Prodigal Son 1.13: Wait and Hopeby Wolfen MoondaughterReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Network
Credits Grade: 9 Malcolm is supposed to be on vacation, but manages to entangle himself in another murder investigation instead. This time, a murderer is inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo, and targets a socialite's wedding.This one was a lot of fun, with great humor (including several moments that made me laugh out loud) and an intriguing scenario! (I did have a tiny complaint about the investigation, which I'll get to in the spoilers). I was even somewhat surprised by the plot twist (only figuring it out a moment before the reveal). There's some nice little movement on the Malcolm / Dani front, and a very satisfying development in how everyone sees Malcolm. And there's some great, nuanced stuff with Whitly, hints of his love for his son, which humanizes him some -- but the show wisely doesn't play it as redemption, making it clear that the way he expresses that affection is still twisted. On the downside, what seems on the surface to be a sweet, even triumphant situation with Jessica, isn't really. Spoiler time. Still with me? Okay. Loved the use of Queen and Bowie's "Under Pressure" as Malcolm tried to use yoga to deal with his recent traumas, and as he just went through his morning routine -- and how it's used again later, in a truly high-pressure scenario. Loved the Fantasy Island-esque suit Jessica gave him for his pending vacation (really, Jessica, most people ear more causal stuff to relax!), and their subsequent banter (especially his chiding her for the Saigon bit). The subsequent stuff with Gil was great too, that the man was eager to drive Malcolm to the airport, and that Malcolm managed to wheedle him into taking him to a crime scene. And the team ribbing him, and he and TJ sharing a geeky love over weapons, was all great. It was wonderful to see Idrisa laugh at Malcolm's suit -- it puts their working relationship on a more even keel. And loved Malcolm's hurried instructions to his teammates -- and how it's clear he wanted to say something more personal to Dani. Poor Gil, regarding his crushed car! (For a moment, I thought he might have just been thinking about how they'd nearly lost Malcolm, who'd squashed the car when jumping out a window to escape a bomb -- I would have loved that kind of angst -- but his reaction to TJ telling him it was just a car was funny.) The sword scenario was twisted fun -- I liked watching the team try to deal with the scenario together. Same with the bomb sitch (too bad we didn't get any hurt-comfort out of that, aside from his teammates fearing for him during the event). Loved Malcolm's line when Gil suggested they call someone to deal with the Sword of Damocles trap: "Why are we gonna call? The Department of Falling-Sword Death?" I deeply appreciated Malcom's talk with Dani, with his explanation of how quiet times leaves him alone with himself -- not a good thing. "Imagine a movie theatre that only plays horror films -- about you."And I loved his reaction to Dani in eveningwear. And the exchange between Dani and Malcolm, Dani saying, "Old families always have skeletons in the closet," and Malcolm replying, "Yeah, mine had 23!" I loved seeing Whitly be the one to suffer for a change, rather than Malcolm. It's good to look at him from a new angle! Despite his stress and perceived suffering, his getting a reward for his efforts as a consultant, or the fact that her seemed like such a doting father as he read to child-Malcolm, or even his surprisingly sweet shock as he realised that his son picked up the phone even though Malcolm was in mortal peril, it's still clear, thanks to the fact that he even has to ask if he should have said he loved Malcolm, and the subsequent therapy session, that he's an abuser (and that his therapist is woefully inadequate). If the show does ultimately redeem him, it will certainly have to be earned, and the show clearly knows it; in the meantime, it's great to see what could have been a one-note character show some true depth, not just being a psychopath performing manipulation. It's also oddly nice to know that Malcolm can negatively impact Whitly in turn. Loved his sarcastic line about everyone loving you until they learn you're a serial killer! Loved Whitly being introduced to the team over the phone, and how Gil reacted to the whole situation (especially his wondering why Malcolm picked up)! I appreciated, as usual, how the murder investigation touched on Malcolm's complicated issues with his dad, especially during his speech a6 the wedding. And I love how the show once again accentuates the difference between Malcolm and his father by having Malcom risk his life to save someone who is unworthy. The aforementioned investigation nitpick: that Malcolm could, for even one second, believe the son was the killer rather than the target. It was clear upon seeing said son that the nervous groom was not in any mental shape to be playing the part of a criminal mastermind. I don’t feel like there was enough motive to go after the other people either -- for what, protecting his reputation? That deserved that level of sadism? I honestly thought his cold-blooded father more likely a killer. (Also, how could the father feel security was adequate when Malcolm and Gil walked into the study with no fuss?) I do have to wonder how "nice" of a person the killer was before the event that led to her crimes, seeing as she was able to carry out such deliberate and malicious acts. I mean, yes, it's horrible how the men covered up what happened to her, and let her "die" rather than trying to save her after a terrible accident that was actually their client's fault, and subsequently ruined her family, but still, what happened didn't seem enough to create a sociopath. They didn't maliciously target a living person, but instead were just (callously) protecting someone she supposedly loved (enough so that she didn't seem intent on killing Cal), so I assume she was born a psychopath. I mean, I think a normal person would have simply shown up at the wedding and been like "Hey, guess what? I ain't dead!" and then simply told all who gathered what terribly things the guilty parties had done, rather than killing them. Maybe enlisted a lawyer at the party to sue the people who ruined her family. (And really, wouldn't them having to live with the stain in their reputation for years after be more satisfying than having them die before anyone even learned the truth?) Even if the ruin of her family could drive her to kill, I can't see the killing being done so elaborately, rather than passionately, and I would think Malcolm's words would have gotten through. Moving along to the issue I had with Jessica's arc .... Jessica's lonely, having been somewhat ostracized for years because of her husband's actions, so Ainsley secretly arranges an invite fort her to the wedding. The first problem here is that being invited is not the same as being accepted; in fact, before we found out the invite was Ainsley's doing, I thought Jessica had been invited as a curiosity, so that her peers could grill her for their own entertainment; regardless of how she was invited, that's pretty much what happens. Ainsley was rather stupid if she thought it would go down any differently. She didn’t actually do Jessica any favours; it was purely by accident that something good came of it. The second problems is that Jessica herself still sees her identity as tied up with her husband and her son. When it seems Malcom is about to make a fool of himself in front of everyone, she disavows him (not that I entirely blame her), but when he turns into a hero, she readily reclaims him. The sudden positive attention of her peers for having such a wonderful son comes off as triumphant, but is it? Why isn't Jessica recognized for her charity work? Why did it take her son's heroism to negate her husband's crime, neither of which really have that much to do with her (save maybe for the question of whether or not she could have better noticed what was happening in her own house, or how much of Malcolm's goodness is her influence)? Even being invited was all about her daughter, not something Jessica had earned. There is an upside to the scenario, though: having seen her son in action, Jessica finally seems to recognise that he does truly love his work (rather than it being All About His Trauma), is good at it, and is a boon to humanity in the process. Even better, Gil seems to have come to the same understanding! Honestly, I don't know why either of them though Malcolm would have fun in a tropical setting, relaxing -- I can't see him as being anything but bored out of his guard, and getting anxious in that boredom .... Written: February 9, 2020
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