LEGENDS Episode 103 "Lords of War" Summary & Brief Review

Official synopsis: Martin assumes the legend of Dante Auerbach, an international arms dealer known as the "Lord of War," in order to track the sale of VX gas and rescue kidnapped chemist Richard Hubbard. He makes contact with beautiful arms dealer Ana Paulanos, the right hand of a mysterious Chechen mobster known as "The Colonel." Martin develops a romantic entanglement with Ana as he gains The Colonel's trust - but does he trust him enough to trade him all the VX gas?
http://www.tntdrama.com/shows/legends/season-1/episode-3/lords-of-war.html

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

When we last saw him Richard the former Russian chemical engineer turned American chemistry teacher was dragging his heels at creating bad VX gas for the Chechen mobsters. As this episode opens, he is still stalling his captors in hopes of finding a lapse in attention in order to get his family out. He creates a distraction to try to do exactly that (I thought he should've melted the bad guy's face off) but his attempt fails.

Over at DCO (Division of Covert Operations), the team is preparing to support Martin Odum in his Dante Auerbach "Lord of War" legend. Crystal is still complaining about Martin's perceived unbalance, but neither her boss Gates nor the Big Boss Spiller feels he is unfit in the face of the big picture of city-wide annihilation and OK's Martin's cover continuation. Martin/Dante first goes to meet a guy Khalid in order to weasel info. He gets a lead, who turns out to be a Miss, not a Mister, Paulanos, Ana by name. Martin/Dante decides that the operation needs to have a closer look at her. He speaks to her at length. Deciding she is who they want to deal with, Martin/Dante also removes Ana's buyer from the picture and inserts himself. Later they find out Ana is their way to get to Yuri The Bad Chechen Colonel boss who has the VX gas.

There is also FBI Transportation Security agent Tony Rice, who won't let go of his suspicion that Martin had something to do with the Vet's death and that there is something fishy going on. He is told again to back off, both by his boss & by Martin's boss Gates.

Martin himself feels some more confusion in between his Dante forays, and goes to Sonya his ex-wife's house to ask some questions of her. She is concerned with his mental state. His son Aiden is glad to see him but disappointed again about weekend plans being canceled.

The DCO computer people finally get a signal that indicates where the VX gas and the kidnapped family might be. Crystal doesn't want to wait, heads the team that crashes the place, rescues the family, but... NO GAS.

In the meantime Martin/Dante is finally taken to meet Yuri, who doesn't quite believe his story about him being a buyer and asks him to test a chemical weapon product on a captive. Uh oh!

I think Dante is Martin's best legend yet! Dante Auerbach is everything I expected him to be, and I hope we see more of his slickness. Just #DontKillSeanBean!! As for the rest of the show, the plots in general, the other characters & such, I'm not so impressed. Exceptions are Mason Cook, who plays Martin's son Aiden Odum, I like the kid. I also like Morris Chestnut's Tony Rice, I could see him ending up as a partner to Martin if his inquiry doesn't go askew.

If you saw this episode of LEGENDS on TNT & liked it, please let them know what you thought in Survey #3: https://www.tvinnercircle.com/S.aspx?s=519&r=tSnpxI.exUy18h1JCV0O9w&a=957&fromdetect=1
More questions about feeling for show, characters etc. I wrote them a another book :)

Written by Donna DeBoer (@DRLDeBoer on Twitter)

LEGENDS Episode 102 "Chemistry" Summary & Brief Review

Official synopsis: When a high school chemistry teacher and his family are kidnapped, DCO takes the case because the teacher is a former chemical weapons engineer for the Russian Army, hidden by the CIA in the Witness Protection Program. Are the kidnappers using the teacher to manufacture VX gas? Martin, Crystal and Troy Buchannan go undercover to infiltrate the Chechen mob, rescue the family and stop the production of the deadly gas.http://www.tntdrama.com/shows/legends/season-1/episode-2/chemistry.html

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

In the opening scene we see the chemistry teacher and his family being kidnapped by rouge Chechen agents, who want him to manufacture VX gas, which can be used for chemical terrorist attacks. The teacher, a former Russian Army engineer, is an expert & why the DCO is called upon to act to stop these plans. This plot is unresolved in this episode, I assume it continues in the next.

At the end of the last episode, Martin Odum was left with the warning from a deceased homeless Vet that his own person was just another legend. As this episode opens, Martin is speaking with a mental health counselor, a mandatory procedure after exiting an undercover job. The counselor tries to draw Martin out, including about his family, but he insists that he is fine. He later goes out with his son Aiden & tries to patch up their relationship, and that with his ex-wife Sonya.

Martin also asks after deceased co-worked & friend Bobby. When confronted with the dead Vet's file, which was retrieved from Bobby's apartment, Martin decides to tell his boss Nelson Gates what the man said about him not really being Martin, but kind of blows it off as the ravings of a crazy man. Yet there is other suspicion in the office: after Martin asks agent Tony Banks in the Surveillance department for some help with identifying the Vet, he wants to investigate Martin because the video revealed Martin was the last person to see him alive. He is ordered not to do it, but puts a tail on Martin anyway. He has to dodge it.

Martin, Crystal and Troy Buchannan do go undercover at a club in order to infiltrate the Chechen mob & find out where the chemistry teacher & his family are, but the cover is blown, bad things happen, the operation is busted wide open & terribly, Troy pays the ultimate price.

This is devastating to the team, especially Crystal, but the teacher & family are still in trouble and the bad guys are still at large. Martin tells his boss Gates that a bigger bait fish is needed to catch them- the legend, Dante Auerbach, nicknamed "Lord of War."

What interested me most about this episode is that Martin himself is now under investigation and we don't know what will be uncovered, but any info that is found is just as important to Martin as they are to the bureau! I'm keenly interested in this puzzle. Next episode reveals another legend who looks like a real piece of work. Bring 'em on, just #DontKillSeanBean!!

If you saw this episode of LEGENDS on TNT & liked it, please let them know what you thought in Survey #2:  https://www.tvinnercircle.com/S.aspx?s=515&r=ZyrRLUBCi0mHd_M_WwgrDA&a=945&fromdetect=1
 There are different questions about Sean's character, feeling for show, etc. I wrote them a book :)

Written by Donna DeBoer (@DRLDeBoer on Twitter)

LEGENDS Episode 101 "Pilot" Summary & Brief Review

Official synopsis: Martin Odum has the uncanny ability to transform himself into a completely different person for each job. But he begins to question his own identity when a mysterious stranger suggests that Martin isn't the man he believes himself to be.
http://www.tntdrama.com/shows/legends/season-1/episode-1/pilot.html

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

The episode opens with shots of terrorist damage 9 months previously & then switches to Martin Odum now working as legend cover Lincoln Dittmann in the camp of white supremacists in Virginia who had done the terrorist acts. He was embedded there by the FBI to meet their leader & arrest him, but had had no luck for 6 previous months until he was called in to talk to the boss there. He was about to get the meeting until an unplanned raid by another government agency almost blew his cover & that of an informer also in the camp. Martin barely escaped an explosion, was angry about that & his nearly blown cover, protested loudly to his boss when he went in to his office to report the situation & ask to salvage it. In the office his old boss Crystal (Ali Larter) didn't want him to continue on the job because she thought he was unstable, but she got overruled.

In between all this, we meet Martin's son & ex-wife, the son misses Martin & he's apologetic for not spending more time with his son. He promises to get him Chinese food. Later we see Martin about to buy Chinese take away from the restaurant below his apartment when he sees a man he'd seen before, who had warned him that someone didn't want him to know that he, Martin Odum, was also a legend. Martin can't make sense of this right now, and gets on with his undercover job as Lincoln Dittmann.

Dittmann is instructed to meet the white supremest terrorist "Founding Father" boss in Chicago, and so he goes there. His office technical team spends some time bulking up Dittmann's legend with computer records to support his story for any background checks that will be run. They almost botch it up by misspelling "Dittman." Two N's! Dittmann meets his contact in a strip club, but then his FBI team are suspicious when they lose contact with the previous informer, fearing something bad has happened to him. It did. Crystal then goes undercover fast to bail Dittmann out, and they barely get away with the operation still intact. They regroup & send Dittmann in to the meeting with a wire so the team can listen in & provide backup. Martin, as Dittmann, doesn't like what the terrorist boss tells him, and while he is trying to figure out how to stall for time, the FBI team's presence is blown by a stray radio transmission. Chaos ensues, and Martin calls the terrorist boss' bluff & saves them all from being blown up. The bad guys are arrested. Operation done.

Back at home, after debriefing, Martin drops by his support tech Bobby's house & finds out he's been killed, perhaps because of the info that Martin was having him dig for, to identify the man that had been following Martin. Now he's really worried & upset, agrees to meet the strange man when he calls again. And then that man is killed in front of him on the train platform, still leaving him with with the question, "Who is Martin Odum?"

What I enjoyed most about this series debut episode, besides Sean's fantastic multiple performances obviously, is the suggestion that Martin Odum, the supposed "real person," may be just another legend. I think this is complicated by the presence of his son & ex-wife, with whom I assume he has a lengthy history. Or does he? Are they part of the implied lie? A mystery I am eager to follow each week as more puzzle pieces are revealed along with more of Martin's "legends" for his covert jobs. All I ask at the end of the 10 episodes of series 1 is: #DontKillSeanBean!!

If you saw LEGENDS on TNT & liked it, please let them know what you thought in this survey: 
http://spr.ly/6184mFie  There are questions about Sean's character, feeling for show, etc.

Written by Donna DeBoer (@DRLDeBoer on Twitter)