Zach violently says he is not withholding anything and does not like Dania’s accusatory tone. Avi looks back at his scribbles and spots Vincent’s face in the fish he drew on the paper. Janine and Earl take it seriously and discuss its meaning. Avi theorizes that since none of the cameras caught Vincent, he never left the building. Somehow, they must convince the inhabitants to give them access, as they do not have enough for a search warrant. Kathleen gives them permission and Janine and Avi go to the Millers. Dania is quite unsure in her assessment of Zach and Vincent’s relationship to Avi. She even suggests that the two might have homosexual inclinations. Ear presents a CCTV footage to Kathleen where John can be seen giving a book to Vincent. He says that they must look into this as a serious development but Kathleen is skeptical. Earl requests he interrogate John before Avi does and Kathleen allows him. In hindsight, not a good decision. John instantly clams up when Earl’s tone is racial and derisive. He will not tell him about anything. To perhaps lighten the tension and win Dania’s confidence back, Zach invites her to a reading in his class. She sees this as a step in the right direction, as Zach is making an effort to let her in. Janine teases Avi a bit more in the car and the two seem to be getting along quite well. Now they seem like true partners. He opens up to her about his motivations. Avi’s deeply religious inclination and beliefs tend to make him think that every good deed repairs the world. Bit by bit, these deeds pile up and usher in a positive change that makes society a better place. Another motivation for him to become a detective (Janine’s is admittedly “Law & Order”) was the fact that his father was murdered and the case was never solved. Janine is speechless but there is not anymore exposition on this tangent in this episode. Earl once again reminds Janine that no one can think like Avi. They are “mere mortals” and not special like him. Thinking about what Avi said about Vincent not leaving the building, Dania decides to investigate and makes her way to the basement of the building. It is an elaborate scene where she tries to look for potential clues. She almost has a heart attack when she sees Zach standing in the dark. He inquires about her purpose for coming down and she is relatively quick to make up a reason. Zach does not buy it and still feels friction between them. Avi feels Dania is hiding something and brings her to the station to figure out what. He awaits the call she will make to her husband and take it from there. He has a one on one with her and the usual suspects watch from behind the one-way glass. He probes her about her relationship with Vincent. Very capably, he leads her to channel the secrets she is hiding. His style of conversation truly is thrilling to watch as it is a slow burn but with an element of surprise that crescendos hard. He asks her about a text the police previously thought to have been sent by someone else. And his guess turns out to be right. But why would Dania message “it shouldn’t have happened” to him? Dania finally opens up. Vincent was heartbroken when it turned out the thing with Hailey was a lark. Zach was out and Dania felt Vincent’s tenderness and vulnerability. She said she missed this with Zach and proceeded to kiss Vincent twice. Once, because she felt bad for him. And second, because she felt bad for herself. Although she requests Avi not to tell this to Zach but he says it is his obligation to do so. He discloses it to the Conte couple and tries to question Olivia again but they shut his attempts down. It brings doubt to his mind but he does not say anything. Zach confronts Dania about this but as it turns out, Zach already knew about it. Dania is shocked and her suspicion that Zach did something to Vincent out of jealousy is even stronger now.
The Episode Review
Some very important story developments in episode 3 that turn the story on its head. Despite the traditional genre elements being activated by David Kelley, his treatment of the story has been admirable. Avi and Janine discovered some valuable information about Vincent’s life that will help the case. While we were heading toward Zach being implicated in homosexual relations, it turns out Dania was the one who had a momentary lapse. I was disappointed to see the writers leave Dania witless in the face of questions from Zach when he confronts her about it. The line of defense comes across as a regurgitation of modern-day feminism – the version that is toxically destroying lives. Beyond that, Zach’s involvement in the disappearance grows stronger, just like the feeling that the boy is not coming back. Avi’s brilliant detective work is the highlight of episode 3. Willbusch is once again a recipient of praise for his ingenuous collaboration with Avi’s character. Janine too is warming up nicely. Julia Canfield is impressive until now and brings the right kind of energy to the character.
