In the conversation, it is also revealed that the man Bambi killed (we saw a flashback in the last episode) was not Amber and Bambi’s father but their mother’s abusive boyfriend. Amber holds her ground well and Tommy is forced to retreat.
Tommy visits the house of the leader of the guerillas and proposes an idea. Tommy says that they should set up cameras and record Amber saying vile things about America and its disillusioned institute of democracy. His idea is quickly dismissed. Before leaving, Tommy had told the workers to put Amber “on the program”. We then see her being kept in jail and forced into moving into a restricted area with guards all around. She meets Hildy, a German prisoner in the other cell.
Hildy has an undiagnosed mental illness, but she does not recognize it. When Amber sees Hildy moving about freely, she asks her how do the guards allow her. Hildy replies that her contribution to labor ensures this. Amber starts contributing in whatever capacity she can towards various chores in the facility. Her work is appreciated and she seems satisfied living with the locals there doing the work and having her freedom.
Amber, a woman held captive by the military, grows close to her fellow captive Hildy. Amber plans an escape from the base via a small opening in the roof. Every day, bit by bit, she breaks the hole wider in order to be able to get out. In flashbacks, Amber remembers being taken by arriving soldiers and does not know yet if Prince is alive or not. In a game of truth-telling with Hildy, Amber surprisingly admits that she does not love her husband. ..
Tommy has come to the conclusion that Amber is dead and he has decided not to rescue her. He returns with the cameras to the base and tells the higher-ups that he will place her in a male prison, where her safety is in danger.
Amber is left with no choice but to comply and says on video whatever Tommy asks her of against America and its values. She breaks down after he leaves for a short break. Hildy rebuffs Amber’s claims that she will escape from the place as Hildy feels Amber will not be able to kill the soldiers. She still tells her the way out regardless. Behind the helicopter pad, the guards leave an ATV that Amber can use to take the path down to the waterfall. ..
Amber was able to escape from the prison and went on a journey to find a way out. She was eventually captured by the guards and they put all their resources into finding her. Amber kept going through waterfalls, but the closer the guards got, the more she injured herself. In one of the waterfalls, she had a concussion and lost consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself in a boat with a fisherman. After explaining what happened, Amber discovers that she’s been freed and that the soldiers are waiting for her at the shore. ..
Tommy orders Hildy killed for her treachery. Amber is in shock at the sight of her friend being killed.
The Episode Review
Echo 3 has taken a different path from the expectations we had for the show. The style of storytelling and construction of individual episodes is different from the first three episodes. Boal has a precise idea of what he wants from the story and his judgment is immaculate in episode 5. ..
The focus of this episode was on Amber’s character. We haven’t seen much of Jessica Collins, but she got her shining moment in this episode. “We Reject Your Influence” felt like a mini movie on its own. Boal remains faithful to the conflation of his cinematic universe and extracted exactly what we wanted from the escape attempt. ..
The ending of Echo 3 is thanks to the tense buildup with the introduction of Hildy. The misdirection at the start and the emphatic taste of reality, in the end, might be what ultimately defines Echo 3. ..
