The Checklist: The Equalizer (S1 Ep19) “Breakpoint”
It’s that time of year where one starts reflecting back on the year that was… the highlights… the lowlights… what was accomplished?… what is left to be done?
That last statement really hit home when I looked back at all the television shows I put to The Checklist test in 2022 and found that there was one noticeable omission from the list… The Equalizer! No, not the current series starring Queen Latifah, but the classic 80s series starring Edward Woodward.
I decided to go all the way back to the first season and asked Alexa to randomly select an episode and the winner was, Episode 19 titled “Breakpoint”.
- Synopsis: Robert McCall (Edward Woodward) goes from wedding guest to hostage when a group of terrorists, looking to extradite a man they have labeled as a traitor, crash the wedding party after their initial exit plan goes awry.
#1. Did Robert participate in any of the wedding traditions?
Given the fact that this episode had a wedding theme this seemed like a great episode specific question to ask and the answer is yes! We see Robert on the dance floor, we see Robert delivering a toast to the bride and groom and it is during his toast that we find out that Robert had the honor of walking the bride down the aisle, since her father (an old friend of Robert’s) had sadly passed away years earlier. 1/1
#2. Were there any notable guest stars?
Let’s start off with Patricia Clarkson who played the bride, Deborah Wade. If Robert wasn’t already proud of her, he was extra proud with the way she handled her special day being terrorized. Clarkson will always be Mrs. Eliot Ness from The Untouchables to me, but some of my fellow wrestling fans will remember her as a woman who wanted her son back, but didn’t know how.
Then there are the terrorists. We’ve got the leader of the group played by none other than Tony Shalhoub of Monk fame. Shalhoub’s right hand man was played by another Tony… Tony Spiridakis. Spiridakis was Angel, the right hand man to Fraker, in the greatest motion picture in the history of cinema… Death Wish 3. And let’s not forget the man the terrorists came to New York to extradite and unfortunately for Deborah and her groom, the man who was staying in the same hotel that was hosting their wedding reception… that man was Gustav Herant played by Aharon Ipalé, who also played the Pharaoh in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns.
Last but not least, I can’t forget about the law enforcement officials at the command center doing the hostage negotiating… there’s Dann Florek as Lieutenant Ferraro, just a scant few years before he’d become a member of the Law & Order television franchise. And working along side Ferraro is Findlay, played by Earl Hindman of Home Improvement fame, who I almost didn’t recognize without a fence covering up the bottom portion of his face. 2/2
#3. Does Robert get to use another tool out of his special set of skills tool box?
Who knew Robert was skilled in the art of origami?!? I know I sure didn’t until I watched this episode and found out that he picked up the skill while in Japan. 3/3
#4. Does anybody die?
One of the advantages that The Equalizer had over other action adventure series of the 80s is that it was geared to an adult audience with no aspirations of selling Equalizer action figures or lunch boxers like a Knight Rider or The A-Team. That means the content could be a bit more edgy and that included straight up killing people.
A few characters meet their demise in “Breakpoint” but the standout deaths would have to be when the terrorists send a message by chucking a member of the band hired to play at the wedding out the window to send a message to the authorities after they try to pull a fast one on them.
The other is when Robert finally finds his moment to spring into action after asking if he could use the men’s room. When he gets into the men’s room, he makes idol conversation with his chaperone (Tony Spiridakis) as he goes into the stall, while in the stall Robert unscrews the hook from the inside of the stall door, Robert then promptly exits the stall, heads over to wash his hands and screws Tony Spiridakis right in the neck! 4/4
#5. Did Robert get any help from his spy buddies?
He didn’t get there as soon as he would have liked to, but Mickey Kostmayer (Keith Szarabajka) manages to get into the hotel ballroom at the perfect moment after spending a good chunk of the episode crawling around the ventilation system. 5/5
- Final Score = 5/5 (100%) This was a slow burn episode with Robert biding his time and waiting for the right moment to strike and once he did, he equalized the hell out of some terrorists in quick fashion and made it worth the wait. It was also an episode filled with familiar faces, so many I considered giving “Breakpoint” some bonus points… but it didn’t need it as “Breakpoint” receives a much deserved perfect score!
