A helicopter flies overhead the Russian ship “Lazarev”. Sam Fisher and Zinnia McKenna don their iconic green goggles and belay themselves down to the deck of the ship. The safety of Europe’s energy supply rests in their hands. The women in Denmark tell them that their objective is the control room of the ship, below the deck. While the agents attempt to sabotage Diana’s plans, Diana alters reviews of Xanadu Island as she prepares to control Europe’s energy supply.

Be warned: spoilers ahead.

After the credits roll, we follow Sam and Zinnia as they explore the ship. Everyone they encounter is dead or dying. It is clear Freya has mutilated through everyone. The agents decide to split up, Zinnia going to secure the bridge and Sam continuing to the engine room. Diana continues to check on the ship as she prepares to host world leaders at Xanadu Island. Diana puts on her most diplomatic face and explains the perks of the island: it’s completely green, and it can help a nation supply energy to its military or cities. The key point is that Xanadu will lead countries to be completely energy independent. Of course, what Diana really means is that the nations will be dependent on Xanadu’s shoddy technology.

Back on the ship, Sam makes it to the engine room and attempts to manually change the ship’s speed and direction, Zinnia trudges through wind and rain to reach the bridge, and the women in Denmark realize that they only have 15 minutes to stop the boat before it reaches its target. While trying to reroute the ship, Sam falls into Freya’s booby traps. The wiring in the engine room is destroyed, and there’s nothing Sam can do from his position. The success of the mission now relies on Zinnia.

Though it’s difficult, Zinnia makes it to the bridge. Just before taking the ship out of autopilot, Zinnia is interrupted by Freya’s assault rifle, blasting through the window panes of the bridge. Zinnia and Freya face off on the bridge. They shoot, stab, and punch at each other, each one gaining an upper hand. Eventually, Zinnia smashes Freya’s head into the control panel, knocking her out. Zinnia inserts the bug and takes the ship out of autopilot. But she’s not out of the woods yet. Freya rises like a phoenix covered in blood to give Zinnia one last run for her money. Freya takes out a Frag grenade, un-pins it, and blows the bridge up. Thunder is able to remotely control the ship at this point thanks to Zinnia’s work. Somehow alive, Zinnia and Sam sit down next to each other on the bridge, and Thunder attempts to stop the ship. However, Thunder’s access to the ship is suddenly blocked by a third party.

At the event on Xanadu, Diana gets a call from Charlie. Last we heard from Charlie, Diana was yelling at him and trying to take full control of the company, and Charlie was headed for the marina. The Lazarev is diverted from the energy terminal to Xanadu Island. Charlie, to get back at her sister, and reclaim his father’s legacy, pushes the ship to Xanadu Island. Zinnia and Sam can escape on a small red lifeboat before the ship collides with the island. But, in a fiery rage, the island, Diana, and all the secretaries and diplomats on the island are destroyed.

A large tidal wave pushes Zinnia and Sam’s ship away and cracks the windows, sending Sam to the bottom of the ocean, unconscious. Here, we get one last flashback. Sam and Douglas, much younger, are discussing the cyclical nature of life. Then, Sam at Douglas’ funeral, not speaking with Diana. Before he drowns, Zinnia pulls Sam to the surface and saves his life. Here, Sam takes responsibility for Diana’s vengeance, and not being there for her after her father died. This removes some of the trauma from Zinnia, setting her on a different and hopefully better life course than Sam.

At Diana’s funeral, Charlie is pictured as the mourning debonair and not the cruel killer. From a distance, Sam watches. Later that night, Charlie assumes his new throne, sitting in front of a large portrait of his father. Just as he’s about to go to sleep, he hears a creaking. It’s Sam Fisher. This time, Sam spares no time. He pulls his gun up- the credits roll, cutting off Sam’s shot.

The episode was a thrilling and dangerous conclusion to this season of Splinter Cell. The episode really answered everything we needed to have answered; however, there were a few moments where we had to suspend our disbelief. Most notably, Freya sets off a grenade no less than a foot away from Zinnia, and Zinnia survives the blow without any injury. Also, there seemed to be no blowback after a massive Russian freighter destroyed a multi-million dollar energy project and a bunch of European leaders. Other than those two plot holes, the episode was sound. The next season was announced last week. Sticking with the theme of the video games, it could be about a completely different villainous organization, but it would be interesting to explore the fallout of the death of Diana Shetland. Overall, this episode represented everything we love about the show and Tom Clancy in general: High stakes. Lots of action. Lots of thrill.

Rating: 9/10