Countdown Season 1 Episode 12 Review: This is His Signature

Meachum and the team find themselves within arm’s reach of their target on Countdown Season 1 Episode 12, “This is His Signature.”

In a series’ penultimate episode, the audience should be able to have some sense of what’s to come in the final outing, but that’s not the case for Countdown.

After already implementing some choice plot changes toward the end of the season, the audience has been thrown on its toes more than once. Now, the series is feeling increasingly like it won’t have enough momentum to sustain enough excitement for the finale.

Where Do We Go From Here?

With the team spending the whole episode focused on finding out Todd’s whereabouts and next steps, by the end, we’re left with more questions than answers.

The reigning mystery: why do we care? What about this storyline is naturally drawing viewers in and keeping them entertained? At least with Volchek, viewers got an accurate and in-depth backstory that details why he did what he did — a stark difference from our interactions with Todd.

What radicalized him? What job was he doing before he took a leave of absence and seemingly lost his mind? What is his goal for going after the governor and the president? What was the final straw for him? The number of unanswered questions doesn’t provide much hope for a well-thought-out ending that brings the story to a proper end.

Shifting the entire focus of the series three episodes before the finale feels like a cheap ploy to get an easy Season 2 renewal. However, what those in charge seemingly fail to realize is that an audience must care about these characters on some level, and as it stands, nothing is pulling us in.

After half-assing the end to Volchek’s storyline, what so far has indicated the series won’t do the same with Todd?

Volchek is the villain that should have made it to the finale. It could have ended with a cliffhanger, still leaving viewers on the edge of their seats, while also providing a fully fledged story.

Too Many Side-Characters

Whereas I’m usually an advocate for developing side characters and weaving them into the main storyline as much as possible, it isn’t needed on “This is His Signature.”

Shepherd’s interactions with Molly add nothing of substance to the overall story. Their interactions feel forced, as if they are meant to quickly settle the tension between them before the finale.

Not only that, but Shepherd’s actions toward her sister feel off. Anyone who has been contacting their sibling incessantly out of worry without an answer and then gets the opportunity to see them wouldn’t immediately chastise them.

Shepherd was genuinely worried about Molly when reaching out and getting dead silence, so there should’ve been at least a quick moment of her embracing and hugging Molly before grilling her.

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It would be lovely to say I have hope that the series can provide a satisfying conclusion with next week’s finale, but I’m preparing to be disappointed.

Stray Thoughts:

• For a biker bar, the crowd sure does scatter quickly for a measly couple of shots outside. Having been to multiple bars in the same scene and experienced something similar, it supplies a good chuckle because that hasn’t been my experience.
• The fact that we haven’t gotten one scene with Eric Dane in full combat feels like a waste. All he’s done throughout the season is stand around tossing orders and getting stabbed in an alley.

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What did you think of this episode of Countdown? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!

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Countdown is available to stream on Wednesdays on Prime Video.

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