Lazarus Episode 3 Recap: Did Axel Find Skinner's Secret Surveillance?

The Lazarus team continues their search for Dr. Skinner in the third episode, and once again, aside from some interesting clues about his past and probable course of action, nothing substantial is found that can be used to track him down. Moreover, compared to the first two episodes, this one is pretty slow-paced and has filler-like qualities. The third episode contains a vital social commentary, the effects of which are ruined by strangely bad, on-the-nose dialogue writing. A change of pace is needed in the next episode before boredom starts to creep in on the audience, even with a twenty-minute-long episode. 

Previously, after doing preliminary research on Skinner, the team of manhunters set out to look for him through one of the shelter bunker selling companies, only to chase a wrong lead. Elaine, the young master hacker of the team, found Skinner’s facial match; the only issue is numerous such matches popped up across the globe, as Skinner seems to have gone to quite a length to cover up his tracks.

Spoilers Ahead

Much like the second episode, this one begins with a prologue of sorts as well, with a female narrator speaking about Hapna’s unique properties, which apparently was being used as a cure for heartbreak as well. Different perspectives and utilizations around the usage of the miracle drugs come to light, the only common factor being disappointment followed in every ‘fix-i5’ pursuit.

In the beginning of the episode, Elaine clarifies that through elaborate and methodical hacking, Skinner’s facial profile is being used to create a decoy, as it is being used to mask the real one amidst hundreds of thousands of matches. Elaine, whose hacker alias is revealed as Mad Screamer, reveals that the cloaking is done not by Skinner himself; instead, aside from Elaine, only two of the elite hackers in the world, Popcorn Wizard and Doctor 909, are capable of pulling off something like this. Which indicates that at least one of them is helping Skinner to remain invisible, and also the fact that he might not have changed his appearance using plastic surgery. Hersch sends Christine and Leland to Skinner’s residence to do a more thorough search, although the FBI and local authorities have already come empty-handed. Douglas, on the other hand, pairs up with Axel to follow up a lead of his own. 

 Douglas reveals while having a conversation with Axel that Professor Claude Cline, who used to be his mentor during university years, did some research along with Skinner back in the day, and he might cough up some crucial intel regarding the fugitive scientist’s whereabouts. However, reaching Professor Cline’s workplace at Stanford Hospital, the duo learn that Cline retired, apparently fell from grace, and is living amidst the homeless of the city. Axel mentions he has sources who can help them to search in this kind of neighborhood. Axel’s source, Jerry, who has undergone sex change surgery and is known as Jill at present, refuses to divulge anything about anyone’s private life and identity, as a marginalized person also belonging to the lowest economic strata of society—she knows how discriminatory the world can be. Axel manages to gain her trust by mentioning how, during his academic years, the racist dean of his university had belittled and discouraged him, prompting Axel to lash out in anger and lose his seat as a result. Back then Claude was the only person who stood by him, and Axel will never put such a man in harm’s way. The dialogue writing is pretty on the nose here, as I mentioned in the beginning. Jill leads the duo to Professor Cline, who reveals to Axel that Skinner was irritably workaholic, so much so that he lost a sense of everything around him, resulting in people, including Cline himself, severing ties with him. Cline regrets that in desperation to catch up with Skinner, he ended up falsifying research reports and getting fired from his workplace as a result. Professor Cline isn’t aware of Skinner’s whereabouts, but he shares an important piece of information about Skinner’s love for his grandmother Belinda’s baklava. Belinda lives in Istanbul, and noticing the area she is supposed to reside in to be a no-surveillance, high-crime zone, Hersch decides to send her team in her search. Also, Christine and Leland have managed to infiltrate Skinner’s residence, posing as a cleaning crew, and Christine comes across a strange pill with the number five written on it. The properties of the pill and its usage remain unknown, although Chris jokingly mentions it might be a cure for Hapna. 

Hersch sends Axel and Leland to Istanbul via an advanced Hypercube transportation system, which looks awfully similar to the real-world Hyperloop design. Anyway, as Axel and Leland begin searching around the impoverished quarters, they get chased by a bunch of armed young delinquents who appear extremely wary of foreigners. Axel is able to fend off his pursuers, but lacking field training, Leland struggles and eventually gets nabbed by the goons. In his desperation, Leland mentions their motive of arrival to taste Belinda’s baklava, which surprisingly causes a sudden transformation in their pursuers. Axel and Leland are taken to a shack at the outskirts of the city where old Belinda resides, and after treating themselves with some of her treats, the duo reveal their true reason for arrival to her. Belinda, who raised Skinner following the demise of his parents at a young age, reveals she hasn’t heard from her grandson since three years ago. Belinda shares the last recorded video of himself Skinner had sent to her, and Axel deduces that the scientist wanted them to follow the leads to reach Belinda and is watching over them at present as well, as he wants to ensure that his grandmother is safe. It should be mentioned that Axel notices a unique variety of tulip at Belinda’s place, which appears familiar to him—although details about its properties will be revealed later if it is crucial to the plot. Axel quickly finds out about a hidden camera in Belinda’s place, which confirms his suspicion about Skinner putting in surveillance of his own. However, the face partially revealed on the other side of the surveillance footage doesn’t appear similar to Skinner, and at the same time, Elaine mentions having found Doctor 909’s hidden e-wallet. This indicates that Skinner is being assisted by the hacker to cloak his identity and to watch over his pursuers, and there is a chance that so far the Lazarus crew has been played by the duo. So far, no major breakthrough has been made around the investigation, and team dynamics among the Lazarus crew have not been exceptional or remarkable by any means. Perhaps I am complaining a bit too early, but I do hope that the pacing changes in the upcoming episodes.