Head Case
Episode 6 of Prodigal Son Season 2 begins with Malcolm despairing as Martin encourages him to come and visit. There, he finds Jessica is already there. Together, they ambush their son and decide they need to come clean to Ainsley and tell her the truth about what happened. Malcolm is not so sure this is a good idea. Thankfully, he’s drawn away by a message from Gil requesting his help with a new murder. That murder brings Malcolm to the Kenmare Hotel where a dead architect called Lyle Reynolds lies on the ground, dead with a compass through his eyeballs. With the hotel abandoned and a scratch mark across his face all add up to see Malcolm deduce they’re after a female psychopath. Speaking of which, Ainsley happens to be outside talking to Ramon Vieja but he denies any involvement and points them in the direction of the artist community on the 8th floor. Heading up, Malcolm and the team meet artists Karina and Wendell, although Malcolm points out that Karina appears to have been crying. She, however, denies this and claims she barely knew the murder victim. Something clearly doesn’t add up, as Wendell seems to be protecting Karina too. In the elevator, Dani and Malcolm are joined by Greta Swann and her Father Rudolph. Greta is quite the gossip queen, and she discusses an argument that took place the evening of the murder. This all came about on the back of the elevator being fixed by Reynolds, who decided to do it himself when Ramon refused. Malcolm visits Ainsley next and manages to obtain the Vieja footage. Ainsley is looking the worse for wear and admits that she’s been remembering more details from that night. It’s still hazy though, prompting Malcolm to place the blame on himself, unable to make Ainsley feel worse than she already does. While embracing his sister, Malcolm notices on the video footage that Ramon is missing a cufflink and heads back to the hotel after-hours to investigate. Malcolm finds the cufflink on the floor and suspects that Ramon hit Lyle in the face with it. This also backs up Greta’s story about an argument as they may well have heard it on the floor above them. Only, Malcolm is ambushed from behind and pushed down an elevator shaft by a hooded figure. When Malcolm recovers, sporting a minor concussion, he learns that the scratch mark was definitely from Ramon. Ramon is then brought into the station for questioning, with Malcolm and Dani grilling him for information. He reveals that Reynolds was having an affair with Karina, pointing the blame at her. This explains the tears too, as Malcolm realizes that Ramon doesn’t fit the profile. Given how driven by business he is, killing someone inside and halting construction on the property doesn’t fit his persona. Only, now it becomes clear that actually Malcolm is still at the bottom of the elevator shaft, knocked out cold. Malcolm begins to experience a litany of different visions which eventually see Malcolm come across the dead body of Wendell – ruling him out as a killer. In fact, Malcolm’s profile has been wrong from the very beginning as he realizes they’re after a serial killer. However, Malcolm is interrupted by a call from Claremont, bringing him in to talk to Martin. Only…it’s not Martin, it’s actually Gil! This parallel timeline sees Martin never arrested for being a surgeon and Gil taking his place in Claremont. Malcolm suddenly becomes self-aware that he’s still at the bottom of the elevator shaft. The only way to wake up is to solve this murder and jolt himself awake. With an excited Martin by his side, Malcolm starts processing the various different clues which eventually leads him back to Rudolph. It turns out he isn’t really wheelchair-bound after all. He was the killer all along! Malcolm eventually shoots Rudolph, believing he has solved the case, but somehow finds himself still stuck inside this vision. He confronts Martin about his alt-timeline and decides he needs to face his past. Malcolm rejects the perfect life he’s built for himself and opens the box, eventually awakening in the elevator shaft after all. Malcolm jams the mechanism, stopping the elevator from falling on him, as he heads back inside the hotel. JT and Dani are there, and they join Malcolm as they head up to see Rudolph. Malcolm solves the case, arresting the man, as echoes of his time with Dani in that vision continue to bleed through. Back home, Malcolm sits with Ainsley and breaks the news to her about Endicott. Only, when she opens up her coat she reveals a whole spatter of blood. Ainsley has blacked out again. Oh no…
The Episode Review
Prodigal Son returns this week with a really good episode, one that blends in a fun alternate timeline with a chilling case inside a spooky hotel. The falling elevator allows the episode to add an injection of urgency, as we’re left to wonder quite how Malcolm is going to survive this ordeal. At the same time, the show builds up its layered plot surrounding Ainsley right to the very end where things implode and look set to ramp up the tension next week. For the most part, the case is actually pretty compelling and with numerous different suspects and witnesses, Head Case effectively keeps you guessing right to the very end. Breaking Bad fans will probably suspect Rudolph right from the very beginning, although here the writers have swapped out an ominous bell for a seemingly innocent Father being cared for by his daughter. In the end though it all comes down to Ainsley – how is she going to cope with learning the truth? One thing’s for sure – next week’s episode is a definite must-watch!
