Alex Rider – Season 3 Episode 5 Recap & Review

Episode 5

In episode 5, things get intense right from the start. Nile, showing no mercy, takes on five trainees in a tough training session. He even goes as far as breaking one trainee’s arm to make a point about their need to toughen up. Alex is not happy about Nile’s ruthless behavior and confronts her about it. But Nile brushes off the concern and walks away.

Meanwhile, in London, there’s a big development. The Madam Secretary arrives at MI6 headquarters with news that the cabinet has agreed to Scorpia’s demands. However, Alan Blunt, head of MI6, is not convinced. He’s worried that even if they meet all of Scorpia’s demands, there’s no guarantee they won’t use the weapon again.

One of the big issues is that Britain can’t just forgive all the loans, which amount to trillions of dollars, in a short period. Doing so would have a massive impact on the economy and could lead to serious consequences that the country may never recover from. 

After the Madam Secretary’s visit, the pressure is on for Blunt and Jones. She wants them to halt their investigation into Scorpia and start negotiating with them. Madam Secretary is keen for Scorpia to give Britain at least three months to agree to their demands. But Scorpia is not playing games; they make it crystal clear that if their demands aren’t met in three days, they’ll unleash their weapon and wipe out everyone in Britain.

Blunt knows time is short, and the stakes are high. Thus, he instructs Smithers to do whatever it takes to find the invisible sword before the deadline hits. The forensic report on the football team’s deaths reveals that they all perished due to simultaneous cardiac arrest. Smithers suspects foul play involving Cyanide poisoning, but no traces were found in their systems. Could it be that they inhaled the poison instead?

Smithers makes a breakthrough in the investigation, discovering trace amounts of gold in the players’ bloodstream. Individually, gold is harmless, but when paired with a dangerous partner, like cyanide, it becomes deadly. Further searching leads to a shocking find in the players’ locker room—a liquid-to-gas diffuser containing cyanide-laced gold traces designed to target the heart tissue. Once the trigger is activated, everyone who has been exposed will drop dead. 

On another front, Kyra and Tom locate Alex’s cell in a remote area outside the city. They witness Alex welcoming Max, who turns out to be the same man Alex encountered on his first day in Malta. Inside, Max confronts Julia, advising her to stop the invisible sword operation, which would result in the deaths of millions, including innocent children. It’s revealed that Julia is using the project for revenge. When Max threatens to leave Scorpia, Julia hints that he will be missed, suggesting she may have darker plans for him. 

Julia lays out a high-stakes challenge for Alex, which requires him to break into a heavily fortified safe to retrieve its contents. If successful, she promises to reveal more about his father, John Rider. But failure means Alex must continue his training. Alex and Yassen arrive at the location, unaware that Kyra and Tom have been trailing them.

As they enter the house, it becomes clear that Julia’s plan is more than just a heist. The house belongs to Max, and Julia has sent Yassen to eliminate him. Alex’s role is simply to observe and learn how Scorpia operates. When Alex confronts Julia about Max, she reacts with a slap, saying she had to dispatch Max as he was going to betray them.

Julia also reminds Alex of his role as an operative, saying that his duty is to follow orders without question. Feeling unsettled by Julia’s words and curious about her true intentions, Alex sneaks into Julia’s office, searching for clues. Among the papers and files on her desk, he finds a tablet. Playing the video on it, Alex is shocked to see that it was Jones who ordered the sniper to take the shot at John Rider, his father. 

The Episode Review

It looks like Alex might be gearing up for his first mission: to assassinate Jones, the one who ordered John’s death, as seen in the video. However, there’s a strong possibility that the video could be a doctored one.

Julia might have been manipulating Alex into believing that the department is his enemy while Scorpia is actually on his side. In the next episode, we can expect Alex to head to London to seek his revenge.