Lazarus Ep 8 Review
Of all the things we could eventually learn about the members of Lazarus, being a former Russian spy was never considered. Yet that is exactly what happens in the latest episode of the series as Chris’ life is put in danger thanks to her past. And with there only being a limited amount of time before things get worse, Lazarus has to put their search for Skinner on hold to mount a John Wick/Jason Bourne/James Bond-style rescue attempt. At the very least, though, this episode does capture the feel of those gritty spy movies fairly well.
Chris Worked for WHAT?!?
At the end of the last episode, Chris was returning from her part in the team’s latest attempt to find Dr. Skinner when she ran into someone who knew her. The next time we see her, she’s held captive on an abandoned oil rig in the Barents Sea by Russians. Apparently, Chris had once been a Russian spy, but after faking her death, she defected to the United States. However, she had to leave her handler/likely lover, Inga, behind, much to her fury. Either ignorant or uncaring of the fact that Chris is trying to help save humanity, Inga goes rogue to get revenge. Thus, Lazarus has to put everything on hold to rescue their teammate.
On the one hand, it feels rather frustrating that the search for Skinner gets put on the back burner for this episode. With less than two weeks left before people start dying, time is not on their side. On the other hand, the fact that all the members agree to this rescue mission demonstrates how tight-knit they’ve become. Even Axel, the most laid-back of the team, immediately wants to rescue Chris. If Axel wants to do that, then that’s a sign that things have gotten serious!
This is Just Like John Wick!
Thankfully, despite being a side-quest in the grand scheme of things, this episode more than makes up for it with the overall plot and action. It feels very much like something out of a modern action movie like John Wick or Jason Bourne. From the way that Chris manipulates her captors to escape on her own to how Lazarus mounts their daring and high-tech rescue, the entire thing feels on point. The fact that they’re up against Russian Special Forces only helps to highlight how much danger they’re in, as the members experience several close calls. Even the ever-lucky Axel could end up dead if he makes one wrong move.
The true highlight of the episode, though, comes during the climax. Just as Chris looks home-free, Inga has her at gunpoint and dead to rights. For a moment, you can’t tell if Chris will make it out in one piece or not, but then she and Inga have a heart-to-heart about her decision to leave so she could keep Inga safe from their leaders. The reveal that they were lovers is played very much for drama, and for a moment, Inga wavers. Tragically, one of her own men then shoots her before being killed by Axel, leading Inga to die in Chris’ arms. It’s a very emotional moment, and one you would never expect from someone like Chris. By the time the oil rig starts going up in flames, you can tell that Chris is emotionally exhausted by what happened, but also grateful that her team came to save her. The fact that Axel says he doesn’t care about her past only serves to emphasize how close they’ve all gotten.
As big a distraction as this rescue op was, this might be the best episode of the series to date. However, the clock is still ticking, and they only have 12 days left before Hapna turns lethal. They need to start getting more leads soon, or things are going to get ugly!
