Prodigal Son Season 1 Finale: Like Father…
Wow. That’s the first thought that crossed my mind after finishing the Prodigal Son finale. One of the best things about this show has been that nothing ever ends up what you think it will. There have been plot twist after plot twist, and the finale was no exception. At the end of the last episode, Malcolm was under suspicion for the murder of the guard, Eddie. Let’s dive into what happened next.
Framed
While Dani and JT arrest Malcolm for Eddie’s murder, he’s quick to tell them he was framed, and he’s sure that Nicholas Endicott did it. Considering Endicott’s threat to Martin from the last episode, I don’t doubt this. What angers me is how Dani and JT treat Malcolm in this opening scene; I know they are detectives, and they have to follow the evidence, it’s insane how cold they are to him. After everything that has happened, do they think he’d be dumb enough to kill someone and get caught? Let’s be frank; if he ever ends up a killer, you will not discover so quickly.
Dani, JT, and Gil head to Edrisa’s lab, where we learn that Eddie was suffocated. Edrisa makes a point that suffocation by pillow is not flashy enough a murder for someone like Malcolm (and she’s right). Honestly, I love Edrisa. Shes just enough awkward and charming, and her role always seems perfect for the timing. Even better? She trusts Malcolm and believes he didn’t do it. How do we know? Malcolm, even under the watchful eye of his mother and Ainsley, snuck out and hid while they discussed the case with our favorite quirky medical examiner. She tells him the only way the evidence could’ve been planted was by the laboratory; she trusts her team otherwise. And guess what? No shock to anyone watching… Endicott owns the laboratory.
Return of the Devil
Still seeking answers, Malcolm goes to see Sterling, Martin’s lawyer, to gather more information. He assisted Endicott with his rise to power, yet this isn’t his roots. He was once a civil rights lawyer and activist, and Malcolm plays into that, saying he must hate who he is now. Sterling admits this and says that Endicott has never been about profit, but power. The only way to save him is to get Martin to talk about the files; Endicott was afraid of Eve finding Sophie, that’s why she was killed. But before any more can be said, someone arrives at the law firm and shoots Sterling dead. It looks like someone is tying up loose ends…
Dinner for Death
Meanwhile, as Jessica tries to deal with Malcolm’s escape from house arrest, she receives an invitation from Endicott for dinner. He believes he can “help” Malcolm; Jessica and Ainsley don’t believe it, but the fear is that the only way to save Malcolm is to make a deal. Or, yeah, no. End up dead, maybe. Gil shows up just in time to give his support to the family and tell Jessica that she believes Malcolm. Malcolm arrives home just as Gil leaves again, and the trio tries to make plans to take down Endicott before things get crazier. Ainsley and Malcolm want to see their father. However, things have gotten a little sticky there as well.
Escape from the Psychiatric Hospital?
At the start of the episode, Martin’s door is unlocked, and the phone is ringing. He goes to answer it and, on the other end is Endicott. Martin swears he’s held up his end of the deal (WHAT DEAL, TELL US!), but Endicott isn’t convinced. He staged the door being open to making it look like Martin was trying to escape, and the guards rush him and take him in. This earns him a transfer to Rikers. YIKES. Can anyone picture Martin at a jail-like that? Hardly any fancy privileges there!
He quickly makes “friends” or people who have a price for his death. He attempts to navigate the system, but as Malcolm and Ainsley show up, it’s clear: Martin is scared. This is a unique and weird sight to see, but a refreshing one. I know Martin’s soft spot is usually for his son, but it’s interesting to see him worried about Endicott killing him or his family.
Here is the crushing blow that adds to the panic: Martin doesn’t know anything. It was all a bluff, and Endicott seems to have figured this out. He realizes he can’t win and tells Malcolm the only way out of this is to kill Endicott. Does Malcolm have it in him to do this? Since the beginning, the question has been, is he like his father? Will he kill Endicott to avenge all those who have died at the hands of this man?
Team Call
Back at the Whitly house, Gil, JT, and Dani question Malcolm about Sterling. They know that he is dead. Malcolm admits he never got further than the doorway at Eddie’s hospital bed, so it’s impossible that he killed him. He brings forth an important question: what if he was already dead before he got there? The suspect pool just got a lot bigger. Weirdly, Dani is still quite cold to Malcolm. I truly don’t get this, and I’m not sure what it proves for the characters.
Meanwhile, sometime later, Gil goes to Malcolm’s apartment and tells him that he’s going to be charged, and he needs to run. Take some cash and go, give them time to figure this out and prove he’s innocent. As he preps to leave, he listens to Eve’s last voicemail one more time, paying careful attention to the background. Two dogs are barking and a bird. Malcolm’s brain begins to put it together, and he asks Dani for a trace on where Eve’s phone was at that time.
The Girl in the Box
And thus, we end up in Connecticut at a veterinarian’s office. Guess who is there? She might go by Sarah now, but this is the person we’ve all been waiting for. The person we assumed was dead from early on… you guessed it: the Girl in the Box, Sophie Sanders. She became a vet and had been living under another name for some time. The two take each other in, and it would seem that she’s spent time thinking about “The Boy in the Basement” (how cool is it she had her own moniker for him?!).
We also find out from Sophie that Endicott used Martin and how evil he truly is. Eve and Sophie only had four days together before she died. It was Sophie who killed Eddie, but with some new evidence, Malcolm does not have to take her in. We’ll get to that in a minute! But wow. I half expected Sophie to be evil as well, but she does not seem as such; maybe if we get a season two we’ll learn that her loyalty to Endicott is more than we realize, but as of right now, it just seems like Endicott took advantage of a scared young girl.
Don’t Mess with a Woman in Heels
Jessica Whitly doesn’t listen very well, and she meets with Endicott for dinner to try and “help” Malcolm. Instead, he incriminates the hell out of himself, and there’s a part of me that wants to scream, “why isn’t anyone else here for this?” Then, of course, as Endicott tends to a knock at the door, we see Jessica slip out her phone: she recorded all that he said!! HELL YES! He’s going down! This next part is the first scene that I did not expect: Gil is at the door, and there’s some chest-puffing between the two men. At first, I thought Gil would try and arrest Endicott, but imagine the shock when he earns a knife in his stomach several times for showing up. Jessica watches, Endicott unaware she was above the banister when it happened. He returns to dinner as his assistant deals with an injured Gil.
I’ve said my fair share of negative things about Jessica Whitly. But oh my god, she totally redeems herself. She whips Endicott with a ceramic plate and takes off (in heels no less) and gets the keys for Gil’s car. There is blood everywhere, but no Gil. She heads into the street, and singlehandedly stops his assistant from taking off in another vehicle. With her help, she gets Gil out of the trunk and races off to the hospital to get him help. Its adrenaline heavy and heart in your throat action, and I’m so glad they both got out okay!
Like Father…
Malcolm gets a text from Ainsley stating he must return home now. He races back to NYC and gets into the apartment to find Ainsley on the couch with Endicott. He’s clearly pissed, but eerily calm too. Things get heated quickly when Malcolm tells him he’s going to jail for a very long time. Endicott boasts about his power and reach, and Malcolm points a gun at him. Will he shoot him? I want Endicott dead, but not at the hands of Malcolm.
And I get my wish.
AINSLEY APPEARS BEHIND HIM WITH A KNIFE AND SLITS HIS THROAT. And because that wasn’t enough, she turns him toward her and repeatedly stabs him over and over again, until there is blood everywhere and he’s deader than dead. Ainsley stands in front of Malcolm, who is clearly shocked when his phone rings. It’s Martin, who, by outsmarting everyone at Rikers, has caused a massive riot near him. He gleefully talks to his son and is quite pleased to hear Endicott is dead. The creepy smile that crosses his face when he finds out it was Ainsley will be one that everyone who watches this show will remember. The last lines of season one?
My Girl…
To be Continued?
Prodigal Son has yet to be renewed or canceled, but the showrunners have said they are cautiously optimistic the show will return for a season two. After a rollercoaster of a finale, I certainly hope so. I was pleasantly pleased with the finale. I had my concerns that it could appear rushed or have plot holes because they lost episodes 20/21, but it was awesome! All in all, the show and production did an incredible job blending it all.
While I had my suspicions early on, Ainsley was more like her father than Malcolm, it didn’t occur to me she would be the one to kill in the finale. It was brutal, intense, and bloody and made her look absolutely erratic and might be one of my favorite scenes of the show thus far.
What about Gil? Malcolm is cleared, Dani and him made up, but Gil didn’t wake up post-surgery before the episode ends. Will he be okay? The team needs him as much as he needs them. Can you imagine Jessica finally making her move on him for him to die? I certainly hope not.
There are a lot of questions still left to be answered, and a lot of new storylines that could come from the finale. The show had an exciting first season and put a spotlight on several young, talented actors such as Tom Payne, Halston Sage, Frank Harts, and Aurora Perrineau. Combining that with Michael Sheen, Bellamy Young, Keiko Agena, and Lou Diamond Phillips, this freshman drama definitely gave fans a thrill. I overall enjoyed the show, and have my fingers crossed for a season two!
You can catch the entire season of Prodigal Son on FOX’s website any time!
Stay connected with So Many Shows:
More From So Many Shows:
Prodigal Son Episode 19: The Professionals
LISTEN LIVE: Page 22 Podcast “Best 1990’s TV Shows to Binge Watch Today!”