Review of 'Counterpart' 2.6

Well, I was right when I said in my review of Counterpart 2.5 that there was only one Yanek in the present, because he had killed his counterpart. I was wrong that Emily was/is his daughter—though Mira, especially older, does look a lot like Emily. All of this in last night's Counterpart 2.6, plus at last a back story that tell us how the two worlds got here, and how the flu arose that wiped out so much of prime.

Parts of this looked like a 1950s movie, especially the moments when the two worlds came into being in that lab. This happened in East Berlin in 1987, and I guess that place did have a look in common with the 1950s. But the 1950s had some joy, and there was little of that last night, as Yanek and Yanek learn the hard way that two worlds are no bed of roses.

Yanek was indeed responsible for the split, as he left the "synchotron" unattended at a crucial time. He—they—were also responsible for the divergence of the two worlds, and for the development of the deadly flu virus. Significantly, we still don't know if the outbreak was by accident or intended. In a crucial sense, that hardly matters. The lesson here is don't create a deadly virus, because even if you don't deliberately deploy it, it could still wreak havoc by accident.

If I'm not mistaken, no one from the previous episodes—except the current, older Yanek, and his daughter Mira (or his double's daughter)— was in evidence this episode. That in itself is a pretty daring move in a television series.

And I liked the ending in which Mira tells her father's double that they will try to end all of this by permanently closing the bridge. It's only right that, having created the two worlds, Yanek figures out a way to end the war between them. Of course, that won't end the two worlds. My prediction: the closing will come close to happening, but will fail.

See you next week(s).