The Recruit: Season 1/ Episode 7 “I.M.F.T.B.S.” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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The origins of Hannah and Owen’s relationship are finally revealed as a new, deadly character is introduced.

Recap

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And For A Second, It Was All Going So Well – Max, Marta, Owen, Xander, Lester, Violet, Dawn, Linus

So the assumption was Max and Owen would go to Geneva, Linus would unsanction Max’s account, and while Lester, Violet, Dawn, and Xander were all keeping tabs, no one would need to get involved. Because things seemed so secure, Max and Owen were allowed to have some fun, and with her being as flirtatious as ever, he would just roll his eyes and play along. Why? Well, because Geneva is a Russian mafia playground, Max being back raised eyebrows and suspicions. So, Owen being her boy toy, makes for a good cover.

But, while he is supposed to be her special boo thang, he meets this girl named Marta. Someone who is Icelandic, cute, coming onto Owen, and for a second, he is into her. However, with just the hint she might be a spy of some kind, he ruins the moment and scares her off.

Which is fine for he and Max decide to have sex, so whatever might have been pent up due to Marta, life, or whatever chemistry he has with Max gets released, and he puts her ass to sleep. That doesn’t make up for his screw-up the next day, however. He thought Linus was going to get up at 4:00AM and unsanction Max’s account. That isn’t the case, and this royally screws up the plan to the point some are beginning to freak out.

I Need To Prove To Myself I’m A Good Person – Mei, Hannah, Jeff, Terence, Owen

When Owen and Hannah met at Georgetown, he was the slacker she has long painted him as. He admitted to sleeping through their Contract Law class, and he wasn’t all that appealing. However, with him encouraging her to steal a book from the library to study and providing her a cover, he gave her a chance for a simple thrill; and after studying for a semester together, it seems both caught feelings.

And that is half of the reason she pays for a first-class ticket for her and Terence to head to Geneva. The other half? Well, it is because she gets played by her mother, Mei, which leads Jeff to get fired.

You see, Jeff, who we all know works at the White House, told Hannah about who met with an economic policy advisor to the president, and with Hannah telling Mei insider information, she is able to help her client, Kevin, aka Not Bob, learn who is the leak. Thus Jeff gets fired, Hannah gets played, and she feels like she needs to rescue Owen since she needs to feel like a good person again.

Can You Be At The Top When You Have A Delicate Touch? – Hannah, Max, Owen, Kirill, Xander, Marta

But that doesn’t come to pass. After the screw-up at the bank, Max uses the leverage she has against Xander: he slept with the wife of Russian mobster Kirill. This doesn’t get her on Kirill’s good side or any mobsters, but it may have gotten Xander killed. The jury is still out, but while we don’t know whether Xander was the target, Max, and/ or Owen, we do know Marta, who met Owen at a bar, is likely the assassin.

Yet, with Xander dead and Owen’s screw-up, even with Max making an in-road with Kirill, there is no guarantee she can either regain her spot as a lieutenant or get close to the general once again. And as Max and Owen walk away, that’s when Hannah shows up, sees Xander’s dead body, and potentially realizes there may not be a single thing she can do.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. What’s Marta’s deal? Surely that isn’t Max’s kid, right?
2. Is Marta new to be discovered so quickly?

What Could Happen Next

1. Max learning Owen did mention her daughter’s death to someone
2. Xander not being the only one who dies
3. More flashbacks of Owen and Hannah’s relationship
4. Learning what happened to Max’s daughter

Collected Quote(s)

Stop letting me be the one instinct that you don’t follow.
— Max

Review

Highlights

Further Understanding Of Why Hannah Is Caught Up On Owen

While we may not get enough time in the past to fully understand Owen and Hannah’s relationship, we get enough. From him being her escape, something to make Georgetown fun, to both having issues with their parents, you can see they formed a bond where they felt like they only had each other.

Lest we forget, a lot of what Owen does is to prove to his mom she is wrong about him. Then, with his dad dead, and 0 talk about having any other family members, Terence and Hannah is all he has, and it likely isn’t lost on Hannah that Terence is pretty checked out. In fact, I’m surprised Terence isn’t mad at Owen for dragging Linus into his mess.

But that’s for another time, and what we want to drive home is Hannah’s love for Owen and why she seems to stay in his life is because she knows no one else has the capacity or willingness to stay in his life. So while Amelia may show up at 4:00 AM to try to get Linus on the phone for Owen, she won’t stay in a relationship with him. While Max may seduce Owen, she will also stab him in the back at a moment’s notice, like when he made the time zone mistake. And while it stresses her out, at the same time, it seems Hannah finds some kind of joy in being the only person Owen knows he can turn to. It’s just that she wishes that he could eventually be someone with whom she could have reciprocal feelings when it comes to being an emergency contact.

How Owen’s Trauma Will Affect His Future Relationships

Was Owen right about Marta? Yes. However, take a second to think about how things with Amelia, Max, and even what he thought could be with Marta is probably going to affect Owen going forward. He isn’t pure and innocent, but I do think there was a part of him that was still naïve, and working for the C.I.A. has gone beyond chipping that away and maybe it just snatched his ability or desire to give people the benefit of the doubt.

With that in mind, I do find myself wondering, when it comes to meeting new people, whether platonic or romantic, how will he handle that? Will he use his network to run a full background check on everyone, or since he likes to play it loose and wild, will he take his chances? Potentially date or sleep with the wrong person and end up in a dangerous situation? It’s sad in a way, since you can see Owen really wants to be close to someone and regain some sense of normal, but this life he lives may not make room for that and in order to protect his career, he may starve his heart.

Xander Died

Would I have rather seen Violet die? Yes. However, Xander’s death is far more notable since he and Dawn appear to have a rivalry for the top spot in Russia. So as much as you could assume Max may have set him up, or maybe he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, who is to say Dawn didn’t put him in the position to be killed? Hell, considering Lester and Violet both know Dawn, who is to say they didn’t get involved? Especially Violet, since she has no currency at the agency since she wants to be a liquidity dog turd.

And it is in feeling like Xander’s death isn’t straightforward that helps you understand how wild this show can become, especially if it sometimes taps into your suspicions and makes them true, or presents something even wilder.

On The Fence

Max and Owen Having Sex

I think the issue here is, there is something better to say about Max and Owen’s relationship if it wasn’t sexual than them being intimate. For even if it only happens once, there is something to say about two people, especially of the opposite sex, being able to be vulnerable with one another and it not become something more.

Max made it seems Owen is the first person she could count on in a long time, and for Owen, Max has tried to keep him alive and was at times more helpful than anyone else in his life. Which, I get, is a good foundation for them being something more towards each other. Yet, I can’t let go the desire to see chemistry evolve into something that’s aromantic and asexual yet still close. Especially for people like Max who make it seem intimacy is usually something they barter with, rather than experience in a pure form.