Counterpart Season 2 Episode 9 Review: You to You
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Can Mira pull off what she's trying to do?
On Counterpart Season 2 Episode 9, we discovered just how capable Mira is when it comes to planning the end of the crossing and her plan of vengeance beforehand. It's hard to imagine anyone will be able to stop her.
But if anyone is going to do it, Howard Prime and Baldwin appear to be the impending heroes.
In this world, there is one episode remaining to bring this beautiful series to a close. No, it's not officially canceled, but when there aren't press photos and the time got moved without so much as an announcement, I'm about to give up.
Thankfully, most of those who want to see their worlds survive aren't as eager to do that.
Related: Counterpart Review - Something Borrowed
Clare's move to the side of her adopted home and life with Peter Quail got cemented the day she saw the look in Spencer's eyes as he talked about Mira. Just as we knew, she knew too that the Spencer she once loved was long gone.
When Clare says she loves Peter, I don't doubt her anymore.
Naya: He loves you.
Clare: I don't think Peter is capable of feeling anything these days.
Naya: He was going to die to protect you the other night in his office when he was caught. I saw it in his eyes. I didn't know what it was then, but it all makes sense now.
Peter's love for her is evident not only to Naya but to everyone including his wife. They accept each other for who they were and who they are now, which is a feat not many couples under far less duress ever achieve.
Peter's reaction to the naming of his daughter was ever so brief, but at that moment, he also understood why Clare named her daughter after another man even without needing an explanation from her.
Another possibility when it comes to heroism is what else Emily Alpha will remember before the closing credits of Counterpart Season 2. She recalls a lot now, enough to share with her other exactly why she took it upon herself to infiltrate her life and bond with Anna.
Their meeting was so different than I would have imagined at the beginning of Counterpart Season 1. Emily Prime has always seemed like the more accomplished of the two, but in Emily Alpha's shadow, Emily Prime seemed diminished.
Emily P: Did you organize this? You must be a very powerful woman.
Emily A: I used to be before the accident. My memory's been a bit bumpy, but I've gotten a lot back recently. A lot of things have come to light, a lot of them quite shocking. First, a man told me he was my husband. It turned out he was your ex-husband trying to use me for information.
Unlike when the Howards met, though, the two women found common ground very quickly in the form of their daughter, Anna. Despite her beautiful love with Howard Alpha, Emily Alpha decided not to have a child. Emily A thwarted any further attempts at pregnancy after their Anna died.
Related: Counterpart Review - Shadow Puppets
It was difficult for her to admit that to her other let alone herself, but they can see right through each other. That's also why Emily Prime felt a little awestruck in Emily Alpha's presence. They immediately understood each other because of how well they knew themselves, something the Howards didn't have.
No, what I mean is may I have my husband back, or do you think I've already lost him?
Emily A
Howard Alpha is the person who will suffer the most through the transfer of worlds. He's fallen for Emily Prime and no longer knows or trusts his wife. I wonder if we'll have the opportunity to see how he feels about returning to Emily Prime.
It's Howard Prime who is left in the cold, but he's come to terms with who he is and wasn't playing against type any longer.
We are who we are. We kill people. And then we eat breakfast.
Howard P
Howard Prime doesn't have the fortitude to fight for a woman he loves. He didn't with his wife, and he doesn't with Emily Alpha. It's easier to do what he knows, and for years that's been killing.
To save the world, he had to drag Baldwin back into that life with him.
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She was trying to be someone different. Maybe she'll have the opportunity again.
Baldwin is a character who deserves to have more exploration, and if there is a Counterpart Season 3, her role needs to be more significant.
If you remember the ending of Counterpart Season 1, then you know the series blew up all that came before so that it could begin the next chapter. The same is happening now.
After spending a good amount of time introducing us to the origins of the breach between worlds and ensuring we'd be duly invested in what becomes of them, Mira's plan got executed.
Wiping out all of Management was probably the only way the story could turn if Mira's plan were going to get very far, but it was still shocking to see her carry out that particular part of it.
Mira was always 100% certain they group would never agree to a meeting with her and carry through with it, so she effectively set up a plan so airtight that she got into the room anyway.
Using Ian as she did was incredibly low, but with what Management did to Wesley's wife in the past, Mira had an absolute spoke in the wheel that would aid her plans.
Ian never wanted to do the work he was doing anyway. It was too easy to use his wife again. Allowing him to have the double of his wife on the other side turned out to be Management's fatal flaw.
Related: Counterpart Review - No Strings Attached
They were too interested in continuing the experiment at all costs instead of doing what was right for either world at a particular time. Their ambivalence to the lives of those in the worlds over which they lorded had to bite them in the ass eventually.
Their worlds wouldn't have been at war if only they had made a deal that would have held our world accountable for releasing the virus.
Yanek: There was a time when we were friends.
Martin: We are still friends.
Yanek: Is that why you use these things to communicate, even on your own side? What kind of friendship is that? We used to believe in the better angels of our nature. We thought this crossing would be the greatest endeavor in the history of mankind.
Martin: It still is.
Yanek: No. It has been corrupted beyond repair.
Volker: You have no idea, Yanek. You've been locked away too long. We've given so much to our worlds. Trading of information, environmental progress, scientific advancements. We must give all that up?
Yanek: It was never yours.
They never so much as put in place any sanctions, but instead continued to share their wealth of information only further engaging the ire of the other side.
It's rather ironic that it was Yanek who pointed it out to Management before they went, as he's not nearly as thoughtful as he likes to assume. Because of his own behavior, he judged that of the two worlds. But Management just chalking up his past transgressions to Yanek being Yanek was equally as egregious.
Yanek noted how old all of his former colleagues looked, but what struck me throughout the episode was how old and tired Yanek seemed now that he was at the side of Mira.
Watching her work and eventually carry out her plan to kill Management reminded him of what he'd done the last time he was free that showed in how he was carrying himself. Mira sucked the life out of Yanek. At least he had a purpose while in Echo.
Related: Counterpart Review - In from the Cold
Beside Mira, he was nothing but a pawn.
Mira is so focused on her endgame that she didn't even bother to speak with Management. I would have never been able to let that opportunity slide. There was so much information in that room, and if nothing else, I'd want them to understand their errors before blowing them away.
Now the future is in the hands of Mira. Or is it?
As much as I want to count out Howard Prime as a hero given the trailer for the finale, his experience living as Howard Alpha changed him whether he wants to admit it or not.
There has to be more to him. We know who he could have grown into and a part of that man resides inside him. Can either Howard completely turn on what they believe?
And how might the Emilys come into play if one or both of the Howards need assistance?
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Looking forward to the finale not knowing the fate of the series feels like a double-edged sword. It will be spectacular, but the fate of the two worlds won't be solved by the end even if there is a hint during that hour.
To see it all again, you can watch Counterpart online. It's a trip worth taking regardless of the ultimate fate. I wouldn't give up what I've seen so far, and I hope you feel the same.
Can you think of a satisfying conclusion to the season and a story to move forward?
Hit the comments and tell me what you thought of recent events.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.