Allegiance: Breadcrumbs Leave The O’Connors At The Point Of No Return

Warning: Spoiler Alert

Last week the feds found no laptop at the Philadelphia City Hall. That’s because Katya and Mark got there first. Despite the clear risk of checking further, Alex attempts to do just that. Katya sends Natalie a text, “Plans changing, be ready”.

Let me just say one thing, then we can get past it. So far Allegiance is a very good show. Where it goes is still left to be seen. By design. There is one thing I just can’t get past. If Katya (specifically) and Mark are highly skilled agents who have only been their alter egos for the last couple decades, what’s the rush? A spy would know better than to try to speed things up. Katya is insistent on getting out as soon as possible. With that comes danger to Alex, Sarah and even those in the family in the know. You keep doing what is asked until they lower their guard. Minimal risk. Instead, Katya’s determination to get out as soon as possible is inviting risk.

New plan. They can’t copy the hard drive now. Instead, Natalie needs to get Sarah, and meet them at the Federal building 6 blocks away. Katya and Mark will utilize other means underneath the buildings. They won’t have to surface until they are in front of the FBI building. One catch, Sarah is out on the street, Natalie spotted her from her lookout spot. Sarah is ignoring Natalie’s calls.

Katya and Mark simply walked out like they were audience members for the Mayor’s speech. They get out and get close to where they were supposed to meet Natalie and Sarah. While they wait they open the laptop to see what is so valuable. Once they find what’s so valuable, the computer prompts them to enter the ‘second-tier password’, which they don’t have. The laptop just auto deleted itself.

Katya, Mark and Natalie meet in a parking garage. Natalie is blown away with the stupidity of trying to get into the laptop in the first place. Though the hard drive is destroyed, Natalie thinks she can encrypt the hard drive so at the very least, it will appear as if it has not been tampered with. They take the laptop to Victor. His demeanor suggests they know something.

A van pulls up to a very not downtown Philadelphia looking location. Two bodies that are hooded, get tossed from the van. The two bodies are Katya and Mark. Wherever they are, they are joined by a number of SVR higher-ups. Arkady being one of them. He’s been suspecting Katya of playing both sides since the beginning. She talks her way out of being killed on the spot. But only for now. Moscow will work on breaking the encryption, when they do things should get dramatically worse.

Alex sits pondering something as the Director arrives. The same director that was clear that this job had to work, and it didn’t. The Director proceeds to rip everyone involved up and down. Outside on the roof of the building Luttrell tells Alex that he doesn’t think Alex was wrong. Hunch or experience, but Luttrell just gave Alex a vote of confidence for the first time. Once back at his hotel room, Alex thinks to check something. There was a door that should have tripped an alarm, which it didn’t. Or at least not when the FBI went through it. It did sound momentarily when Mark went through it though.

Natalie meets with a former ‘flame’ who clearly was not the one doing the breaking up. He tries to parlay decrypting the video into something more and Natalie isn’t having it. Regardless, he’s on board. For now.

Sarah just got pinched for being in a group of kids smoking a joint. That might complicate things further.

Alex and Prado head back to City Hall to pursue Alex’s theory. Once inside, Alex finds the fuse box and discovers that the red wire has been cut. Then they follow-up to the crawl space he couldn’t check before. Two sets of footprints found in otherwise years of unmolested dust build up. Then they found their entry point, the old tunnel. They follow the tunnel out into the area of the church across the street where they entered.

Alex: Whoever planned this operation was very good, they were working on short notice.
Prado: How do you possibly know that?
Alex: Because they were probably filmed with that camera.

At home, Mark and Katya are laying into Sarah for her skipping school. Then she fires back with the double standard found in this house. Claiming that she can read between the lines, even if Alex can’t.

Alex and Prado can’t ask to access the Masonic Temple’s video footage because the entire operation is off the books. So Prado’s strategy is to build up a case using other evidence and then come back for the video footage later. Then Alex notices the public buses have exterior cameras.

Natalie attempts to break up with Victor but is unsuccessful. She couldn’t bring herself to do it. As she leaves, the ex-boyfriend who was to decrypt the video file emerges. He was able to do it. The important part is that the file describes a blast radius half a mile wide. That and account numbers. Natalie briefs her parents on what was found. Which doesn’t seem like enough for immunity. At the same time, Alex and Prado are going through bus footage.

Natalie meets with Victor again. This time a much shorter visit. She drops a bag and says she has to distance herself from him. He verbally resists, but she’s already out the door. Once outside, she gets very emotional.

Now Alex, Prado and Luttrell are all looking through bus video footage. They saw a man go inside, but not exit yet. Then Alex sees someone outside of one of the buses. Its Sarah, clear as day. He notices that its Sarah. Prado notices that Alex noticed something. He quickly advances the video so Prado won’t see Sarah. The horror on his face says it all. He steps outside and texts Sarah. Were you in Philly? Nat told me not to say. He asks her to meet him at ‘their Chinese place’. When Alex arrives, the place is empty. Except for a couple sitting side by side. The couple is Katya and Mark.