sameer jumps out. The police shoots the man with Sameer and Suleiman hints Sameer to stay silent. Jack catches Sameer looking in the direction in which Suleiman and his man went and Jack goes to hunt them. Jack shoots a bullet but no one gets hurt. The chase continues at a metro station. Meanwhile a frightened Ibrahim successfully gets out of the hospital.

Jack gets hit with a bullet and then he fires shots which ends up killing Suleiman's guy by a running metro but Suleiman escapes. Jack takes a short cut and reaches the next metro station. Suleiman tries making a call to blast the weapon but he doesn't get the signal. Jack reaches there only to find a big crowd. He makes a smart move and shouts "I have your son". Suleiman looks back. Jack fires a shot; this time without hesitation. Suleiman falls down. Jack takes his phone and before the call could get through, Jack turns it off thus preventing a major attack. James praises wounded Jack for his work with a snarky comment that for an analyst, it was very good! Both of them return Sameer to Hanin, Sara and Rama. The expressions in Hanin's eyes are so fulfilling when she looks at Jack who kept his promise after all. James tells Jack that he saved Sameer's life. Sameer looks back at Jack with an expression which we could not figure out and Jack says, "We'll see".

Four months into the future, Ibrahim is killed with a headshot by Mattice in Morocco and that is the last thread of the Suleiman's plot line tied up. At Langley, Jack brings a good buy gift for James who is promoted as a Deputy Chief of Station in Moscow. Instead of accepting the gift, James tells him a lesson he learnt the other day while praying to which Jack is not sure how to react. Jack gets offered a promotion at the office as the head of TFAD but we do not see any satisfaction on the sheep's face. He then gets handed over a file from James in which there is a note from him which says that he has booked tickets for Jack to Moscow. Jack says thank you and we finally see a big smile of satisfaction on the wolf's face!

Oh what a wonderful end of the season. Jack Ryan Season 1 is only 8-episodes and by the end of it we can't help but search on the internet how long before the next season?(!)

Jack Ryan: S1E7

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Season 1 Episode 7 opens with Jack coming back to work at Langley. He and James are praised for the work that they did. The location given by Hanin is confirmed. And everybody is preparing for the finale. This episode is one of the fastest episode of the season and is definitely one of the best second last episodes that a TV show could have.

At a training complex in Virginia, a ground operation KILO team is practicing breaking into the compound where Suleiman resides. Jack brings Hanin there for Intel such as on which side of the bed Suleiman sleeps, which weapons does he keep nearby etc.
At Al Mnajeer, Suleiman tells Sameer that his sisters are coming home but his mother was killed. It seemed that Suleiman was trying to brainwash Sameer. In a meeting with the senior officers, Jack advocates the ground operation by deploying american units to grab Suleiman but only air strike gets sanctioned only if Suleiman was confirmed to be there at the identified location.
Suleiman meets Dr. Nadler; one of the people he has in captivity; and gives him all the medicines he has asked for. Jack and James comes to know that Suleiman and Ali had taken a dead body with them 6 months back and then they suspect that this might be the body of Ebola infected person that Cathy had informed previously. Cathy who was taken in for questioning is surprised to see Jack there. She confirms that Ebola can be weaponised. But outside the questioning hall, she condemns Jack for lying to her.

Then we see Suleiman's men in Baltimore taking 7 bottles of blue liquid with them. The 8th bottle which is leaking is left there unattended. James calls Jack at 3 in the night and asks him to attend an emergency brief with him. He plays a prank with him by asking him to wear a tie. When Jack gets there all suited up, he sees that he is the most well dressed person there and everybody is looking at him in a weird way and this makes James Greer enjoy himself. The briefing is actually a call with the US president where it is decided that instead of an air inflirtation, a ground strike will be done because Dr. Nadler and Mr. President knows each other very well. Jack also asks Mr. President for permission to bring Sameer back with the 12 hostages.
At Al Mnajeer, Suleiman is preaching his men when Sameer decides to join him. At a safehouse in the US, Hanin and her daughters are making themselves at home. Sara gets a video game she had asked for which she uses to play a game and chat with Sameer. Without Sameer's knowledge, Suleiman reads their messages. I wonder in today's times, why does Suleiman's family members use the messaging systems in games to chat with each other but anyhoo!

The most thrilling sequence of the episode begins when the KILO ground forces are deployed in Suleiman's compound only to find the hostages. No sign of Suleiman, Sameer or his men. But since bringing the hostages home is the priority, everyone but Jack is happy. James goes to the bar where a brooding Jack is sulking by himself and tries to cheer him but Jack is not ready to forget about the fact that Suleiman is still out there and the threat still exists.
Somewhere near the Turkish border, Suleiman, Sameer and his men are provided with passports and are ready to make their way out of Syria and possibly into the US. Meanwhile, Cathy decides to meet Jack who explains to her his situation and why he had to lie. Cathy forgives him and they patch up. And this makes me Happy!
James is given some shredded documents recovered from Al Mnajeer. The CIA officers suspects the medicines provided to the hostages by Suleiman may be not out of care and sympathy. And Jack figures out that since Suleiman knew that the US President knew Dr. Nadler, he used him and rest of the hostages as biological weapons. Well played Suleiman!

In case you want to read reviews of all the episodes of Jack Ryan Season 1, here is the link:

Jack Ryan Season 1 reviews

Jack Ryan: S1E6

So much happened in season 1 episode 6 of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan! Let's begin.

We see two men are digging the ground in Liberia where Ebola patient's dead bodies are burried in a flashback scene that happened 6 months ago. After securely getting hold of the body, they take off their costumes and we are shocked to see Suleiman and Ali.

Cut to present time where Hanin and her daughters Sara and Rama are traveling in a truck in which people are gathered like cattle. We feel bad for them. Then we see Jack and James arrive in an airport in Adana who are greeted by Lance. Remember him who Hanin had met earlier? They get in a car to go and meet a local guy who can help them find Hanin. Coincidentally, Victor is also there at the airport who hires a cab to go to Syria. He is here to make amends with the family of the guy that was innocent but Victor had killed because he was misidentified.
At Washington Memorial Hospital, Cathy is very busy after finding signs of Ebola in a recent death case. Her friend advices her to go behind her boss's back (who had ignored Cathy's concerns) and consult with another senior doctor working in Liberia.
We see Yazid; Suleiman's guy; arrive where the truck in which Hanin, Sara and Rama were traveling has stopped. He pays a local guy to find out about Hanin and her daughters but Hanin catches him and silently attacks him. He falls in a shi* pile and Hanin, Sara and Rama runs away. I wonder how did Yazid came back after he was presumably dead with Victor's drone shot. Anyways.
After learning about the incident that we saw in the flashback scene at the beginning of the episode, Dr. Cathy Mueller gets super nervous and writes an email raising a red flag related to Ebola.
Lance introduces Jack and James to the local guy inside a brothel and Jack is very uncomfortable working with the shady guy. He affirms there must be another way to find Hanin but James Greer shuts him down. James speaks with experience because he knows this needs to be done and tells Jack to watch and learn. While they are on the road, they learn about the incident that happened with Hanin and her daughters. When they come to know that Suleiman's guy tried to get hold of Hanin and her daughters, they rush to the beach from where the human smuggling takes place. Hanin, Sara and Rama are on foot when the daughters requests Hanin to take a halt for taking rest. However, Hanin is in no mood to listen to her daughters's wussing and shouts at them to suck it up.
Jack and James's car is halted because of a new wall. The local guy deals with the situation by killing the security guards and Jack loses his sh*t and starts beating him up. Greer intervenes and finally they are back on the road.

In Syria, Victor makes peace by giving away a lot of money to the family members of the innocent guy he had killed. No one understands each other. Yet the whole sequence is played out brilliantly. If anyone is going to sleep like a baby tonight, it's Victor!
Hanin and the girls finally arrive at the beach but guess what? Yazid is already waiting for them. He calls Suleiman who asks him to bring the girls back home but kill Hanin. Woah! Just in time when Hanin and her daughters are yelling for help, Jack and James points guns at Yazid. Yazid has Hanin at his gunpoint and the local guys point their guns at Jack and James. The guy with Jack and James talks to Yazid's men and James asks Jack to put down the weapon. Knowing that Yazid is returning Hanin and not the girls, Jack is reluctant but finally gives up. But as soon as Hanin is safely returned, James kills Yazid with a sharp and quick headshot. That's the experience that Jack still lacks! And the local guys point their guns with a lot of confusion on their faces. Finally the situation gets diffused and Jack and James takes Hanin and her daughters with them. Jack takes Hanin under confidence and learns about Suleiman's location but James is not thrilled to hear that. When Jack sits down next to a brooding James, James opens up about what happened in Karachi. He was trying to secure a high level asset from Pakistani Army but the guy turned on him and James had to stab him and flee. The reason James told Jack about this was so that he could learn from his experience but Jack being Jack is still stubborn about only making the righteous choices. James has a look on his face that tells us that Jack may be hesitant to adopt to the ways in which the real world operates but will eventually have to accept it the hard way!

There are so many things that stays with us when we think about this episode. But the most important thing is the realization that we are just 2 more episodes away from the end and the Jack v/s Suleiman face-off is just around the corner! Are you all with me yet?

Jack Ryan: S1E5

The episode begins with a scene in the church where the terrorists had killed more than 300 innocent people. By killing a priest earlier, the terrorists ensured that there will be a lot of people and dignitaries at his funeral. It is revealed through a series of videos that Suleiman was behind these mass casulties. Jack is not dealing with the aftermath of the destruction very well and James is there to explain to Jack how he should not react to this emotionally but with his brains.

There are some episodes which are fast paced and high in action and then there are some episodes like this one. These are the episodes that helps the audience get up to the speed while placing its characters at the right places in order to build a strong story in the upcoming weeks. When you have a series like Jack Ryan with many characters and parallel storylines, it's required to take a breather episode so that we can gain our strength back and be ready to race again!

We see the strange reality of present time through Hanin's story arch. Hanin arrives at a Turkish refugee camp. She seeks political asylum but an undercover CIA officer is not quite open to believe her. When Jack learns about this, he feels that this can be a major step while dealing with Suleiman and wants to verify if this is really true.

We see Suleiman remembering his past. We see how he was denied any opportunity to have a civil future because the French people judged him based on his religion and not by his knowledge. We also see Ali carrying a gun in his younger age when Suleiman risks himself by assaulting a policeman only to save Ali. After spending spending months in prison , Ali pays Suleiman a visit. We also see how Suleiman was brainwashed in the prison by extreme religious propaganda. Clearly, the realities of the world in the past were not better than the present times.

Suleiman meets the leader of the 12 hostages and promises him that all of the needs of the hostages such as fresh water, medicines etc will be fulfilled. Looks like there is still some remains of humanity left inside Suleiman after all!

At Nevada, Victor learns that the man he had killed in Syria who had a son was misidentified. The guilt and shame of killing an innocent person breaks him. He tells Ava that their CO has ordered him to take a 10 days mandatory leave. He also reveals to Ava how he wanted to be a Pilot and not control the drones like he does. To this Ava explains why the work he does is not any less than actually fighting in a war. She tells Victor to get piece of mind by doing whatever he requires to do before he comes back.

At Langley, the CIA is planning to catch hold of Suleiman by contacting him through the messaging system inside the video game that Ali used to use to communicate to his brother. Suleiman initially believes him and sends his men at the location where the CIA has set the trap. Later he identifies Jack because he is unable to reply to a trick sentence by Suleiman. Suleiman tells Jack that he will find him but Jack brings up the topic of Hanin only to successfully confirm that she has left Suleiman. Meanwhile, Hanin gets on a truck with her daughters after she has given all her jewellery to a local human smuggler to help them flee. Suleiman's man is there in Turkey at the camp from where Hanin had just ran away. How the hell did he survive the drone attack I wonder! Elsewhere Jack and James are seen getting into a plane for Turkey so that they can get hold of Hanin.

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Feel free to drop me an email on abhisheksathe12@gmail.com for any collaboration or review related stuff. See you next time.

Jack Ryan: S1E4

There is no one who is a complete saint and no one who is an all out monster. People come with many shades. But after this episode, we can easily place Dr. Jack Ryan as one of the few people on this show who knows he wants to choose the right path whenever he can.

Episode 4 of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan opens in the beautiful Alps mountains in France where Ali is stopped by a cop for overspeeding. Jack is relieved when he sees Ali released by the cop with only a warning. Jack and Sandrine are following Ali by tracking his movements using GPS tracking. In the car, Sandrine boosts Jack's morale and he asks Dr. Cathy Mueller out on a date. In another car, James Greer who was also following Ali loses his track only to find out that Ali has switched vehicles.

In Syria, Suleiman is missing his wife and daughters. He listens to the news of 12 foreign hostages and decides to put on the show of the power of money. He visits the camp of a local militia along with his men and meets their leader; a local Sheikh; who is an extremist by nature. Suleiman fools him and pretends to buy the hostages from him. But instead of giving money to the Sheikh, he distributes it to his men who turns against the Sheikh. Suleiman brings home many more men than he previously had along with the 12 hostages and the Sheikh as his captive. He then publicly beats the Sheikh and announces to his men that he will be a better leader and will establish a Caliphate.

Back in France, Jack and Sandrine stop at a gas station to fill up the gas and buy some cigarettes. Coincidentally, Ali who is also there catches Jack suspiciously looking at his car. Ali takes out his gun to shoot Jack but himself gets shot by Sandrine. A local policeman shoots Sandrine unaware that she is a Police Captain who is then shot dead by Ali. Jack manages to hide only to find a gun and then Ali and Jack shoots bullets at each other until Ali runs away in the woods. Jack follows him and both of them get in a fight and Jack finally kills Ali. Shocked by the incident, Jack comes back to the gas station but finds Sandrine has also died.
When Jack returns back to Washington DC, James advices him not to go to sleep in this state of mind. Unfortunately, Jack doesn't have time to process the happenings in France because he has a date with Cathy. Jack has to lie again when Cathy asks him details about his job. The two of them end up sleeping together in her apartment after spending a good time on their date.

Back to Paris, we get an answer to one of the cliffhangers from last episode. Remember the priest that was killed? We see a church full of people who are there to pay their respects to the dead priest. Among them are three men who are carrying chemical weapons inside the bags with them. I wonder if Suleiman is behind this...not sure what is his big plan but I am sure we will get the answers in due course of time. One by one each of the three men get out of the church. Slowly. Without getting noticed by anyone else. They bar the church with chains and a lock. They start walking away from the church. We already know what's coming but we end up watching anyway with only a small ray of hope that somehow the mass destruction may be avoided but in vain! One of the men activates the weapons by sending a message from a mobile. The end.

Before you know it, we have reached exactly at the middle of the series and all the storylines are going ahead with full speed. Neither Suleiman is ready to back down nor is Jack going to give up.

The cry for help from inside the church, did it reach anyone? Is everyone inside dead? What was the motive behind killing so many innocent people anyway? By the way what happened to Hanin and her daughters? And what about Victor?

So much to explore with only four more episodes to go. Stay tuned!