Summary
The Night Agent Season 3 delivers its best action sequence yet in “Lockstep”, and fills in some key blanks, setting up a blockbuster finale.
The Night Agent hasn’t skimped on fun action sequences in Season 3, but Episode 9, “Lockstep”, has the best one yet. It also includes my favourite use of editing in the show thus far, but that sounds like a really obnoxious critic thing to say, so I won’t harp on about it. Still, though. It’s really good, and a great reiteration of the penultimate chapter’s underlying theme of double-team collusion.
Yes, even though it seemed very much like Jenny Hagan was the real guilty party in the First Family, it turns out her husband is similarly lapsed. He might not have been in on the whole thing from the start, but now he knows what’s what, he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. And he has his pet assassins to help him.
A Moment of Clarity
“Lockstep” opens by revealing precisely how Jenny Hagan got in bed – figuratively speaking – with Jacob Monroe. It was simple enough. Her husband’s presidential campaign wasn’t going well, and the only way to get it back on track was through a hefty injection of finances. Monroe was willing to provide that.
The offer came with strings, though. These included using Jenny’s charity to launder money. Later, once the First Family was embedded, Jacob wanted a look at the President’s daily briefings. Jenny thought it was worth it. And she’d do it again if it came to that.
Now President Hagan knows the score, though, and he’s cleaning house. As predicted, it was he who instructed Adam to kill Jacob. And there are still some other loose ends to tie up.
Chelsea Is In Town
Knowing she’s part of a frame-up, Chelsea has arrived in New York to link up with Peter, but since he has barely escaped from the Father and needed to check in with Adam, who sells him a load of lies about Jacob’s supposed “suicide”, it’s Isabel she finds in Peter’s apartment. Isabel’s reluctant to open the door at first, but the mention of Corepoint gets her going.
With Chelsea’s confirmation that Jacob was closely acquainted with the Hagans, she and Isabel are able to put most of the pieces together. But they need the smoking gun, which is Jacob’s cloud database of kompromat, but it’s locked behind incredibly sophisticated encryption only decipherable with the help of Jacob’s Grimm’s Fairytales misprint.
Luckily, Peter shows up with the book in question, but also with the bad news that Jacob took his own life. These three have just enough information to be going on with – and to be understandably wary of Adam – but are just missing the key details that’ll connect the remaining dots.
The Hagans Are in Lockstep
The title of this penultimate episode refers to the Hagans being on the same page, which is quite a thing to see. With the president now aware that Jenny was sending Jacob the daily briefings through Brian, it’s time for some damage control. As well as having Adam kill people off, this also consists of thoroughly discrediting Chelsea.
Seeing the Hagans play the White House staff is very fun. It’s immediately obvious how these two would have gotten to their respective positions. They’re slick, charming, and totally on the same page. Their gambit largely works. The only obstacle they have, somewhat unexpectedly, is Theo. As much as I mistrusted him earlier, he seems to have Chelsea’s best interests at heart. He realises that a fake narrative is being pushed, and immediately starts trying to kill the story.
Jay Is Back In Action
After being AWOL for a while, Jay finally returns to the forefront in The Night Agent Season 3, Episode 9. He pretends to be trying to discharge himself from the hospital to attract Peter, since he has some more information to share. There has been even more recent activity in the LFS crypto wallet, including a big withdrawal from an ATM in New Jersey. Peter, Chelsea, and Adam chase the lead down, while Isabel and Jay try to crack the encryption on Jacob’s files.
The dock action sequence is the best of the season thus far. The LFS is loading trucks full of Semtex with plans to detonate them on the Brooklyn Bridge, in Times Square, and by the Empire State Building. There’s a shootout, a chase, and an underwater fistfight before all is said and done. Chelsea saves Adam’s life, and Peter once again just about survives by the skin of his teeth.
And in other good news, Jay and Isabel crack the code. It was where Jacob took Sofia on their first date. Isabel isn’t falling for the sentimentality, but I thought it was sweet.
Hagan’s Final Play
Peter and co.’s victory is short-lived. President Hagan authorises a strike on Zapata’s hiding spot, taking him off the board and giving him a big political victory to gloat about. He also tasks Adam with killing Chelsea, since she clearly knows too much and won’t be dissuaded from sharing it. He’s reluctant, but Adam still fundamentally trusts his old friend, so he goes along with it.
Luckily, Chelsea realises that something is amiss thanks to Theo, and pings Peter her location. While he’s in pursuit, though, he receives a call from President Hagan, who tries to stand him down. But Peter isn’t buying Hagan’s claims that Chelsea has gone rogue, and Adam is bringing her to safety under his orders. He knows the Hagans were in bed with Jacob, and that they’re now covering their tracks.
And he isn’t afraid to say so. Hagan gives him a triumphant, celebratory press statement, but he’s still got some loose ends to contend with in the finale.
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