Take Two Review: Death Becomes Him (Season 1 Episode 5)

On Take Two Season 1 Episode 5, “Death Becomes Him,”  Eddie and Sam are hired to stop a hitman from carrying out his orders. The weird part is those orders were given by the would-be-victim himself.

When Todd Garlin, played by guest star Seamus Dever (Castle), is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he decides he cannot task his family with caring for him and wants to end his life. Since his life insurance won’t pay if he commits suicide, he hires a contract killer on the dark web to take him out and make it look like an accident.

A ridiculous, yet seemingly logical, plan. The only problem is Todd isn’t dying. He was misdiagnosed. He now wants to live and has no way to call off his hit.

It’s Eddie and Sam’s job to protect Todd and track down the man trying to kill him before it’s too late. Todd desperately wants a chance to start over and live his life to the fullest, a sentiment now on everyone’s mind.

In a surprising moment of depth, Eddie reveals he almost died in a surfing accident when he was fifteen. It’s clear the event has really stuck with him all this time. He claims this is the closest he has ever come to death.

It’s probably the most realistic near-death story I’ve ever heard from a TV crime fighter. He doesn’t tell some harrowing tale from his time as a cop. He didn’t escape a hail of bullets and take out a bunch of bad guys or get kidnapped by a serial killer.

Sam listens intently, and it’s obvious she wants to something to help.

Unfortunately, it isn’t long before Sam and Eddie are trapped in an electrified cage in the lair of a crazed contract killer. So much for Eddie’s normal and mundane near-death experience.

Eddie: This is not the type of guy you want to negotiate with. Now, we call the cops.

Sam’s quick thinking is seriously impressive. Eddie seems to just give up and accept they are going to die. After a quick look around, he quits trying to find a way out.

You wouldn’t expect romantic sparks to be flying while two characters are stuck in a cage with literal sparks, but they did. Sam pulls Eddie close and promptly removes her bra and his belt.

Her reasoning is solid, and her style is fun and just the right amount of sexy.

I kind of doubt, Eddie would have actually been able to get his gun with their makeshift contraption, but it is plenty of fun to watch. The commotion they cause is enough to lure the bad guy over and save the day even if it wasn’t the way they planned.

Watching Chris give Eddie and Sam their respective items back is the perfect amount of awkward and funny. Shouldn’t the police need those as evidence though?

The real villain in this episode is technology. Poor Todd can’t catch a break when his enemies constantly have a way to spy on him and stay one step ahead.

Eddie: A faked death helped catch a fictional killer.

How terrifying is it that a major corporation could be using smoke detectors to listen into people’s homes? Even worse, someone can hack your furnace and mess with the gas in your house? Some things just don’t need to be WiFi enabled.

Sam finding the time and putting in all the effort to track down Eddie’s old surfboard is very sweet.

It is evidence she is falling for Eddie just as fast as he is falling for her. I’m not sure the guy would actually want the surfboard he almost died on when he was a teenager, but he seems happy with it.

Sam likes big gestures and does her best to show Eddie that she cares. She wants to help him conquer his fears and get back to doing something he once loved.

Sam volunteering to go with him to the beach (in her bikini) doesn’t hurt either.

What did you think of this episode of Take Two? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Take Two airs Thursday at 8/7c on ABC.

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