My Own Worst Enemy: Down Rio Way

I wouldn’t classify this week’s episode of My Own Worst Enemy as a bad episode.  It was somewhere in between Get Smart and the last installment of The Matrix.  A prime piece of mystery, intrigue and danger?  No, however, I was at least entertained.  Knowing the show is doomed, there’s no need to become more invested as its numbers dwindle in both ratings and episodes.

The biggest problem for MOWE is the lack of consistency.  They never seemed to plot out a typical show or trajectory and how to tackle larger storylines as opposed to stand alone missions.  The one thing the writers did wrap their brains around is the time element.  Most episodes begin by showing us something fairly recent, backtracking to the past to set us up and then resolving the issue in the present.  While a generic idea, it serves this medium well.  However, storylines like Edward avenging his parents are built up and then dealt with so quickly that the viewer can’t help but feel a little disappointed, as I did tonight.

Edward has gone rogue again.  We are clued in to the fact that Edward’s father was extremely close to Trumble before his death.  He confronts Trumble by stealing his car at gunpoint and interrogating him about the true story.  Although, Trumble doesn’t concede, it’s easy to see that Edward isn’t buying his lame excuses one bit.

In a flashback, Edward’s in military attire (and looking very sexy), and Trumble gives him information on the KGB story of his family’s death.  We even see Trumble next to him at his parent’s funeral, so Trumble reeled him in to his ranks through their deaths and now we see why Edward feels so betrayed.

With Yuri’s tip, Edward goes to take out his parent’s supposed killer.  However, when he gets the opportunity, he learns that this is a killer but not THE killer.  Instead, the man fesses up to killing Yuri’s father.  Edward leans on Norah to confirm this and, with no purpose to kill the man, leaves him alive.  He, then, asks her for information on Yuri’s whereabouts.  When he’s found in Bulgaria, Edward kills him without a second thought.  (It didn’t help that Yuri showed no remorse in using him.)

Luckily our usual Henry/Edward switch doesn’t happen until Edward’s back in the U.S.  Mavis updates Henry on what’s gone on and how to proceed in meeting with Trumble.  The Big Man is at ease for having been held up by one of his operatives earlier and accepts Henry/Edward’s apology.  He also wants to make up for lying to Edward, so he gives up his parent’s killer as Garza, the man’s schedule, a plane ticket to Rio and allows him time off (Don’t you love that?  An assassination vacation!) so that he can take him out.

Things don’t go as planned when Edward never kicks in before, on the way or in Rio.  Henry flips, having to use a gun, let alone kill a man.  The stakes are even higher knowing who Garza is and how important this is to Edward.  He, also, knows that if he returns without a kill, Trumble will know something is up.  He turns to Norah to help, but all she can do is tell him to wait and when the time comes, use his gun quickly and efficiently if he has to.  Henry, of course, can’t kill another human being.  The viewers are tricked for a moment when we see Henry’s visualization of shooting Garza square in the forehead, but he can’t bring himself to really pull the trigger.

Edward mulls over Henry’s recording, wondering where Edward was when he really needed to help himself.  (Sounds confusing, but you get it, right?) But out of nowhere, Garza arrives and begins to strangle Edward.  The man says Edward should have taken him out when he had the chance, but we know that our spy can get out of this situation.  He grabs (with much effort) a broken bottle and jams it into the man’s neck, killing him on the spot.  Mission accomplished again!

Everyone seems happy.  Edward has his revenge, Trumble has his best agent back, and Henry’s alive.  But in a final scene cliffhanger, we learn that the man Edward killed may have been just a setup for Trumble to get rid of a troublesome agent named Firefly.  Manipulation may be Trumble’s last name.

During the B & C Storylines:

B: Raymond has to help protect Tom’s identity by helping his wife deal with a potential hit and run.  Fortunately, she just can’t remember what really happened because she was suffering from PTSD (It’s sad that she may never get actual help for this condition!) and hit a man who was trying to rob her.  Raymond resolves the problem by tracking down the guy and retrieving the stolen jewelry.

C: Henry’s son Jack buys a fixer-upper at the behest of Edward.  When Henry disapproves of what he’s already okayed, both son and wife can’t believe the way he’s acting.  Of course, Dad of the Year always comes around by the episode’s end though.

Season 1, Episode 7: Down Rio Way (originally aired December 1, 2008)

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Photographs courtesy of NBC