Episode 2 of The Kill Point starts off with the morning after, 18 hours since Mr. Wolf (John Leguizamo) and his crew busted into the Three Rivers Trust bank.
The FBI has taken control of the hostage negotiations, relegating Cali (Donnie Wahlberg) to a consulting role — basically a nice way of telling him to get lost. The new negotiator, Agent Ash, is an arrogant hard-ass who you know is just going to screw this up. At least Cali’s not giving up. He wants to know why Wolf released Mr. Sabian.
Things aren’t going so well inside the bank either. Mr. Rabbit has an episode of post-traumatic stress disorder and just starts randomly slapping up Rocko, the maintenance man. Rocko reveals he’s always hated Rabbits, the Easter Bunny included, and wants to hatch a scheme to get the gun Leroy stuck in the plant and use Ashley to get Mr. Pig’s gun. It’s also Robby Sabian’s birthday, and he’s not going to be able to go to his all-male pool party and wear a T-shirt to hide his “man cans.” Robby and Mr. Wolf connect in a touching moment, and Wolf decides that he’s going to demand a birthday cake from the FBI. Oh, and Mr. Mouse’s gunshot wound is infected.
Deke (the guy who got away) meanwhile has a bunch of his pals in the crowd and in nearby buildings surveying the police activity. I’m still not sure exactly what they’re planning to do. I thought they might go after Cali’s wife — she’s going to show up sometime. I thought they might even try to set up a sniper post and start taking potshots at cops just to cause confusion or to help get Wolf’s demands met, but they didn’t do that either. They’re just kind of watching and waiting.
Mr. Beck is getting all introspective and stuff about his daughter, and he’s trying to grease the wheels with the FBI. He’s also in contact with Wolf via text message, and the two start some negotiating on the side. Wolf wants Beck to help secure their escape. Beck wants to make sure Ashley’s OK. But Beck’s henchman suggests that they take matters into their own hands. They have people who can deal with this type of thing.
The SWAT guys in this show are kind of funny. One of the snipers spends time checking out the hot female gawkers assembled outside the bank. Two other SWAT guys discuss their techniques for scratching scrotal itches. They’re a nice bit of comic relief, but usually bad stuff ends up happening to the guys who joke around too much.
Meanwhile, the FBI is botching the negotiations big time. They flat-out deny Wolf’s request for a birthday cake. Ash thinks it’s a good idea to set up speakers and pump loud noise into the bank, and to have the air conditioning turned way up. And the press has gotten wind that the FBI is only negotiating for the release of Ashley, and the public is pissed that the FBI seems to be playing favorites. After a few funny prank phone calls from Wolf, Ash shuts off the music. It’s clear that Wolf now has the upper hand.
Beck hires a freelance hitman/sniper, who sets up on a rooftop nearby. To show Beck that his daughter is OK, Wolf steps out of the bank with Ashley. The sniper has them in their sights, and for a second there I’m wondering if the sniper has orders to take out Ashley. But Deke’s guys spot the hitman, realize he’s not a police guy, and send two of their guys to take out the hitman. The hitman gets off a shot, which hits Wolf in the ear, and Wolf and Ashley get pulled back into the bank. Turns out Wolf was smarter than to trust Beck or the FBI — he sent a disguised Rocko out there to get shot in the ear instead. Then Deke’s guys show up and beat the piss out of the hitman.
Wolf is incensed. He tells Ash he doesn’t want to hear her on the phone again, and if he does, he’s going to kill a hostage. He will only negotiate with Cali. So that pretty much means the end of the FBI’s fumbling this thing up. Cali figures it’s time to get Wolf’s trust back, so he delivers a birthday cake to Wolf. And the hostage Henry, the security guard, is released. Cali’s back in charge of the negotiations.
Inside the bank, Robby’s birthday party is in full swing, and the lucky kid is enjoying cake with Ashley and her hottie friends. Mr. Pig breaks into the safe-deposit boxes and starts handing out jewelry to Ashley and her friends, who strangely start trying all the stuff on like they were 5-year-olds playing dress-up. But Rocko is pissed that he got shot in the ear. And Rocko, Bernard, Leroy, Abe and Chloe seem to be getting excluded from cake and are probably pissed about that, too. So Rocko gets a message to Ashley, asking if she’ll get Mr. Pig’s gun from him. She agrees. Mr. Wolf brings Chloe some cake, and has a sentimental moment with her, telling her about all of his son’s birthdays he missed while serving overseas.
Mr. Beck sends Wolf a bunch of desperate apologetic text messages. He’s really sorry about that whole sniper thing and will now do just about anything for Wolf.
And Mr. Mouse is sleeping in a chair with his rifle. He’s having bad dreams and flashbacks. Not something you really want while you’ve got your finger on a trigger. The rifle goes off, and people scream.
This wasn’t a bad episode, but it’s a little of a letdown after the intensity of the premiere. It really didn’t do much as far as advancing the story. The whole FBI thing with Ash just seemed like a sidetrack. Cali’s back where he was, Beck is still at Wolf’s mercy, we’re not entirely sure what Deke and his crew are up to, Ashley’s still scheming to get Mr. Pig’s gun, and those two employees are still locked in the mechanical room and getting to know each other …
Oh, and one of the hostages may or may not have been accidentally offed. Which one got shot? It would suck to be Robby and get shot on your birthday. But I don’t think they’d off Robby. He’s too much fun. I also thought Chloe would be a possibility, but it seems like there’s a lot more stuff going to happen between her and Wolf. Or is it Ashley? Seems doubtful, but that would make for an interesting (not to mention huge) twist. The previews for next week suggest that a female hostage dies, when Mr. Rabbit says something like “the girl was an acceptable casualty,” but that’s probably thrown in to mislead us.
And Deke and his crew seem to find a way for Wolf and his guys to escape the bank. I wonder if Beck and Deke are somehow going to start working together. Wolf is in control of Beck now, and it actually wouldn’t surprise me if Wolf has Beck’s people go after Cali’s wife, just to put more pressure on Cali to get Ashley out of there.
Lots of possibilities. Lots of theories. And lots more of The Kill Point left.
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