Human Target season 2 episode 4 review: The Return Of Baptiste

This review contains spoilers.

2.4 The Return Of Baptiste

We catch up with last week’s episode with Ilsa bartering for the release of one of her friends, Susan Connors (Wendy Glenn), in South America, kidnapped by a warlord named Miguel Cervantes (Jorge Montesi). Upon returning home, it seems that Chance already has a plan to help, which involves visiting a familiar face in a secure Russian jail.

Turns out Baptiste (Lennie James) is the only person who knows where Cervantes is, so under the ruse of being FSB, Chance gets him released. Baptiste agrees to help so he can get back a vintage watch that he had taken from a former target.

When Chance and Baptiste arrive in South America, Ilsa gets a visit from a Captain Harmen (Cameron Daddo), saying her plane in South America (which was to be used by the team for the rescue escape) is grounded and under heavy armed guard.

Chance and Baptiste make their way to a bar, where Baptiste used to meet his contact, Esteban. This quickly turns into a bar brawl, culminating into a pretty entertaining fight between Chance and Baptiste. Eventually, Esteban shows up, interrupting the fight and throwing our heroes into the trunk of a car.

To get the plane released, the team back in the US come up with a plan which involves Ilsa flirting with Capt. Harmen while Winston hacks his computer.

After being stabbed in the back by Baptiste while they were digging their own graves, Chance wakes up in a room with Susan Connors. Their plan to escape goes awry, but they still manage to get out, just in time to see Baptiste making a deal with Cervantes.

The confrontation goes Chance’s way after he reminds Baptiste that he had given him his word and the three of them make their escape. While Chance’s bullet-filled escape was happening, Winston’s plan has been successful and a quick phone call later and the plane is released, letting the three of them escape.

After a visit from Capt. Harmen confirming that he knows Ilsa had something to do with the plane being released and Susan Connors being freed, we see Chance and Baptiste on the plane back to Russia. After a little chat with a gun in his face, Chance offers Baptiste a place on his team. Knowing full well that Baptiste would try and escape, Chance has already drugged his favourite brandy.

The show ends with Chance flashing the watch Baptiste wanted, while Ilsa leaves for her date with Capt. Harmen.

To be honest, I’m not sure what to make of this episode. On one hand, we had the return of Baptiste and an introduction into a South American warlord’s territory, which should be awesome, but I just felt like the episode was missing something.

There wasn’t much chance for Guerrero or Winston to do much in this episode, and there was a lot of Ilsa, who proved that even in the Human Target universe most men will do anything when a pretty girl flashes her eyelids. The fight between Chance and Baptiste was, as always, very well done. The escape from Cervantes was pretty good too.

We got to see a bit more of Chance’s history in this episode as well, this time from a third party. It looks like Baptiste was hurt from the way Chance had left his former employer. It also turns out that, since he was caught, Baptiste hasn’t heard from the old man, which he resents, and seems to lay some of that resentment upon Chance, leaving a potentially interesting story thread to explore.

One thing that niggled at me, and maybe it’s a little pedantic, but seeing Guerrero plug a SATA cable into several SATA ports as a hacking device was a little cringe worthy. Also, the lack of Ames in this episode is probably a good thing for some people, but not me. I feel that she’s really starting to add to the team.

It was odd seeing Wendy Glenn in this episode. I remember her distinctly from Hollyoaks (I know, I know).

Overall, I thought this was an average episode that should have been great. The one massively redeeming feature is that it has set up an unlikely future partnership between Baptiste and Chance (to go against the old man?) and at very least we know we’ll see Baptiste again when he comes looking for his watch!

Read our review of episode 3, Taking Ames, here.

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