In Plain Sight - Episode 5.01 - The Anti-Social Network - Advance Review

"Lesser people have done more difficult things than this."

Remember when Mary got pregnant (by some guy the audience couldn't care less about, if we're being blunt) and we all thought it would just completely annihilate her character? Well, be prepared to have been completely wrong. The Mary we all know and love has not gone anywhere — in fact, she may be too much like her old self: overprotective, in control, and snarky to boot.

So much so that Mary even utters this line, after someone congratulates her, in perfect tone: "Yeah, she's [the baby] pretty cool. I can pre-board planes now, so…" during a therapy session. While the therapy sessions have just been used as ways to get all characters back on track and speak about their past, trying to make it seem organic within the episode, I believe it does one really great thing for the season coming up. It gives new meaning to the baby storyline; it's not just about McCormack having been pregnant in real life, that it was just written into the show, or that it was a 'such is life' birth control screws up story. And so, while the therapy isn't my favorite aspect of the show, it not only allowed us to live through Mary's labor but offered up tangible reasons for the circumstance. Besides, it just makes sense that someone would need therapy if they shot and killed someone on the same day they had a baby.

Last season, we saw Mary struggle with bringing a child into the world being… well, who she is and having the job that she has. Specifically, we pondered the dangers of how she could protect such a young life in her spiraling conditions. But this season, Mary is overcome with a sense of efficacy (even if she believes she needs her mom's help imperatively, who may or may not be MIA once Brandi gets into shenanigans offscreen) and as aforementioned, it fleshes out the Mary character much more than last season. In fact, if you can believe it, she may even be more like herself this season than season 4. I reiterate: Mary ain't goin' nowhere.

It's all prefaced in an episode that centers around motherhood and all that comes with it. When a college student witnesses an elitist fraternity member murder his friend (in a The Social Network homage of sorts), money and power become grandiose problems for not just him — but his maternal unit as well. It's a WITSEC case of the week that very easily blends into the thematic statements of the episode, with relatively high stakes seeing as one of our own may be in danger. (That was one of the two plot twists/points you'll see coming a mile away. That said, the slight action it gives in this episode truthfully helps.) What results is the usual effortless but insightful hour of television that's become the norm for In Plain Sight.

In Plain Sight is very much a show about characters. Not stories. And so if you're a fan of In Plain Sight, if you're a fan of Mary's journey, you're going to like this episode — and you're going to love how it sets up the rest of the season, the final season, where family, Mary's independencies, and her typical nature of being the glue that holds everything together, become the centerpiece of its swan song. Albeit, having other family members start from scratch for far too long might get a bit frustrating and if you somehow want the Mary and Marshall relationship to move along, just know that it's at a halt in this episode. That's not a bad thing, seeing as their usual witty banter is as it always was. Plus, we get the return of love of Stan Gossip, who may be harboring a new lady friend. Though I can hardly believe there are only eight episodes in total, the first chapter of the final season flows in its usual understated effortlessness, without missing a beat of what this show is.

The fifth and final season of In Plain Sight premieres this Friday, March 16th at 10/9c on USA Network.

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