RUBICON: “Look to the Ant”

How do you know a show has gotten really, really good? Answer: When you’re approaching the end of the hour and you feel bitter disappointment because you just don’t want it to end. That’s where Rubicon is at for me right now, after what was admittedly a pretty slow start to the series.


Sunday's “Look at the Ant” followed up on last week’s sporadic moments of intense fear and paranoia, with an entire episode full of it. I loved  Will's response to finding out his place was bugged. He went full-on Harry Caul (Gene Hackman’s protagonist from The Conversation) on his apartment: ripping out fire alarms, unscrewing electric sockets, and dismantling his phone.

That sense of being watched, of someone coming for Will around every corner was palpable throughout the hour. And in some cases, people were literally coming for him around corners. I thought after last week’s episode that Spangler had dropped the surveillance on Will. I guess he must have subsequently learned that Will is still on the hunt. In any event, the scene where Will confronts his pursuer was just epic. The last time he confronted someone following him, he got a fierce right fist to the solar plexus. Even though he ignored that man's warning not to confront the next person following, this time he's at least smart enough to bring a loaded gun with him. I imagine the fantastic, threatening speech Will gave him, followed by the picture he took, terrified this guy almost as much as Will, himself, was terrified. And isn’t it so fitting in this world of espionage, deceit, and ambiguous information, that this guy had no clue why he was following Will and couldn’t have coughed up any meaningful information even if he wanted to?

The episode’s title, “Look to the Ant”, undoubtedly refers to the social nature of that particular insect. This if fitting, given the desolately solitary life that people in Will’s field are wont to lead. Indeed, Sunday’s episode found various isolated characters craving some form of companionship, and reaching out to get it, only to regress back to isolationism in the end.

Maggie was left alone in her apartment for the first time in a long time, when her ex-husband took her daughter for the evening. Her first instinct was to reach out to Will, whom we know she has a thing for from previous episodes. Will complimenting the way she looks at work that day undoubtedly spurred her on. When Will, too flummoxed by his own justifiably unnerving situation, blows her off, she reaches out to a man from her night school class that she doesn’t even like. She even goes so far as to jump his bones for a deeper sense of connection. However, it’s clear immediately upon finishing the act, that there is no connection. She turns on her side and faces away from him, as he pathetically tells her how “nice” it was.

To make matters worse for Maggie, a terrified Will shows up at her place wanting to spend the night, even if it was purportedly only on her couch. Will catches her with her night school nerd and promptly takes off. Maggie immediately and callously throws her one night stand out of the apartment like a piece of trash. The arrival of the man she actually wanted highlights for her just how much she doesn’t want the man currently wrapped in her sheets. Moreover, she was probably upset that Will catching her like that damaged a chance at a relationship between them in the future. And that’s not even to mention her realization that if she had just waited, Will would have spent the night after all. In the end, Maggie’s forged connection was ephemeral at best, and shw wound up feeling even more isolated than before her night began.

Miles, meanwhile, is so lonely at API that night he finds himself wheeling around the surveillance room in his chair. When George Beck turns out to be speaking Urdu instead of German, Miles needs someone to translate. The image of him frantically running through the halls of API in search of another living human being to help him was a wonderful visualization of the episode’s central theme, and of the toll that life takes on all its participants.

Unfortunately, Miles is entirely unable to accept the true state of his marriage, which appears to be almost certainly over. Because of this self-delusion, he blows his shot with fellow analyst Julia by flashing his ring when she inquires about his status. I’m not sure yet whether this plot line was simply meant to illustrate Miles’ present state of being, or whether we’re going to see this woman again as a potential love interest. My money is on the latter. But at the end of the day, Miles’ attempt at connection, like Maggie’s, ends in failure.

Katherine Rhumor has been alone ever since her husband supposedly blew his brains out. This isolation has been amplified by having to undertake her search for the truth behind her husband’s death all on her own. But this episode finds her connecting with a fellow widow whose husband died under the exact same circumstances as Tom. For a brief moment, the two widows share the sorrow and anguish they’ve both experienced. When Katherine discovers this other man not only served on the same board as Tom, but also died with a four leaf clover on his desk, she chooses not to share this information with her new friend, but instead rushes off to once again pursue her investigation on her own…an investigation that is leading her to Atlas McDowell and undoubtedly to Will. But like Miles and Maggie, Rhumor finds herself alone again at episode’s end.

Will, himself, has been more isolated than anyone since the death of his family. What’s the worst thing that can happen to a lone wolf like Will? Answer: to be put in a situation that makes you genuinely terrified of actuallybeing alone. When Will shows up at Maggie’s apartment he tells her he just “doesn’t want to be alone.” Unfortunately, Will’s attempt at companionship is more short-lived than anyone else’s, as Maggie’s man scares Will off before he can even get through the front door.

The last part of the episode I want to address is Kale. I know a lot of people viewed last night’s episode as proof that he wants to do the right thing, but needs to limit the extent of his involvement to avoid being put at risk. While this is a distinct possibility, I’m not entirely convinced yet. Last week’s episode revealed that Kale is now mistrustful of Spangler and Mr. Roy. We also know from this week’s episode that part of Kale’s motivation is to protect his ex-lover Donald Bloom, and by association, himself. The other part of his motivation might be to protect his country from enemies “both foreign and domestic,” as he so eloquently puts it. But I’m not positive yet that Kale’s motivation isn’t more selfish, that he might not be waging some personal war on people he feels have betrayed him. We’ll find out in coming weeks I’m sure.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Excuse me while I go unscrew some outlets.