The Equalizer Season 5 Episode 11, “Taken,” starts with Delilah (Laya DeLeon Hayes) and Robyn (Queen Latifah) shopping for a prom dress. As they go through the store, a little kid in a tricycle approaches them to say hi. His mother apologizes for his disturbance and takes him away. However, moments later, the two women hear the mom screaming the little boy’s name and finding the discarded tricycle.
Meanwhile, Aunt Vi (Lorraine Toussaint) receives a visit from Curtis (Christopher B. Duncan) to clear the air about what happened during the ride-along. As he tries to explain what happened, he begins to sound condescending. While Aunt Vi tries to side with what happened to the young man, Curtis says he would do it again if faced with the same situation.
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The Equalizer, “Taken”
In The Equalizer’s “Taken,” Robyn promises to help Dylan’s mom. Her first step is to ask the security guard to see the mall’s footage. Even though he refuses to do so at first, he takes her to the control room. Nothing can be found there because the equipment is outdated, and there are several blind spots throughout the mall.
While Mel (Liza Lapira) and Harry (Adam Goldberg) drive home from their hot yoga session, Robyn calls them and asks for their help because she has a bad feeling about it. She asks Harry to look at the security footage in case they miss anything.
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At the same time, she finds a fire exit and goes to explore with the security guard. Robyn comes across Dylan’s disregarded clothes in the trashcan. That is when Dylan’s mom comes to her and breaks down about losing her son.
Robyn meets up with Delilah again and asks her to go home. However, the teenager tells her mom it would be best for her to make flyers and return with her friends to help. As Delilah leaves to make the flyers, Dante (Tory Kittles) shows up to tell Robyn what the police are doing.
An Easy Find
Going through the security footage, Harry and Mel find a man recording the kids playing in the indoor playground. After reviewing the footage for several days, they discover that he is a regular doing the same thing. Harry can ID him and pin his location outside a park.
By the time Robyn and Dante catch up with him, the guy begins to claim he doesn’t have Dylan and has no idea what happened to him. As they start questioning him about the recordings, he says he is there to record the adults in the area in case he finds someone with bad intentions.
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Dante discovers the man is telling the truth when he goes through his phone. He explains he ran away from them because the police banned him from being there after he tried to stop a man who was kidnapping a little girl. He mentions he does everything because he is an abuse survivor.
Before they let him go, he says that if he ever finds anything suspicious, he sends it to the police and uploads it to his YouTube channel. Robyn asks for the mall footage to see if they can discover who took Dylan.
A Witness
Delilah is good at her word and returns to the mall to distribute flyers with her friends. A woman recognizes Dylan, so Robyn returns to the mall to speak to her. The witness mentions she saw a couple putting a crying kid in their car. She didn’t think anything of it until she saw the flyer because kids always cry at the mall. She does remember what the car looked like, so Robyn gives Harry the description and asks him to find the car leaving the garage.
A police officer tells Dylan’s mom that she must go to the precinct with him, but she doesn’t want to leave without Dylan. She only agrees to do so because Robyn promises to keep looking for her son and sends Delilah to be with her.
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Harry and Dante call Robyn at the same time. On his end, Harry says he found the car and the couple it belongs to. Dante tells them the BOLO worked, and they know where to find the car. Robyn and Mel both decide to track it down and are able to intercept it on the street. However, as they look around, they see no signs of Dylan.
A Couple of Clues
The couple confesses to having taken Dylan because they needed the money. They share a description of the man who took the boy and where they did the exchange, but they can’t give them the cash for fingerprints because they already spent it all. Mel and Robyn take the phone to bring to Harry, and deliver the couple to the police.
While the NYPD canvasses the area, Harry tries to find evidence in the texts, but the phone the man used has been deactivated. At the same time, Dylan’s mom calls Robyn and mentions she knows the more time passes, the fewer chances they have to find Dylan.
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Harry theorizes the man who took Dylan lives near the mall. He looks into the area near the mall and where Dylan was dropped off and finds a list of sex offenders in that radius. To narrow the search, they look into the park footage to find a guy who fits that description. They find two suspects.
Finding Dylan
Mel and Robyn show up at one of the addresses and break into the home. The moment they do so, they hear Dylan crying. That is when Robyn sees cameras, and smoke starts coming out of the room where Dylan is locked.
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The two women get to Dylan, and Robyn tells Mel to bring him out. As she is searching the house to find out if there are other children, she finds the predator. He says he took pills to kill himself, but Robyn makes him throw them up because she wants him to go to prison. She is able to knock him out and bring Dylan back to his mom.
Aunt Vi and Curtis Talk
Aunt Vi and Curtis discuss his motto, “Observe, protect, connect,” and he mentions how hard it is to make it true. She tells him how she feels about all the young black men being killed by the police, and he tries to explain what his experience is like being a cop and part of the community.
Delilah interrupts their conversation as she comes to get her computer to make the flyers. When they hear what is going on, Curtis mentions he will drive around to see what he can find. Aunt Vi decides to go with him.
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As they are driving around, Curtis says he is trying to do his best to bridge the gap between the community and the police. Aunt Vi can admit she might have been too hard on him, but she explains why. She tells him about what happened to his brother with a cop when he was a teenager. But she also mentions that she sees many of her brother’s and Robyn’s great qualities in Curtis.
A Motherly Reminder
When Mel watches Dylan and his mom walk away, she mentions she has no idea how mothers do it and how they could ever stop worrying about their kids. Robyn tells her moms never stop worrying but that it’s worth it.
Before heading home, she talks to Dante about the fact that she wanted to hurt the man who took Dylan. He tells her he understands what she is feeling. Robyn ends the conversation by stating there is no line she wouldn’t cross to keep her family safe.
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When Robyn gets home, she thanks Delilah for all her help and promises she will always be there to protect her. Shortly after, Aunt Vi arrives and tells them about her day with Curtis. The episode ends with all three women holding hands as they recognize how important their family is.
The Equalizer airs on Sundays on CBS.
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