Forever - Punk Is Dead - Review

Forever, “Punk is Dead,” was written by Ildy Modrovich and directed by John F Showalter. Modrovich’s other credits include Necessary Roughness, Eleventh Hour, and CSI: Miami – the latter helps explain why the case this week was particularly interesting. Showalter’s many credits include Supernatural, The Mentalist, and Without a Trace. As always, the central theme runs throughout past and present storylines weaving together seamlessly.

The episode begins with Abe (Judd Hirsch) and Henry (Ioan Gruffudd) having dinner together, safe in the knowledge that they won’t be interrupted because Jo (Alana De La Garza) is on a date with Isaac (Cuba Gooding Jr). Abe needles Henry a bit about Jo at least being ready to get back out there, but he’s also curious about what Isaac is like. Henry tells Abe that he’s intelligent and driven – sound like anyone else we know? One thing that Isaac and Henry don’t have in common though is there attitude to the past. Isaac has taken Jo to a “famous” punk bar, The Trash Bar. He tells her he’s bought it and will tear it down to build his new hotel – “It had its moments, now it’s over.” Their date comes to an end when a body is found in the wall.

The initial voiceover tells us, “They say memories make us who we are. That the past defines us. But we can’t forget to grow, evolve. Because sometimes a memory can be so powerful that we get stuck in it. Frozen in a moment.” This week the voiceover applies to the case – Lucy (Betsey Brown) who is literally frozen by having been mummified – and applies to both Henry and Jo, who have up until now been frozen in their past relationships. The flashback shows Henry even more frozen in place than we know him now.

Eddie Warsaw (Frederick Weller), the former lead singer of the Buzz Cracks, calls to find out if the body is Lucy because he’s currently in jail for her murder. It turns out that Lt Reece (Lorraine Toussaint) remembers this case because she was a beat cop there at the time. The case created a powerful memory for her because she felt that the case wasn’t thoroughly enough investigated. At the time, Eddie and Lucy were simply thought to be two worthless junkies, not worth the time of the police or the courts. Now that the case can be re-opened she tells Jo and Hanson (Donnie Keshawarz) to take their time. Hanson adds, “be thorough.” I loved that Reece replies, “I was going to say bring Henry. Same thing.”

Henry has become an integral part of their team. Reece truly appreciates him and show it later when they need to investigate Frank Farrell (Kelly AuCoin) and can’t because of on-going DEA and narcotics investigations. She tells Henry, “I want to make sure you understand that no one from THIS office can investigate Farrell further. But I have no control over the OCME. No one from the NYPD is allowed to go with you.” And of course, this makes Lucas’ (Joel David Moore) year when Henry invites him to go clubbing with him!

This case is a bit of a rabbit hole for Henry. Lucy went missing in 1982 and the flashbacks show us that Abigail went missing in 1985. When they interview Eddie, he tells them, “Lucy was my heart. Do you know what it’s like to lose the person you love most in the world and never know what happened to her?” And of course, Henry does. The flashbacks show us Henry as we’ve never seen him before. His entire apartment is given over to finding Abigail. It’s easy to see that Eddie’s theories and notes are the same as Henry’s in the flashbacks. Henry has called the police because Abigail has been missing for three months. All he has is a letter she sent one week after she disappeared. The police officer (DeShawn Harold Mitchell) tells him that it’s a Dear John letter and that she doesn’t want to be found. They refuse to help.

Henry becomes passionate about finding the truth for Eddie. He stops Eddie from signing a plea agreement which would get him released but close the case. Abe is very concerned. I love the chemistry between Hirsch and Gruffudd, and it’s particularly wonderful in this episode. Abe tells Henry, “Despite your freakish age, you’re still human. Make sure this is about Lucy and Eddie, not Abigail and Henry.” Even at a distance, Abe sees how similar these two cases are. Later in the episode, Abe cautions Henry again, telling him, “I pulled you out once. I don’t think I can do it again.”

In the flashbacks, we see a young Abe – wonderfully played by David Krumholtz – find Henry passed out on the floor of his apartment. It is even messier with clues to Abigail everywhere. Henry is exhausted and while he sleeps, Abe gathers everything and then tells Henry he threw it all away. At this point, Henry had been obsessing for a year. Krumholtz really does a remarkable job stepping into young Abe. He’s not a dead ringer for Hirsch, but you easily believe he is a younger version through his mastery of his inflection.

After Henry determines the guitar couldn’t have been the murder weapon, the case is re-opened. The clues lead the team to Carl Massey (Jordan Gelber) one time photographer at The Trash Bar. He in turn points them towards drug dealer Frank. This in turn leads to Henry and Lucas’ night out. I loved the scene in the lineup as Lucas is giving Henry tips, but of course, Henry with his casually suave air is the one whom the bouncers choose to let into the club.

I loved all the various ways that Henry tries to get his DNA sample to compare to the hair on Lucy’s jacket. Henry is unsuccessful at stealing the shooter glasses, clearly that’s been tried before, but that does get the bouncer to take him to Frank. I loved the exchange between the two. Frank asks if he’s with the DEA and thinks he’s dealing. Henry says, “No. I’m with the Medical Examiner’s office. I think you killed someone.” And then Henry grins at him! Frank admits to knowing Lucy but won’t spit in Henry’s cup.

Henry gets thrown out, but Lucas lets him back in. I also loved Henry moving gracefully through the crowd of dancers – couldn’t we have seen him dance just a little bit? Regardless, he MacGyver’s a collection kit with a glow stick – to look for DNA (spit) on a woman’s ear – and a napkin! Luckily, Lucas has called Jo and she’s there to protect him when he gets thrown out.

Jo was on another date with Isaac that seemed to be going very well. He tells her that when he was ten his brother was shot and killed in front of him. He vowed then that he would get out when he was old enough and that’s what he did – his memories have made him who he is. He also tells Jo that he knows about her husband, and he’s willing to go as slowly as she needs. How do we not love this guy?! Even if you are pulling for Jo and Henry to connect, Gooding is terrific.

In the end, they get the evidence to bring in Frank, and he admits to giving the money to Lucy to help her because she was a friend. He does tell them that the band didn’t like Lucy as they all felt she was a distraction for Eddie. This leads to them investigating Rich (Neal Huff). It’s hilarious to find the old punk rocker is now a stay at home dad with a baby and a surly Goth teenager, Zoe (Lilla Crawford). In the end, Rich admits to moving and hiding the body to help Eddie because the band was a family and he had Eddie’s back. He even has Eddie’s bloody knife – what they think is the murder weapon.

Henry remains focused on the case even though Lucas tries to invite him out – or at least borrow a scarf. Henry determines that Eddie’s knife is not the murder weapon, but it’s Lucas who gets the “AH HA!” moment. He recalls seeing big nails on the walls in the pictures of the club. Jo and Henry go to the club and find a bloody fingerprint. I have to say that I had a hard time believing that would be possible after such a long time – but I’ll overlook it… mostly… Unfortunately, by the time they gather the evidence, Eddie has signed the plea, thus closing the case.

Even Jo realizes that Henry is more upset than he should be. She asks him if there is something else going on and offers to talk or go for a drink with him. Henry insists he’s fine, but as soon as Lucy’s tox screen comes back, he realizes that she’d been pregnant. They discover a birth certificate and Jeffrey Templeton (Nick Erkelens) is her son – who happens to be the Carl’s adopted son.

Carl told Jeffrey his parents were both junkies. He’d killed Lucy by accident, trying to get her to come with him rather than go back to Eddie. As Jo and Henry try to take him in, Eddie shows up with a gun. It’s another bit of a stretch for Eddie to suddenly put the pictures and Carl together that way, but again I’ll just squint a bit at that. Henry tries to tell Eddie that Lucy didn’t want to leave him, she just didn’t want to burden him. As soon as Jeffrey shows up, Eddie recognizes who he is and drops the gun. It seems pretty clear that this has got to be a parallel to Abigail. Abigail no longer wanted to burden Henry with her encroaching age and looming death. She left to unburden him.

Back at the station, Reece tells Henry that Eddie won’t face any charges. When Henry tells him he’s free to go, Eddie asks where? Henry points out he has a son, but Eddie insists Jeffrey doesn’t need him. Henry suggests that “Perhaps it’s you that needs him.” This is clearly a parallel to Henry and Abe. We see in flashback, Abe with Henry at the morgue. The woman they thought might be Abigail, isn’t. Young Abe tells Henry, “You’re one broken clock short of becoming a hoarder!” Abe suggest they open the Antique shop.

Jo goes to Isaac and invites him on a date and takes him to karaoke with gang. This is a terrific scene as we see Jo opening up to Isaac and kissing him. Henry looks on fondly, clearly happy that she is finding some happiness. The best part of this scene, however, may be the singing voice of Keshawarz! He’s brilliant! I loved how he kept telling everyone throughout the episode that he’d been the lead singer of the Craniacs, and everyone is skeptical – and then he proves what a great singer he is!

The final voiceover tells us, “Yes. Some memories are precious, and we need to hang on to them. But Emily Dickinson wrote forever is composed of nows. And she’s right. If we root ourselves too deeply in the past, we’ll miss what’s right in front of us.” It’s clear that Henry’s time with the group is precious, and he may be missing the connection he has with Jo.

The final scene bookends the episode beautifully as we see Henry and Abe saying good night. Henry is looking at the birth records and the doves in the corner remind him of something to do with Abigail. He assures Abe he’s not obsessing and goes off to bed. We see Abe take the record and lo and behold, he never threw out Henry’s paper trail to Abigail – he has it all carefully hidden away, and the episode ends with what looks like a vital clue.

This was another thoroughly engaging episode. Terrific acting and writing. The writing hits on both characterization and mystery, making it the complete package. What did you think of the episode? Do you like Jo with Isaac? Do you think Henry could handle knowing what happened to Abigail? She was 64 in 1985, so she would be 94 now if she was still alive. Let me know your thoughts in the comment below! And don’t forget to check out the links to the fan campaigns to give us more nows of forever in a second season! We don’t want the show to simply become a precious memory! #RenewForever

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.