Episode: Human Target 2.08 – “Communication Breakdown”
Original Air Date: January 5, 2011
Screencaps from midnight_road.
Now it’s time for everyone to do some bonding.
Picking up from the tail of the previous episode, Chance and Ilsa board the plane to have their discussion, with Ilsa repeating to Chance that he’s fired and telling him that the others all signed contracts that legally bind them to work for her. As Chance and Ilsa’s plane is shot down in the jungles of South America, Winston, Guerrero, and Ames have to deal with a client whose pursuers are infiltrating the office. Harry, a private investigator that (as far as I know) has never been seen on the show before but with whom Winston and Guerrero are familiar, comes looking for Chance’s help and brings several menacing guys in his wake.
Back on the plane, Ilsa panics over the situation while Chance shows her why he’s the best at what he does, escaping into the jungle only to be pursued by Hector Lopez. Of course, you have the mandatory “we-hate-each-other-but-in-this-scenario-we-finally-start-understanding-each-other” moments. These of course include wrong assumptions about each other’s life, one or both people almost dying, and both persons butting heads over their different views on life.
Meanwhile, back at the office, the goons pursuing Harry manage to break into the building as Winston and Guerrero argue over a situation that happened in Bangkok. Seems like at some point years ago, the two had to make it through a situation without Chance, and neither one remembers exactly who saved the other.
As Chance and Ilsa attempt to protect themselves, Chance goes onto the roof of the cabin in which they’ve been hiding to boost an antenna signal and leaves Ilsa with a gun that has only two rounds, telling her to “make the first one count.” That night, Hector breaks in and assaults Ilsa before Chance fights him off, being temporarily blinded in the process. After this, they flee the cabin and head back into the jungle. Another run-in with Lopez leads to Chance stabbing him, causing Lopez to fall out of the picture. Chance and Ilsa then make up, with Chance telling Ilsa that once you kill someone, it takes a part of you forever. Without further pursuit, they get home to San Francisco easily.
At the office, the goons attempt to use the building’s gas to flush Winston, Guerrero, and Harry out, but are foiled by Ames, the one person free to roam the building without the goons’ knowledge. She fixes the gas leak and the four of them prepare to take the goons head-on. Winston and Guerrero then remember it was actually Chance who saved them back in Bangkok right before they attack the goons, and then Chance comes along to save them yet again.
However, this isn’t the end of the story. On returning to her apartment, Ilsa finds Lopez waiting for her. Lopez makes her call Chance, who immediately starts running to save her. However, in the meantime, Ilsa and Lopez struggle as he tries to kill her, and Chance arrives shortly after hearing a gunshot. Lopez stands up over Ilsa’s prone body, but the telltale bloodspot growing on his shirt tells Chance that Lopez is not the winner. As Ilsa sits up, shaken, Chance knows she understands what he meant earlier and he goes to comfort her.
This was nice to watch, though it definitely had some clichéd moments with Chance and Ilsa not being able to get along with each other but, once they are thrown into a dangerous situation, coming to a better understanding. The subplot with everyone else wasn’t that terribly interesting, partly because you never feel like anyone is really in danger. Basically, compared to last week, this episode was a little weak and formulaic, and certainly not the best they’ve produced this season.
Rating: 2.5 / 5 Stars
About the Author
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has this to say about John Rabon:
John got started on the path to geekdom thanks to his brother's collection of comic books and Star Wars toys but was cemented into the geek class forever when LeVar Burton took Reading Rainbow viewers on a backstage tour of Star Trek: The Next Generation. A love of Monty Python soon followed, and it wasn't long before he was starting to collect his own comics. The rest, as they say, is history. But really, who are they to say something?
Since discovering the BBC some years ago, John has become an obsessive Anglophile. In fact, he even likes the food they serve over there! As such, some of his favourite programmes include: Doctor Who, Primeval, Coupling, QI, The Mighty Boosh, The IT Crowd, and Shaun the Sheep.
Upon choosing a university, John enrolled in the University of South Carolina, which was nice enough to give him a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a Master's in Teaching. Feeling that he hadn't been put through enough academic torment with student teaching, John decided to enroll in law school at Campbell University.
Hobbies, when he can find time for them, include: writing, video games, reading, and wasting time in the pub.