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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Old Man Season 2, Episode 8, “XV.”]
The Old Man may have hinted at Dan Chase’s (Jeff Bridges) demise at the end of Season 2’s penultimate episode, but the finale proved the former CIA agent has some life in him yet as he was saved by love Zoe (Amy Brenneman) and brought to a safe house for recovery after being injected with a deadly poison.
In the thrilling episode, Zoe teams up with Morgan Boat’s (Joel Grey) hired hitman Julian (Gbenga Akinnagbe) to help eliminate Russian power player Suleyman Pavlovich (Rade Serbedzija) and locate Dan, who had been targeted by the man. Managing to kill Pavlovich and secure Dan’s location, Zoe rushes off to inject him with an antidote and bring him to safety.
Chuck Hodes / FX
When Dan awakens in a safe house to find Zoe and himself intact, as Bridges tells TV Insider, Dan faces “a whole bevy of emotions. He’s in love with her, so that was wonderful. He’s concerned about her safety. He thinks ‘We can’t stay here. We’ve got to run. They’re going to be after us.’ And I think when she says she’s got it handled, I don’t think he trusts that entirely.”
Dan’s reluctance to fully settle into their quiet life isn’t unsurprising, especially when he’s lived under aliases for decades. Still, that doesn’t stop the fact that he and Zoe experience a brief respite together. “I think that makes him nervous,” Bridges says honestly. “I don’t think he can trust that.”
There’s a bit of foreshadowing when it comes to that uncertainty when Zoe jokes around and claims Dan is slipping when he can’t find his glasses that are perched on his head. Ultimately, that is reflected when Dan receives a mysterious package containing a phone and number that he calls up.
Chuck Hodes / FX
“That just underlines that thing that I was just saying about not trusting what is apparent,” Bridges continues. “There’s something else going on, and I think [Dan] doesn’t trust himself and he doesn’t trust [Zoe]. There’s a German word that I was trying to fit into the scene. It didn’t quite work… ‘hintergedanken.’ That [translates to] an idea way back in your mind, a hidden motive that you may not even be aware of, and I think that’s what’s going on there.”
In the end, it is revealed that the number belongs to Emily (Alia Shawkat) who survived the attack on Hamzad’s (Navid Negahban) compound, taking her rightful place as his heir, Parwana Hamzad. Meeting in a diner, Dan introduces Emily to Zoe as they have an emotional reunion. “He knows he’s going to see her because he received that mysterious phone, but all kinds of feelings wash over him,” Bridges notes. Among the emotions he’s feeling are “guilt about so much, but [he’s] also so thankful that she’s alive… [It’s] a smattering of emotions.”
During their touching reunion, Emily reveals that Harold (John Lithgow), another man she sees as a father and colleague of Dan’s has been kidnapped by his ex-wife Marion (Janet McTeer). Emily’s goal is to save Harold and she’s requesting Dan’s help without any room for refusal. Emily’s power is exhibited when a whole fleet of cars surround the diner, hinting at bigger things to come.
Chuck Hodes / FX
Emily also requests that Dan allow the darker side of himself to be unleashed upon the threats that cross their path in an effort to rescue Harold. Reluctantly, Dan tries to steer away from it, but Emily is insistent that this is the way she wants to move forward. “Learning that Harold is captured by his ex-wife and that we’ve got to save him, and then her turning the table so abruptly at the end there with those cars coming in…” Bridges notes that Dan is “pissed off at her.”
“This is total betrayal and [he] can’t believe it,” he adds, saying, “[it’s] just a total surprise.”
As for where Dan may be heading next, Bridges can’t say much as he isn’t entirely sure where the story could be headed, but when it comes to Dan, “He’s an interesting cat. He’s totally willing to die for what he believes in. At the same time, he’s fallen in love with Zoe, and I don’t even think he has high hopes for it all working out. I think he hopes that he will give his life for something worthwhile and meaningful.”
Only time will tell if Dan Chase gets to live out that truth as FX‘s series awaits a Season 3 renewal, but Bridges shares, “I’ve talked to [series creator] John Steinberg and I feel that we’re in good hands with him at the helm, but as far as knowing exactly what’s going to happen, I don’t. So I’m excited to find out what John has in mind. I have inklings. He’s given me a little, but I haven’t read a script, so I can’t really say.”
Stay tuned for potential updates on The Old Man‘s continuation at FX, and let us know what you thought of that finale twist in the comment section, below.
Additional reporting by Amanda Bell
FX’s The Old Man, Seasons 1-2, Streaming now, Hulu