Meredith Steihm

The reveal of ex-FBI agent David Tate as the mastermind behind the rash of cross-border crimes on this season of The Bridge brought the motivations behind the crimes into focus. What it didn’t bring into focus, however, was the machinations of Tate’s plan, nor did it bring Sonya and Marco any closer to capturing him. The effects of Tate’s actions on the police begin to show this week, as Marco and Sonya react differently to the strain Tate put on them, in a solid episode that manages to keep the tension high despite very little in the way of resolution.

Much of the first three episodes of The Bridge have focused on fleshing out the characters on both sides of the border, giving the audience a better idea of what makes them tick, and doing a fantastic job of it. This week’s episode used the framework of a standalone case, in the form of the search for the missing woman in the desert, to give a look at how the characters relate to each other, in another solid episode that introduces a promising new character while offering a look at how the Mexican cartels operate.