Countdown Season 1 Episode 8 Review: The Nail in the Chair

A centralized focus on character development makes Countdown Season 1 Episode 8, “The Nail in the Chair,” a thrilling outing.

After a momentary lapse in momentum, Countdown gets the figurative train guiding the story back on track, with genuine moments of exhilaration.

Not only does this episode reveal the defining moment fueling the intensity of Volchek’s hatred for the U.S., but it also brings our antagonist face-to-face with one of the main protagonists, finally!

A Long-Awaited Meetup

It’s been nothing but a cat-and-mouse type of situation all season long between Volchek and Blythe’s team. While there have been one or two succinct moments of interaction, there has yet to be any bodily connection, until now.

Naturally, the scenes that made me get out of my seat take place at the end of the episode, so we have to start there for this review.

After numerous attempts at getting Astapov to comply with his wishes, Blythe turns to D.C. officials, who get him in check quickly. However, before Blythe can meet up with Astapov in the alley, Volchek gets to him first.

Upon finding Astapov’s lifeless body, Volchek then takes his swing at Blythe, driving a dagger into his stomach, leaving him for dead.

It’s a moment of pure adrenaline and raw intensity that comes out of nowhere. After seeing Astapov’s lifeless body, it felt safe that Blythe wasn’t the target, until he was.

Honestly, after seeing Astapov’s door wide open with no movement, Blythe’s spidey-sense should have been pinging erratically. He is a Senior Agent who has been with the bureau for 22 years, so the sudden development feels particularly surprising.

Blythe being the one to get stabbed by Volchek also feels like a cop-out because the likelihood of him being killed off when we’ve learned virtually nothing about him seems slim.

Damon’s death was early on in the series, but we were at least privy to personal battles he dealt with outside of the job. We’ve yet to learn anything of that nature regarding Blythe.

The Final Straw

Countdown has done an impeccable job of telling Volchek’s life story and painting the vision of what led him to where he is today. From his brother’s death, killing his wife to escape arrest, and being forced out of his home country, Volchek has experienced many harsh realities.

When he moves to the U.S., he hopes to build a life where he no longer has to deal with bloodshed. He plans to maintain ten parking lots in a busy area of town, generating a healthy revenue.

However, things don’t go as planned when an official from the city informs him of a law allowing them to park work vehicles in private lots. It’s a move that has once again put him in a pinch, actively stifling his development toward a new life.

Volchek’s next mistake is attempting to bribe the city official, who has worked with authorities to set him up. Upon learning of him facing up to thirty years in prison, his goals radically changed. Instead of continuing to work toward the American dream, his sights shifted toward getting revenge.

There’s never an easy way to root for the antagonist when their intentions are volatile and deadly, but there is a tiny part of me that sympathizes with Volchek. A minuscule part.

I’m not justifying his actions, but it’s not as if he woke up one day and randomly decided he was going to set off a bomb in Los Angeles. There were years of death, cruelty, and resentment building up, and after yet another attempt from the government to subdue his progression, he finally snapped.

An Unknown Sister

As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, the series excels when it takes a step back and allows us to take a deeper look at these characters putting their lives on the line every day.

So far, Blythe, Finau, and Shepherd are the only ones who haven’t been privy to that recognition. Well, that is until “The Nail in the Chair,” where those barriers begin to break for Shepherd.

We now know that Shepherd wasn’t always this put-together, dedicated, and focused agent geared toward saving the world. With the introduction of her sister, Molly, we learn that she had a checkered past before becoming a fed.

It’s either a past where Molly helped control Shepherd in those moments, and then naturally started to follow the same path. Or, the two partied together as sisters, but something made Shepherd snap to and change her ways.

I’m leaning more toward the latter, but we can only wait for the truth to be revealed at a later date. One thing is for sure: we should be getting much more of Shepherd’s daily activities outside of work, with Molly making the impromptu move into her apartment.

Stray Thoughts:

• Astapov’s death makes me wonder if Volchek had his office bugged. Unless he was actively stalking his day-to-day movements, it seems unlikely Volchek would know when to strike best.
• I feel like the ending shot of Blythe slowly falling to the ground and eyeing his stab wound would make a more significant impact had he said Volchek’s name. It felt like that was the direction the scene was going, but then it just fades to black. Yet another reason why I don’t believe he’s actually dead.
• We’re one step closer to Meachum and Oliveras acting on their underlying feelings for one another!

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Countdown is available to stream on Wednesdays on Prime Video.

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