Countdown Episode 5 finally reveals Volchek's real identity - his back story makes him a more fearful villain than Reacher's Xavier Quinn 

Countdown, which explores the investigation of the murder of a Homeland Security officer, has led to the unveiling of a terrorist attack plan against LA, and the secret team of officers led by Special Agent Natan Blythe must do everything to stop it. Episode five of Countdown, which was released on Prime Video on 9th July 2025, has finally revealed the real identity of Volchek (played by Bogdan Yasinski), the Belarusian terrorist planning the attack set to target LA.

The episode's logline makes it clear what to expect from it:

The team pays a visit to the Belarusian consulate in search of files that could finally reveal who Volchek is… and how far he’s willing to go.

In the fifth episode of Countdown, Blurred Edges, we learn that Volchek's real name is Boris Vusovich, and get a much deeper insight into his backstory, which makes him a more fearful villain Reacher's Xavier Quinn who, according to the show's titular character, was the ''worst person'' he ahad ever known.

Who is Volchek in Countdown? Explored in detail

In episode two of Countdown, titled Dead Lots of Times, we learnt a bit about Volchek. Back in 2008, he worked in the Defence Ministry of Belarus. But his history isn't that simple. Before his job at the Ministry of Defence, he served in the Transportation Corps of the army. When he was working at the Ministry of Defence, Volchek's brother, Anton, found himself in trouble.

Anton was supposed to give an American national secretary that Volchek had. However, after taking payment, Anton gave the American false information by mistake. The American demanded his money back, and Anton asked Volchek for help. If Volchek were to help his brother, he would have to steal national data for the American and risk the security of his nation.

Volchek does it and manages to get the information, but Anton soon kills himself out of guilt about what his brother had to do for him. Volchek blames the American, and when he later goes to give him the data, he attaches an unnoticeable explosive to it. Right after the transfer, the American is blown up.

In episode five of Countdown, titled Blurred Lines, Mark, Evan, and Amber infiltrate the party thrown by the Belarusian Consul General. Before they have to make their escape, Evan finds what they need in the Consul General’s computer, which is a file about Volchek, and thus, we get to know more about the man planning to attack LA.

In this episode of Countdown we learn that after the 2008 incident, in 2018, he got married, and in 2019, he got caught for embezzling money from the Ministry and his company for his ambitions. To avoid getting arrested, he made a lookalike board a plane (the plane which his wife boarded as well) and then blew the plane up, killing both the lookalike and his wife.

Thus, even before hatching the plan to blow up LA, Volchek has committed his share of heinous crimes, which included killing his own life just to make his fake death look real.

Xavier Quinn of Reacher was no doubt one of the most depraved villains of the show, given the fact that he survived a gunshot wound and a fall off a cliff, and returned to commit more crimes. Much like Countdown's Volchek, Quinn had once served in the military. He was a military intelligence officer and exploited his rank to traffic classified information and manipulate subordinates through blackmail and fear.

Diagnosed with malignant narcissism and a disturbing history of violence, his lack of empathy became clearly evident when he kidnapped and ruthlessly murdered Sergeant Dominique Kohl, Reacher’s subordinate.

On finding Quinn and confirming he killed Kohl, it seemed Reacher had killed Quinn by shooting him in the head and sending him over a cliff. But Quinn suprisingly survived and vanished. He later resurfaced under an alias, Julius McCabe, taking control of a smuggling operation by torturing and threatening Beck and gua son Richard. Despite his new identity, and forgetting much about his life, Quinn remained sadistic and power-hungry, using violence to maintain control.

Reacher confronted him for the final time, and executed him, ensuring he is dead this time. While Quinn is known for his sadistic crimes and being such a formidable villain that he survived Reacher's attempt at killing him, he might not be as fearful as Countdown's Volchek.

While Quinn targeted people for his own gain, Volchek is on a revenge plan, and blames America for his brother's death. His plan is far more fatal as he is targeting an entire city, and his cold and shrewd method of killing is what makes him a villain more fearful than Reacher's Quinn.

Future episodes of Countdown come out every Wednesday on Prime Video. The first three seasons of Reacher are streaming on Prime Video.

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