Lazarus Ep 9 Review
If a show gets to the point where even it wonders why things arenโt going fast enough, then you know something is wrong. Ten days are left before the first people to take Hapna start dying, and Lazarus is no closer to catching him. And now, theyโve come under the scrutiny of the US Government, which is looking to shut them down. And whatโs worse, some of them are willing to go off the books and hire the second coming of Vicious to take care of one of them.
So, after their excursion to rescue Chris in the previous episode, the people in charge of Lazarus are not happy. From their perspective, the team, whose sole job is to find Dr. Skinner, has just been messing around. Thus, they bring Hersch and her boss before a committee to complain about them not doing their jobs.
While the audience knows that Lazarus has been looking for Skinner this whole time, it would make sense why the US government is losing patience. This is essentially the show calling itself out for the fact that itโs made little headway in advancing the overall plot, something that fans are already doing on social media. The suits even bring Leland in to have him testify against his teammates, though he doesnโt take the bait. However, as Axel and Doug themselves discuss, there is a very real chance that they could get silenced after they fulfill their job. And theyโre right to think that, as we soon learn.
Everything gets put on the back burner, though, as Skinner decides to up the ante with another announcement (Start at 20:12):
Skinner Changed the Game
This completely reframes the entire mission. If they donโt find Skinner, he will die, and so will any chance of curing Hapna. It might not make sense for Skinner to not take the antidote, but given how he seems to view humanity as a problem, heโs holding himself to those standards. That, and even if only a handful of people survive, the world will be very empty for thousands of years.
Though Lazarus might already have the cure for Hapna in there possession. As Chris is getting dressed, she finds the pill that she took from Skinnerโs home. I guessed it was either a clue to his whereabouts or a flat-out cure, but the fact that itโs being brought up now means itโs important. It could be the key to solving everything.
There are bigger concerns now, though, as members of the government are after someone from Lazarus: Axel.
Vicious Has been Reborn
For some unknown reason, members of INSCOM see Axel as a threat. Perhaps it has something to do with how he wound up in prison in the first place, but apparently, itโs enough for them to warrant hiring a black-ops assassin to take him out. And the final minutes of the episode are dedicated to exclusively showing how dangerous he is in what can only be described as the second coming of Vicious.
If Axel is the modern-day Spike Spiegel, this assassin is Vicious. And if he is after Axel, then Lazarus is going to have a hard time.
This entire episode was, for all intents and purposes, meant to set the show up for the final act by raising the stakes. There are only ten days left before Skinner dies, the US Government goes after Lazarus, and now thereโs an assassin after Axel. The stakes have been raised to new heights. Hopefully, the last four episodes will see the team finally make headway!
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