When we left off, Zinnia had been kidnapped by the bearded European gangster known as Gunther. Sam watched it happen from his car. Now, it is up to Sam whether to continue with the objective of the mission and return to HQ, or go after Zinnia, disobeying direct orders.

Be warned: Spoilers ahead.

We open on Sam on the phone with the women in Denmark and Thunder. He is debating with them over what to do: go after Zinnia, or go back to the base. After a second of thought, he goes after Zinnia, disobeying the orders he was given. His mission control team now has to help him get his co-agent back. Sam eventually loses the van that he’s chasing after, and the credits roll.

After the credits, we are in the car with Diana Shetland, who is staring at a picture of Sam Fisher, telling her assistant that she has to deal with this “pressing matter.” Meanwhile, Sam Fisher is sitting in his car, speaking to his team in Denmark. The team tells him to come back to the base so they can debrief, but Sam disobeys again and chases after Zinnia, telling the team that “the man is the mission.” Zinnia is being interrogated in a dark room by Gunther. Gunther asks about Lukas and what’s in Lukas’ tooth. Zinnia refuses to answer, and Gunther knocks her out.

Thunder continues to analyze the “Green Gables” file from the Shetlands, and he finds hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and files concerning the Xanadu island. He knows that the Shetlands are hiding something. In the meantime, Charlie and Diana discuss the company’s future. They get into a heated argument over what they should use Xanadu for. When Charlie insults Douglas Shetland, Diana gets angry and yells at him. Before hanging up, Charlie makes a point to note that they’re only half-siblings, not full, insinuating that he’s plotting something.

Gunther jabs Zinnia with a hot metal pipe, grilling her about what was in Lukas’ tooth as Sam invades the Displace International offices. Back in Denmark, Thunder and the women in Denmark discover that many of the reviews of Xanadu were paid for by Diana Shetland, and any negative reviews have been removed from the internet.

In a thrilling brawl, Sam kills a load of European Displace International guards. Diana tells Gunther to kill Zinnia, but in the nick of time, Zinnia unscrews herself from her bounds and begins to fight Gunther. At the same time, Sam fights through guard after guard, approaching a door that we are led to believe leads to Zinnia. When he eventually fights through all the guards and kicks down the door, he is face-to-face with Diana Shetland in her office. Zinnia throws Gunther into a furnace and burns him alive.

For the tag of this episode, Freya, disguised as a crewmember on the ship called “The Lazarev,” receives a text from Gunther. It’s a picture of his dead body with the note “you’re next.” Freya stands up and pulls out her pocket knife, approaching a group of workers.

This episode felt a little filler, leading up to the final and penultimate episodes. However, there is a lot to be excited about for the final fourth of the series. Very little about what Xanadu actually is, what happened between Sam and Douglas Shetland, and what the Splinter Cell Agency is has actually been revealed thus far. The final two episodes are entitled Chaos Theory Part 1 and Chaos Theory Part 2, leading us to believe that the arcs for this finale stretch over the course of these two episodes. Hopefully, the arcs are satisfying, and the revealed mysteries feel fully formed- hopefully, they stick the landing.

Rating: 8/10