Summary
It might have taken until the penultimate episode, but The Last Frontier has finally found the mode it operates best in, with “Converge” setting up an all-action finale.
Mileage may vary, but I think it has taken until Episode 9 for The Last Frontier to figure out the mode it operates best in. “Converge” is reminiscent of the premiere for sheer gonzo throwback action nonsense, the kind of thing that evokes the halcyon days of the ‘90s at the expense of common sense and the laws of physics. This show has really suffered whenever it has tried to be a serious conspiracy thriller. Putting all the pieces in play and just letting them slam into each other suits it.
After a torpid flashback episode explaining Sidney’s motivations, the appropriately-titled “Converge” picks up where we left off, with Sidney in the wind having tried to kill Havlock. Havlock’s in custody, but remaining characteristically tight-lipped, while Sidney is still calling Frank and giving him the “oops, my bad” treatment because the show still can’t decide whether it wants us to consider her a good guy or a villain. Frank’s not buying it, though – he’s pretty morally unswerving, that whole business about causing his own daughter’s death by bending the law notwithstanding, so his sole concern becomes apprehending Sidney as he promised to do if she ever endangered the lives of Fairbanks citizens.
Gotta admit, though, stripping back every other consideration to just focus on this manhunt makes the episode – which not coincidentally has a tight runtime of only 40 minutes – feel very refreshingly lean. We’ve had enough pensive conversations about loss while characters stare into the middle distance. Here, in the penultimate episode, we want chaos. And we get it.
It helps that Bradford is now in Alaska, having figured out that Havlock re-breached their network through the listening post to download a hard copy of Archive 6, which we now know Sidney is in possession of. Frank is still playing catch-up. Havlock has to explain to him that it was Sidney specifically, and not the CIA in general, who brought the plane down. He also has to clarify her motivations in exposing the CIA, or at least Bradford, for using Atwater Protocol assets without any oversight and having them murdered to cover her tracks.
This provides us with our general shape – Frank and Bradford are both going after Sidney, the latter to try and apprehend her on the grounds of moral righteousness, and the latter to kill her before she can reveal the truth about what was going on. It creates a lot of urgency around Sidney’s plight, and I think Haley Bennett is much better served here in Jason Bourne mode than she has been trying to play all coy about her true motivations. Sure, it might be a bit ridiculous that she can slap around multiple fully-grown men at once, but we’ve heard a lot of chatter about how she taught Havlock everything he knows. It doesn’t seem right that it’s only him who ever gets to use the things she supposedly taught him.
But this isn’t to say that Havlock is totally sidelined. This is because The Last Frontier Episode 9 is building to another predictable “big twist”, which requires that Havlock escape from custody by fashioning a hand grenade out of odds and ends he finds lying around. It’s truly ridiculous, but again, I kind of enjoy that. The complete abandonment of any pretence of realism is everywhere, and thank goodness for it. People literally teleport during the manhunt just so everyone’s in place for the grand finale. It’s hilarious, but I never once minded.
It’s the same with the action. We shouldn’t buy that Sidney is capable of half the things she does in this episode, just like we shouldn’t have bought Havlock surviving falling off a cliff, but we’ve also been waiting all season to see these characters let properly off the leash, so the payoff outweighs any other concerns. It did for me, anyway. As I said, mileage may vary.
Anyway, that twist. You can see it coming a mile away, and probably started suspecting it a few weeks ago, but here it is: Sidney and Havlock are working together. The whole escape thing has been a deliberate ploy to lure Bradford out into the open so that they can both ambush her at a hydroelectric dam, where they both arrive at the exact same time, where Bradford and her pet goons have also turned up at exactly the right moment. Frank spends most of “Converge” figuring this out step by step, largely for the audience’s benefit, as if we needed the help. Naturally, this plan doesn’t hold up to even the slightest amount of scrutiny, but you won’t see me complaining. It might have taken until the penultimate episode, but The Last Frontier has really found its feet. Now let’s just hope it sticks the landing.
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