The premise of the new Apple TV series 12 12 12 is simple—you follow a heist through three time frames. It takes 12 months to plan, 12 hours to execute, and you have 12 days to catch the thief. In the premier episode, we were introduced to the concept and the players. In the second of two episodes dropped, “I want my Halo back,” we dive into how it’s going to play out. Let’s dive in. SPOILERS BELOW.
We move back to February to start month two of planning. Though Bobby (Jack Kesy) is running the crew through some things, Paul (Jamie Dornan) isn’t satisfied. He wants to make sure the job and the execution are flawless, and he isn’t there yet. He takes a trick with Bazin (Jeanne Balibar) to scout the bank. It’s an impenetrable fortress.
Paul learns that an inside man is funneling Russian gangster money into the bank for them to snatch. It’s a process that will take some time. His natural question is whether it has to be the bank they visited. In other words, he wants a softer target. As we know from the present heist, he got his wish.
Meanwhile, we catch up with Jack (Anthony Mackie). He is working for the FBI in Frankfurt, Germany. He has been successful bringing in bad guys overseas, but he still can’t forgive himself for the loss of an agent in Newark. And he still hasn’t given up on Paul Galvin. He continues to hunt for him, and by the end of our flashback, he has a new lead.
A floor fault
We spin back to the job, and the big problem is what we left. In the floor of the vault is a special alarm trigger not on any maps, and it is sensitive to vibration. Alberich (Julius Feldmeier) has spotted it and raised the alarm. And now it’s up to Paul and Serge (Jose Garcia), who is manning the drill to get it figured out. And the clock is ticking.
Thanks to some quick thinking—and a little help from YouTube—Paul offers a solution. Alberich is able to drill the hole and stop the device. That allows them to make entry into the bank and clear out the funds, along with everything else. And that allows them to make their getaway—at least for the most part.
A hiccup
The problem is Serge didn’t get away. Now, he’s being held in a hospital by Jack. He wants to use Serge as a lure for his real bait—Paul and Bobby. He is biding his time, but Serge is well aware of being used. And it turns out Serge is sick and dying, so he doesn’t want to be the one to bring down his surrogate son.
The hospital is also a great place to connect with Lena (Sallie Harmsen). While Jack and Lena didn’t get off to the greatest start, they’re both experts at their job. He wants Lena to work with him to help close this case. And while she’s recovering from the car accident, she’s considering the offer.
Meanwhile, Paul decides he’s going to try and rescue Serge. He sends the rest of the crew to their next hideout stop and heads for the hospital. Not willing to let him go alone, Bobby accompanies him. They come up with disguises to get in, but it’s too late. Serge, realizing he doesn’t have much time, makes a break for it. He jumps out of the window and lands on the pavement, near the brothers. He’s sacrificed himself to keep them safe.
A gutted Paul can only look on as Serge bleeds out on the pavement. Bobby grabs him, and they head out. Though Jack spots the brothers from the busted window, no one can get there in time. He soon gets word the trail has gone cold again.
But Lena swoops in. She’s checked herself out of the hospital and back into the investigation. And she comes with a present—a location for the thieves in the snowy mountains. Turns out they stole a gun with a tracker inside, and she’s using the tracker to follow them. It gives Jack a new lease on life, while Paul is left to face Severine (Agathe Rousselle), who soon realizes her father is gone.
This was a solid second episode. The series is only eight episodes this first season, so I don’t know how the time frame is going to work or where we’re going to condense steps in the journey along the way. But I like the multiple time frames as a means of telling the story with flashbacks in a less heavy-handed way. The performances are strong, and there’s plenty to like from this setup.
12 12 12 streams Fridays on Apple TV.
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