LEGENDS Episode 203 "The Legend of Curtis Ballard" Summary & Brief Review

Official synopsis: It's a race against time as Martin searches for Kate in Paris. He's convinced the peaceful protest she's attending may turn violent at the hands of her friend Ifti, a boy with radical beliefs. In 2001 Prague, Dmitry discovers that the key to getting close to Doku Zakayev (Visar Vishka) may not be his brother Tamir (Nikola Djuricko), but instead Doku's wife, Ilyana. In 1991 Lithuania, a younger Ballard is involved in an incident that will affect the rest of his life.
http://www.tntdrama.com/shows/legends/season-2/episode-3/the-legend-of-curtis-ballard.html

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Because of the unplanned delay of this episode due to the nature of its content in relation to the real tragedy of terrorist attacks in Paris, it's been 2 weeks since episode 2, so let's recap what is happening with Martin in the present time. He has discovered he had a relationship with a young woman, Kate Crawford, that began years ago when Martin, an MI6 agent posing as Russian mobster Dmitry Petrovich, was in pursuit of a war criminal general, believed to have ties to Chechen gangster Doku Zakayev. Martin had decided to befriend Kate's mother Ilyana in order to get inside Doku's organisation. After getting nowhere with Ilyana in the present, he connected with Kate, and in the process, found her mixed up with young Muslim students planning to do violence at a peaceful protest in Paris. Martin feared she could get hurt so he asked his former partner Tony Rice for help getting into France. However, Tony's MI6 & CIA contacts aren't happy about that, especially when the tip he gave them about a terrorist didn't pan out.

Episode 3 opens with Martin & Tony successfully getting into France and are on the way to Paris when they are intercepted by French police. They ditch one car for another, do some fancy driving and avoid capture. But then Tony decides to split up, let Martin get to Paris alone while Tony draws attention.

In Paris, Martin quickly finds the address he found in Ifti's apartment and tells Ifti's parents that he is her stepfather and that Ifti plans some kind of violence, to call police. Ifti's father goes with Martin to the square where the protest is taking place, but they are too late. Just as Martin reaches Kate, Ifti opens fire on the crowd, people are hit, and he is killed by return fire from police. Kate is wounded and Martin hastens to get her away from the terrible scene before the police can act.

Other flashbacks depict how "Dmitry" and his MI6 handler Graves made more surveillance plans and how Dmitry acted to befriend Ilyana and her little girl Katya, who is present day Kate.

The remainder of this episode focused on the origins of titular Curtis Ballard, the FBI agent that chased Dmitry and is now chasing Martin. Curtis was shown as a teen employed in Lithuania as a Mormon missionary, and not too happy about it. One rebellious act after another led to a tragedy: his friend was killed in a dispute over paying whores. It was that act that decided Curtis on a path to law enforcement & the FBI, He wanted to make a difference now, in this life.

The depiction of shooting violence on a peaceful crowd was very graphic, and I fully understand why TNT chose to delay the broadcast of this episode. My deepest condolences to terrorist victims' families.
But I also think it's important for people to see how such violence can happen, why one must be vigilant of surroundings. I continue to enjoy Sean's depth of character with Dmitry and Martin, and now I see why sticking with just 2 legends in Series 2 was a good idea. I've seen some dissatisfaction with the rapid jumping of timelines, but I've been able to track all the people and Martin's just fine so far. For example, Gabi's current husband was her superior in the past, and is also in with Doku's mob.

#DONTKILLSEANBEAN off of TV!!
Written by Donna DeBoer (@DRLDeBoer on Twitter)

LEGENDS Episode 202 "The Legend of Kate Crawford" Summary & Brief Review

Official synopsis: In present day London, Martin is finally able to make contact with Ilyana Crawford (Klara Issova), a woman who may be linked to his past. Unable to get answers from her, he turns to her teenage daughter, Kate (Aisling Franciosi), who is in search of her own identity. In 2001 Prague, Dmitry is on a mission to locate a wanted war criminal believed to be connected to the Chechen gangsters. But Dmitry's handler is concerned that his infiltration techniques may be crossing the line.
http://www.tntdrama.com/shows/legends/season-2/episode-2/the-legend-of-kate-crawford.html

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

In the present time, Martin got away from the police and was finally able to confront Ilyana Crawford, the woman who recognised him as Dmitry at the Russian market and is the mother of Kate, the young woman whom Martin thinks he remembers being with when she was a little girl. But Ilyana was frightened, told him to leave & never come back.

Distressed, Martin tells Tony that he's going to have to make contact with Kate, to try and get some more answers. Tony isn't so sure that's a good idea, but Martin goes ahead & does it. They speak, Kate eventually tells Martin that she loved Dmitry when he was with her as a little girl, and hugs him.

Martin wants to meet her again to look at photos, try to jog his memory, but then he finds out she's in with some young radical Muslim people, who apparently plan to do violence at a peaceful protest in Paris. His attempt to stop her failed. Martin is desperate to reach her before she gets there, asks for Tony's help once again.

In the 2001 scenes, Dmitry is shown as a successful businessman but the FBI & Czech Police are still investigating him after finding the body of his "associate." It's revealed that "Dmitry" is indeed a legend, and his MI6 bureau contact (the old man Graves whom Martin visited in the present) is concerned that he is pushing things too far outside the law for their investigation into a Chechen general wanted as a war criminal. Doku Zakayev is their link & Dmitry acts to protect his contact, Doku's brother, to get trust & further access into their mobster organisation.

In both the present & 2001, FBI agent Curtis Ballard pursues leads on "Dmitry." In the present he tells his former Czech Police contact Gabi that he thinks Martin is their missing link, and what crime he did when in America. She thinks Curtis should leave things alone, since the case was no longer official, but because of his own issues, he can't do that. But there is trouble waiting for him also.
In the 1975 scenes with "young Odum," he is again shown at The Sedley School, being taught another harsh lesson in life by the headmaster who favours him because he believes "Martin" has what it takes to be loyal to an institution rather than friends.

The episode ends in the present with Tony telling Martin he made a deal for him with MI6, to protect him from the FBI. But Martin doesn't want to hear it. He feels he needs to help Kate, has a responsibility to protect his "children."
"If I can't be there for Aiden, I'm sure I'm gunna show up for this girl!" Martin declares.
Then Tony helps by hiding him in the car boot to smuggle him into France.

Dmitry is another one of Sean's best characters yet! Love that Sean got major input into how the personality was developed & that in his own way, Dmitry is a good man. I have always liked Tony Rice, I really like Kate, too, and I'm finding empathy with Ballard, that he was put in such a bad position by his department. Not sure yet what to make of the "young Odum" scenes but it is plausible.
#DONTKILLSEANBEAN off of TV!!

Written by Donna DeBoer (@DRLDeBoer on Twitter)

LEGENDS Episode 201 "The Legend of Dmitry Petrovich" Summary & Brief Review

Official synopsis: As the new season of this totally re-imagined show opens, Martin Odum (Sean Bean) is a fugitive, hiding out in present day London and wanted by the FBI for a crime he did not commit. He can't remember his life prior to an injury he suffered in the Iraq War, so he's searching for clues about his true identity with the help of CIA agent Nina Brenner (Kelly Overton). Meanwhile, in 2001, FBI agent Curtis Ballard (Steve Kazee) and his Czech Police partner, Gabi Miskova (Winter Ave Zoli), launch an investigation into a Russian gangster named Dmitry.
http://www.tntdrama.com/shows/legends/season-2/episode-1/the-legend-of-dmitry-petrovich.html

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

First off, I totally disagree that Series 2 is a reboot or re-imagination. It is a direct continuation of the story started in Series 1, except instead of being completely in the present day, it showcases 3 different time-frames: present day, 2001, and 1975.

These recaps will focus mainly on Sean Bean's legends & his interactions with other characters.

"Lies and bullshit. That's what my whole life's become. Maybe that's all it ever was." - Martin Odum

Basically, the story picks up where we left off, with Martin, who is blamed for the murder of the US FBI Director and is on the run in Europe, picking up what work he can. He is still puzzling the bits about him being the legend John Cameron, the Iraq war veteran duped & framed by Verax Corporation, who orchestrated the murder for which Martin is blamed.

Now in London, Martin still doesn't know who he really is, but at least he knows who his friends are, which includes a brief intimate liaison with the friendly cafe server and one lone FBI agent, his former partner Tony Rice (Morris Chestnut). Tony also believes Martin was framed when he was John Cameron (reported deceased), and that they need to follow that clue. Martin also asks about his family (wife Sonya & son Aiden from S1); Tony tells Martin that they were safe.

What this episode begins to dovetail in Series 2 and connect back to Martin in Series 1 is his time before Cameron's 2004 tour in Iraq, specifically 2001 when his legend in Europe was a Russian gangster named Dmitry Petrovich and he was being investigated by both the FBI- in particular, Agent Curtis Ballard- and the Czech National Police. In the present time, Ballard recognises John Cameron as Petrovich, and decides to take matters into his own hands, goes to Prague.

Another timeline in this episode is 1975 and begins by showing a lad at exclusive prep The Sedley School, in a situation where he is defying the schoolmaster and punished for it. It is suggested that this is young "Martin Odum" but his real name is not (yet) revealed.

In the present, Martin traces the Cameron lead to an old man who was being visited by a woman who had collected Cameron's benefits. But when he follows her to a Russian shop, she recognises him as Dmitry!
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#DONTKILLSEANBEAN still going strong!! Pretty exciting & intense start. I like all the new characters so far, they are interesting. Where is this all going now, with Martin's connection to the woman? Will Tony be able to help him?

TNT has a Brand New LEGENDS S2 survey! If you saw this episode & liked it, please let them know what you thought in Survey #1:  https://www.tvinnercircle.com/S.aspx?s=642&r=aC3RH64uu0qm9wa7O4XR3O&so=true&a=1281&fromdetect=1

Wasn't it really great to see Sean's producer credit? It was long overdue!

Written by Donna DeBoer (@DRLDeBoer on Twitter)