Netflix's Shadow season 1, episode 5 recap: Ghost Killer

An internet action star called Havoc turned internet slut shamer who Shadow is hired to put out of business also happens to be the sniper assassin that Max is trying to stop. The two join forces again to take down another bad guy.

Internet parkour star and adrenaline junkie films an elaborate plan to ask his girlfriend to marry him. It’s fun and flashy, clearly meant for his audience more than it is for his girlfriend on Shadow. She thinks he’s out of town, so she’s obviously not expecting to be caught cheating on him when he comes to her window to surprise her.

This whole video has been put online deliberately to shame her. Havoc re-watches this video on his phone, cold and dead-eyed, as he sees a large bank payment come in for something mysterious.

He takes a freight elevator up to the roof of a skyscraper, sets up a sniper rifle, and takes aim at his targets. He shoots four people, but it seems probable that only two of them were his intended targets and the other two merely diversions.

Read. Shadow season 1, episode 4 recap. light

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Max is the lead investigator on the Ghost Killer case and gives a rather horrible press conference where he advises people to stay away from tall buildings…in the city. The Ghost Killer has been responsible for 11 deaths over the last six weeks.

Zola researches a guy named Jeremy, who Shadow has been hired to confront for his ex-girlfriend. He’s clearly sexist and misogynist based on his facebook posts slut-shaming women and warning them to know their place.

Zola tells Shadow not to go easy on him. Jeremy has been harassing his ex-girlfriend, calling her, sending her messages, and shaming her online. She cheated on him, but that is no excuse for that kind of harassment. Shadow threatens him and tells him to cease all contact with the woman. Jeremy agrees, persuaded mostly by Shadow’s gun pointed at his crotch.

Shadow has a drink and chats with Abby. She jealously asks him he thinks of his new roommate, “Miss Universe.” Shadow dodges the question when a shy looking woman comes in to speak to him. Abby says, “Don’t you think it’s weird that all your clients are women?” Because I do.

The woman is Jeremy’s ex-girlfriend, who has discovered that Jeremy had posted an intimate video of her on one of those revenge porn websites. She says there is no way to remove the video once its been posted except by the administrator of the website. She is afraid her father will find out.

Shadow promises to find out how to have it taken down. I am so happy that this show is addressing a subject like revenge porn and taking a disapproving position on it. It doesn’t go in depth into the personal and psychological consequences of this kind of harassment or to explain to the blockheaded kind of people who post revenge porn why they are wrong to do so.

Luckily, Zola can track the website’s IP address to this online adrenaline junkie and parkour star. He calls himself Havoc. Instead of going after him immediately, however, Shadow has time for a game of basketball with Max first.

He teases him about his terrible press conference, and Max reasons that if you don’t want to get bitten by a shark you don’t go into the water. Still not the best logic. Shadow offers to help Max with his case if Max helps Shadow with his. Shadow asks him to run the name Havoc for him.

Ash secretly takes Shadow’s father’s broken watch just before Shadow comes back to the apartment. She challenges Shadow to a game of basketball one day, she played varsity shoot guard while in school. She also has a fancy interview later, so Shadow wishes her luck. Surprisingly, Ash offers to help with any of Shadow’s cases if he ever needs her for anything.

Meanwhile, Havoc sets up to take out a cheating couple at an office building. A video of the woman has been posted on the revenge porn website and her office boyfriend assures her that no one will find out and that he’ll protect her from her ex. That’s when Havoc kills them both and another random co-worker.

So it seems like he runs the website, posts the videos, and then accepts contracts from the extra angry ex-boyfriends. Havoc escapes the scene by parachuting off the building.

Max thinks two of the latest victims might have been having an affair and a drunken homeless man saw Havoc parachute off the building, which considering the source and the unlikeliness of it sounds absurd. The Captain gives him 48 hours to make progress on the case or else he’s being replaced.

Zola finds out that Havoc is going to be at free-running event at the Soweto Towers. Max and Shadow go together to confront him but can’t do much to him because he’s broadcasting live online.

He challenges them to catch him, but Havoc is a parkour expert, Shadow is afraid of heights and ends up having an arrhythmia episode. Havoc reaches the top of the towers and parachutes off, making Max realize that Havoc is probably the Ghost Killer.

Max finds proof online that Havoc is moonlighting as a contract killer for his revenge porn clients. Shadow asks if Max is going to call it in, but Max decides he wants him and Shadow to take him down personally. What kind of justice system is this? How on earth do these people keep getting away with this vigilante nonsense? Anyway, Max has a plan and Ash is going to help.

Shadow tells Ash the story about his angel wing pendant. There was a woman and her daughter who he was supposed to protect her criminal ex. The man was released without notice and killed the woman and daughter before Shadow could be there to protect them. The angel wing belonged to the young daughter. He tells the story like they had no more connection to him than a failed case, but I think there’s more to it.

Shadow goes back to see Jeremy, who hires Havoc to kill Ash. Jeremy also sells high-end bulletproof glass so Shadow has him reinforce the glass of the building where they set up Ash as bait. Max and Shadow set up with sniper scopes on one rooftop and watch for the direction of the shots. Havoc takes the bait and Max pins him down while Shadow goes to collect him. Rather than go to jail, Havoc throws himself off the roof, killing himself.

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Ash and Shadow have their game of one-on-one, which Ash wins. Ash has a surprise for Shadow and hopes he doesn’t mind she took the liberty. She had his father’s watch repaired, said it was maybe time it started working again. Shadow seems touched, thanks to her, and agrees that maybe it is time.

Shadow premiered on Netflix on March 8.

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