Writer: Richard Zajdlic
Director: Michael J. Bassett
Previously on “Strike Back”:
Because I was at New York Comic-Con last week, I wasn’t able to write a proper review for the previous “Strike Back” episode. But it’s fitting that episodes 9 and 10 be reviewed together since “Strike Back” always runs together as two part storylines. And if this was a “Strike Back” movie, it would have been a great action film.
In terms of the action itself, “Strike Back” delivered in the two part season finale. The train scenes in episode 9 and the airplane chase in episode 10 easily rank among the best action sequences of the entire series. No other show on television is even attempting to pull off that kind of scale. The creative team behind “Strike Back” wisely saved the best for last.
Which isn’t to say that there aren’t some problems with these episodes. From this point on, there are spoilers ahead, so if you missed the season finale of “Strike Back” then you should probably skip this review or else Dalton was right all along.
The reveal that Leo Kamali was the big bad of season 3 was actually spoiled in the opening sequence of episode 9 when Zubin Varla’s name remained in the credits. When I saw that, I was hoping it didn’t mean that Kamali had faked his own death and that he was secretly evil all along. But that’s exactly what it meant.
From a logical standpoint, I understand why Kamali was used as the villain. With James Leatherby (Dougray Scott) and Mairead McKenna (Catherine Walker) dead and Al-Zuhari more of an idea than a person, there really wasn’t anyone else to carry the story from that end.
However, I don’t think that the “Strike Back” creative team played fair with its depiction of Kamali. If Kamali’s loyalty to the CIA and Section 20 was all an act, that’s one thing. But we, the audience saw Kamali in his private moments when no one else was watching. We saw the fear in Kamali’s eyes when his Al-Zuhari bodyguard killed a banker and when Leatherby shot a man in front of Kamali just to make a point.
During the season, I kept looking for signs that Kamali was going to betray the team, but that wasn’t the man we’ve been following through the first eight episodes. When Kamali did turn Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester) and Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) over to Arkady Ulyanov (Marcel Iures), it felt more like the actions of a desperate man who wanted to protect himself rather than someone who was working against them.
Kamali had even saved the lives of Scott and Stonebridge before they in turn rescued his daughter, Ester (Amy Leigh Hickman) from Leatherby. It was easy to buy into the emotional connections that followed because the performers made them seem natural. And I enjoyed Kamali as Section 20’s reluctant ally as much as I liked seeing Scott open up emotionally to Ester. She was a surrogate child for Scott to remind him of the son he left behind years ago. Hickman and Stapleton had particularly good scenes together when they mourned for Kamali’s apparent death.
It would have been better if Kamali’s turn had been better explained in the finale, but it seemed like half-formed reasoning that transformed Kamali from a CIA agent in-too-deep into the new Al-Zuhari, who was eager to see thousands dead to satisfy his vengeance. Even one of Kamali’s henchmen seemed to have a problem with dumping the bio-weapon over a populated area. But to Kamali, the ordinary people were just collateral damage.
Which brings us back to our heroes, Scott and Stonebridge. Their escape from Kamali’s men in the van was breathtaking and I loved the creative use of morse code as they planned their first move. Winchester’s leap from the van to the car behind them was also one of the most impressive stunts of the season. It was wildly over-the-top, but supremely entertaining as well.
Kamali’s betrayal also briefly ruptured the bonds between Scott and Stonebridge, as well as Lt. Colonel Philip Locke (Robson Green). Scott was particularly incensed by what happened and he didn’t want to acknowledge that he had been fooled just as much as everyone else was. The late Rachel Dalton (Rhona Mitra) was vindicated, even though no one particularly liked her at the end of her life. It was very biting for Kamali to say that he was the only one who never underestimated Dalton. In retrospect, it was suspicious when Mairead shot Kamali in the shoulder after expertly killing Dalton. But I still don’t buy that as a sufficient hint that Kamali was the bad guy all along.
Although Kim Martinez (Milauna Jackson) was seemingly sidelined for the season in episode 9, that put her in a unique position to be both hero and victim in episode 10. After the train incident, Martinez seemed to be in real jeopardy when she was exposed to the bio-weapon while taking down a few of the terrorists in the army hospital.
Julia Richmond (Michelle Lukes) also had a chance to step up as she personally pursued Kamali and his remaining forces onto a plane that was about to take off. Although Richmond did end up needing to be saved by Scott and Stonebridge, it didn’t diminish a strong turn for the only other remaining cast member from the first Cinemax season of “Strike Back.”
And in a true Cinemax tradition, Richmond’s season closed out with a softcore sex scene between herself and Scott. There had been some hints of Scott and Richmond’s attraction, but not quite enough to make this work. The Martinez and Stonebridge connection had been played up since the season premiere, but it didn’t really lead anywhere. Stonebridge and Martinez get a few moments together at the end, but that’s it.
The final confrontation with Kamali had a more personal touch that was lacking in the last stand of Conrad Knox (Charles Dance) from season 2. Ulyanov never amounted to much as a villain, but at least Nina Pirogova (Tereza Srobva) got her vengeance against him. On a side note, it was hilarious when Scott and Stonebridge compared notes about Nina and whether Scott had slept with Richmond… over an open audio channel which both women could hear.
In order to get Kamali from Ulyanov, Locke had to promise that Scott and Stonebridge would surrender themselves to Ulyanov so he could avenge his son. Section 20 really asks a lot of its members. Not only were Scott and Stonebridge expected to lay down their lives if necessary, Locke wouldn’t even let them keep the stolen diamonds! If Locke is really a dick, he’ll also turn down Scott’s request for a pay raise.
I didn’t quite buy Kamali’s last gesture towards his daughter by revealing the cure around her neck. By that point, Kamali was beyond redemption and it just felt like the audience was being yanked around. Curiously, we never see Ester after that scene. Ester had been so close to Scott that it felt like an odd choice to not get one last moment between them. On the other hand, Nina’s sexual proposition of Stonebridge was hilarious. I really hope she comes back next year. Thankfully, the door seems to be open for that.
As for the ending itself, “Strike Back” veered away from the sense of finality that it had built up and kept things very open for the future. The final scene between Scott and Stonebridge felt like it was lifted straight out of an 80’s buddy comedy/action movie. I would have preferred a more serious note to go out on, but I can live with that. Scott and Stonebridge are throwback action heroes that we rarely see anymore in film or TV. They may not have originated in the ‘80s, but they feel like they could have been.
Curiously, there’s no word yet on whether “Strike Back” will get a fourth season on Cinemax, but I’d be very surprised if we didn’t get Scott and Stonebridge back on TV next summer. Nobody does action better.
