Jessica and Erik search for the stabber with Trish trying to help out, and Malcolm continues questioning his allegiance to Hogarth and her sleazy practices.
Erik explains to Jessica that he owes money to a woman named Sal (Barbara Tirrell), who recently punished him by tossing him in a pool with weights on his feet and threatening to add another if he doesn't get the money in a week.
With 12 hours left, Sal isn't the one who tried to kill him; he has in fact blackmailed multiple people for money and believes it was one of them. He surprises Jess by claiming he doesn't know what he has on these people; he's actually a super like her with empathic abilities that let him know bad things people have done or are planning to do, feeling a pain the closer he gets to them. She takes him at his word, mentioning how the Whizzer died after she didn't believe him, but judges him for using his abilities for good. He points out it's a constant migraine he has to drown out with booze, sex, and gambling, and though her first thought is if it helped him avoid the stabbing, she also learns it apparently isn't affecting him while he's around her. Erik reveals he blackmailed three people with simple "I know what you did, pay me" letters, and for all he knows that money is still at the drop locations. Requesting names and addresses, she decides to vet for the possible attacker and pay them a visit, after which point she doesn't care what he does with the money. He gives the all-clear after a knock at the door, which turns out to be Trish with news that Brandt's in jail, and starts making calls. Jess reveals Erik is the hit but stays vague about his abilities, suggesting Trish find her own bad guy while they deal with this, since they don't need each other. Trish wordlessly leaves, but hears Erik on the phone saying Sal's last name, Blaskowski, which she quickly jots down.
Jessica retrieves the payment of the first mark, Todd White, who she has learned is a single accountant with a clean record but an obvious secret.
Erik, who is chugging booze from a flask, pops a bunch of pills to prepare for the pain of his ability, and they head to White's apartment. They get in pretending to have a package, and though he doesn't recognize them and Erik is agitated dealing with his power, Jessica has questions. White refuses to answer after realizing they're related to the blackmail. Jessica notices a doll nearby, and after searching the house, she discovers a sleazy photoshoot setup and realizes he's a child predator. She locks him in a closet and calls the police, knowing he'll be arrested when they discover the room. Musing on this being her most heroic action of the year, Jess asks Erik what he would've done if he'd been alone in this situation; he would've upped the blackmail, but claims he would've also turned the guy in, since he messed with kids. Trish calls repeatedly with info about Sal as the two head for the next suspect, but Jess says she doesn't care about Blaskowski and Trish is wrong about her being the culprit. Meanwhile, Hogarth is appalled as a woman installs a toilet seat with handles at her place and suggests she remove her rugs and replace her furniture with a la-z-boy. The woman reminds her she could easily fall while on the drug she'll soon take and says she'll need someone to rely on soon, but Hogarth makes her leave. Malcolm, who has been working all night looking into Lyonne and found a picture of his wife with Hogarth, gets a visit from Okonjo (his girlfriend), and worries that he's working for Hogarth, rather than the firm. Being unable to talk about his issues frustrates the two, but Malcolm assures her they'll be all right. A hand lifts Malcolm's window as they leave the room. Jessica and Erik approach the second suspect, Reyna Pincer, who admits she skimmed money from the company she works at to pay for her mom's operation. Though Erik wants to leave, Jess realizes he knows there's more; she forces her to reveal she embezzled millions from the workers' pensions, which infuriates them.
Malcolm returns to his office and, after noticing the open window and a file on his computer about Sal, attacks Trish when she hops down.
She unmasks and tells him about her powers, and though he says she's not doing good, she is certain someone has to step up and that he's not by working for Hogarth. Unable to defend himself, he simply tells her to leave. Erik discovers the final suspect didn't pay their ransom, but he doesn't care, as he has more than enough to pay Sal. Jess decides to do continue herself, saying she doesn't need him. He counters that she wants him, however, but says even with his abilities, they wouldn't make a dent even if they spent their whole lives stopping bad guys, so she leaves. ​Hogarth prepares for a private event with Kith, and Malcolm enters, having realized she's using him to steal Kith from Peter. He has dirt on Peter that would ruin their marriage and send him to jail, but demands a job Hogarth says the company can't afford in return. With Malcolm threatening to leave, Hogarth agrees to his price, and he explains that Peter has been taking money from the scholarship he and Kith run for his girlfriends. The two determine they leak this without it being traceable, and it would ruin Peter and Kith's lives. Hogarth tells Malcolm to do nothing for the moment. While Erik takes his money to Sal, Hogarth goes on her date with Kith, where she introduces her to a client, Philharmonic director Mathias Cole (Dan Shor), setting up a time for Kith to play for him. Kith is suspicious and tells Hogarth to not ask for more or a relationship, but Hogarth claims she just wants Kith to be happy, as she's too good to be in a college quartet. Kith feels otherwise and says Hogarth not to try manipulating her. As Erik is late with Sal's money, she has him tossed into the pool again, with more weight, but Trish arrives and beats her son and men. One of them lands in the pool, so Erik takes his knife and frees himself. Amazed at Trish's moves, he wonders who she is, but she just tells him to go. Sal attacks with a crowbar, and though Trish easily tosses her aside, she discovers Sal was impaled on one end of it after falling, and runs while apologizing. As Trish deals with having done this, Hogarth makes a decision after her night with Kith, and Jessica faces the final suspect, the multi-skilled Gregory Sallinger.
I'm honestly not sure where to begin on this one, partially because it just sort of feels like another episode and not much caught my attention like other shows do.
Probably the most interesting aspects to me were the reveal of Erik's powers and Malcolm continuing to question his allegiance to Hogarth. Erik's ability to feel the darkness of people around him had me wondering at the possibilities of what life is like for him and how he could use the power. According to him, the closer he gets to someone who has done something bad, especially if they feel guilty, the sharper the pain behind his eyes. His is therefore much like the quirks from My Hero Academia, allowing him an incredible ability but at a cost, an he can't turn it off. He describes it at one point as being a terrible migraine that gets worse the closer he is to bad people, and him chugging alcohol and pills shows how bad it gets. Because of this, an ability that could be used for good quite often just makes Erik disillusioned with his life, which is filled with pain. This and constantly knowing about bad people around him would be why Erik decided to make cash by blackmailing people, rather than helping anyone. He claims to have tried heroic acts before, but that he and Jessica wouldn't make a dent in the long run, and this would be because of the crushing pain he feels. At any point, he could suddenly start feeling the pain of a guilty person. If this happens right after he stops one bad person, and he feels it from multiple people, it would be easy to feel disheartened. Even if he stops one person, there's still so many more, and for him this is worse, since he is in pain any time he's around such a person. This kind of life would be exhausting, which is another reason for him to drown his pain in booze and sex, similar to Jessica with her abilities and past. Malcolm is being rather obnoxious at this point with his debate about whether he's on the right side by working Hogarth, especially because it's so obvious. He's been questioning it since the start of this season, after helping an entitled drunk stay driving, threatening a man with his kid, and now helping to destroy a marriage, yet whenever Trish questions him, he stubbornly refuses to admit the truth. This is partially because of their current relationship and her vigilantism, but disagreeing with her methods doesn't mean he has to follow Hogarth's. I suppose it's required for characters in superhero shows to deal with right-or-wrong dilemmas, but I see it a lot, and it holds less weight when Malcolm's situation is clear. Besides them, I did like how Jessica seems to be warming up to heroics again, especially since it's as part of a team. She stupidly refused Trish all of this season, and though she claims she doesn't need Erik, the duo did a lot of good together. I was sort of surprised this episode by how much Jessica was able to do, as it doesn't seem like she's changed her behavior much, yet her missing spleen caused no issues. I liked seeing the stuff she did, however, especially when it came to the predatory suspect whom she helped police get. Her finding his photo equipment immediately reminded me of The Punisher, where Frank Castle beat a predator and planned to kill him, only for Amy to suggest simply burning the place down instead. At that point I was disappointed, because it would make more sense for Frank to kill such a man, but for Jessica I felt it was a step in the right direction to get him caught. At the same time that Jess is learning to accept help, Hogarth is still stubbornly turning it down, with things like her railed toilet seat hurting her pride. I wouldn't be surprised to see her get injured this season, as even the woman who tried to help her this episode said she's risking a dangerous fall without aid. Trish gets her first extremely negative experience with heroics int his episode dealing with Sal, and I wonder how she's doing to deal with it. She already handled killing Jessica's mom pretty well, but she has now caused an extreme injury to someone, and this time even if masked, she'd get credit. Looking into the final suspect of the stabbing has given the episode a good antagonist, who really seems like a threat. By just looking around his apartment, Jessica is able to locate a lot of things that point to an incredibly intelligent and strong guy, who will be difficult to deal with. Exactly how much of a threat is shown a bit in this episode, and I have a feeling his actions will only ramp up as he and Jessica tangle more.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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