Draft:The Equalizer (2021 TV series) season 3

The Equalizer
Season 3
Starring	Queen Latifah Tory Kittles Adam Goldberg Liza Lapira Laya DeLeon Hayes Lorraine Toussaint Chris Noth
No. of episodes	18
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	October 2, 2022 (2022-10-02) – May 21, 2023 (2023-05-21)
Season chronology

The third season of The Equalizer an American crime drama television series premiered on October 2, 2022 on CBS and concluded on May 21, 2023. The season consisted of 18 episodes.

The season sees the introduction of stars Queen Latifah, Tory Kittles, Adam Goldberg, Liza Lapira, Laya DeLeon Hayes, Lorraine Toussaint and Chris Noth who all appear in starring roles.

Cast and characters

Main

• Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall
• Tory Kittles as Marcus Dante
• Adam Goldberg as Harry Keshegian
• Liza Lapira as Melody Bayani
• Laya DeLeon Hayes as Delilah McCall
• Lorraine Toussaint as Viola Marsette
• Chris Noth as William Bishop

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
29	1	"Boom"	Eric Laneuville	Joseph C. Wilson	October 2, 2022 (2022-10-02)	7.10
McCall's closest associates gather in a joint effort to locate her after she was abducted by Quinn and his men. Mel goes to Carter Griffin in order to question Omar Delgado about dirty bombs Quinn has planted throughout the city. Delgado refuses to tell anything and dies of poison in his cigarette. McCall awakens in Quinn's compound, and he reveals that he will blame her for the bombs by releasing a deepfake manifesto. Dante locates the vehicle McCall was taken in, and learned the location from a goon. Harry guides him and Mel through the compound, but are too late before McCall is brought away. They manage to stop three vans with the suspected bombs, but they're empty, but McCall escapes from one of them. They also deduce that there is only one bomb as mentioned in the deepfake. Harry assists the police to remove the bomb's radioactive cylinder before Quinn detonates it. Griffin and the CIA apprehend Quinn, but McCall kills him when he attempts to kill her.
30	2	"Where There's Smoke"	Randy Zisk	Joe Gazzam	October 9, 2022 (2022-10-09)	6.98
Firefighter Jeff's daughter asks McCall to help find him when he goes missing. With Mel and Harry's help, McCall discovers that Jeff and his two friends Derrick and Juan set fire to a restaurant to rob it. That restaurant belonged to notorious criminal Xavier Mannis, who kidnapped Jeff until Derrick and Juan pay him back. Derrick reveals to Dante that they stole the money because their boss, Captain Sanders, is about to lose his home due to piling medical bills from his efforts during 9/11. Juan delivers the remaining money, but Mannis ties him up with Jeff before lighting up the warehouse. McCall and Dante fight through the flames and save the firefighters. Mannis is arrested by Dante, while Harry funnels Mannis' money to pay off Sanders' debts. McCall attempts to be more transparent with Aunt Vi and Delilah, with the latter telling her to train her if she is to help her in any way.
31	3	"Gaslight"	Chris Fisher	Kim Rome	October 16, 2022 (2022-10-16)	7.32
Single-mother Evelyn Weber approaches McCall about mysterious happenings in her house which she suspects stems from her recently deceased husband. Though McCall, Mel and Harry are skeptical to the initial sounds of the case, they soon discover a much larger scheme behind the mysterious happenings. After Evelyn's husband, Richard, died in a cabin fire, she has been working all time around and taking in insurance claims. Richard's brother Kevin breaks into the house and tells McCall that Evelyn had wanted Richard dead to benefit from the insurances, and that sickness runs in her family. McCall learns that a neighbour spotted Richard's car previously, while Mel and Harry discover that Richard faked his death in a fraud scheme. They also deduce that Evelyn's sister, Alex Roth, was the culprit behind the mysterious happenings, calling in complaints to child services and tampered with Evelyn's medication. Her aim had been to take custody of Evelyn's daughter Kaylee and get together with Richard. McCall talks her down in a park until the police, led by Dante, arrive to arrest her.
32	4	"One Percenters"	Benny Boom	Adam Glass	October 23, 2022 (2022-10-23)	6.90
McCall is approached by Storm, a member of Brooklyn Disciples, to help her boyfriend T-Bone after he is framed for gun possession. McCall, Mel and Harry discover a connection to a council election between Elijah Moore and Bob Bass, in which the former is closely associated with the Brooklyn Disciples. Bass has tried to use this connection against Moore, but the team discovers that Bass got into a brawl with T-Bone at a club, and could be personally targeting him. T-Bone takes Bass hostage at a debate to get him to confess to framing him, but Bass denies it. Harry helps McCall figure out that T-Bone was framed by Leo Day, Moore's bodyguard who wanted Bass to win the election. McCall and Mel corner Leo, and get him arrested. McCall's ex-husband Miles seeks the truth about her kidnapping and bomb involvement, but when she refuses, he threatens to take sole custody of Delilah. As a result of her heroics and help, McCall becomes an honourable member of the Brooklyn Disciples.
33	5	"Blowback"	Cheryl Dunye	Rob Hanning	November 13, 2022 (2022-11-13)	6.45
The CIA apprehend Ezra Ryback in Madrid, and return him to the United States for further questioning. McCall is appointed to Ryback's security detail along with Griffin and agents Samford and Shaw. Ryback expresses paranoia about the Brigada 7 being after him and a possible mole within the agency, which proves correct after their transport motorcade is attacked. McCall has them relocate to a factory facility, where a confrontation about who is the mole ensues. With both Samford and Shaw killed in a shootout with the Brigada, McCall deduces that Griffin was the mole. She shoots him before he can pull his gun, and a CIA team arrives to take in Ryback. Ryback later reveals himself to be Colton Fisk, a senior member in the CIA; he has taken over Bishop's program, and thereby forces McCall back into the agency to work for him. Dante deals with his father being released from prison and struggles to decide whether or not to welcome him back into his life. After initially declining to train Delilah, Mel reconsiders and decides to train her without McCall's knowledge.
34	6	"A Time to Kill"	Chris Fisher	Melissa R. Byer & Treena Hancock	November 20, 2022 (2022-11-20)	6.36
17-year-old Taylor Schwarz collapses and dies at a club, supposedly due to an overdose. Her mother approaches McCall, asking her to investigate and find who supplied the drugs. The drugs are revealed to contain fentanyl, while Taylor's friend Sienna didn't suffer the same setbacks. After McCall, Mel and Harry identify the drug dealer, the former discovers him dead and is wanted by the police, with the exception of Dante, who assists McCall and her team. Mel and Harry lure out the middle man and identify the supplier, Kyle Howard, but he's found dead as well. The team look back at last victims of the drugs, and discover that the real killer is former army officer Earl Reid, whose daughter also died from the drugs. McCall goes to stop Reid from killing the drug lord, Alexi Petrov. She manages to talk Reid down, but Petrov shoots Reid before McCall manages to subdue him. Reid dies from his injuries. McCall suspects that Delilah is hiding something, which Aunt Vi initially dismisses, but later sneaks out after Delilah and discovers her training with Mel.
35	7	"Paradise Lost"	Randy Zisk	Rashaan Dozier-Escalante	November 27, 2022 (2022-11-27)	6.56
After popular singer Misty announces her retirement and receives hateful fan mail, her bodyguard Lucas asks McCall to investigate. Misty is nearly attacked while McCall and her team pose as reporters, and they try to find the culprit. Dante questions Misty's manager Martin after Harry finds a large payment to a hit man. Martin reveals he paid the man to go after the son of the woman who wrote Misty's hit song, but that Martin bought and claimed as his own writing. The son, Elton Smith, infiltrated Misty's circle as a band player to get revenge. McCall arrives, and she and Misty talk Elton down, revealing Misty never knew about Martin's deception. She gives Elton's mother the rightful credit during her final performance. McCall discovers Mel and Delilah's secret training after Delilah gets in trouble at school, and is furious with both of them. Aunt Vi makes McCall understand Delilah's perspective, and she agrees to some basic self-defense classes.
36	8	"He Ain't Heavy"	John Terlesky	Melissa R. Byer & Treena Hancock	February 19, 2023 (2023-02-19)	5.94
Mel's brother Edison is abducted, and she goes after the driver, but he is hit by a taxi. Despite her resentment for Mel training Delilah behind her back, McCall makes Edison's rescue mission a priority. Harry discovers that 20 million dollars was transferred from Edison's company to a shell company registered in the Cayman Islands, which is owned by the Colombian mafia. Their enforcer, Jim Voss, is still after Edison, who is trying to leave town. Mel manages to reach him and brings him to safety. Edison calls their sister Ruby, and the mafia follows her, leading to a shootout and Edison being taken. Voss has him fully transfer the money sum to the mob's account, but Harry manages to halt the process while McCall and Mel enter to save him. Harry also learns that Edison's boss had set him up and he is subsequently arrested. Aunt Vi attends an art gallery with Trish and Delilah, and is offered a job after encouraging a struggling young artist.
37	9	"Second Chance"	Paul Holahan	Christopher B. Derrick	February 26, 2023 (2023-02-26)	6.51
Tim Fells is approached by his former crime boss Randall Grayle, who asks him to do one last heist, which Fells is reluctant to do, but is divided on the issue when Grayle reveals that he has kidnapped his brother. Fells approaches McCall for help. McCall eventually realises that her interests for Fells collides with Dante's investigation into Grayle, but she convinces him to let him rescue Fells' brother alongside Grayle's apprehension. Mel replaces one of Grayle's goons and McCall asks Fells to fully join the heist when she is unable to save his brother the first time. During the heist, a fight escalates after Grayle blames Mel for the early police response. She struggles in a fight with one of his goons before Dante rescues her, having gone back to save her instead of capturing Grayle. Afterwards he blames McCall for their failure to capture Grayle. Aunt Vi helps Kat and Cecil with their appraiser who deliberately lowers their house price prior to their move to Florida. She lured him to her house under the pretence of a refinancing, and gives his offer to his boss, who has him fired.
38	10	"Do No Harm"	Ron Fortunato	Ashley Charbonnet & Kim Rome	March 5, 2023 (2023-03-05)	6.23
Dante calls McCall to a hospital after a desperate mother, Lauren Stone, takes people hostage to save her dying daughter. Both have to deal with a hot-headed tactical team commander who wants to take Lauren out immediately. McCall gets Grafton's help to infiltrate and talk to Lauren. An angry hostage tries to shoot Lauren, but ends up shooting the surgeon who was supposed to save Lauren's daughter. Harry and Mel help McCall find another doctor who can save her. Dante realizes the commander sent someone in to kill Lauren and warns McCall, who convinces Lauren to surrender so that her daughter won't be orphaned. Aunt Vi takes Delilah to a Southern cuisine restaurant to learn about gumbo, and helps the owner re-create his late mother's dishes and preserve their heritage.
39	11	"Never Again"	Chris Fisher	Ora Yashar & Adam Glass	March 12, 2023 (2023-03-12)	5.60
When Miles files for sole custody of Delilah, McCall debates giving up her work just as a deli owner asks her to look into a string of antisemitic crimes in her neighborhood. Harry and Mel step up to help while McCall deals with Miles. The case brings up painful memories for Harry, who felt abandoned by his Jewish mother after his parents divorced. Harry discovers a connection to a comic book, which leads the team to a group of neo-Nazis planning to attack a synagogue during Shabbat. They're able to thwart the attack, and the neo-Nazis are arrested by Dante. Aunt Vi confronts Miles about his petition, saying McCall can't stop what she's doing and that she's looking after Delilah, as well. Miles drops his petition, and Harry makes peace with his past after learning his mother had mental issues and couldn't take care of him.
40	12	"Lost and Found"	Tamika Miller	Joe Gazzam	March 19, 2023 (2023-03-19)	6.24
McCall helps a man who claims to have woken up with no memory of who he is and a gun that's been recently fired. The team traces his movements, and discover that his name is Eric, and he's in witness protection after testifying against Rodolfo Martinez, who was released and killed Eric's father. Eric came back to get justice, and nearly got killed. The team traps Martinez, and manage to get him sent back to prison with Dante's help. McCall has Dante bring Delilah to his boxing gym, where she meets his mentor, Manny. Delilah meets another boxer, Jackson, and finds out he's being pressured into dealing. She convinces him to tell Manny, who roughs up the dealers and helps bail Jackson out of trouble.
41	13	"Patriot Game"	Geoff Shotz	Joseph C. Wilson & Rob Hanning	March 26, 2023 (2023-03-26)	6.83
An employee runs to McCall after being the only survivor of a shooting massacre at his office. McCall gets a lead pointing to Colton Fisk. He tells her the assassin is connected to a CIA program called Nomad, which he shut down years before. McCall and Fisk discover that Nomad wants to get a hold of lithium mines in Nicaragua by assassinating a military general so the U.S. will invade Nicaragua. McCall and Mel are able to save the general, while Fisk eliminates the other Nomad agents. McCall confronts Fisk about originally creating Nomad, but Fisk reveals that CIA Director Platt was the one who re-started Nomad and is behind the office shooting. When McCall wants to go after Platt, Fisk says it's impossible, but Harry manages to dig up the evidence and McCall exposes it, forcing Platt to resign. Dante saves Manny's life when he is shot in a drive-by. After seeing the strained relationship between Manny and his son, Dante decides to give his father a second chance just as he's released from prison.
42	14	"No Good Deed"	Christine Moore	Vanessa K. Herron & Kim Rome	April 16, 2023 (2023-04-16)	6.53
Congresswoman Elena Acevedo is murdered, and the prime suspect is Jaime Perez, a Venezuelan refugee who Acevedo let stay in her house. Jaime's wife, Marisol, asks McCall to help clear his name. With information from a man who made threats against Acevedo, McCall figures out that Lacey, Acevedo's assistant, killed her. Before Dante or the team can question her, Lacey is found dead. Harry figures out that she was killed by Congressman Walter Grey, one of Acevedo's opponents of her migrant bill. Lacey tried to bug Acevedo's home on Grey's orders, but got caught and killed her boss. McCall and Mel are able to corner Grey's men and get the proof that exonerates Jaime. Grey is arrested, and Jaime is released. Aunt Vi sees the paintings done by one of her students, Robbie, and tries to help him. Robbie admits that he's looking for his brother, Darius, who he was separated from while in foster care. With Dante's help, Aunt Vi is able to reunite the brothers. Dante tries to find out about Manny's shooting, but is stonewalled by the lead detectives of the case.
43	15	"No Way Out"	Richard Lyons	Rob Hanning & Vanessa K. Herron	April 23, 2023 (2023-04-23)	6.50
Aunt Vi notices her masseuse, Angie, has a nasty bruise. Angie says she fell, but Mel and Harry help Aunt Vi figure out that Angie's husband, Doug, is beating her. They also find out that Doug's real name was Felix White, a domestic abuser who changed his identity to escape from the authorities after he abused and murdered his first wife. Aunt Vi fears that Angie will be Doug's next victim. After Doug hits their son, Craig, Angie comes to Aunt Vi for help. Doug abducts Angie before Vi and Dante can help her. McCall comes to help, after training Delilah to read people and situations. The team rescues Angie and puts her up in a hotel room with Aunt Vi while Craig is safe with Child Services, but Doug finds her through a Bluetooth tracker that he purchased a few months earlier. Trying to defend Angie, Aunt Vi pulls her gun, but is unable to shoot. Fortunately, McCall arrives and kills Doug. Mel remembers a friend of hers who was also an abuse victim, and Harry helps her get closure by showing Mel that her friend left her husband, and has a new life where she's happy. When Aunt Vi becomes shaken by the incident, wondering if she can protect McCall and Delilah, McCall assures her that she does. Dante is frustrated at the detectives dragging their feet over arresting Manny's shooter, Lo-Lo, and goes after him with Jackson's help. Despite his captain's warning, Dante tracks Lo-Lo down just as he's about to leave town. Lo-Lo tries to escape, but ends up falling off a building.
44	16	"Love Hurts"	Christine Moore	Joe Gazzam & Ashley Charbonnet	May 7, 2023 (2023-05-07)	6.43
Fisk tasks McCall to travel to Paris to make contact with former MI6 agent Rick Dawson, who disappeared after killing weapons dealer Diego Alcazar. Their mission is to retrieve a file of plutonium rings from landing in the wrong hands, with clues provided by a former friend of Dawson. The trail leads them to an old church, where they find a hidden hard drive. Alcazar is revealed to be alive and seeking the file as well. He takes it from them before escaping, while Fisk appears to aid McCall and Dawson as they give chase. A final confrontation takes place before Alcazar is arrested and the file secured. McCall is implied to have tricked Fisk regarding the file's new whereabouts. Delilah is accepted to start an internship at a luxury fashion store, but is disappointed to be relegated to warehouse duties due to her hair style. Delilah is shocked that her contact Stacy (another African American girl) actually straightens her hair and enables their boss’s racist actions. Aunt Vi encourages her to stand up for herself, and Delilah decides to quit the internship, but as she is leaving, her boss suddenly sees her and the two get into an argument. A customer notices this. When Delilah tries to tell her what’s going on, their boss tells her she’s lying. Delilah asks for Stacy’s support, but she sides with her boss. Stacy later arrives at Delilah’s house to apologize, but Delilah makes it clear it was too little, too late.
45	17	"Justified"	Darren Grant	Joseph C. Wilson & Rob Hanning	May 14, 2023 (2023-05-14)	6.00
McCall receives an anonymous note while at lunch with Delilah and Aunt Vi that leads to a clue about her father's murder almost 30 years before. She, Harry, and Mel follow the clues and discover her father was targeted after he stood up to some young gang kids in their neighborhood. He was killed by Yancy Turner, now a major crime boss. McCall goes to confront Yancy, but Dante stops her from killing him, convincing her to let him be arrested. Yancy goes free, though, and McCall goes to get justice. Though she's outnumbered by Yancy's men, she turns the tables, and has Harry send information that reveals Yancy has been throwing his people under the bus to save himself. McCall escapes while Yancy is beaten and killed by his own men. Lo-Lo is in a coma, and Dante is being investigated. Lo-Lo wakes up, and accuses Dante of pushing him off the building. Dante's captain puts him on suspension until an investigation can clear him. In the end, Robyn returns to her garage happily reuniting with her fathers car and cries while remembering a moment she spent with her father before his spirit thanks her for solving his death. She returns to the real world and Aunt Vi and Delilah join her in the garage to bring her comfort.
46	18	"Eye for an Eye"	Eric Laneuville	Joseph C. Wilson & Adam Glass	May 21, 2023 (2023-05-21)	6.28
McCall and her team find themselves fighting an unknown enemy when several goons attempt to abduct them. Fisk reaches out and shares his findings, which pinpoint chatter about McCall. A contact of Mel identifies the syringe found by McCall to contain a variant of truth serum, which can be fatal after 90 minutes. When Fisk is abducted, McCall and Mel go to rescue him, only to find themselves captive, and likewise does Harry and Dante. Before his abduction, Fisk identifies the group as freedom fighters he and McCall worked with in Venezuela against their regime before the CIA pulled out. Their leader, Enrique Vargas blames Fisk for betraying the group and their trust. McCall discovers that her former colleague Michelle Chambers, with whom she worked with in Venezuela; is alive and seeks revenge for being left for dead. Aunt Vi and Delilah find themselves in the midst of a robbery in a grocery store. Vi manages to talk the robber down, sympathising with his personal reasons. Delilah shields him from the cops, realising his gun is unloaded. McCall attempts a solo escape, but is swiftly recaptured and forced to watch as the room her friends are trapped in is set ablaze.

Reception

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of The Equalizer (2021 TV series) season 3

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Boom."	October 2, 2022	0.7	7.10	0.3	2.21	0.9	9.31
2	"Where There's Smoke"	October 9, 2022	0.5	6.98	0.2	1.96	0.8	8.94
3	"Better Off Dead"	October 16, 2022	0.8	7.32	0.2	1.99	1.0	9.31
4	"One Percenters"	October 23, 2022	0.5	6.90	0.2	1.81	0.7	8.71
5	"Blowback"	November 13, 2022	0.5	6.45	—	—	—	—
6	"A Time to Kill"	November 20, 2022	0.7	6.36	—	—	—	—
7	"Paradise Lost"	November 27, 2022	0.5	6.56	—	—	—	—
8	"He Ain't Heavy"	February 19, 2023	0.4	5.94	—	—	—	—
9	"Second Chance"	February 26, 2023	0.5	6.51	—	—	—	—
10	"Do No Harm"	March 5, 2023	0.4	6.23	—	—	—	—
11	"Never Again"	March 12, 2023	0.4	5.60	—	—	—	—
12	"Lost and Found"	March 19, 2023	0.5	6.24	—	—	—	—
13	"Patriot Game"	March 26, 2023	0.6	6.83	—	—	—	—
14	"No Good Deed"	April 16, 2023	0.4	6.53	—	—	—	—
15	"No Way Out"	April 23, 2023	0.4	6.50	—	—	—	—
16	"Love Hurts"	May 7, 2023	0.4	6.43	—	—	—	—
17	"Justified"	May 14, 2023	0.4	6.00	—	—	—	—
18	"Eye for an Eye"	May 21, 2023	0.5	6.28	—	—	—	—