“Where’s Will?” – Truxton
Looks like we have our first clear read on what the nature of what the big conspiracy is all about. Unlike some shows (like one that begins with an L and ends with a T, for instance) that drag mysteries into further amorphous soups of obfuscation, I’m happy and relieved that Rubicon is letting us have a very tangible grasp on what is going on well within the first season. Of course, we think we know something based on what Will Travers (James Badge Dale) has found out and reveals to Katherine Rhumer (Miranda Richardson) in a pivotal scene. And obviously the fun and drama and intrigue that come next will be based on how all of the chess pieces on the board interact with each other going forward.
Here’s what Will lays on the already (rightfully) paranoid Katherine: at least two of the people in the black and white photograph are on the board of directors of 12 different companies that profit enormously from “unforeseen” cataclysmic events. The information, Will speculates, is fed to them by API white papers and these events may even be engineered based on the data and analysis provided.
The tie-in to the series of suicides that Will is hunting down — which includes Katherine’s late husband — also makes sense when seen from the light of highly skilled and intelligent analysts and intelligence community players who come to realize that they are playing an unknowing role in the death and misery of hundreds or thousands of people.
What I like and appreciate about all of this too is that Will has figured much of this out and is taking action based on this knowledge. We’ve been told and shown many times that Will is a super smart/genius-level intelligence analyst with an obsessive work ethic and world class skill at recognizing patterns. If we saw Will endlessly chasing down bad leads and dead ends, or only putting small bits of the puzzle together, a case could easily get made that the writers don’t have a vision on where the story is headed. And while Rubicon has at times had a stately and even plodding pace that made me wonder if there would be eventual payoff for all the broodiness and coldly melancholic scenes we sat through early on, we’re getting a very satisfying buildup to the end of the first season here.
There are other big doings afoot as well: Truxton (Michael Cristofer) is onto Will in a big time way. As much as Kale (Arliss Howard) advised Will to be careful — especially around the office — he slipped up in making a call to the Fisher’s Island Records Department on his office phone. While Kale allowed Will to slip out to conduct further research (and chat with Katherine), it was too late: Truxton noted that Will was not working on the Kateb case and, in Will’s empty office, used “last caller” to ratify his worst suspicions.
He then moves quickly to order the hit, telling the man I will always know and love in my heart at State Sen. Clay Davis (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) from The Wire: “There’s a problem that needs a clean solution.” Truxton then makes sure to have a little chat session with Will later, where he compliments him but creepily adds in the past tense, “You’ve done a great job at API.”
The hit doesn’t work as planned, and Will gets an unintentional immersion into field work. After he dispatches his attacker (in a gritty and messy and satisfying action sequence), Kale and some other guy come over to “scrub” Will’s apartment with clinical and frightening efficiency.
Will is only now realizing how deep he has gotten into this thing, and that he has quickly crossed the line from safely working behind an analyst’s desk to being a target of a potentially vast and shadowy and lethal organization. Ditching his relationship with the girl-across-the-way is likely only the first new sacrifice that he’s going to have to make.
As Truxton refers to his 16-year old scotch, this just might be where “the good shit” really begins.
More thoughts on “A Good Day’s Work”:
- “Where isn’t Kateb?” — Miles
- “Where’s Will?” – Truxton
- “You can trust me.” — Will to Katherine
- Tanya’s back, but not back back we see as she looks to hunt down her stash of pills as soon as she gets a free moment.
- “I didn’t do anything wrong.” — Will “That’s absolutely irrelevant.” — Kale
- The Kateb situation was mostly peripheral this week, but thanks to Grant’s analysis, the team was able to figure out that he’s an American citizen from New Jersey who became an al Queda convert. As the episode closes we find out that Kateb is in the United States, so no doubt this will play heavily into the season’s conclusion over the next two episodes.