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Episode Recap: "Night 3"
Wow! What a strong conclusion for what’s sure to be recognized as one of the year’s best miniseries. The tone this time was definitely more of a piece with The Company’s slow-building first part than last week’s globe-trotting actionfest. But the dark, regretful feeling that permeated every action, every conversation, was, in the end, the only way things could have turned out.
Watching the complete breakdown of Leo (http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/alessandro-nivola/138750">Alessandro Nivola) throughout his interrogation was shocking — in part because of its swiftness, but more so because his only crime was being too loyal to the Company.
Or so it seemed, until we found out he was the mole, Sasha, all along — a fact he later revealed by shooting his best friend and godfather of his children in the gut and fleeing to the crumbling remains of his adopted homeland.
Truly, it seems, the Cold War was a grand debacle, perhaps summed up best by http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/michael-keaton/166124">Michael Keaton ’s Angleton in his greenhouse conversation with http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/chris-odonnell/144528">Chris O’Donnell ’s Jack: "We’re all lost, Jack. We’re lost in the wilderness of mirrors."
Defectors, false defectors, double and triple agents: It was all hard to keep straight, to remember who were the allies and who were the enemies. But I think that was ultimately the point of this whole project — to let us peek behind the curtain and see that there were no brilliant puppet masters with grand plans. There were just a lot of idealistic men and women trying to do the best for themselves and their countries, even when they couldn’t figure out just what that was. A little disheartening, to be sure, but probably a lot closer to the truth than your typical black-and-white, heroes-and-villains scenario.
On a more positive note, the reappearance of http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/rory-cochrane/172961">Rory Cochrane's Yevgeny, who was mostly MIA during part 2, brought the story full circle in a satisfying way.
Ultimately, it came down to three college friends who became bitter enemies — but instead of resulting in a climactic battle, there was only a weak truce, borne not of trust, but simply of resignation.
Harvey (http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/alfred-molina/138989">Alfred Molina) and Jack’s final conversation applied to all three of those once-idealistic young men, and to both sides of the Cold War, as Jack wondered if the lives they had given up really made any difference at all, and if the world would understand or even remember their sacrifices. It was a perfectly bittersweet note on which to end such a subtle, contemplative piece.
So, on that upbeat note... thanks for watching The Company along with me. I’ll be taking a blogging break this fall, but returning in January for the seventh season of http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/24/100003">24. With big changes planned for the cast and locations this time around, it should be a wild ride, and I, for one, can’t wait.
Watch online: For clips of The Company, visit our Online Video Guide.
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Aug 19, 2007 10:31 PM
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This was a phenomenal series, but a little hard to follow at times with such a huge cast of characters whose looks kept evolving over the years the show covered. Thanks so much for the blog! Between this and watching each episode twice, I was able to keep up and thoroughly enjoy the bittersweet ending.
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Aug 20, 2007 9:44 AM
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A mole who had access to the Oval Office and whose wife, the daughter of a senator, discovered he was a double agent before killing herself (rather than killing him in his sleep), leaving him with her kids, not to mention with access to the President?!?
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Aug 20, 2007 12:10 PM
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It was a great wrap up to the series. My only wish is that the first two hours would have been as good as the last 4. It seems like they could have done so much better during the early stages of the show.
Alfred Molina, in my opinion, was the anchor in every show. I thought his acting was best. At times, I had a hard time with Michael Keaton - just trying to forget it was Michael Keaton. In the last two hours, though, he was completely believable and his acting fantastic.
Rory Cochrane, in my opinion, was the only real drawback in the whole series. I think he was miscast. I couldn't relate to his character, or have any interest in his life or his situation. He was just too bland and lifeless in his portrayal of Yevgeny.
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Aug 20, 2007 2:26 PM
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Sheldon,
Did they say that Leo's wife committed suicide? I thought it had been staged to cover up him or the KGB killing her.
Loved the series. It was so similar to "The Good Shepherd", but both were excellent.
It really messed with my linear thought process. The high point was last night when Angleton (Michael Keaton) said that the KGB guy that fingered Leo as Sasha and then went back to the USSR and was reported as being executed was found too easily by the Rabbi because the Soviets wanted him to be found to make Leo credible and let him off the hook.
Talk about a mindf**k! It turns out he was right, at least in the story. I wonder if something like that actually happened in real life?
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Aug 20, 2007 8:35 PM
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Todd, noooooooooooooo! You can't seriously mean you'll be taking off until January. Who will either confirm or deny my suspicions about my favorite shows while you're gone? Who will take over your regular show blogs while you're away? Grateful LOCI fans want to know!
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Aug 21, 2007 7:24 AM
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Thank for you the awesome recaps.
I really enjoyed this series. In the end, I'm not sure how I felt about Rory Cochrane either (as another poster above mentioned). I usually like him, but I could not sympathize with Yevgeny at all. Perhaps we were meant to be mystified by him? Because I certainly was (just maybe not in the way they meant).
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Aug 21, 2007 5:14 PM
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I enjoyed this show immensely. I did turn on my caption feature this time & followed along much easier. Thanks to whomever suggested that earlier.
Alfred Molina was absolutely the greatest thing about this show. He was consistent throughout the entire 6 hours. He is such a great actor & I've enjoyed everything I've seen him in.
Michael Keaton was also great even though "Beetlejuice" flashes through my mind everytime I see or hear him. 
Chris O'Donnell & Rory Cochrane were just pretty much background in my opinion but Alessandro Nivola (who's too cute) really did pull out the big acting guns during his interrogation in this episode especially after being only so, so in the first 2. I believed that he truly couldn't be Sasha until he just showed back up to work & acted as if nothing was amiss. Hmmmm.....
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Aug 24, 2007 1:52 PM
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Stefani - thanks for the support! Unfortunately, I believe the Law & Order: CI blog is no more, now that the show has moved to USA. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
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Aug 28, 2007 2:35 PM
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