'Rubicon': What it feels like to be in the middle of an 'operation'

Miles prophetically realized the API team was tracking a real-time operation in the Sept. 26 episode, and it became a grislier reality in Sunday night's episode, as Spangler dropped a dime on Will, Kale called in the body snatchers and Kateb, who we now know is a homegrown, conspiracy-sponsored operative, entered the U.S. through Mexico. "Rubicon" watchers, it's all coming together.

Or have I said that before?

Well, this time, it is. Two more episodes left, and here's what we know about the four-leaf-clover/Fisher's Island conspiracy: They are businessmen who use API "white papers" or global intelligence research and reporting to plot catastrophic events that they then profit from, by the zillions, in the stock market. Spangler is  pulling the strings -- he had David Hadas killed to continue the decades-long operation and arranged Sunday night for Donald Bloom to kill Will in his apartment and make it look like a drug overdose. The murder was all going according to plan until Will broke free from Bloom's strangle grip, groped for the gun Hadas left him and shot Bloom in the forehead.

Will called Kale, who arrived at Will's place followed by a very special haz-mat guy. Kale led a traumatized Will into the bathroom and wrote "Don't Come Out" on a piece of paper, then shut Will in. As the camera focused on Will's shellshocked face, we heard the whine of an electric saw from the other room.

Let us now praise the glorious performance, throughout "Rubicon," of playwright Michael Cristofer as Truxton Spangler. He had some great scenes Sunday night -- after pushing the "last call" button on Will's office phone and hearing the Fisher's Island Public Library answer, he bashed Will's phone again and again on the desktop. He described in a sorrowful way, as if it really were an awful shame, the cover story for Will's death to the man he was ordering to kill him. Making a late-night swing through Will's office and indulging in a prolonged reverie about Will's mentor, David Hadas -- the man he killed, along with scores of innocents, by arranging a commuter-train signal error. (James Badge Dale had a great moment in that scene, too, when Spangler invited him to "sit with me," and Dale slowly, gingerly, loathingly, descended into an armchair as though the seat was covered with flesh-eating microbes.)

"Great work," Spangler sincerely told Will upon hearing that the team had figured out that Kateb was actually a New Jersey guy named Joseph Purcell who supposedly turned Al Qaeda. "You did a good job at API," he went on, and the past tense was hardly lost on Will. Later, upon summoning Grand to his office, when he believed Will had been killed, he poured them exotic Scotch ("single malt" is Scotch, right?). Grant glanced at his watch when he thought that Spangler, reclining in his desk chair, had dozed off. "Am I boring you?" Spangler said without turning.

And Katharine! Katharine found Tom Rhumor's suicide note, an abject apology that appeared to include a coded message. "I hope you'll continue to celebrate our anniversary," it said in closing. What does that mean?

Study questions before next week's episode:

-- Kale Ingram: He appears to serve Spangler, but he is the only friend Will has in his extreme circumstances. Explain his tangled loyalties, and make a case for whether Will should -- or should not under any circumstances -- trust him.

-- Exactly how will Spangler derail Miles, Grant, Julia and Tanya's race to locate Purcell and get to him before Purcell pulls off the massive catastrophe that Spangler has hired him to do?

-- "Rubicon": second season or no? If yes, explain how this one will end, who will still be alive and how the writers will set up the next.

-- Kelly Scott

Above: Miranda Richardson and James Badge Dale in "Rubicon." Credit: Craig Blakenhorn/AMC

Comments

[TvFan]

AMC should definitely pick this up for another season. So far no word, but no news isn't bad news. I feel like they're just waiting until the finale.

My predictions: Spangler will die and Ingram will have to replace him, but the second season will involve delving deeper into who Ingram is by Will and focusing on if he can truly trust him or was getting rid of Spangler was just jumping into the fire. As the promotions increase, Grant will get Will's job and next season we'll be able to get a bit more story on the team members. I'm really not sure how the females in Will's life will work out. The neighbor seems almost too in your face with her behaviour and questions so I can't get a read on her for sure. And why bring back Maggie? felt like the served her purpose unlessl the father of her kid is Purcell, can't remember if he's already shown up on screen, which would be an awesome twist, but we'll have to wait n see. Once Katherine get a justifiable answer behind the suicide besides guilt, she'll take a more human role and begin working on exposing her husband's killers. She's our only really connection to life outside API and now she won't even leave the house. Great show that has only gotten better with each episode!

[Bev Vincent]

Every time I see Truxton Spangler, I think of Richard Nixon for some reason.

[Surfnut]

I think Kale is conflicted by his past relationship with David Bloom (it appears it was multi-faceted) and what he did in the Middle East when they were field officers. Now Kale disdains the field work, preferring the intellectual side of espionage at API. Kale is a rich guy (at least a $3 million pad in Manhattan) so it is not shocking if he knew and profited from Spangler and Atlas. Who knows, Spangler may have greased Kale to keep him loyal. Since Kale effectively runs API, Spangler needs him there to keep the jig going. Kale certainly got wind of their dirty deeds and voila, Kale is rich!

I think this season ends with a cataclysmic event, but perhaps muted by the actions of API, all the while Kale will continue to protect Will and Katherine. Spangler then gets the clover and puts a bullet in his head.

The second season begins with Kale running API in Spangler's old role, with Will in Kale's old role. They spend the next season hunting down all the rich pigs who profited on the Kaleb terror, along with the quasi-government agents who did much of their bidding.

[Truxton is a weird name]

The show is really hitting its stride. Would love to see it renewed, and this is coming from someone who was on the fence as recently as four or five episodes ago. The pacing has picked up just enough to keep things moving, but not so much that it's lost its 70s-era paranoid thriller feel. I'm hoping for a big payoff, a la the killer final scene of "The Conversation."

[Starly]

Hmmmm.... I did not know that Spangler had hired Purcell. Ok, I'm assuming you've seen advance copies of the final episodes. Well it's strange that Spangler would put his crack team on identifying Kateb/Purcell. I guess it makes the store much more compelling - only reason I can think of...

As for the questions....
Kale Ingram - Major badass. He clearly goes out of his way to maintain his freedom from Spangler. I think he's partially loyal to Spangler because it's his job and he seems to like his job, as well as his history with Spangler. But I think he's also loyal to the fight and his country, and is very suspicious of Spangler, especially since Spangler got rid of a valued employee like Haddas. He seems to understand that something bigger is afoot, and to ensure his well-being he needs to know what it is.

Derailing the E team - Spangler stages Purcell's death. Doesn't sound like anyone has his fingerprints or other definitive identifiers, so he could easily stage Purcell's death with a body double.

Second Season -- I really hope so. If the pimp out JBD more often I would say a definite yes!

[MEL]

My wife and I really enjoy this show, although it would be interesting to know the viewer demographic. Clearly anyone with an attention deficit would have a tough time with it.

I'm happy to see you give Michael Cristofer (Spangler) his well earned props. As I was watching this episode, I was thinking that Cristofer is either one of the creepiest people I've ever seen, or a great actor, at least in this role.

[Mary]

This show's slow (but incredible) build is a marvelous thing to see. I love the unwinding of the story like a huge helix, and the acting/directing/writing (in equal parts) is superb. It has the "feel" of a documentary at times.

I sincerely hope it's renewed for another season; I'd love to have the story expand and unwind further.

[Thedieiscast]

I had figured a couple episdoes ago that the clover leaf group were childhood friends who made their fortunes by manipulating world events. I don't suspect Kale to be part of the conspiracy. When Donal Bloom was introduced, Kale did some shadowing of his own and watched who came out of the gymnasium meeting between Bloom, Spangler, and Edward Roy. But his position within API makes it difficult to help Will too directly. Remember, when he's not being the most innocent man in America he drops off the grid completley for hours at a time. I don't expect anymore deaths. The second season will focus in on Khateb's plot which is connected to the clover leaf gang. And what is with Will's neighbor? I don't think she is connected to Spangler, but maybe she's connected to someone else. Think what information another government could gain by getting information from API. And I hope to see Spanglers face when he listens to the recording of the gun shot, the loud music, and the buzz saw going in the background when he asks what happened to Bloom.

[Joe]

Spangler's tirade made the show. I absolutely love the fact that he regained his composure enough to say "thank you" before hanging up. There's no way Rubicon can let this character slip away or die so easily. He is one of the best villians in recent memory - kinda like the X-Files Cigarette Smoking Man, only a lot less comic book.

Another priceless moment was Will's take out of Donald Bloom. I was expecting the typical deus ex machina "24" stunt of his sexy neighbor coming to the rescue, or Ed Bancroft, or even Kale. Instead it was handled perfectly. Thank you for that writers!

Kale is clearly playing both sides of the coin here. In one of the earliest episodes, he and Spangler briefly discuss the crossword puzzles. I seem to recall Spangler asking Kale if anyone else made observations or inquired about them. Am I remembering correctly?

I suspect Kale will turn out to be the ultimate good guy in the end. Sadly at some point in a future episode, I believe he'll be done in by the 4 Leaf Clover Gang to protect Will.

[Al]

I don't see how Spangler doesn't die before the end of this season... he'll almost certainly get a four leaf clover before this is done. Kale becomes the leader with ambiguity about whether he saves Will or not, and remains completely ambiguous next season... Will and Grant are promoted, and next season, we'll be searching for the group who sent Spangler the four leaf clover.

The FBI's mole search still has some secrets to reveal as well... Julia's role in that department (where she transferred from) could be shady as well... or maybe it's Tanya, whose being used by the evil group... there's another leak that has certainly sprung somewhere.

This, in my mind, is the type of series cable should do more of... smart, well-cast, not requiring a mass audience... I hope we get another season of it.

[MattHF]

I don't think the four leaf clover is a message for the recipient to kill himself, but a signal that a Plan is going ahead.

I'm enjoying this series alot for the time it's taken to set-up and explore character and relationship. I wish the writing and direction were more nuanced and atmospheric - the surveillance scenes have been rightfully picked on. For all the time it took to get going, the series can be a bit heavy-handed at times.

But it's better than most and I'll be there until the end.

[Frank Malzone]

Kale is CIA, sent to spy on API. Not Spangler's man; not Will's man.

Different agenda.

If there is a second season, I would expect the CIA angle to surface.

[ian cormac]

The TV guide for next week, says Will is solving Spangler and Hadas death, so I don't think Truxton is long for this world

[mystic]

Please encourage them (AMC) to make more shows like this, preferably keep this one going in season 2!!
Superb show, has amazing potential, it is a blatant copy of another British series alike, but nonetheless amazingly designed.
10/10 for sure, just needs better advertising to spread its message, plus people usually watch it on the Internet rather than just the TV.

[mystic]

Just to clarify what I meant, its a copy of The State Within (British series) but its just as good if not better, though you can't compare with two different styles of politics, obviously we have all become more accustomed to our usual conspiracies but this has some great potential.

[Neil John Brimelow]

Rubicon has supposedly been picked up for a second season based off casting calls issued in L.A. this past week.

[harold]

Black male, 34- Used to watch 24 (How's that for a demographic?)
Oh My God.
A Real story and a real show!

As a system analyst and Security software developer, I was constantly appalled and annoyed watching 24 and their incredible computer shenanigans, Deux Machina inventions and just pure foolishness. (Still watched it tho!)

ahh, but Rubicon, what a show!

[Dave]

Brilliant show that has kept me engrossed from the first episode. I'm still amazed that it ever got made with it's lack of high tech histrionics and reliance on plot, paper files and analysis by people talking over a table.
I sincerely hope it's picked up for a second season, but failing that the first season can stand alone as a classic piece of television.

[Andy]

I really liked Rubicon, but the last episode (the episode ending the season) was kind of an anti-climax. They should've ended the season after the tanker explosion. This episode kind of messed things up. However, I'm relly hoping for a second season.

This has been such a well written show compared to all the other stuff coming out nowadays.

Hopefully AMC will give the show a larger budget next year and maybe we'll see new locations etc. Maybe even foreign countries.