Martin Odum goes undercover on this week’s episode of Legends as an arms dealer, trying to find the seller of the VX gas. He also continues his own personal struggle–who is he? So far we are really into this show. Check out Josh’s recap of this episode of Legends, as well as our thoughts for this episode after the jump!
Don’t need the Legends episode recap for Lords of War? Click here to jump directly to Violet’s thoughts on the episode!
To see Josh’s thoughts on this week’s Legends episode, Lords of War, click here to get directly there!
Episode Recap of Legends, Season 1 Episode 3: Lords of War
Legends starts back in the lab with Nevelsky/Hubbard working on the VX gas. He sabotages the lab, making a fire, and he makes a break for it. He frees his wife and daughter, but before he makes his getaway, he is caught–and forced to return to the lab.
At Crystal’s protest, Gates puts Odum in as Dante Auerbach, an arms dealer. Odum/Dante meets up with one of his contacts, and begins working him for information. Odum meets up with Ana Paulanos, to “buy” black market weapons.
Maggie back at base traces Paulanos’ calls, and they think they overhear Paulanos talking to the seller of the VX gas. Odum decides to intervene with the deal, taking down the buyer. He finds him in his hotel, and provides a little torture to make him more pliable. He admits to buying VX to sell to another “proxy”. Odum then tells the buyer to tell Paulanos he isn’t buying.
Odum meets with Crystal, and they work on the next phase of their plan. Their plan is to hope that Paulanos contacts him for a deal to sell the VX gas. Odum stops by his ex-wife’s house, and is struggling mentally. He asks his wife to tell him how he proposed to her. Paulanos does make the call to Odum though, and the deal for the VX gas seems to be on.
Agent Rice pays a visit to Gates, wanting to talk to Odum about the murder victim in the subway station. Gates tells Rice he is unavailable. Rice talks to his superior, who tells him to drop the case. Rice takes some matters into his own hands.
Odum tells Gates about the deal, and Gates tells Odum that Rice is asking about him.
Listening to Paulanos, she meets with Hubbard’s captor, the Colonel. He isn’t happy about the deal falling through. The two seem to have a connection, and the man says that Paulanos owes him for taking care of her.
Maggie identifies the captor as Yuri Medved.
Nevelsky is working on the gas, and Medved tells Nevelsky to have the gas done in 18 hours or his family dies.
Gates meets with his superior, who wants to get the full department involved. Gates tells him that Odum is undercover, and can handle the case. Gates is given 24 hours to make something happen.
Paulanos and Odum meet, while some men seem to be breaking into his hotel room, checking out his story. Paulanos then wants to complete the deal. The deal involves them making out and sleeping together, apparently.
Gates pays a visit to Rice at his home, and has some harsh words for Rice, warning him to back off Odum.
Odum checks out according to the people searching his room, and Paulanos is notified. Paulanos tells Odum that they will meet that night. Odum is picked up, blindfolded and put into a car. The team finds a warehouse, and figure it is where the gas is being made. They have a tactical team moving in.
Inside the warehouse, they find Hubbard. His family is also rescued. No VX is found, however.
Odum meets with Medved, who is suspicious of Odum right away. Odum gets a little rough, and aims a weapon at Medved. He says rather than kill each other, they should make some money. Odum asks for proof before the deal is made, and proof is given in the way of testing the gas on a captive man. Medved says that Odum must test the gas on the victim. It seems he does so, as Medved says, “now we have trust.”
Josh’s Thoughts: Legends, Season 1 Episode 3: Lords of War
I liked this episode a lot. I am glad that the show is not afraid to do multi-episode story arcs. It seems like many new shows in their first season are afraid to do multi-episode stories, probably worried that newcomers to the show will feel lost and not stick around. I guess I understand that logic, but Legends certainly is a show that will do a lot better with more complicated stories.
This episode we really see Odum’s reality start to fall apart, at least for a brief moment. I am curious to know what is causing this breakdown though. Did someone or someones do something to alter his memory? Or is this a side effect of going undercover so much? How far does has his reality broken down? Is his ex-wife really his ex-wife?
I am still going with Rice eventually being a good guy. I am still unsure of Gates’ motives though. Is he protecting Odum for the sake of the case or for the sake of something else, deeper? So far, Crystal seems on the up-and-up, and I think that she is probably going to eventually be more of a Odum-supporter.
I am liking this story arc for the VX gas though. Often shows like The Blacklist has terrible “story of the week'” arcs, while the overall story is good, but with Legends I am enjoying both aspects.
What I really wonder is if Odum really did poison the prisoner. It certainly doesn’t seem like something that he would do, but it may be what he has to do in order to stay alive and solve the case.
What I can’t wait for in this show is when the whole thing is blown open, and Odum figures out exactly what is going on–or at least finds big piece of the puzzle. I am hoping that the show eventually takes him rogue, forcing him to improvise without the backing of the FBI. I really think that would make the show a whole lot better. We’ll just have to see where the story takes us though!
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 1 Episode 3 of Legends: Lords of War
And the chase for the VX continues! I’m liking this, how the story continues on through each episode. So far, every time an episode of Legends has ended, it keeps me wanting more! It’s always kinda like, Aw man, it can’t end there, now we gotta wait til next week! So did Martin use the VX on the guy? It was kinda hard to see, if he did. But I don’t think there was really a way for him to get out of doing it. Either he put a droplet of VX in the guy’s eye, or the deal was off. Or probably worse, he’d be killed. I suppose there is also the possibility that the solution in the vial was not actually the VX, but just a test to see if they could trust “Dante,” considering that the guy does say “Now we have trust.” Maybe they had to see if they could trust him before they actually brought him to the real VX.
So, when and why was the VX moved? Was it because they got suspicious about the authorities knowing about them, or merely because Hubbard completed all that they needed him to do with the VX?
There’s also the loose end of Agent Rice to tie up. I’m not sure what his deal is. He’s in the FBI, isn’t he aware that FBI agents go on undercover missions? Can’t he chalk up Martin’s involvement with the guy in the subway to be a part of one of those undercover assignments? I just don’t get what his obsession is, and why he can’t just let it go, even after his superiors have tried to talk him down. As I said before, I think Rice will eventually be the one to crack open the case of Martin Odum’s true identity.
For now, I am definitely looking forward to the story continuing, and seeing what happens next!
