The Terminal List S2 Episode 2 Review: Warrior in a Garden -

Episode 2 of The Terminal List Season 2 “Warrior in a Garden” sees James Reece finding a new lease of life. Reece spent 172 days at sea, waiting for the tumour to finish him off. Mozambique and the Hastings family have provided him with something to focus on.

Reece has settled into life on the Hastings hunting reserve, training up the wildlife team to protect them from poachers. Not necessarily leading them into battle, but more supervising their operations, instructing them on tactics, weapons training, and making sure they make the best use possible of what equipment they have. Even a basic drone becomes a vastly more useful surveillance tool under Reece’s guidance.

The setting in Mozambique also provides some fantastic scenery for the episode. It’s not often we get to see this part of the world in an action series, and there are some genuinely beautiful shots of the mountains with the mist rolling around them. It has a very surreal atmosphere, and it’s a massive relief to see the vast open spaces of Africa after the more urban settings we’ve become familiar with in The Terminal List.

One of my favourite moments in the episode doesn’t involve any action at all. Whilst out on patrol, Reece comes across a lion. Neither attacks, both stare each other down before the lion eventually moves on. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I loved the symbolism of this scene. As if the lion recognises another predator and decides to give him a wide berth.

Reece might just be the new king of the jungle.

We get to see Reece back in action for the first time when a group of poachers are loading up their vehicles and Solomon and his son become embroiled in the cross-fire. Reece steps in with a bolt-action rifle and reminds us that spending months at sea hasn’t dulled his skills with a weapon one bit. He picks off the poachers with pinpoint accuracy before getting up close and personal with the last of them. The trusty axe also gets a look-in;

Elsewhere, we catch up with Raife Hastings (Tom Hopper), and his story appears to be becoming increasingly entwined with that of Reece. Raife deals in weapons, but he’s beginning to discover that some of his equipment isn’t going to the people he thinks it is, his business is to get the right weapons into the right hands but this is becoming a common issue.

This includes a drone used by Mo Farooq during the attack on the motorcade in Episode 1, which came from one of Raife’s shipments, and some mortars have also made their way directly into enemy hands. Raife is determined to find out who is intercepting his goods, and when another shipment goes missing and a considerable sum of money is lost, it gives him personal motive to find out who is responsible.

It feels as though we’re witnessing two stories unfold in parallel. Reece finding a new lease of life in Mozambique and Raife preparing to delve into the murky world of weapon’s dealing. They will inevitably collide, and it’s only a matter of time before these two storylines converge.

The other big strength of “Warrior in a Garden” is the relationship between Reece and Rich Hastings (Arnold Vosloo). There is a genuine history and affection between the two men, and Rich is more than happy to stand by Reece when the time comes for him to face the consequences of his actions. He offers money, a way out and even a fight if that’s what Reece needs.

Reece declines all of these offers.

He doesn’t want to put the Hastings family in danger, or staying and risking them further, Reece decides to go willingly when an operator comes to collect him via helicopter. It appears as though it’s time for Reece to let go with the realisation he is dying, and the fact that he chooses to do so on his terms and without endangering the people who have helped him recover speaks volumes for the kind of man he is.

The scenes between Chris Pratt and Arnold Vosloo are some of the strongest material of the season because they remind us that beneath the weapons, the tactics and the action, Reece is still a person who has people who care about him.

Episode 2 provides considerably more momentum than the premiere. We’ve seen Reece back in action, Raife’s story begins to take shape, the conspiracy surrounding the weapons sale grows, and Reece has been pulled out of the safety of Mozambique. For a man who sailed into Mozambique waiting to die, James Reece has found reasons to live again. Whether he gets the opportunity to do so is another matter entirely.