The Equalizer: Season 5 Episode 8 – Recap/ Review

“The Equalizer” returns from its winter break with season villain Angel Salazar also returning. But as Delilah and Aunt Vi’s storyline grow, is there still enough room for them on the show?

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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Episode Details

Episode Title: Guns and Roses
Air Date: February 16, 2025
Network: CBS
Director(s): Carl Seaton
Writer(s): Holly Harold

Recap

A Simple Date: Cameron, Delilah, Curtis, Aunt Vi

While Aunt Vi and Curtis go on a paint-and-sip date, Cameron and Delilah are supposed to watch a movie at her house. Now, things go slightly awry for both. On Aunt Vi’s date, there is a slight bump in the road as Curtis notes he is more traditional and pushes the idea that a partner, potentially marrying again, is on his mind – which has never been something Aunt Vi needed and perhaps wanted.

As for Delilah? Things were going well until she and Cameron started talking about cars, and Delilah decided to show her grandfather’s car. She lets Cameron drive it, they get rear-ended, and being that Delilah grew up in a Black household, she knows she is about to get it – and Cameron is nowhere to be found to take the bullet.

Angel Salazar: Captain Watkins, Robyn, Marcus, Angel

Angel Salazar in The Equalizer: Season 5 Episode 8, directed by Carl Seaton (CBS)

With a six-year-old dying due to increased gun violence, Robyn is called in, and she finds herself working a case in which Angel Salazar is involved. Marcus, who was on leave due to his father’s situation, is called to join his division, and together there is an attempt to take down Angel.

Now, with this all happening in New York City, Captain Watkins has to be involved, and she doesn’t like Robyn, and Marcus is someone she pushed out for a reason. But with the push of a little girl being killed, she plays ball, and while the team doesn’t ultimately get Angel, they do get his weapon’s shipment.

But with him threatening some financiers, it seems that even without the weapons shipment, he may still get the “Iron Pipeleine,” aka Route I-95.

Well, The Day Couldn’t Be Perfect: Delilah, Robyn, Aunt Vi, Marcus

For Aunt Vi, even with some differences from Curtis regarding long-term ideas, they seem able and willing to keep seeing one another, so she is in bliss. Robyn? Well, after this latest mission, Marcus decided to quit the FTF and return to New York full-time, especially because he missed his boys. Now, does this mean he is back at his old precinct, straight-up unemployed, or what? Hard to say. Either way, with a passionate kiss, he and Robyn seem to be on their way to being in a full-blown relationship.

Which leaves Delilah. Her telling Robyn what happened to her grandfather’s car leads to a quick and cutting reprimand, followed by a grounding. But luckily, Robyn is on such a high, paired with Aunt Vi’s, that things don’t go further.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

Captain Watkins in The Equalizer: Season 5 Episode 8, directed by Carl Seaton (CBS)
  1. Captain Watkins got Marcus that FTF job to get him out of her precinct so with him quitting from there, where is he working?
  2. How is Robyn going to talk to and treat Cam the next time she sees him?

Review

Highlights

  • Angel Being More Active Than Past Multi-Episode Villains [83/100]

On The Fence

  • Dante and Robyn [72/100]
  • The Non-Case Related Storylines [78/100]

Trajectory

Trajectory (77/100): Plateau

We’re just going to get out of the way the Robyn and Marcus Dante getting back together thing since, it’s unfortunate but is likely never going away. But, I will say, even with him and Captain Watkins getting on the same page for the case, I’m of the mind of believing he doesn’t have a job right now and that could make things interesting. Granted, he could “work” for Robyn’s team, but, last I checked, Robyn is living off money from her CIA days, Mel has the restaurant, and I’m sure Harry can set a hack that has him take a couple of cents from every account to keep him going. What is Marcus supposed to do?

But, with all that time on his hands, maybe dealing with his dad, his brother, or one of the things beyond Robyn he was working too much to handle, could come into focus. That would be good, right?

Beyond that, I have to admit, the split between Robyn’s case of the week and the personal lives of everyone felt a bit more noticeable this week. Granted, it could be because Delilah and Aunt Vi’s stories seem to be bursting at the seams, and being relegated to a B-Storyline is starting to make them feel out of place.

Delilah in The Equalizer: Season 5 Episode 8, directed by Carl Seaton (CBS)

As said previously, Delilah’s coming-of-age storyline is slowly but surely becoming too big to be shrunk to fit into what “The Equalizer” offers, and with Aunt Vi, there is this growing appreciation for a storyline not seen since, maybe “Queen Sugar” of a woman of a certain age having a full-fledged life, including dating, while still being family oriented and everything you’d traditionally would expect.

But, as time goes on, and honestly, Robyn’s case of the week gets weaker, it makes these long-term and personal stories grow stronger and become a bit more of a hook than whatever random Robyn is chasing. However, I would say Angel could help fix that. One of the issues “The Equalizer” has long had is that, when it comes to characters who can’t be put down in one episode, the gaps between their appearances could be so large you’d forget who they were and what they did. However, I feel the gap for Angel has been much smaller, and with him contributing to the death of a child, he seems to be a bit more major.

What is also helping is that he is working his way up in real time and you aren’t seeing him already at his peak. This makes him more closer to a underdog, who is a formidable opponent, rather than the usual character who is supposed to be one of the worst in the world yet Robyn, her team, and the NYPD handle them with surprising ease.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been writing reviews since 2010, with a focus on dramas and comedies.