Prodigal Son Episode 8: Family Friend
Prodigal Son has proven it is the kind of show where you never know what will happen next. Will you want to laugh, or will you want to cry? Sometimes you’ll gasp in shock, and sometimes you’ll stare in disbelief. Sometimes it stretches reality, and at times, you hope it never becomes a reality. All around? It’s an enjoyable show. Episode eight shows just that. Let’s look back at it.
A Game of Cat and Mouse
We left off with our tormented protagonist taunted by the junkyard killer. He says Martin knows him and he was there for the camping trip. Is this so? As of yet, we are not so sure, but Malcolm is. And because there is something inside of Malcolm that loves danger… He goes into it. He is determined to find this man.
The case quickly turns dark and twisted. The Junkyard Killer has interesting characteristics, some, unlike Malcolm’s father. He wants to punish his victims and seems to find those who have something to “atone” for. An underground hideaway proves Malcolm’s profile true, and they find a live victim! What does this mean? Has the killer been in practice that long? With Martin in solitary confinement, it’s hard to guess.
Pop You Like Bubble Wrap
The Junkyard Killer isn’t too keen on Malcolm and the others snooping. He lures Malcolm underground, where he seems to crack a few ribs and threaten him, but oddly not kill him. It would seem Malcolm doesn’t know how to get away from danger. I’m starting to think he’s got a magnet somewhere on him. Gil, furious that Malcolm would follow after a hooded figure it the dark, almost takes him off the case. He agrees to let him continue but wants him to be safe as well.
Truthfully, I don’t think it would matter if he were taken off the case, Malcolm would find a way. He sets up a meeting with the Junkyard Killer, the killer agreeing to meet him somewhere in public, not that it isn’t creepy. Before that, he sends him a love letter of sorts… the hand of the missing Father from earlier in the episode. And gee, people say romance is dead.
At the meetup, the killer is nowhere to be found. Alarmed, Malcolm finds the Father but realizes he’s been set up. He understands now that this killer has been one step ahead of them all along.
Nosy Girl
Meanwhile, as this has all gone down, Ainsley is waiting for Jin to wake up in the hospital. He’s pleased to see her at first, and the two lovebirds seem to be doing alright. However, Jin is totally unaware of what has transpired while he snoozed. Things won’t stay that pleasant for long, right? Not in this show.
Ainsley becomes aware something is happening thanks to the police presence in the hospital. She questions the officers who refuse to tell her about the case. Ainsley, also knowing that if there is a murder, Malcolm may be involved, calls him. He doesn’t answer, but she sinks her teeth into the case anyway. Her attitude in the episode is quite similar to that of the prior one; she wants something, and she’s going to get it, regardless of how she gets there.
Unfortunately, she comes to realize that leaving Jin alone with her laptop is a bad idea. He’s not so happy that she filmed his surgery. He tells her he knows this is who she is, but he can’t be with her. They break up, not to anyone’s shock. Honestly, Ainsley, what did you think would happen when you put the camera on him?
Still, her antics have her at the hospital when the Junkyard Killer comes to finish off the victim the NYPD found. She stumbles upon the victim’s dead body and realizes he was watching her. In a chase, she barely makes it to a locked room in time. Malcolm, having realized that Ainsley was at the hospital, has sent police following a panicked call with his sister. She ends up fine, not that she doesn’t get rattled.
Not All Lost
Malcolm learns in this episode he isn’t crazy. Well, at least in one area. The girl in the box exists, at least according to our killer. Gil agrees to help Malcolm at this point, almost seems like a saving grace for our frustrated profiler… until… dun, dun, dun.
The FBI has come to take over the Junkyard Killer case. And well, we know how the job ended for Malcolm there.
I’m curious about how he talks his way out of that one. Until next week, I suppose.
Thoughts
By far, I’m baffled with Ainsley’s sudden change in character. Sure, she seemed driven in previous episodes and might have had a sharp tongue like her brother and mother… but now she seems cold and ruthless. Is it because she visited her father? Or is this something we just haven’t noticed as of yet? It makes it hard to root for her, which I think maybe intentional. Regardless, she’s got some “crazy” going on, and it might lead her into trouble she can’t so easily get out of soon.
And what about this Eve chick? I didn’t mention her directly in my recap, but I’m not sure what to make of her. The episode shows Jessica as paranoid and fearful, following the phone call that changed everything. Eve shows up, and I still question her motives. Something tells me she may have a secondary motivation we haven’t learned of yet.
And what the heck? Can we please stop pairing off Malcolm with every female character? We get it, he’s very good looking. But the dude needs to focus on himself, and the women don’t all need a piece of him. Maybe they can be friends. That’s what he needs, someone supportive that don’t want to get in his pants.
The next episode sounds like it should be another fun one, but this time we have two weeks to wait for it. We’re almost at episode ten… that is crazy! With another twelve episodes to go in the spring, there is a lot more story to tell. What do you want to see happen? Who can our profiler trust? And when will this all explode?
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