Summary
More of the same from The Recruit, which is becoming rather formulaic now. The many moving parts are entertaining enough to keep viewers interested, and Meladze is an intriguing character, but this series has squandered its earlier buzz.
We recap the Netflix series The Recruit season 1, episode 5, “T.S.L.A.Y.P.,” which contains spoilers.
Owen (Noah Centineo) believes that his time with Meladze (Laura Haddock) is over, yet we all know that is not the case. In “T.S.L.A.Y.P.” (is anyone keeping up with these acronyms still?), Owen attempts to resign, hoping to avoid Meladze for the rest of his life, but he ends up further indebted to the agency and this criminal mastermind. It’s more of the same from The Recruit, as Owen juggles his work life, love life, and precious downtime with his flatmates, Hannah (Fivel Stewart) and Terence (Daniel Quincy Annoh). The series seems to be sticking to this formula for the foreseeable future now, squandering its earlier successes.
The Recruit season 1, episode 5 recap
Meladze opens the episode, returning to her old home and the scene of the crime. It’s an emotional return, but a short one at that. Meladze grabs her go-bag and escapes without a moment’s hesitation. She needs to drum up a small fortune if she is to return to Belarus safely. The criminal heads back to Phoenix to meet with the Spaniards. She wants to sell her safe-house business to them for 5 million, but they don’t trust her and try to kill her instead. Meladze realizes that she needs a go-between, a proxy that she can trust. I think Owen and Meladze are to be reunited once again.
Owen himself has no time to rest either. The Secret Service turns up on his doorstep and whisk him off to the White House. He meets Kevin Mills (David Denman), the chief of staff to the President, aka Not Bob. Owen asks if he was Meladze’s handler and he says that she is lying. Somehow, she got wind of his nickname. He wants Owen to find out who gave up his code name in the first place.
After his little trip to the White House, Owen returns to work. Nyland is over the moon with Owen’s latest successes and the lawyer is also in Amelia’s good books too. The couple organizes another date for that night. Violet and Lester are jealous of Owen’s beginner’s luck and fake congratulate the colleague. Owen has his fans and his enemies. Another rival is Dawn Gilbane, who doesn’t trust the newbie one bit. She tells Owen that Meladze has run away, but Owen won’t let her pin her failures on him anymore.
Meladze phones Owen up, demanding he comes to her aid once again. Owen refuses, but he knows Nyland will want him to chase up on her anyway. He goes to Janus for advice on resigning. Janus says you can’t just leave, you’re stuck here forever. You have to finish all your assignments, but they are never-ending and once you do leave, you become a scapegoat anyway. Owen drags himself to Nyland’s office. He’s tasked with bringing Meladze back, without any drama. Gilbane sends one of her goons to check up on him.
The dynamic duo is reunited once more. Meladze orders Owen to book them into an expensive suite and Owen refuses. Meladze gets her way in the end though. She is, after all, the most valuable asset, with the darkest secrets and the know-how. Gilbane’s goon photographs them booking a room together. Gilbane thinks they’re sleeping together and Meladze apparently wants this to become a reality. She propositions Owen, who continually declines her invitations.
After many flirtations, they decide to play a Q&A game. A truth for a truth. Meladze admits that she needs 5 million to return to Belarus and is selling her safe-house business to Talco’s cartel boss, Sandoval Luna. She had several handlers over the years but never met Not Bob. She loved her daughter, but that relationship ended in tragedy. In return, Owen explains why he became a lawyer and heavily implies that he’s still in love with Hannah.
Ending Explained
Speaking of Hannah, she has bailed Owen out and paid for his hotel room, but Meladze has gone wild, spending over three grand in one night. Hannah is rightfully furious and calls Owen up the next day, but Meladze answers the phone instead. She calls Hannah, “the one that got away”. Owen is also angry but at Meladze and her manipulative ways. He asks where she heard the name Not Bob? Of course, it was Xander who told her whilst he was drunk and bragging.
In the final scene, Meladze dresses Owen for the negotiation. He is to go in alone, Meladze doesn’t trust the Spaniards and worries they’d only try and kill her in person if she showed up. Owen meets with the Spanish criminals, who take him to meet their big boss himself.
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