Tonight’s episode kills off Eve and gives us some Dynasty level burns!
Welcome to the penultimate episode of the season. Up until this point Bright’s been an uncanny profiler – not only sniffing out criminals, but revealing some truths about his co-workers and family. Tonight’s villain might just be the Moriarty we’ve been looking for: an assassin! Turns out that’s the one criminal Malcolm can’t understand. Why? More than likely because assassins, at least the really good ones, don’t kill for the usual reasons. There’s no passion, no fervor, they don’t generally take trophies, and they can kill in any number of ways as long as it gets the job done. At the end of the day, killing is like any other side-hustle – a way to make ends meat – the only difference? Generally, unless the media has lied completely, that’s a very lucrative side-hustle. Though, to be fair, it makes sense considering how…complicated it is. I mean, anyone with a car can become a ride-share worker, but it takes a certain kind of person to decide killing for money isn’t a bad way to make a buck.
Unfortunately, the first hitwoman is a red herring. Though Malcolm’s plan to draw her out did give us this episode’s cuckoo-bananas moment. As per TV rules, if you see a new person suddenly introduced, they are probably the killer – so naturally, Martin’s new prison guard is our killer-at-large. I will say that I don’t necessarily agree with the false-killer’s proclamation that in order to make a murder look like a suicide (a drowning, specifically), you need to research the victim. Really, it’s just an excuse for them to search Eve’s home for signs of surveillance, which honestly, they should have discovered in their initial inspection of her home (you know, after it was decided she was murdered).
On the family front Jessica Whitly is less than pleased to learn her current beau is yet another monster hiding in plain sight. On the bright side (always pun intended) our dreams of a Gil Jessica hook-up have finally come true! After some well-deserved emotional build-up that gives these kids a proper backstory, we get the kiss the previews have been promising. Ah, but will it last?
Ainsley, meanwhile, is excited. Her reporter brain firing on two cylinders – revenge for her mom’s suffering, and always chasing that potential Pulitzer. But since we’re getting close to the end, it’s high stakes – will Ainsley’s digging turn into her own grave?
Finally, Martin. Nicholas Endicott (Jessica’s ex) is the one who made it so Martin has such cushy digs. Ainsley discovers it’s because her dear old murderous dad worked for one of Nicholas’ research facilities. Whatever he learned about the man’s business must have been juicy because once Malcolm ratted Martin out, Nichols was there to help his old “friend” out in exchange for silence. So…when exactly did Martin fuck over Nicholas? Near as we can tell, Nicholas and Jessica were a fairly new item, and in the flashback Nicholas promises if Martin fucks him over he’ll sleep with Jessica, and ruin his kids (not to mention bankrupt him), but I don’t see the moment of betrayal. Was it just the whole business of Malcolm bringing Eve in to find her sister? I can’t remember if Jessica was talking about Nicholas by that point. Another aspect of the show that isn’t entirely clear is the passage of time. But, if anything, Eve might have been the key. And Eve brings us to…
Malcolm:
Malcolm is pushed far when he loses Eve (I’m glad she’s dead, but I didn’t like her to begin with). A more logical argument would be that he didn’t know her for all that long, is it really that upsetting she was killed? Really? But, I know the humanitarians and “normal” people would argue that it doesn’t matter how long you know someone, loss affects everyone differently, plus, he’s a child of trauma, piling more on isn’t helpful (also, also, no idea how long they were actually an item). Our real concern, by episode’s end, is that Malcolm may have been driven to MURDER! Unlikely, but it is always an inevitable plot twist in profiler shows – sooner or later the profiler is accused of murdering someone. Sometimes it’s the victim, mostly it’s the suspect, either way the profiler generally is found not guilty by the end. Will it be the same for Malcolm? So far, I only know two shows where “good” guys kill a criminal (one was a profiler on Criminal Minds, the other was multiple people on The Blacklist). Though, who is really “good” on The Blacklist?
Did Malcolm kill Eve’s murderer? Will Nicholas succeed in destroying Martin OR, will Martin succeed in convincing his son to follow in his footsteps???
