Echo 3 (Season 1), Episode 8: While the narrative of Echo 3 focused mainly on the rescue operation until now, the new episode delves deeper into the characters regarding their family relationship. As the title of the episode clearly suggests, it is about the family matters between these individuals, where the aspect of the action thriller takes a back seat to unravel more quiet, contemplative moments between the characters. While the previous episode ends with sharing a bunch of political jargon in a short span, the new episode feels too lightweight and creates a sudden shift of tonality in its storytelling.
Echo 3 (Season 1) Episode 8 Recap ‘Family Matters‘
How do Bambi and Prince plan to rescue Amber?
Written by Zach Craley & Mark Boal, the eighth episode of Echo 3 is directed by Mark Boal. It begins with Amber (Jessica Ann Collins) hanged by ropes, and it looks like the local authorities are torturing her due to her recent effort to escape. While trying to keep her sanity intact amidst the challenging circumstances, Momo (Juan Pablo Urrego) returns to his brother Tariq’s (Vicente Peña) place to meet him after being rescued. By the end of the previous episode, we see Bambi (Luke Evans) trying to stop Prince (Michiel Huisman) from hurting Momo.
Since the alternative of blackmail does not work, the two send him back home. Momo still grieves against Tariq for not helping him out and even letting him get electrocuted due to his stubbornness and arrogance. Maybe because Momo fears that he will get captured again, he requests Tariq to save Amber since he has the power to do so. He does not accept it even now and considers the threat posed by the Americans to be inconsequential.
Meanwhile, Amber goes through a series of hallucinations while staying in the dark space where she is held captive. She goes through nightmares about her traumatic past from her childhood, where her mother’s partner threatened her and Bambi with their lives. At the time, Bambi had shot and killed this person to protect themselves. Still, it left emotional scars on both siblings that still haunt them. As a kid, she assured him that what he did was not bad – to help him let go of his guilt for murder. There are also brief flashes of memory she goes through of her moments with Prince while trying to dream of a life beyond the confines.
While the sister goes through these pain-filled dreamscapes, the brother keeps up with his efforts to rescue her safely. Prince sees a video of Amber where she clearly seems to have been traumatized. That’s when Bambi brings a local man named Javi, who has intel about her. He has overheard their plan to kill her in the next few days. He mentions that Tariq is the boss, and he is the one in authority to order her execution. She is, meanwhile, being treated like an animal and made to act in a way to fulfill their motives. Adding to that, she is fed some drugs that have a hallucinatory quality.
In that state, she imagines Bambi coming to her place, shooting Tommy in the head, and taking her away. Their mother, who goes back to the US by that time, tries to get hold of Prince’s father – Eric Hass II, to speak with him and informing about the kidnapping and the rescue mission. Reese (with whom Prince had a brief affair) comes in to connect her with him on a video call. She mentions Prince and Bambi being criminals and that his man – Roy, is killed. He keeps denying having any relationship with it and notes their fate being in their hands. He makes her feel foolish about herself for thinking he would stop them.
Through brief glimpses, the episode also shows the first meeting between Amber and Prince, where she meets this rich, spoiled brat and bonds with him in no time. She takes him to meet Bambi, and they bond together just as well as if they are long-lost brothers. Meanwhile, in the present, she still imagines Bambi sitting next to her, speaking about his past military experiences. She considers it unreal and keeps with her attempts to bring herself back to sanity.
Back in their secret location, Mitch comes to meet Prince and mentions that they need to go in with badges by presenting themselves as Colombian army members. He notes the difficulty of their operation and the necessity of doing it that way. Later, he meets some locals hired by Bambi to help them in the rescue operation. Through a note, he sees his father’s reaction, who mentions that he is proud of him.
Prince and Bambi give these people a pep talk, where they reinforce the importance of the secrecy of their operation. They make them believe in doing it for integrity and honor to save their family, and if they have any issues, they can leave immediately. They show them an elaborate plan on how to enter based on their separate teams and get information from them about local activities. They ask how they can find her amidst the crowd, and since they have drones, it will be easier for them to find her. Besides, as told by Javi, she will most likely be at one of the places from the facility where they need to head without compromising the mission.
Echo 3 (Season 1) Episode 8 Ending Explained
Tariq, Tommy, Momo, and a local bigwig have a discussion about their future deal together. They decide to join hands with the promise of money coming their way. They discuss their differences, including Tariq’s reluctance to get involved in anything violent. Tommy makes fun of him, and Tariq takes it on his ego and impulsively hits him. He later apologizes, they bond again, and then he leaves with Momo. Just after walking outside, he gets shot by men sent by Prince. Letting them proceed with the rescue operation seems to be a distraction.
Back at their base, Bambi and Prince have a heartfelt conversation about their past. Prince mentions considering Bambi as an inspiration to join the army even if he is that wealthy. Hearing that, he gets emotional and confesses that he could have saved Drifter during their past rescue mission. He preferred rescuing Prince instead of him since he could not save both. Prince asks why he made that choice, and he recalls a conversation between him and Amber, in which he promised to save her fiancée no matter what happens. The episode then ends with the team separating into their respective teams and heading toward the facility through the waterway.
