Countdown Season 1 Episodes 1-3 Review: A Captivating First Introduction

Prime Video’s newest series, Countdown, follows a group of trained detectives who are gathered for a secret mission to uncover who murdered a homeland security officer.

However, their investigation leads them down an entirely different route, one that could be the death of millions.

Countdown Season 1 Episode 1, “Teeth in the Bone,” wastes no time getting to the heart of the story—the death of Robert Darden, portrayed by Milo Ventimiglia.

It also serves as the world-building episode introducing us to Mark Meachum (Jensen Ackles), an LAPD Detective. He and four others are enlisted in a top-secret task force to find who killed Darden.

Joining Meachum is LAPD officer Lucas Finau (Uli Latukefu), who specializes in robbery and homicide, and Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho), a DEA agent.

Also in the mix are FBI agents Keyonte Bell (Elliot Knight) and Evan Shepherd (Violett Beane). Shepherd is an FBI agent with cybersecurity expertise, and Bell specializes in preventing terrorist acts.

At the head of the task force are SAC Nathan Blythe (Eric Dane) and Damon Drew (Jonathan Togo), a Department of Homeland Security officer.

With series that are fast-paced, focus on an ensemble cast, and deal with a variety of complex storylines at hand, pacing is crucial to hooking the audience.

The audience needs to be introduced to the premise, conflict, and action of the rip. Most important, though, is exploring the characters at hand enough that we begin to form an attachment.

Investment in characters we can feel a sense of symbolism with will always be a key factor in keeping people returning each week. That said, Countdown achieves its mission of bewitching the audience sufficiently enough with a three-episode drop.

While “Teeth in the Bone” acts as the base layer for the series, Countdown Season 1 Episode 2, “Dead Lots of Times,” is where the intrigue begins to set in.

Bouncing back and forth between 2008 and the present day, the episode performs a deep dive into the psyche of the antagonist, Borys Volchek, as well as provides his origin story.

In the past, Volchek is roped into an unfortunate scenario thanks to his brother, Anton. With the Americans after Anton and his life on the line, Borys agrees to hack into his boss’s computer and download important communications regarding a politician and the Kremlin.

However, a delay in his actions leads to Anton shooting himself in his bathtub. Borys gets his revenge, though, delivering the information to the Americans but planting a bomb that goes off once downloaded.

Despite providing his backstory and explaining the birth of his hatred toward Americans, it’s unlikely anyone will keep returning for their intrigue in his character.

Where the chemistry is absolutely on fire is between Meachum and Oliveras. The two bicker like they are siblings, constantly taking shots at one another and looking to get the upper hand at any chance.

Through their bickering and annoyance with one another, the two excel and procure great results in their missions. Plus, the two give off some extreme sexual tension that it seems neither wants to admit.

Countdown Season 1 Episode 3, “Happy Birthday Final,” only sweetens the pot as we bear witness to Meachum going back to what he’s used to: working undercover.

It’s also the only episode of the trio to premiere that allows for any sense of comedic relief.

In an effort to get intelligence, Meachum goes back undercover as a prisoner to bust his old cellmate out because of his potential ties to the one they’re after.

Meachum’s hopes of gathering pertinent information come true when he’s taken to Volchek’s home, where he gets a quick glance at their master plan. However, he’s unable to get any real data points before Volchek himself spots him, turns him over to his minions, and proceeds to burn the entire home down.

In a series like Countdown, death is on the table for any key player, and the series lets it be known that anyone is on the chopping block with Damon’s death at the end of the episode.

However, Damon’s death in their quest to save Meachum feels a bit too premature, especially after learning the fate of his son and getting even more attached to the character.

Overall, Countdown‘s premiere outing is a great introduction to the series and only makes me look forward to where the series will go from here.

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Countdown is available to stream on Wednesdays on Prime Video.

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