In the aftermath of the attack and killing of Omar, The Old Man season 2 episode 4 begins with Khadija's son Tarik (Amir Malaklou) doing damage control with the Kabul government, but the minister is shutting them out. He tells this to Hamzad (Navid Negahban), who is receiving medical treatment for his gunshot wound, Khadija (Jacqueline Antaramian) and eventually Emily (Alia Shawkat); aka Parwana, as they refer to her. Tarik figures they have 72 hours. After that, anyone still in the village will be killed by the Taliban.
Chase (Jeff Bridges) and Harper (John Lithgow) wait for Emily before they leave. Harper tries to comfort Chase after the attack, saying Emily has handled the emotion of killing people before. But Chase says they're not all the same.
Emily arrives with young Farouk (Michael Sifain), who has become attached to her after his mother was killed. She tells them the situation: the army is coming and Hamzad and the village are vulnerable because Morgan Bote (Joel Grey) froze their funds. She needs them to get Bote to reverse this. She says she is still the person each of them knew, but she cannot leave these people to die. She trusts they can get the job done, but if they refuse she would no longer recognize either of them. So off Chase and Harper go on a new mission.
How to handle Bote
As they head back to the US, Harper asks what Chase meant when he said not all killings are the same. Chase explains when you kill to show somebody you love them, there's no going back. He recognizes some part of Emily is gone and a new part is being born. What that results in is still a mystery.
Harper lays out his plan for how to deal with Bote: he'll do all the talking. Bote may not listen to him, but he certainly won't listen to Chase, citing their complicated history. Chase is disinterested in Harper's plan, just wanting to torture Bote into doing what they want. Harper puts his foot down. Chase won't say anything when they get there, letting Harper talk Bote into this. Chase warns Harper to talk fast.
Stay or go
Hamzad says he hears Emily is caring for Farouk. She admits she doesn't know why, but being with her comforts him. Hamzad says "why" is a strange question lately. What "why" could explain everything that they have done?
Hamzad tells her some people will remain in the village to fight the Taliban, while others will be evacuated. Emily doesn't want to hear it's too dangerous or that she doesn't belong in the village. Hamzad assures her she belongs, but he is still asking her to leave because there are other things she can help with, other fights that need fighting.
Emily leaves Hamzad, then runs into Tarik, who officially introduces himself. He asks what Hamzad said, and she reveals he wants her to go back to America with Tarik and help handle the business. Tarik also has a favor to ask of Emily: to convince Hamzad to save his own life.
Tarik explains Hamzad sent him to America when he was a child for school so he could "do more, be more." While there he found his own purpose: getting his family out of the valley. He says he told them a thousand times where they could go, how it could be better, but they didn't listen to him. He thinks it may be different if Hamzad hears it from Emily.
When she brings up the family's roots in the valley, Tarik asks how many of the men and women who died defending their land would have left if they had the option of some place that offered comfort and security? A lot he wagers. But she grew up with comfort and security; it didn't save her, she drowned in it. Tarik reminds her she was lied to, part of an orchestrated fraud. This would be a family moving together so their daughters and sons could have a better life with more opportunity. He admits it won't be easy, but it's the right thing to do.
Khadija then comes out and reveals Hamzad has died from his wounds. As they mourn together as a family, Khadija tells Emily she has a choice to make: stay or go. Emily, feeling guilty, explains Hamzad was really shot by Harper, not the Taliban, but Khadija knows. She assures Emily no one will blame her for what has transpired. They will say Hamzad died defending his daughter and that she has sent Chase and Harper to go fight for them in the US.
The real story
As Chase and Harper arrive at Bote's house, Harper gets a call from Marion, which he ignores. Chase notes it's the third time he's done that. Harper corrects him, it's the fifth, hoping ignoring her will make the problem go away.
Bote is waiting for them. Harper lays out the situation, which Bote already knows, adding if he knew Emily wasn't Chase's kid a long time ago they wouldn't be in this mess. Harper continues anyway, asking Bote to unfreeze Hamzad's assets so they can protect themselves against the Taliban. Bote says neither of them understand what story they are in. As he says this, Chase hears dogs barking. His Rottweilers, Dave and Carol, run in, followed by Zoe (Amy Brenneman). Chase blames Bote for bringing Zoe into this, but Bote counters Chase did that, Bote's trying to get them all out.
Zoe explains she did what Chase said — come back, pick up the dogs — but she couldn't start her normal life again. So she tried calling Nina Kruger, Hamzad's lawyer. She eventually got a call back, but not from Kruger, from Bote, who was monitoring Kruger. Harper asks what they are missing in this situation?
Bote explains it's all about the lithium mine Hamzad controls. Not the money it generates, but the power to control technology and, tangentially, civilization, so the US needs it. But another party is trying to steal it from them: Suleyman Pavolvich (Rade Serbedzija), the Russian gangster Chase and Zoe met at the Moroccan party in The Old Man season 1.
Zoe gets a phone call. Bote explains it's Kruger, who he believes is the key to stopping Pavolvich from getting the mine and right now their best play is to have her talk with Zoe. Zoe says Kruger has set up a lunch meeting for them to talk next week. But that's too long, Harper protests, saying a lot of people (Emily included) are going to die if Bote is wrong. But Bote believes if he's right it would be far worse.
Chase gets heated with Bote. He told Bote Emily was not his daughter when he asked him to get her into the FBI. Not directly, but he said she didn't need to be Bote's granddaughter for him to help anymore than she needed to be Chase's daughter for him to ask (are Chase and Bote father and son?) He tells Bote he understands the importance of everything going on, but the only reason Bote can't find a solution is because he's not looking for one, asking him to ignore his feelings for Chase. When Bote tells them to come back tomorrow, Chase grabs Bote by the shirt, but Zoe convinces him to talk outside.
Harper says Chase isn't wrong; Bote's not helping because he wants them to know he doesn't have to. Bote says Harper never understood the difference between what they want and what they owe, adding if Harper didn't want Bote to be angry, he would have left Chase outside.
The game changes
Chase is steaming, telling Zoe he won't leave until he gets Bote to give him what he wants. Zoe says Bote won't do that, but he will give it to her. She tells Chase to go and to trust her, she can get what he needs.
In Bote's office, he knows Zoe is going to ask for him to help, but he doesn't know why. Because she believes he can and that deep down he wants to. He warns her to be careful with men like him; if she thinks she knows what they're thinking, it's probably because they want her to.
In another room, Dave and Carol start barking. Bote grabs a gun from his desk and shoots an intruder as he rounds the corner while Zoe takes cover. But another intruder comes in and kills Bote, snapping a picture of his dead body. The intruder begins to look for Zoe when Chase arrives with Dave and Carol, siccing the dogs on the intruder, killing him. Chase guesses the men were sent by Pavlovich.
In an unknown location, Pavlovich is shown the photo confirming Bote is dead. He asks about the "actual targets" (Chase and Harper?), but the team hasn't responded (and won't because they're dead). Pavolvich says there is too much at stake to risk loose ends, so when he does find out Chase, Harper and Zoe are still alive, as Chase said, this is just the beginning.
New episodes of The Old Man season 2 air Thursday on FX, then are available to stream on Hulu the next day.
