As the third episode of The Lazarus Project begins, Janet (Vinette Robinson) takes a pregnancy test in 2017. She leaves the stall and tells Faye that everything is great. In the present day, Wes (Caroline Quentin) tells everyone about a group called The Lost Glory that will likely be in possession of Big Boy in the next few months. Rebrov has confirmed he was working with the group in Paris. Wes says a man named Virgil Isaacs has been the leader since 2015 and should know where to find Big Boy. Shiv (Rudi Dharmalingam) says they don’t have anything concrete from Rebrov, but Interpol has given them a lead on a possible base in the Czech Republic. George (Paapa Essiedu) approaches Archie (Anjli Mohindra) to say he wants in on this. He wants to be useful, but Archie claims he isn’t useful right now in the field.

Although she trusts him, she doesn’t want to rush him back. Rebrov (Tom Burke) tells George that they’re pseudo-fascists and libertarians that talk about freeing the people from the shackles. He calls them a nonsense group. When George talks about getting the bomb, Rebrov suggests the detonator is the key since the bomb isn’t going anywhere. George asks how he can get it. Rebrov can give him a contact who can make it for him. That person is just as likely to slit his throat and bury him in an unmarked grave though. Rebrov recommends writing a convincing message to The Lost Glory on their YouTube page to ensure Lazarus can’t reach them first. Rebrov gives him an address. When George gets there, he is supposed to tell her from him that “this couldn’t have gone any other way”.

George manages to send a message to The Lost Glory to warn them that their Czech hideout has been compromised. In 2017, Janet and Rebrov visit a doctor for an ultrasound. They learn they’re going to be having a little boy. Janet tells Archie about it later. Archie reminds her that she should’ve timed the conceptions just before the checkpoint, but Janet admits they didn’t plan it. Janet fully understands the risks. She has lost a pregnancy before saying she has been doing this longer than Archie. She is surprised to learn that Janet is due on July 1st. Archie wonders what happens if she has the baby early and they have to jump back 12 months. She suggests getting a termination and following protocol, but Janet isn’t going to do that. At home, George tells Sarah why he is packing and what he is going to do.

George heads to Barcelona after that. He goes to the address Rebrov gave him and knocks on the door which opens. Janet holds him a gunpoint as he tries to explain that Rebrov sent him. She asks how much trouble he is in so George begins telling her about his arrest. George learns that she was in Lazarus meaning she knows about the checkpoints. She is surprised Dennis didn’t mention that. Instead, Dennis told George that she was likely to slit his throat. George admits he needs her to make him a detonator before her daughter interrupts. Once the girl leaves, Janet holds onto her kitchen knife. She admits she hasn’t spoken to Dennis for a while, but they have messages that they pass on with different meanings. George repeats what Rebrov told him to before she asks him to stay for dinner.

In 2017, Janet tells Rebrov that she is spotting. They check with another doctor who insists everything is fine. Later, they receive a tip that a rogue state is going to sell chemical weapons to North Korea. They tell them about the bleed as they learn that Shiv is on the ground. Shiv watches as a car arrives and the target gets out. Once Shiv is given the green light, he shoots and kills the target. He goes for extraction. Janet gives birth to her baby two weeks before the checkpoint. Shiv arrives at the hospital to say they shot the wrong man because he uses decoys. It was an intel screw-up so they’re going back out there. He might’ve made the arms sale already and the North Korean thing could’ve been another decoy. They don’t’ know who has the weapons although they’re working on that.

George tries to find out more about Janet who isn’t eager to talk about herself. She doesn’t want to talk about the little girl either. Instead, they begin talking about her favorite football team. She doesn’t want to blow up the planet and won’t be the one pressing the button. George doesn’t want to blow the planet up either although he wants to turn back time. He suspects his name is Janet and admits Archie told him a lot about her. Janet doubts Archie told him everything. Two days before the checkpoint, Rebrov asks Janet if she wants to go for a walk.

She wants to know what is going on with the arms deal. She worries that this isn’t a “no news is good news” situation and that they could already be dead. As they argue about the situation, they hear the baby crying on the monitor. 19 hours before the checkpoint, Rebrov checks his phone and seems to find something. Janet tells George that it wasn’t Lazarus who told them. Instead, it was one of Dennis’s contacts at the CIA. He picked up wire reports of a detonation in China. They were just hours from the checkpoint and hours from their son being safe. They meet with Wes who tells them about a chemical weapons attack. Janet says it was just a rural area, but Wes reveals it is a Chinese military compound. The Chinese fleet has been made ready.

Intercepted communications between the Russians and Chinese prove they’re blaming the Americans. Wes is authorizing them to go back and nothing Janet says is going to change her mind. Rebrov says they don’t know how it is going to pan out, but Wes argues they don’t have time to wait and see. Wes ignores them before asking Faye to make the call. After time jumps back, Janet wakes up crying and telling Dennis that she wants to have a funeral for their baby boy. Shiv meets with them to say the intel pointed to that man being the target. Janet tells George that wasn’t the end of it by a long shot. She lets him sleep on the sofa and agrees to start work tomorrow. In the present, the Dane says Lima units are approaching the compound with an ETA of 20 minutes. Archie and the others approach the Lost Glory compound.

Archie tells Shiv that George seems better than he was. Shiv admits that is what concerns him. He argues that George wasn’t ready for Paris and isn’t ready for this. When Archie says he is wrong, Shiv hopes so. The compound is empty although Greta (Salome Gunnarsdottir) finds something. They take pictures of what appear to be maps on the wall in front of them. Even though George knows it wasn’t the same, he tells Janet that he lost a baby too. After he asks how she knows how to do that, she jokes she went to night classes. She is good with machines and understands how things work. Janet has an idea about the time loops although she hopes she is wrong. She is helping him because she owes Dennis who deserves better than being stuck in a Lazarus cell.

Janet explains that Dennis is hurting and people tend to lash out when they’re hurting. In the past, Rebrov returns home as Janet tells him that she went to the doctor and it worked. She is pregnant again. During the ultrasound, they learn that the baby is a girl this time. They make it to the next checkpoint day before Janet successfully gives birth to their baby girl. In the present, George tells Janet he doesn’t think she is getting a pension from Lazarus. She says she isn’t, but she manages to get by. After he says it was nice to get out and away from the nuclear detonator, she believes he likes making jokes about things. George reminds her of Rebrov who used to be very funny. George asks about the phrases they use and which one would’ve made her kill him on the spot. She says, “big plans are afoot” would’ve done it.

In the summer of 2018, Archie tells Rebrov about the fighter jet that got shot down and who is being blamed. It could snowball into something if they don’t step in to stop it, but they don’t think it’ll be a big deal. They briefly talk about the little one and Janet. Before long, Archie calls Rebrov to tell him that things are escalating. Since there is talk about a missile strike, there is a code black and he should talk to Janet. They go back in time and have another baby. Then, it happens again and again. Janet says they told her that she had a gift and could use it for good, but she thinks it is a nightmare.

As she went back, she could see that her daughter had it too. After they have to go back again, Rebrov tells the Lazarus Project team to get this done. Janet crashes her car in a tunnel before the bomb is dropped again. She admits neither of them could take it anymore in the end. Her daughter was ripped from inside her again and again. For the longest time, she truly believed it would never end. Once Ross is killed, Archie tries to convince the others that they have to try again. Wes says the opposition is making progress so the mission worked. Dennis visits Wes and tells Faye she can stay. He tells Wes he wants to see the machine, but she says there is no machine. He asks who she is calling so he can know who he is working for. Wes says he works for her and she is as high up the chain as he goes.

She tells him to go home and rest. When someone barges in, Dennis shoots and kills him before saying the world wants to die. He doesn’t think they’re in control or get to decide when they live and die. He is going to stop Wes from playing God, destroy the machine, and let the world do what it wants to do. Although she says they’ve saved millions of lives, he says they were lives that weren’t meant to be saved. Wes is questioned about what she is willing to sacrifice. Dennis asks her to take him to the machine. When she says no, Rebrov immediately shoots Faye in the head. Shiv puts a gun to Rebrov’s head and tells him to drop his. Dennis throws him to the ground before running out of the room. Shiv chases him. While speeding down the road, Dennis calls Janet to apologize.

He tells her she needs to run. When she asks what he did, he says it isn’t what he did. It is what he is going to do. He plans on destroying them all. After he tells her he loves her, the call ends. Janet tells George it is done. George gets up in the morning and finds a gift from Janet who hopes he gets her back. The detonator is found inside the cookie tin. George sits down and prepares to trigger it.

 

The Lazarus Project Review

The third episode of The Lazarus Project was slightly improved over the last because there were fewer time jumps and less confusion. There is a solid idea with deep meaning beneath the surface so it is a shame that the execution isn’t good enough to adequately portray it. The first three episodes might’ve been better with fewer time jumps or less juggling of multiple times at once.

It is often difficult to imagine the characters as secret agents saving the world. The story and characters are surprisingly shallow because very little time has been dedicated to building them. Some of the characters have barely said two sentences while each episode seems to focus on a different couple. While some cast members have been solid, the acting is not a high point for The Lazarus Project.

The episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Lazarus Project can be found on Reel Mockery here. Would you like to support us? We’d appreciate it. Learn how to do so at this link.