Kaleidoscope's The Orange Episode Recap And Review

Episode Recap 

Kaleidoscope's Orange episode follows Naza, an FBI agent three weeks before the heist, in the later parts of the timeline. He is a former drug addict but has been clean for a while. He also has a knack for spotting details, which we see firsthand in an operation where he stops a criminal from escaping. He finally gets a chance with his son Reza, as he sees him unsupervised for the first time.  

 Back at the office, Nazan is on top of a diamond heist and manages to meet Ava Mercer. For now, they have the shell, but with Nazan on the case, there will surely be more evidence to come.

  When Ava leaves Leo, Bob happens to be waiting for her. He wants to tag the stolen jewels when he sets out to appraise them. Of course, Bob is obnoxious, but they manage to make a cool $400,000 to help them out. This should help them get into the checkout and get all the gear they need to make it happen.

  Leo tasks RJ with building an armored truck that is a replica of the one used in the SLS. They need a 2003 Chevy to start. Meanwhile, Ava is summoned by the feds and questioned about the shell casing. Especially because of his fingerprints. Ava shrugged and reported to the police that two of her guns had been stolen.

  While Ava is able to leave, it's clear that she's had a run-in with Nazan before and is worried that it might backfire later. Leo encourages her to be more careful, and while Ava says they don't have a "real problem," it's clear that's not true. Given the couple's past together, Ava was the one who criticized Naza for his drug addiction.

  Navan is definitely on to something at work. He talks to his partner Toby and mentions that he thinks this whole Diamond Way gig is a front for a bigger operation to take place. She suspected that Ava was working with Bob, given the pictures she took.

  Nazan reveals everything that happened to him after the events of 9/11 through a bit of heavy trash dialogue. Despite joining the FBI, his background means he's exposed to a lot of xenophobia. Finally, he turned to drugs to escape.

  Meanwhile, there's more drama between Bob, Stan and Judy as the former hit on Stan while the trio are at the bar. Unbeknownst to them, Nazan's boys are watching their every move as the fight spills out into the street.

  Bob and Judy discuss breaking safes in the open and end up breaking into a car. Still, the FBI has enough to work with, especially as they trace all the way back, finding Judy, Stan, and others involved.  

More importantly, Nazan realizes that Ava isn't the best heist planner, but just another spoke in the wheel, and eventually follows her.

  However, Ava jumps at Navan because the officer is after the wrong woman. When Ava slips away, she takes the time to plant drugs on Naza. When the police catch him, they find the drug and take Naza to question.

  As a result of this unwanted heat, Ava decides to avoid the operation, saying that it is too dangerous and without her presence, they will have nothing on Leo and the others.

  As Nazan is on the verge of losing custody of her son, she calls ICE and takes Ava's grandmother as a bargaining chip. With the woman about to be deported, Nazan meets with Ava one-on-one and forces her to turn and work inside as a mole.

  Episode Review

  Instead of giving us more history around the various heists, Kaleidoscope takes a different approach and decides to give us more history about the FBI officer after Nazan, Ava, and the others.

  While the episode does a good enough job of giving her some background, some of the writing is a bit sloppy, especially with a big mid-chapter spill about Naza's troubles and past issues. I actually don't think the events of September 11th are related to xenophobia and so on. I'd like to see it with flashbacks scattered here to show how it works with .

  However, the series didn't do a great job of endearing us to a lot of the characters, with players like Bob being just obnoxious and completely one-note. On the flip side, the visual motif of keeping each chapter focused on a single color is a neat touch, and the idea itself is pretty decent. I hope that the upcoming episodes will pick up the pace and strengthen our ensemble even more.