THE LAZARUS PROJECT Recap: Season 2 Episode 7

DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Lazarus Project Season 2 Episode 7 contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.

It’s penultimate episode time on The Lazarus Project, and sh*t has effectively hit the fan. We finally see why Bryson calls George a “monster.” Although, Bryson didn’t witness George’s actions in Season 1 to save Sarah. I mean, his actions are horrendous here, but they somewhat pail in comparison. I love how Season 2 Episode 7 highlights the human condition — the lengths we’ll go to achieve our objectives, especially when we feel so strongly that we’re in the right. Despite Season 2 trying to paint Wes as a villain, I understand her motivations.

This outing is tense and thrilling, and Paapa Essiedu and Caroline Quentin bless us with tour-de-force performances.

The Lazarus Project Season 2 Episode 7 Recap

We open with George (Essiedu), Sarah (Charly Clive), Bryson (Royce Pierreson) and Dr. Samson (Sam Troughton) sitting in a car outside Dr. Gray’s lab after the explosion. Bryson passes out from his gunshot wound. Next, Samson sits in the backseat with Bryson, putting pressure on the latter’s wound. Unfortunately, Bryson loses consciousness again. However, before that, he urges our trio to look for “Bryson Wesley” at Lazarus HQ.

After this, Sarah discovers that Bryson is Wes’s son. They need to persuade Wes to turn back time to the checkpoint. George declares they can use Bryson as leverage in that regard. Meanwhile, at Lazarus, Janet (Vinette Robinson) and Ross (Brian Gleeson) return from completing Operation Midnight. Ross compliments Janet on a job well done. Of course, Janet isn’t okay with what went down, so she heads home.

Wes sits at her desk while examining a syringe in The Lazarus Project Season 2 Episode 5. — THE LAZARUS PROJECT Season 1 Episode 8. Photo courtesy of TNT.

Greenlight

Next, Ross catches up with Wes (Quentin). He informs her that everyone on her list is dead; however, they brought in a hostage. Before he leaves her office, Wes tasks Ross with picking up Bryson (the 2012 version) from his university and bringing him to Lazarus HQ. After Ross exits, Wes calls someone only to say: “Greenlight.” Then, said person shoots Robin Lerner (Colin Salmon) in the head in a packed cafe.

Later, Ross finds young Bryson at a university, introducing himself as someone who works with his mother. While en route to Lazarus HQ, Bryson tries to call his father. We see it’s none other than Lerner, who lies dead on his laptop in the cafe as the police commence their investigation. Meanwhile, Wes chats with adult Bryson, who’s in the same cell Rebrov was in last season. She admits he won’t find this next part pleasant; however, the onus is on her to do the hard stuff.

Then, George, Sarah and Dr. Samson are outside Lazarus HQ. They brainstorm a plan to break inside. Samson will pose as a security guard, which will require him to dispose of the actual security guard. They head to a joke shop to find costumes. After that, Sarah pretends to be a delivery driver, luring the security guard into the back of her van. George and Samson knock him unconscious and restrain him.

The Monster

Next, Samson emerges, removing the barriers so Sarah and George can drive straight inside Lazarus HQ. Our duo tries to figure out how to get adult Bryson to Wes’s office. Sarah suggests they take her down to his cell instead. George recalls what Bryson said about him at the beginning of the season, that he was a “monster.” So, perhaps he’ll do monstrous things here.

Meanwhile, younger Bryson learns from his mother that his father is dead (but she purposely omits the little bit about him dying on her orders). Elsewhere, George and Sarah add to their body count while Samson tells off a security guard, gaining access to the control room.

Then, George and Sarah barge into Wes’s office. George brandishes his gun, claiming he knows Wes has a Glock in her drawer and a panic button underneath her desk. Sarah trains her weapon on young Bryson. Wes asks what they want. George responds that he wants her to declare a Code Black and reset time back to the checkpoint. Sarah adds that she and George will inevitably work for Wes in the future.

Sarah sits in a chair in a cafe while looking content in The Lazarus Project Season 1 Episode 8. — THE LAZARUS PROJECT Season 1 Episode 8. Photo courtesy of TNT.

Lerner Is Bryson’s Father

Wes refuses to do as she’s told. At the same time, Samson sends adult Bryson upstairs to Wes’s office. Elsewhere, the guard George and Samson beat up and restrained wakes up in the back of the van. He tries to free himself. George and Sarah learn the bombshell that Lerner is Bryson’s father.

Next, Sarah shoots the guard who escorts adult Bryson into Wes’s office. Wes is incredulous that there are two Brysons in the same space. George insists no one will get hurt if Wes sets the clock back now. Adult Bryson speaks up, providing context for his younger self. Wes really messes them up, and as George says, this is a defining moment for the Brysons.

Wes puts forth her case for not turning back time to the checkpoint. Time travel should be a last-minute resort, not a tool to sculpt a perfect world. It’s a Hail Mary. Lazarus uses time travel to make the world a better place. Sometimes, that’s making a choice that’s the lesser of two evils. Wes sees Lerner’s time machine as a threat to humankind.

Gunfire

Suddenly, a vehicle pulls up with a cluster of men — Wes’s next appointment. However, they open fire on Lazarus to eradicate the George/Sarah/Samson threat. Wes and George continue to argue, with Wes insisting she saved the world by killing Dr. Gray and her scientists (and Lerner). However, George and Sarah need the time machine to break the time loop/black hole mess.

Wes believes they should destroy something at its source. “You wanna get rid of a wasp’s nest, you kill the f*cking queen,” she says. What a badass line. Suddenly, George snakes his arm around adult Bryson’s neck, pressing his gun against Bryson’s temple. Wes insists that adult Bryson isn’t her son but “an aberration.” Lady, that’s your son from the future.

Wes says that whoever harnesses the power of time travel will have all humanity in their hands. A true time machine changes everything. George plays his next hand — he points his gun at young Bryson. He insists he’ll kill Bryson if she doesn’t declare a Code Black. After Wes still refuses, George starts beating the snot out of young Bryson. Sarah looks shocked. We see scenes of their relationship replay in her head.

Shiv stands in the doorway of a building while looking focused in The Lazarus Project Season 1 Episode 8. — THE LAZARUS PROJECT Season 1 Episode 8. Photo courtesy of TNT.

Control

As for Samson, he’s barricaded himself in the control room per George’s orders. However, one guard tries to break down the door. Meanwhile, Sarah gets George to stop punching young Bryson. Thankfully, he’ll live. Sarah urges George to assist Samson as gunfire rings through the building.

While George fires on the men outside, Wes quizzes Sarah on what Lazarus does. Sarah understands that they save the world regardless of personal costs. Sarah discloses that the plans for the time machine are still out there, and one of Dr. Gray’s disciples is still alive. Wes asks Sarah what she wants, to which she replies, “Time.”

George returns to Wes’s office with a gunshot wound in his shoulder. Finally, Wes waves the white flag. She picks up her phone and declares a Code Black. Then, we see the clock move backward. Our crew winds up back on the time machine plane as they prepare to land on July 1, 2012.

Code Black

Shiv (Rudi Dharmalingam) storms into Wes’s office, wondering why she returned them to the checkpoint. Wes claims she received valuable intel. However, he doesn’t need to worry; it’s under control.

The Lazarus Project airs new episodes every Sunday at 10/9c on TNT.

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Melody McCune

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