‘The Equalizer’: Robyn Debates a Major Change in the Season 2 Premiere (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Equalizer Season 2 premiere “Aftermath.”]
Robyn McCall (Queen Latifah) thinks it might be time to stop “equalizing” in the Season 2 premiere of the CBS drama, and let’s be honest: That’ll never happen because look at the name of the show. However, it makes sense that she’s questioning it considering the overexposure and the fact that her daughter Delilah (Laya DeLeon Hayes) has been clued in on the side she was trying to keep quiet.
Meanwhile, Dante (Tory Kittles) turns to Robyn for help when a case becomes personal, and Harry (Adam Goldberg) begins thinking about his future. Read on for three big questions that were addressed.
Will Robyn Stop “Equalizing”?
Just as Robyn’s worried her legend is growing too much and it may be time for her, Harry, and Mel (Liza Lapira) to stop, Dante calls after Paley (Erica Camarano) and two other officers are killed while responding to a bank robbery. Though Dante shot one of the robbers, there’s nothing on him in the system. Without any leads, he has only one option: “There’s something I need equalized.”
And her attempt to explain she’s trying to hit pause doesn’t go over so well. “Do you have any idea what it took to call you?” he asks. “Every time you asked, I was there. Against my better judgment, I showed up because the people you were helping needed it. But now I need it.”
Robyn agrees to help, though she does have to reach out to Bishop (Chris Noth). Use the fact that he hates that she’s mad at him for the CIA trading away terrorist Mason Quinn, Mel suggests, as leverage to get what she needs. Robyn does just that, and it turns out the robber Dante shot was CIA, working off-book.
Micheal Greenberg/CBS
As they discover during their investigation, a congressman hired them to recover information connecting them to the assassination of a foreign leader — and anyone who knew about it. When the congressman’s $25,000 watch was stolen, so were files proving what he was a part of. And so his chief of staff is holding the thief captive and torturing him for information. The thief sent the robbers to the bank with the claim that the files were in a safe deposit box. He hoped they’d get caught.
After Robyn and Dante save the man and reunite him with his daughter, the detective simply thanks her for her help. No, there won’t be a lecture about her methods. “The world’s a messy place,” he acknowledges, and while he can’t cross lines, “sometimes we can’t help. Maybe the world does need you.”
So what about that pause? They’re going to keep going, and if anyone wants to come after them, “let them,” Robyn tells Mel and Harry. “We’ll stay one step ahead of them.”
Mary Kouw/CBS
Will Harry Celebrate Another Deathday?
Harry’s celebrating five years of freedom from being hunted by the feds, but that also means it’s been five years that he’s stuck underground. He misses being out in the world, he admits to Mel, and sure, he likes not having to look over his shoulder or be in prison, but “can’t I have both?”
And so at the end of the premiere, once Robyn decides they’re not hitting pause, he asks her to take him on as a new client. “I want you to resurrect me. Being dead is killing me,” he explains. “I just want to live again, preferably without being arrested by the feds for leaking military secrets. … Help me live again.” Robyn agrees to try but warns it might take a while.
Micheal Greenberg/CBS
How Does Robyn’s Daughter Handle the Truth?
“Telling her was a bad idea,” Robyn decides, since Delilah has been with her dad, spending most of her time in her room, after finding out the truth. While Vi (Lorraine Toussaint) thinks she should give her the space she needs, Robyn argues that her daughter just needs a good push.
And that’s exactly what she does when Delilah stops by to talk. She didn’t return Robyn’s messages, she says, because she didn’t know who she was calling: “my mom who drives carpool or some ex-spy turned avengers who’s a complete stranger.” Robyn tries to explain that she had to lie to her because it would’ve been and is dangerous for her to know, but Delilah snaps back, going so far as to ask if she’s going to waterboard her.
After that, Robyn has enough: “You do not have the moral high ground you think you have. … You were sneaking around and you found something you were not ready to see. That’s on you. … You are too young and too sheltered to have a clue as to what you are saying. So this is what it is: I am your mother. And I’m not going to make excuses and apologies for what I do. I have done what I can to keep this country safe, and I’ve done my best to keep you safe. D, there are things in this world that I hope I can protect you from, things that no one should have to experience, like Jason, and it is my job to make them right. It’s what I was put on this earth to do, but none of that takes away from how much I love you.”
Though Delilah goes back with her dad, Robyn did get through to her because the premiere ends with her coming home. “I thought about what you said about giving each other the benefit of the doubt and I realized I never thanked you for what you did for Jason,” Delilah says. “Look, who you are, what you are, it’s a lot and I don’t know how to get used to it, but you’re my mom, and I want to come home. Can I come home?” Of course she can. But will Delilah be able to get used to everything?
The Equalizer, Sundays, 8/7c, CBS
The Equalizer (2021) where to stream
