Episode #1.7 was the first to get "only" 7/10 from me, so an episode promising info on Chance's past sounded promising. The pre-credits sequence already is a winner. The convincing Lennie James (Jericho, The Prisoner, Hung) adds his name to the impressive guest star list as über-assassin Baptiste. Emmanuelle Vaugier is back! She's hot. And kicks ass! Also, Emma has handcuffs in her bedroom drawer?
After credits it gets even better. Autumn Reeser is back! She's cute. And not just a decoration - she's vital to the plot and provides even more continuity. Events occur in present and in flashbacks. And not without a reason. There's great banter between Winston and Guerrero. The plot does not stand still. It builds and builds masterfully until all hell breaks loose. There are no forced act-ending cliffhangers and revelations like in 24, the 8th season of which this episode shares some ingredients with.
Mark Valley finally gets his chance to shine. His scenes with Vaugier are as fun as they were the previous time, but his scenes with James are the true meat here. And the frenetic action makes 24 seem arthritic by comparison. The fun ones counterbalance the serious and intense ones perfectly, without coming off as an ill-fitting pairing. But Human Target already has a great track record with this juggling act. Contrast with 24 which was always dead serious - not that there's anything wrong with that, but in 8 years that attitude inevitably gets a bit stale. I can easily see Human Target run as long without becoming stale. Especially since the makers seem to have a long-term plan.
Another magnificent 9/10* achievement for the show. The only complaint comes from the ill-judged CGI fire, which should *never* be attempted on a TV budget. It always looks *awful*.
*) HOW THE RATING IS GIVEN: Since the average between the lowest rating (1) and highest rating (10) is 5.5, everything gets a starting rating of 6. After that, points are either added or subtracted depending on the actual content: Plot, script, acting, directing, music, production values and so on. Also, the content is weighted against previously rated works, which act as a guideline. Also, to get the lowest or highest possible rating, the work must approach the worst or best thing ever seen, respectively. And as the laws of probability state, both are *extremely* rare.
