The Lost Symbol Review: Melencolia I (Season 1 Episode 5)

On Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol Season 1 Episode 5, “Melencolia I,” Langdon and company try to pull one over on Mal’akh, which goes about as well as can be expected. Mal’akh has proven more than once that he isn’t someone to be trifled with.

It says a lot about Langdon that he never considered lying to Mal’akh as an attempt to get Peter back. He just put his mind to the task at hand, never considering claiming to have figured it out to arrange a meeting. I guess that’s why we have the CIA involved.

Sato’s plan is smart. There’s no reason to keep playing the madman’s game when there’s a chance you can save Peter a different way, especially once the video arrives, proving he is still alive.

Unfortunately, Sato’s plan gets derailed rather quickly, proving that Mal’akh is a worthy adversary. We’ve seen how crafty he can be with his disguises and violence, and now we catch a glimpse of his preparedness and ability to dodge CIA surveillance.

I am curious about how Mal’akh figured all of this out. It’s not that he doesn’t believe Langdon because he listens to Langdon’s spiel in the parking lot and doesn’t kidnap him outright, so Mal’akh did expect some answers.

Perhaps he simply has people monitoring Langdon at all times, and so they saw him with Sato. Another option is that Mal’akh saw Langdon awkwardly talking to himself prior to the meet taking place, and Mal’akh put two and two together.

Langdon getting kidnapped at the end of the hour isn’t a great thing for him, personally, but it could be for the series.

Things aren’t getting boring, per se, but nothing all that thrilling is happening either. I’d thought that Sato and Langdon joining forces would be more fun than it ended up being, although him jumping up when she appears at the park is pretty funny.

So, something’s gotta give to help revitalize the series, and a kidnapped Langdon could be what The Lost Symbol needs.

We’ll probably get to see Nunez, Katherine, and Sato working together on a rescue mission, and so it’ll be interesting to see who takes the lead among the three of them. And then we’ll also get to spend more time with Ma’lakh outside of his creepy experimentations and murder sprees.

Perhaps, we’ll learn something new about him and his thirty million tattoos. At the very least, he and Langdon could have an interesting dynamic to explore. I’m curious about how deep his knowledge is on the Araf and all other religious mysteries that Langdon has also been pondering.

A change of scenery can be good for the soul, and hopefully, it does just the trick for The Lost Symbol. What are your thoughts on this?

Stray Thoughts

• Between Landon chatting with Mal’akh and Nunez getting attacked and drugged, this episode is stressful.
• Also, Sato, we won’t forget your lack of concern for Nunez.
• Peter’s looking rough after his time in the Araf.
• Warren, you and your hat will be missed.

What did you think of this episode of The Lost Symbol? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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New episodes of The Lost Symbol premiere Thursdays on Peacock.

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