Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 5 of ‘Countdown’
Although critics have come down hard on the Prime Video originalCountdownperRotten Tomatoes, the show is still astreaming success thanks to viewerswho want to see Los Angeles saved from a nuclear meltdown. But as the task force fights tooth-and-nail to take down the mysterious Volchek (Bogdan Yasinski), some of them wrestle with the secrets that ought to be brought to light. This is especially apparent with Mark Meachum (Jensen Ackles) and Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho), who need to finally put aside their differences and trust each other about their respective issues. Only then will they be able to focus their energy entirely on the crisis at hand.
Meachum and Oliveras Need To Trust Each Other on ‘Countdown’
AfterCountdownEpisode 5, “Blurred Edges,” it’s never been more clear that Meachum and Oliveras need to learn to trust each other. Sure, they are on the same side when out in the field. When bullets are flying (and they often are), they’ll have each other’s backs because that’s the job. They’re each committed to ensuring that the task force survives long enough to do its job and put Volchek away. But that’s not quite the same thing as trusting each other on a personal level. So far,both Meachum and Oliveras have refused to open up and lay all their cards on the tableabout their respective conditions. For Oliveras, that means everything to do with her drug problem, and for Meachum, his brain tumor. As the show progresses and these two grow closer as partners and (dare we say) friends, it’s going to get harder to explain Meachum’s headaches or Oliveras’ sudden possession of heroin without them being on the same page.
No doubt,Countdown’s extended secret keeping continues to fuel additional drama into the story. Series creatorDerek Haascertainly has experiencewith this sort of character arc structure, having co-created and developed boththeOne ChicagofranchiseandFBI: International. But with only 13 episodes total ofCountdown(unless it somehow gets a Season 2), we’re nearing the halfway mark, and with a lot of the story left to tell, Meachum and Oliveras need to come clean. With so much on the line (and all the added stresses they’ve put on themselves by keeping their secrets),it would be helpful to them both if they shared the load. Oliveras could continue to support Meachum in his final days, while Meachum could cut Oliveras some slack and push her to fight against her trouble with drugs.
‘Countdown’s Task Force Can’t Defeat Volchek If They Don’t Have All the Variables
More than that, if we expect these two to work as a team and get the job done, then there is no place for secrets. Understanding all the variables will help them to not only better protect Los Angeles,but each other from the threats ahead. While Oliveras lets it slip in “Blurred Edges” that she caved to drugs while undercover under threat of death, she doesn’t seem to offer the full story (nor does she reallyadmit to her current struggles). Likewise, instead of revealing the truth about his diagnosis,Meachum opens up about his childhood in the High Desert rather than explain his constant headaches. Being something of a detective herself, Oliveras knows something is up, but Meachum refuses to budge. He doesn’t reveal the truth, knowing that if Nathan Blythe (Eric Dane) found out, he may be benched if he did so. But if you can’t trust your partner, who can you trust?
Jensen Ackles Isn’t Just a Hero on TV — He’s the Twist You Didn’t See Coming
From ‘Supernatural’ to ‘Countdown,’ Ackles proves the hero move is all about showing up — hard.
If these two are to continue to work together effectively, thenCountdownneeds them to trust each other completely. Otherwise, Volchek may be able to use this division to his advantage. If the villain ends up discovering anything else about the task force, beyond the aliases or faked photos that Evan Shepherd (Violette Beane) put up to protect them, he may use it as a way to break the group from the inside. After all,the show has already proven that nobody is safe. If Meachum and Oliveras couldn’t trust each other with this information in particular (let alone trust the rest of their team), then Volchek would have no problem weaseling his way into the situation. But there’s one other reason thatMeachum in particularneeds to finally reveal the truth about his tumor: it would set the record straight with Oliveras’ first impression of him.
Meachum Should Come Clean To Oliveras About His Past Relationship Status
Inthe first episode, “Teeth In the Bone,“Oliveras already knows about Meachum because she’s friends with Melinda Bates, a woman that Meachum was previously engaged to until he slept with her sister, Rachel. Two weeks before the wedding, the pair broke it off, and it seems the Bates ladies have held a grudge. But in that same episode, Lucas Finau (Uli Latukefu) implies to Oliveras thatthere was maybe another reason that things went down the way they did. From what we can tell,Meachum may have found out about his tumorbefore the wedding, and instead of going through with the wedding, he did something unforgivable that would alienate her from him forever — therefore softening the blow of his inevitable death.
While this doesn’t excuse Meachum’s infidelity, it does offer a different side to the character that may clear up any of Oliveras' preconceived notions about him. If her opinion hasn’t changed already since working with him closely on the task force, then learning the truth that Meachum is actually dying and wanted to spare the love of his life,the additional information may give her greater confidence in his character. Again, this is pure speculation, but it’s based on what we know. It also doesn’t justify Meachum’s actions, but helps us to understand the emotional turmoil he’s going through as a result of his plight. In short, if these two are going to be official partners (and keep the other from sudden death), they need to get their acts together and share their struggles. Only then can Meachum and Oliveras become the team thatCountdownneeds them to be.
