True Lies (Season 1) Episode 5: Episode 5 of CBS’ new spy-thriller True Lies continues to disappoint on the whole. There is nothing much new to discover about the genre or the characters from the show. Fully fleshing out their personal lives in the form of a season might have seemed exciting on paper. But that has not been translated on the screen. Terrible setups, blocking, and dense writing take away any form of intrigue from True Lies’ visual prowess, while the cardboard acting gives you a terrible headache.
True Lies is a bonafide potboiler having no intention to amount to anything more than a sentimental throwback to a classic spy film and spy cliches in general. One can easily spot the “inspiration” the makers have taken from yesteryear classics like Mission Impossible and Mr. and Mrs. Jones in this episode once again.
Their fans surely wouldn’t like the comparison. The visual cues are there for all to see and make their own calls about True Lies. Here we have recapped episode 5 of True Lies for you with an ending explainer and an explainer for all the plot points.
True Lies (Season 1), Episode 5 Recap:
“Unrelated Parents”
We begin this episode of True Lies with Operation Walk in the Park. Helen is now a part of the group and a full-time field agent. She is a part of this operation whose objective is to acquire the target and intercept intelligence.
Harry is tasked with The “Target Acquisition,” Luther and Maria are on “Surveillance Duty,” and Helen is to translate what Konstantin says on the phone. He is meeting someone in the park to give them details about the weapons he is selling.
Right in the middle of the operation, as Harry is about to nab Konstantin, Dana calls with a “911 Emergency.” He is forced to call her, and Dana simply wants a “ring light,” the new Gen Epidemic destroying lives, to upload a song on TikTok before her friend can. Harry is able to shoulder charge Konstantin and save the day.
He reprimands Dana when he gets home. He even takes away his phone, which in her mind is like “taking away a limb.” Harry’s harshness is countered by Helen, who tries to incentivize good behavior with “clarity and positive reinforcement.”
As it turns out, Dana has the same reaction to Helen and walks out on her parents to blow off steam. Albert briefs the team on a new operation at the Omega office. Analysts looked over the files they got from Konstantin.
An unknown hacker has compromised key Israeli and Syrian defense systems, now having access to launch almost 40 missiles if he wants to. The Operation Hack Job is to locate “Hav0k”, the code name of the hacker, whose location is in Florida.
Luther, Harry, and Maria attack the park trailer they find in the woods. A teenage kid by the name of Max Graves is the person responsible, and the agents are shocked. He gives them a lot of attitude, and Harry starts losing his cool.
Helen intervenes and using her strategy that did not work on Dana, tries to woo Max. Her sweet tone is instantly caught out by Max, who then makes fun of her and insults her fashion choices. Perhaps the only way to deal with this kid is through harsh treatment, after all.
Albert sees his screens and figures out that a group of heavily armed commandos is approaching them. Max is unwilling to leave his computer system that has important and unerasable files.
He also wants to keep in contact with his online hacking group, who are his only friends. Thinking on his feet, harry decides to blow up the trailer and make a run for it. They get into the vehicles and, despite being under assault, outrun the commandos.
The team camps at a local motel until Trilby figures out a way to send an exfil team to get them out. Maria and Luther set up fencing around the perimeter. The theme of the episode revolves around parenthood, and they discuss how Maria plans to adopt a girl one day. Her imaginary daughter is named Bridgette, and Luther thinks he would be “the cool uncle.” Albert takes up the surveillance duty, and with the motion sensing cameras, this time, Omega will not be surprised.
Harry and Helen dread the task of looking after the obnoxious teenager. The former quickly backed out, and Helen must do the difficult task. At first, Max seems genuinely stressed out by his situation.
He says he has no family and that his parents died in a car crash. But when Helen sympathizes with him, it turns out Max was only pretending. She is fed up with her unsuccessful strategy and feels Harry’s “stick way” is the most feasible option. Just then, they see a damaging power surge disturb the area and fail all their surveillance equipment.
When the couple goes inside, they see that Max has managed to escape through the bathroom window. The team spreads out to canvas the nearby areas looking for Max. Helen suggests he might have gotten the urge to reconnect with his online surrogate family.
While talking to Harry, she expresses her insecurity about not being a caring parent. This is the result of their failed attempts to control Dana and Max in this episode. But Harry tries to be stoic and says that they are still learning how to manage kids.
She sees a blue light emitting from an auto shop. It might be Max on a computer. Maria and Luther reach the location given to them by Albert. He caught footage from CCTV cameras which gave a match for the SUV the commandos were driving. They overhear them talking, but they are neither Israelis nor Syrians.
They are speaking with a clean, American accent, and one of them says they were hired by The Pyramid. Their cover is almost blown, but the commandos now have Max’s location. Harry and Helen once again confront Max, but he is still obnoxiously stubborn.
They embrace a physical encounter with the commandos. But Helen and Harry craftily manage to beat them despite being helplessly outnumbered. Max is finally able to trust them to some extent, and they take off to meet the others.
True Lies (Season 1), Episode 5 Ending, Explained:
What valuable lesson do the Taskers learn about parenting?
They reach the rendezvous point, and Albert makes a shocking allegation. While Max once again reiterates how much he loves his friends and that his parents died in a car crash, Albert names Max’s online hacker group: The Pyramid. Despite the overwhelming mistrust he has against Omega and the government, they are only looking out for him.
His so-called surrogate family sent an army of mercenaries to kill him and get the codes. Once they had gotten them, Pyramid could then sell them to the highest bidders. Suddenly, they notice that Pyramid has sent explosive drones to attack Omega and kidnap Max.
A car chase ensues, and the Omega team looks set to be defeated. That is when Max puts his hand up and says that he can use his AI decryption software to override the control frequencies of the drones and save the day.
Through his enterprise and Harry’s great shooting skills, the team is barely able to escape the drones. Back at the office, we learn that Albert has given Max a job at Omega for his great computing skills.
He knows a lot more than Albert about weapons and encryption. Max also apologizes to Harry and Helen for doubting them throughout the mission. Luther indicates that he still has feelings for Maria by mentioning he would love to be a co-parent to her daughter someday. Their relationship is a little complicated right now.
Harry and Helen return home with a valuable lesson. They try out their newly learned trick from Max on Dana, who comes back home with a guitar. She said earlier in the episode that she wants to be a singer. Harry and Helen encourage her to pursue her dreams and mention that they support and believe in her.
Dana excitedly lists out things she would need to begin her dreams. However, Harry and Helen intercede and tell Dana that she must accept responsibility for her dreams. They send her out to take a job at Baskin-Robbins and pay herself for the stuff. She seems content and excited.
