Previously, in Episode 4 of “The Recruit,” we saw Owen eventually get Max Meladze released from prison, but Dawn Gilbane and Xander Goi had other plans for Max. They could murder her or send her back to Belarus as a resource. We may be able to look into it more thoroughly in “The Recruit” Episode 5.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Owen Return To Phoenix?
Where “The Recruit” Episode 4 left off, Episode 5 picks up. We saw that Max Meladze had been freed from custody and that the CIA’s regional office staff in Phoenix had arrived to pick her up. Dawn Gilbane may have ordered them to place her under house arrest so they could keep an eye on her. However, Max was a savvy fox, so she took her bag packed with cash and a pistol and fled the home through a secret passage. Owen returned home, certain that his involvement with Max Meladze was finally over, allowing him to believe that he could live his own life happily, but he was confronted with reality when secret service officers knocked on his door. The chief of staff for the President had called him to an executive office building to discuss Max Meladze’s case. The chief of staff, Kevin Mills, who went by the code name “Not Bob,” explained to Owen that although he was never Max Meladze’s handler, someone at the agency had given her his code name. He wanted Owen to find out who did this. Since he was the President’s chief of staff and much more powerful than any OGC member he knew, Owen felt powerless to say no to him. Owen was happy to know that Max was no longer an issue, but he couldn’t be certain of that since Max could involve him with her at any moment. She had previously misled the Phoenix local branch and fled in order to meet Talco and his boss, who could offer her money in exchange for her business of running safe houses.
Soon after Max approached Talco, he realized he could murder her and obtain some of her valuable information regarding safe houses for his boss, El Jefe, but Max was prepared for any upcoming threat. As Talco attacked her, she thrashed him and his man, warning them that she would not bargain with them anymore but that someone else would, and that ‘someone’ was none other than Owen. In addition to calling Owen and telling him to return to Phoenix, Max also let the general council know that she wanted Owen to visit Phoenix. Although Owen disregarded her, he could not ignore Nyland’s or Dawn Gilbane’s instructions for him to travel to Phoenix and bring Max to the CIA. According to Gilbane, Max was an essential weapon they could use to counter Russian intelligence. Owen was reluctant, but he was stuck. He turned to Janus for advice, and Janus advised him that if he didn’t get used to these panic episodes and tried to quit, he would still be involved in the case and would be held responsible for any problems. Owen understood he had to go to Phoenix. Meanwhile, Dawn asked her agent to spy on Owen since she believed that something fishy was going on between Owen and Max.
What Was Max’s Business? Why Did She Use Owen?
Owen landed in Phoenix, where Max awaited him at a hotel. She instructed him to book a suite for them, which Owen didn’t want to do for lack of money, but Max deceived him by claiming that she had some vital information on Russian intelligence, so he had to do it for the information to reach the CIA. Owen needed money, so he called Hannah to get her credit card details to reserve the suit. Hannah hesitantly consented since Owen explained that it was for work. Owen and Max entered the suite, and she immediately began tempting Owen to have sex with her, but Owen controlled himself. Dawn’s agent, who suspected that something was truly going on between these two, had everything photographed, from Owen’s encounter with Max to stepping into their room. When Owen asked Max why she had called him to Phoenix, Max replied that she could only afford to have Owen as her only source of assurance. She also explained that she needed the money in order to sell her safe house business to Sandoval Luna, one of the cartel gang leaders. She could return to Belarus with the money because no one, not even CIA personnel, would provide financial assistance to her. Owen felt sorry for Max as she mourned for her daughter, who had been abducted or lost.
One last time, Max asked Owen if he would join her in bed, but he politely declined. The next morning, a bouquet arrived at Hannah’s doorway, and she regarded it as a nice gesture from Owen, but the next moment she learned that $3000 had been deducted from her account. She called Owen, and Max answered, leading her to suspect that Owen had reserved a room with a lady. Terence encouraged Hannah to keep Owen out of her life, but she couldn’t since she had feelings for him, and Owen had feelings for her too, but they couldn’t communicate because of their past. Max told Owen that by answering Hannah’s call, she had damaged her trust in him. When Owen asked Max whether she could identify “Not Bob,” she refused, proving that she had lied to him in the first place. Max’s handler, on the other hand, was a woman who died of liver cancer. Max knew about Not Bob since Xander Goi had told her about him. After a brief argument, Max directed Owen to a spot where Talco might approach them, but she would not accompany him there. Zuri Wench, a worker at Sun City Bank who is essential to Talco’s boss, was her source, and she told Owen that she would kill her. But Owen forbade her to do that since he wasn’t assigned to anyone’s murder. Max reassured him that she would not kill the woman, but she wanted Owen to warn the boss that Max would kill the source if he didn’t give her the money she needed. Talco was approached by Owen, who was then taken to their vehicle to see their boss. Owen was ready for yet another life-threatening situation in which he may die or come back with the money. His life may take any turn, as we might see in “The Recruit” Episode 6.
However, Cora, who was not Max’s roommate and was a fugitive, may have also been convicted of a crime. Nevertheless, she sought refuge at her safe house, which Max ran as a refugee or agent sanctuary. We didn’t fully understand what Max was up to. Would she go back to the CIA or run away to her home, leaving everything behind? We anticipate learning more in the upcoming episodes.
See more: ‘The Recruit’ Season 1, Episode 4: Recap & Ending, Explained: How Did Max’s Record Come Clean?
