The episode begins during the chaos at the protest. Kiki (Emele Ugavule) has been shot and Ned (Dan Spielman) attempts to record the event. Tahila (Annabelle Malaika Suess) is escorted home, while Ned and Meg (Ella Scott Lynch) remain behind. The couple finds Jan Roth (Anthony LaPaglia) comforting his wife. They attempt to encourage her to get up and walk, but she doesn’t have the energy. Kiki is instead carried to a vehicle and transport to the mine. There, Meg finds her clearance has been revoked. She pleads with her co-workers to let her inside, but they refuse. Without medical assistance, Kiki passes away in front of the gates to the mine. Back at home, Jesse (Ashley Zukerman) speaks with Tahlia. He attempts to comfort the girl in his own awkward way. She comments that Jan consistently calls Jesse a poor liar. Seconds later, the camera system alerts the couple to the others outside.

Tahila immediately asks about her mother after seeing Roth. He says nothing, as the young girl runs back inside. Ned quickly learns about Jesse opening the files and experimenting with the Kaspion Crawler. As Jesse explains the crawler to Jesse and Meg, Will (Nathan Lovejoy) tells Marina Baxter (Robyn Malcolm) about it as well. Jesse admits he has made a terrible mistake, by putting the program into Roth’s hands. Will tells Marina about Kiki being shot. Seconds later, Marina meets up with Neil (Andrew McFarlane), Nolan, and Lara (Sigrid Thornton). Neil explains how bad the situation is, while Marina blames herself for allowing Remsey (Greg Kapernick) to be returned. With the Helmston Mine’s camera spotting Roth, the detectives now have a starting point and make it clear they intend to send out teams to search for him.

Marina remains concerned about Rems, but Neil is only interested in getting the mine’s lease signed. After the meeting ends, Marina and Will speak about the dilemma. She admits she has gone against everything he has said. Nonetheless, Will seems adamant to continue serving her. When Marina returns to her office, she finds Nolan Daniels (Ben Oxenbould) waiting for her. Nolan admits not everything is making sense just yet. He gives her a card and tells her to get in touch with him later, if she needs anything. Meanwhile, Hani (Adele Perovic) pays a visit to her father, Nasim (Michael Denkha). Hani confesses her father was right all along and that being with Jesse is no good for her. However, Nasim has changed his mind. He insists he wouldn’t go to this extreme, unless he really loved her. Meg discovers her equipment missing. She becomes concerned that the pictures of Marcus are gone. Ned agrees to travel with her to visit her apartment.

Hani returns to headquarters and argues with Lara Dixon momentarily. Anton (Benjamin Hoetjes) remains mum. Hani quickly learns she has no choice, but to help. Ned and Meg watch as police officers leave Meg’s house with her equipment. Once the home is clear, they venture inside and find a total mess. Meg breaks down and believes the pictures are gone for good. Back at Jan’s place, Jesse contemplates taking the key and breaking into the server. He is nearly caught by Tahila, but manages to get the key. He offers to get the kid something to eat. She admits she could eat a banana. Jesse grabs one and notices Tahila is crying. Jan Roth walks down stairs just in time to see the girl hugging Jesse awkwardly. Once Ned returns to Jan’s place, he has a panic attack and flashbacks of the protest. He is carried inside and allowed to sit down. He tries to go to sleep, while Meg agrees to watch over him. During this time, Jesse speaks with Roth.

Roth finally admits he intends to create chaos with the Kaspion Crawler. He offers to help Jesse secure Nasim’s release. He also promises to get Jesse out of dodge, if he doesn’t want to be involved. However, he pleads with Jesse to allow him to use the Kaspion Crawler as he wishes. Jesse insists using the program with bad intentions would only hurt the wrong people. Moments later, Roth returns to Tahila, while Jesse returns the key. During this time, Ned has a nightmare. He tells Meg about it, while Jesse attempts to perfect his lying abilities. With Lara by her side, Hani sends another message to Jesse. He doesn’t respond. In the morning, Jesse lies to Ned about the key. Ned reveals to Meg that he has pictures of Marcus’ body. However, he will need someone to enter his house and get them. Despite some hesitancy, Ned contacts his father, David (Geoff Morrell).

Despite a few hiccups along the way, David manages to secure the pictures and send them to Ned. Meg and Ned scour through them seconds later. Ned notices that a truck from the mine is parked near Marcus’ dead body. Meg calls her contact at the mine and convinces him to help her obtain information. With his help, they manage to find out who was on duty at the time of Marcus’ death. The information is then passed along to Marina. And, she passes it along to Nolan. Marina also tells Nolan about her daughter’s university offer. She admits she believes they’re using it as blackmail against her. Seconds later, Will passes this same information to a journalist. He tells her to keep it on hand just in case. Hani speaks with Anton. She tells him she doesn’t know how he can work with Vertex. However, she admits she doesn’t know what she stands for now.

Jesse receives another message from Hani. He ignores them. Instead, he places a call to Lara. He convinces her to answer the call downstairs in the café. She follows his instructions. Lara quickly admits she wants to get her hands on the Kaspion Crawler. She promises to make the arrangement mutually beneficial. Jesse is forced to hang up when Tahlia enters and confesses her father is missing. Together, they manage to track him down. Roth thanks Jesse for last night and tells him to stay for Kiki’s funeral. Jesse agrees. During this time, Ned attempts to gain information about the mine worker. He learns that the mine is actually run by the same group Lara works for and therefore the man works for Lara. Meanwhile, Nolan meets with Daryl Burrows (Justin Cotta). He questions him about Marcus’ death. Burrows remains tightlipped. After Nolan leaves, he calls Marina and tells her they now need to wait and see if Burrows calls his boss.

And of course, Daryl quickly calls Lara and asks her about the detective’s inquiry. She manages to calm him down. After the call ends, she speaks with Buzby (Gig Clarke) and tries to convince him to delete certain files and pin it on Roth. Buzby doesn’t seem like to like the ideal. Nonetheless, Lara seems convinced he will follow her orders. Ned tells Meg that Vertex is widespread and that there are dozens of other Laras out there. Jan and Tahila prepare to leave. Jesse makes an excuse to return to the server room. The alarm system alerts him to multiple people outside. Cops begin to surround the property, while Jesse tries to break into the server cage. He manages to break in and grab the hard drive. He escapes just in time.

 

The Code Review

The 5th episode of The Code was very bleak, but also revealing. Jan actually handled Kiki’s death better than expected. Of course, the season isn’t over yet. He still has plenty of time to blow a gasket. Will finally showed his true colors and began the process of backstabbing Marina. Of course, she remains unaware of his true intentions. And, she has a plan of her own. She has worked with Nolan to investigate the murders on her own. Ned and Meg also continue to investigate, while Roth seems to have something more nefarious in mind.

And how about Jesse? He too seems to be working on his own to come up with a solution to their current problem. The finale will likely see these plans collide and we can only hope Ned, Jesse and the good guys make it out alive. A good episode. An 8 out of 10 is deserved. Catch up with previous recaps of The Code right now.