As the sixth episode of The Lazarus Project begins, George (Paapa Essiedu) rides with Rudy who wonders about George’s repetitive calls. George claims it is just work. He has a part-time thing since terrorism is just a side hustle. Rudy remembers George mentioning that some of the Lost Glory members were lost so he asks what happened to the others. George ignores another call from Archie (Anjli Mohindra) before asking Rudy if he knows about the Lazarus Project. Rudy knows they took down everyone from The Last Church of the Savior to The Black Glove. They claim you never hear them coming and they’re always one step ahead. Rudy hopes he never meets them. George tells him not to worry about that since there aren’t any Lazarus agents here.

Later, Rudy tells George that they’ll cross into Ruthenia in 45 minutes. They discuss getting to a built-up area as Rudy says Chenupol is about a two-hour drive from there. When George looks that up on his phone, Rudy accuses him of making this up as he goes. George doesn’t deny it. Rudy questions whether he is positive that nobody is on his tail, but George doesn’t think so. A car with four men follows them. We jump back 24 hours as Rudy and a group of men get out of a car, raid a house, and ask the caretaker where the bomb is. After roughing the man up a bit, Rudy tells Yuri (Tomi May) that they can’t sell the bomb without the detonator. Ruby is told the Glory will have the detonator. They just need to wait for them to show up and take it from them.

Rudy is told to give them a signal when he has vision of the detonator so they can move. In the present, Rudy asks George if he can see the detonator because he’d like to know that the man next to him at least has some idea of what he is doing. As George shows it to him, he explains that the bomb has an encrypted transmitted built into it. The detonator breaks down the encryption and talks to the bomb. It has a nine-digit kill switch code and a four-point dial system that has to be unlocked. Once he says he is the only one who can use it, the others contemplate torturing him for the codes. They can make it so George gives them to them willingly. He orders Rudy to continue with George’s plan. They’ll hijack him, incapacitate him, and make it seem like Rudy fought them off.

If he wants the bomb detonated, he’ll give Rudy the codes. If that doesn’t work, they can torture him. Archie (Anjli Mohindra) tries to call George again, but he doesn’t answer. Rudy asks George why he wants to blow up the bomb. George claims the Lost Glory is dedicated to acts of international anarchic disruption. Rudy has read the pamphlet and would prefer to know why George in particular is doing this. George is trying to save someone. He asks Rudy whether he believes doing one good thing can make the world a better place. Rudy supposes so. George suggests the effort of doing that one small thing would be worth it. He calls it a noble cause. Since Rudy is an arms dealer, he isn’t sure he is the right person to talk to about noble causes.

George asks if he has ever been in love. Rudy wonders what that has to do with setting off a warhead. George says everything since love is a nuclear bomb that goes off in your chest and irradiates your brain cells. He goes on to say you’d do anything to protect it and anything to get it back. Once George says he wants things to go back to the way they were, Rudy warns him that they will never go back to the way they were. George notices the car behind them before something goes wrong with the truck. George can’t believe they’ve broken down. He questions whether they should ask the guys in the other vehicle for help since they’ve been tailing them for long enough. George punches Rudy as a scuffle ensues. Then, George gets out of the truck and begins shooting the guys in the car behind him.

When they begin shooting back, George hides at the front of the truck. Rudy shoots George through the window as the bullet gets him in the shoulder. Once George crawls under the truck, Rudy yells that he is trapped and they just want the codes to the detonator. Another car arrives and distracts Yuri. George manages to shoot Rudy and the other guy moments later. After yelling to as why it has to be so difficult, George puts Rudy out of his misery. The truck won’t start so George begins arming the bomb in the middle of the road.

He drives away in one of the other vehicles. George calls Archie and pretends that he couldn’t get Shiv because he pulled a gun on him. He tells her about being shot before the call is ended. George gets out of the car and launches the bomb while watching a family drive by. Archie and the others learn about the bomb. As they learn more about the bomb, Wes (Caroline Quentin) says find out if Shiv or George are still alive and get them back here. Archie calls George who says the bomb went off and he is driving very fast away from it. He knows he is going to have a lot of questions to answer when he gets here. Although they’ve shut the airport, Archie manages to get George onto one of the last flights out. George says he screwed up, but Archie wants him to focus on getting home. He makes it to the airport and learns he is going to be on a plane with a band that will be playing in London.

After they learn he isn’t a narc, they agree to get out of there. The band and their friends party on the plane. George finds a private place and tries to deal with the wound on his shoulder. He takes one of the pills left by the band hoping it is codeine. He returns to his seat moments later. George imagines he is talking to Sarah (Charly Clive) in bed. He says it was a nightmare that he doesn’t remember before we see a bomb exploding outside the window. Sarah asks what he wants to do today. The building begins shaking as George remembers that he wanted to ask her something. He doesn’t get the chance before he wakes up when the plane lands in London. At the office, Archie and the others discuss the evidence they have right now suggesting Shiv might be connected to the detonation.

Wes won’t tell them where the intel is coming from just yet. Archie reveals that the body count is going to be low since the blast radius was mostly the countryside and a few suburbs. Big Boy would’ve been on a larger container so Wes wants information about missing lorries and 16-wheelers. George surprises Archie when he shows up a bit later. As she takes care of his shoulder, Wes enters to ask George to start from the beginning. He says he cracked the code of The Lost Glory maps. Although he tried to call, Shiv answered the phone. He told Shiv that he thought he might know where the bomb was. Shiv said he’d go check it out although George wanted to check himself. Wes and Archie aren’t impressed that he wanted to find the bomb and show everyone. George admits he got in over his head.

He claims Shiv must’ve tailed him from London. Once he caught up with him, Shiv pulled his gun. Shiv tells them that he ran away before going to where he thought the bomb might be. He caught glimpse of a car driving away and thought it might’ve been Shiv. He followed him and watched Shiv with a group of men around a covered lorry. He must’ve spotted George first because he shot him in the shoulder. He tried to follow him but couldn’t with an injured arm. George insists the bomb went off after that. When asked whether he talked to Shiv, George explains that he didn’t stop to chat. George shows them evidence proving Shiv has been sending money to Janet for years. Wes will have everything on his phone downloaded and checked out. She encourages him to tell her anything that could incriminate him because it’ll help his case.

George is adamant that he has nothing to hide. When they’re alone, George asks Archie about the body count which is around a couple of hundred for now. Archie tells him that Wes will talk to the Russian ambassador next. Russia has launched a nuclear arsenal against them three times, but Belov was smuggled out of the country prior to the strike each time. If Belov is at home, they’re likely not planning anything and the Lazarus Project won’t have to step in. Greta tells Wes she has looked at the information from Ryan and Shiv’s devices.

Wes says she needs to call Ryan’s family. Although she told Dennis he had a wife and child, she doesn’t know. Greta says he had a girlfriend and she put the number in there. Wes looks at the data and finds the portion where Shiv tells Rebrov about the “big plans are afoot” code. She goes to Rebrov (Tom Burke) to ask him the kill command. He tells her that it is “big plans are afoot”. He doesn’t think that is the news she was hoping for. Wes tells George to come with her. As they drive to the embassy, she tells George about meeting Shiv as a teenager. She wonders if they would’ve recruited him if he wasn’t born with the gift although he is a better agent than The Dane. He is better than Greta and Archie. They can forget what they do for five minutes and live in the world while Shiv cannot.

When asked why he is here, Wes says you can sometimes stop a war with a conversation instead of a gun. She believes that is a lesson he needs to learn. They meet with Ambassador Belov. Wes tells her that they don’t think they’re under attack even though Belov isn’t sure about that. They know that the bomb was one of theirs and was stolen by a militia group earlier this year. Wes admits they just want to know what Russia will do next. Belov asks what she thinks they’ll do. They’re doing what everyone else is doing and that is trying to work out who is behind it. Wes says none of the information they have suggests it was done in an official capacity. Belov mocks her by asking if she means the bomb wasn’t dropped from a plane with a fluttering Stars and Stripes flag sticking out the back. That doesn’t mean their enemies aren’t involved. Wes argues that the Americans aren’t going to start a war with them.

Belov tells them that Russia doesn’t wake up every day looking for excuses to start a war. Once she says their Northern fleet is in battle formation in the Bering Sea, George says it wasn’t this morning. Belov says the bomb went off in the middle of nowhere so they’re asking which direction it was heading. Belov tells them there will be not a warning before Russia bites. In the car, Wes tells George that she wouldn’t take the time to talk to them if something was about to kick off. She doesn’t think her son and husband would be here either. George gets angry back at the office since his plan isn’t working. He calls Belov to tell her there is the body of a British agent in the boot of a blue Fiat by a farmhouse a few miles north of Brasov, Romania. The house was being used as a base by the arms dealers who stole the bomb. He claims the detonation was coordinated by a task force.

She is warned that more attacks are being planned as an aggressive push to weaken Russia’s hold. The American fleets are moved into the Sea of Japan so they want Admiral Amos patched through to Wes’s office. George continues trying to convince Belov to react to the bomb. Once he steps outside, he remembers everything that has happened. George goes back to the embassy to see Belov. She confirms they found the body in the car and would like to take him to Moscow. George argues that she needs to strike first, but she admits she doesn’t make that decision. She knew Shiv although she doesn’t know George at all. He tells her that there are multiple attacks planned to weaken their defenses. When she asks who, he pulls the gun on her and shoots her in the shoulder. Then, he kills five security guards before returning to Belov and shooting her.

He kills her husband. As for the son, George forces him to press the panic button. Once he returns to the office, he hears Blake (Lorn Macdonald) saying there is a missile launch and troops are crossing the border. Wes confirms they’re going to reset the clock. She reminds everyone that they’ll lose Rebrov who will wake up in Paris. The moment they open their eyes at the checkpoint they should move on Shiv’s location. Wes wants him brought in instead of being hurt. The clock will go back in one minute. George wakes up in Sarah’s arms within seconds. Shiv wakes up and curses George when he remembers being shot by him.

He grabs the gun nearby and goes after him. Rebrov says he hopes George is already running.

 

The Lazarus Project Review

Although The Lazarus Project is a good time killer, it is hard to call it anything other than B-level television. There is nothing about the show that makes it stand out from recent time-traveling alternatives many of which were significantly better. It likely would’ve been more impactful had it been five or six episodes because it would’ve got to the actions much sooner.

As the series continues, the main character’s decisions are beginning to leave more questions than answers. George saw what had happened to Rebrov and knew Shiv would be coming back to life once he successfully reset time. Shiv pretty much told him that he’d be coming for him, but George refused to heed the warning. Viewers will likely see this coming from a mile away.

The episode needed more light in the earlier scenes as you could barely see anything in the truck, car, and shooting scenes. This episode and the last one or two had moments where the viewer has to ignore reality. Otherwise, the episode set up the next one exceptionally well. It scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of The Lazarus Project can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work by following this link.