Season finale review: 'Strike Back': Down to Zero
Things get personal for Scott and Stonebridge as they race to stop Knox's nukes
Philip Winchester and Sullivan Stapleton in "Strike Back."
"Strike Back" just wrapped up its second Cinemax season (and third overall), and I have a quick review of the season coming up just as soon as I shoot you with both hands tied behind my back...
Of the two Cinemax seasons, I would say last year probably had a better collection of two-parters, while this one told a stronger overall story. (And I would stack this season's two-parter with Scott and Stonebridge defending the cabin in the Algerian mountains among the best individual things the show has done to date.) Both years had personal stakes to them, but they were even more deeply personal this year for Stonebridge and Scott, and the actors (particularly Philip Winchester) emoted the snot out of their material, when they weren't busy shooting, head-butting or otherwise kicking ass. I particularly liked Stonebridge coming up with the best way to hurt Hanson emotionally before he died, but Scott's grief blowing up a kid for the Stars and Stripes was also a nice moment.
And on the action/comedy side of things, I appreciated the pay-off to the running gag about whether you go on one or zero, and then the way it turned dark when Rachel (whose call sign at HQ has been Zero) was gut shot by Conrad Knox. Rachel lives to fight another day, but it sounds like it won't be with Section 20, and I guess the series is now establishing a pattern of a new boss for season. If that's the case, any British actresses (or, if they break the pattern, actors) you'd like to see giving our guys orders? With Sinclair dead, there's no obvious candidate to promote from within (Richmond's only a sergeant).
And overall, what did everybody else think? Did you prefer this season to last, or vice versa? Are we reaching a point where the show might be better-served by letting one of the two leads die, or is the chemistry between Winchester and Stapleton so good that we have to accept their ongoing survival as just another action movie trope the show is playing with?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupStrike Back fan
October 12, 2012 at 11:09PM EST Reply to CommentWhy does the show have to change so quickly? Why is it bad that Stonebridge and Scott would both return? You make it sound like a bad thing that the show would want to keep its "cool couple" together?
LizT
October 12, 2012 at 11:25PM EST Reply to CommentI'm so glad Rachel didn't die, even if she doesn't come back. I really like Rhona Mitra, and the season arc was well done (and having a Lannister around to hiss at didn't hurt!)
I definitely don't want or need them to kill either of the guys. They've thinned the recurring cast a lot already, and especially if they get a new boss all the time, I'd rather keep continuity of character over shock value.
Atta
October 12, 2012 at 11:33PM EST Reply to CommentGreat season, worth keeping my Cinemax subscription the extra months. I don't think they need to kill off one of the two main guys just to keep tension. They kill so many of the other characters i'm still at the edge of my seat each gunfight thinking someone is gonna get a bullet to the head quickly ala Dereks death in The Sarah Conner Chronicles. Thats the way I see it going down, when you least suspect it, or at least that'd be the tightest way.
Dezbot
October 13, 2012 at 12:28AM EST Reply to CommentI don't see why they need to eliminate either Scott or Stonebridge. Their camaraderie is why I watch the show.
Loved this season, though I'm bummed Mitra won't be returning. Not sure who I would like to see as the new boss, either.
Derek117
October 13, 2012 at 1:42AM EST Reply to CommentI agree with the other posts: don't kill off either of the two main characters--and I think they can bring back Rachel/Mitra next season. Just NOT as the head of Section 20. She's a good addition to the show, and having her work in another capacity would help "expand" the show's point-of-view.
james demott
October 13, 2012 at 1:45AM EST Reply to CommentI've got to agree with the previous posts. No way do you kill off either Scott or Stonebridge. The secondary players are fair game, but those two guys are the mainstays. They have awesome chemistry together and the show wouldn't be the same. Plus they'd have to change the whole opening montage.
MMS
October 13, 2012 at 2:27AM EST Reply to CommentI preferred season 1 overall. Must admit that season 2 finale was superb. Not sure I could bear either of the leads killed off. The show would have to establish a storyline and a new character to suck me in if they go the 'whack one of the guys' route.
Bradley Valentine
October 13, 2012 at 3:40AM EST Reply to CommentIf Scott or Stonebridge were killed off, they’d just recast an actor for another role for the other to buddy up with. Even with the BBC variation of the show it went the buddy route, depending on whoever the lead (I don’t remember character or actor’s name) happened to be in the episode with at the time. So, goodness, no! It would be annoying, distracting and frustrating to have to start from the top all over again. This show has its format. It will stick to it whether the leads or killed off or not.
Bill
October 13, 2012 at 6:31AM EST Reply to CommentOne of the few shows where I was actually surprised that the main character who got shot managed to pull through.
coolsid
October 13, 2012 at 10:02AM EST Reply to CommentWell that was fun
Julius
October 13, 2012 at 6:31PM EST Reply to CommentI think I liked this season overall more than the last but I feel the action quality fell off in the last couple of episodes.
John
October 13, 2012 at 7:41PM EST Reply to CommentAlan's last question mystifies me. It's not that the chemistry is *that* great (it's perfectly fine, though to be honest, I'd much rather be watching John Porter from the first season in the UK than Scott and Stonebridge), but the show is much too trigger-happy with its deaths anyway. I was actually a bit surprised that Rachel survived the shooting, though I was relieved because yet another death would have been annoying. Overall, it was a good season, especially because of Charles Dance's presence throughout.
Karin
October 13, 2012 at 11:01PM EST Reply to CommentI love this show. This was a great season and I am looking forward to next year. The best scene ever is the shoot out last season!
bearcouch
October 14, 2012 at 3:17AM EST Reply to CommentOn any other show, I'd be glad to see a main character be killed off. (Boardwalk Empire)
In this case, Stonebridge and Scott make the show. They're just too good together. Also Michelle Lukes looks really badass when running around with her weapon.
Opie
October 14, 2012 at 3:38AM EST Reply to CommentI agree that the duo makes the show, and I don't think suspense re one of them dying is what drives this show or what the show needs. I enjoyed the boss this season and am sad to see her go. While I really enjoyed Stonebridge's story and I thought he played the hell out of it throughout the season, I found Scott's sob story about the child a bit corny.
Thought the finale was a bit weaker than the previous episodes, but that was inevitable with the nukes.
Kujo
October 14, 2012 at 4:15PM EST Reply to CommentI think this year's story was better overall, but I think I liked season 2 as a whole more. That being said, this season was still very good, and entertaining. There's no other better action series on TV. There a were a lot of incredible action set pieces this season that topped season 2.
I hope they keep Winchester, and Stapleon together for the full run of this series. Shout out to Michelle Lukes, who's pretty bad ass as Sgt. Julia Richmond.
DJ Doena
October 14, 2012 at 6:08PM EST Reply to CommentI still like the original first season (with Porter) the best.
Why? Because to me it seemed much more realistic, even though they started to drop the ball towards the end.
Especially the "A-Team firing precision" on the side of the bad guys is starting to grate on my nerve. I know it's an action show but Scott and Stonebridge have walked through enemy fire like Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction. And their cars always look like swiss cheese after a shooting but luckily for the heroes no bullet over seems to penetrate the inside of the car after it shattered the rear or side windows.
john
October 16, 2012 at 11:46AM EST Reply to Commentanyone know the source of the music playing at the scene one of the final scenes with the gogo girls, the nigerians etc.,
Jay did anyone discover the name of the song when Knox meets the Nigerians?
January 22, 2013 at 9:54PM ESTpb
October 16, 2012 at 3:56PM EST Reply to CommentRosamund Pike!