Rubicon - "Look to the Ant"

Will (James Badge Dale) is invited over to Kale's (Arliss Howard) place for a little dinner and information dissemination.

Photo Credit: AMC

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Rubicon'
Season 1 - Episode 6
"Look to the Ant"

It appears that my (or should I say my wife's) recent speculations about Kale were correct. I wouldn't say he's exactly a good guy just yet, but he's certainly not one of the bad guys. In this episode he makes a mean white bean salad, complains about Hot Chip, and starts funnelling intel to Will. Of course, this was after a little B & E at Will's apartment and a look at his homework.

I guess I can put my earlier creepy feelings about Kale and Maggie's possible relationship to rest. Kale's got a boyfriend, which confirms some of my suspicions about the man's sexuality during his conversation with Bloom. What's crazy is that Kale reveals a truckload about himself to Will, but it goes a long way as an attempt to win over his trust. Kale is certainly going to be a very powerful asset.

As for Maggie, she certainly had an interesting night. After being turned down by Will, she calls up an acquaintance from a foreign language class. Even she has to lie about where she works, even though she doesn't seem to deal with much of the research end of things. From the beginning of the evening it was clear that Maggie was only interested in one thing. She puts up with with this guy's boring stories long enough to get drunk on wine and make the first move. Things get really embarassing when the booty call number one decides to show up much later.

I think that Maggie is really pretty (when she actually smiles), but man, does she needs some color in her life or what? Her entire wardrobe is biege and gray and white. Her apartment is the same bland color scheme. Maybe all her red, green, and blue stuff is still packed away in those boxes.

Much to my enjoyment, we were treated to more Miles this episode. It's pretty hilarious that he volunteers to watch the live survallince on Boeck, but forgets the fact that he would probably need a translator who understands Urdu. Enter Julia, another analyst at API, who might just be the man's soul mate. I mean, c'mon! She's got a Zelda Triforce tatoo on her arm. That is awesomely geeky. I guess once Miles' marriage finally and ultimately falls apart, he potentially has someone to turn to.

Will was especially paranoid and crazed this time around. I guess finding all those listening devices in your apartment would have that effect on a person. I bet he starts running the exhaust fan when he uses the bathroom from now on. It really comes to a head when confronts his second stalker. This time Will is smart enough to keep his distance. Though, waving the gun around may not have been a smart move.

As usual, the Katherine subplot trickles along. Atlas McDowell pops up in her arc and is name dropped in Will's. I sincerely hope for the sake of my sanity that we get a more concrete merging of these two stories by the end of the season.

Another solid episode of 'Rubicon' and one that works beyond any of the conspiracies. This show is proving that it can really work when exploring the characters. "Look at the Ant" revealed a lot about Kale's private life, Maggie's loneliness, Will's growing paranoia, and Miles need to connect to someone that might understand him and his world.