Forever, “The Man in the Killer Suit,” was written by Cameron Litvack and directed by Jace Alexander who also directed episode 4. Litvack has also written for Gang Related, Grimm, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ugly Betty, and Charmed. This was another really enjoyable episode with an interesting mystery at its core and a nice tie in between the flashbacks, the case, and Henry’s (Ioan Gruffudd) personal life.
The initial voice over tells us how the three plots will intertwine: “What we try to hide about ourselves in life, is revealed in death. Our fears, our insecurities. But most of all our secrets.” Most obviously, we see the secrets that Colin – aka Dwight (Robbie Sublett) was trying to keep. Viscount Cavendish was supposed to marry Emily Stanton (Katie Paxton) until he turned up dead in Central Park. Hanson (Donnie Keshawarz) is eager to call Henry in from his day off because Cavendish is a “royal.” I loved that both Jo (Alana De La Garza) and Hansen mispronounce the title – pronouncing the silent “s” – until Henry subtly corrects Jo. They also don’t understand the different between a royal and a noble. Royals are born, nobles are appointed – by the royals as everyone knows, right?
Hansen was right to call Henry in, even if it means Henry beats him to the salient information: Cavendish was a fraud – secret number one revealed. Henry tells them that the Cavendish family all died out around 1881. While Henry may know this because of his long life and because he is British, this is still unusual information to have just at the tips of his fingers – after all there are a lot of nobles.
More of Cavendish’s secrets are revealed through the autopsy. I like how the show often incorporates interesting shots during the autopsy scenes. Henry notes that Colin dyes his hair – which is the trigger to Henry’s past. He recalls giving himself some grey highlights in 1957 to hide his own secret of not aging. Unless Henry can deflect suspicion, their little family will have to move to hide his secret. It’s lovely to see these little glimpses of Henry when he was with Abigail (Mackenzie Mauzy). He’s slowly becoming more like the man in the flashbacks as he becomes closer to the whole team.
The autopsy also has two more important pieces of information. Henry sees scars on Colin’s calves that he can’t explain, but he notices a finishing stitch on the inside of Cavendish’s coat that is only attributable to Henry’s own fine tailor at Paul Stuarts. The trip to Paul Stuarts is fun when Arturo is worried Henry wants him to dress Jo! He doesn’t do the women… They do learn that Cavendish was about to marry – and whom – but Henry also sees a bike messenger with the same scars on his calves. This is an hilarious scene as Henry creeps the messenger out by following him and staring at his calves!
The trip to Paul Stuarts has Jo wondering about Henry’s secrets, however, and that’s not a good thing for Henry. She asks him how he can afford to shop there. At Sontag’s house, Jo assumes it’s what Henry is used to. She says he doesn’t talk about where he grew up. Henry is uncharacteristically revealing when he tells her that the one thing he and Sontag have in common is the need to reinvent themselves. Hardly the answer to make her less curious.
Jo is a detective after all, used to unravelling secrets, and it becomes obvious at the end of the episode that she’s been thinking about Henry. She tells him, “You’re a perplexing man. You are intensely private, borderline medical savant, and you dress very well for a city worker. Someday, you’ll let me in… when you’re ready.” What could attract a detective more than this tantalizing mystery? And in fact, Henry doesn’t get nearly as upset by this prying as you might expect – and the two definitely share a look before Henry gets in the cab.
They discover Colin’s fiancé through Paul Stuarts and they also discover that Colin is actually Dwight – two more secrets. Of course, everyone is a suspect – from Emily to her father Norman (Gary Basaraba) to Dwight’s scorned girlfriend Patricia (Laura Fraser). Patricia helped Dwight to become Colin only to lose him to Emily when he fell in love with her and refused to take the money that was supposed to be the end result of the sting. In the end, the murder was committed by Peter (Adam Henry Garcia) – the lawyer with unrequited love for Emily. His love is another secret revealed by death.
Lucas (Joel David Moore) thinks it’s crazy to pretend to be someone else. But then he recounts that he had adopted a false persona himself in 9th grade when he had to switch schools. He called himself Fernando! Eventually, the fact that he couldn‘t speak Spanish and he was waiting for his own past to catch up to him made him admit to who he was. He comments that he can’t imagine what it was like for Colin to be constantly worrying about his past catching up to him. I also loved the scene in which they recreate the murder, and Lucas is tired of always having to be the victim.
We see in the past that Henry’s past has caught up with him. Someone who saw him die on the beach at Normandy stops him in the park. It’s Henry’s worst nightmare. It also sparks Abigail, Abe (Judd Hirsch), and Henry having to move and Abe losing touch with Lyle and Fawn (Blair Brown). Lyle’s death reveals a few secrets about Abe. Fawn was his first kiss – something he’s never forgotten. I loved both the scene in the graveyard, in which Abe makes sure his card will get to Fawn, and the final scene when Fawn shows up at the antique store. She’s never forgotten their kiss either. Brown is a terrific actor, so hopefully we’ll see her back again. However, if she runs into Henry, she could easily expose his secret having known him as Abe’s father in 1957.
As always the scenes shared by Hirsch and Gruffudd are some of the highlights of the episode. I loved their little breakfast rituals, and Abe explaining who Lyle was – a friend from 1957 – and his little hesitation in saying “Mom.” I’m definitely getting impatient for what happened to Abigail! The two are fantastic in the graveyard – I loved Henry being his wingman! Both actors are terrific as Abe dithers over what to wear to the graveyard. He’s uncharacteristically nervous. It’s another instance of seeing Henry act as father, reassuring his son. Abe’s enthusiasm for the car chase and the alarm it generates back at the police station are hilarious.
I love the way the show mixes humor in. There’s another great scene between Lt Reece (Lorraine Toussaint) and Henry as they watch the interrogation. She asks what Henry was doing in the graveyard and he proudly tells her he was acting as wingman. I love that they keep having these little exchanges and Henry’s answers always catch her off guard. Love her “I have to stop asking you questions.” It was also nice to see Hanson have more to do – even if it was often just to be beaten to the punch by Henry!
Henry knows about the heartache of losing someone and being disillusioned by that person – remember his first wife. It’s a nice scene to see him reach out to Emily to give her some closure, telling her that what she had with Dwight/Colin wasn’t just a fantasy – he was going to give up the money because his love her was real. The final voiceover is also telling: “The best imposters have many gifts. They can change their voice, their look, their manner, but there’s a rule every imposter learns. The one truth we cannot hide is love. Henry shared his secret with Abigail, and she shared his deception. Henry maintains a new persona in order to stay close to Abe, also out of love. Will it be love that leads Henry to reveal his secret to Jo?
And then the final scene – that Adam is driving the cab and has abducted Henry – came out of nowhere! It was a nice cliffhanger. I have to wonder if they are going to wrap up the Adam storyline for mid-season. Somehow, I doubt it. After all, how does one get an immortal out of their life? What did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
