We’re an episode away from the fall finale and it appears that The Nightingale Killer may finally (really) be unmasked. Raimy discovers that Meghan called the tip line, but the call was disconnected. In the course of her search for Meghan, who was moved to a long term mental health facility, she hears bits of Meghan’s story that convince her Meghan knows who The Nightingale Killer is. It becomes more important to find Meghan.
Some of my favorite scenes with Raimy are when she’s investigating. She’s a smart detective, pulling together information and building some smart theories. She didn’t just ascertain that Meghan was no longer a patient at that facility; she found the piece of information that convinced her that Meghan isn’t delusional.
Raimy can’t find any of Meghan’s other family (her mother and a brother) in 2016, so she tasks Frank to find and interview Meghan (and, hopefully, her family) in 1996. The hope is that Meghan’s family will also be accessible.
Raimy may have inherited her investigative instincts from her father, but she doesn’t seem to have inherited his ability to talk with victims. Frank manages to get this young woman, who suffers every time she tries to tell people what kind of a man Deacon Joe really is, to trust him.
Deacon Joe terrified Meghan’s mother and little brother so thoroughly that, when she did tell the police what he’d done, they sided with him and she was institutionalized. The cutting incident Larissa wrote about in her diary was her attempt to force people to realize her family was not OK.
Meghan explains why Raimy can’t find her mother (and probably her brother) in 2016. While she was in the mental hospital, her brother told her Joe had killed her mother. When Frank hears that Meghan’s mother was a nurse, it raises some red flags.
While I’m praising Raimy’s investigative instincts, Satch isn’t so pleased. It’s not until after they interview Joe that Raimy tells him Meghan believes Joe killed her mother. Satch demands full disclosure from Raimy in he future. She agrees then immediately dashes off to follow a hunch. Satch is also not pleased to discover that hunch involves going to Deacon Joe’s house on her own.
Frank isn't so smart and it bit him on the butt this week. His guilt over how he treated Miracella made it easy for her to lead him around by the nose. She dangled a chance to prove Stan is a bad cop in front of him and he bought it. Unfortunately, Satch betrayed him and filled Stan in on the whole thing.
I thought Stan showed a considerable amount of restraint (he really could have manipulated the situation to get Frank fired) in his response. But instead he proved to Frank that he’s got no backup on this one. Stan’s a smart bad-guy and they’re frequently the most fun.
Years ago, I watched an episode of Miami Vice in which Crocket, suffering from amnesia, shot at Tubbs, point blank. When Tubbs confronted him he said... "we were partners. We were friends." It confused me that partners was more important than friends.
Someone explained to me that for cops, being partners is the most important relationship. You're supposed to be able to trust your partner to have your back no matter what.
Satch didn't do that. I'm left wondering what this means for Raimy in 2016. Has Satch learned that lesson? Is he a better man after 20 years, or, as I've wondered since the show started, is he in Stan's pocket even now. All of which is Juicy TV.
Raimy made her own set of bad decisions in this episode. Raimy has missed the man that she loves since she saved her father. It looks as though her relationship with Danny may have a chance. Unfortunately, Danny didn’t mention that he got engaged just before he slept with Raimy.
Raimy should be wondering what she didn't know in the original timeline. Nothing about this is going to end well. I think this was the only element of the show that I was disappointed with. I really want Raimy to be a lot smarter than this. Probably because I know so many intelligent women who are morons when it comes to men. I really want my characters to be smarter.
Once again we see the contrast between father and daughter. While, IMHO, Raimy is making a mistake by signing on as Danny's mistress, Frank falls back into bed with Julie. This scene make complete sense for Frank. Stan just proved to Frank that he has no one in his life that he can trust. So, Frank went to the only person that has always had his back. They may be making a mistake, but they love each other so maybe they'll make it through.
The question I’m most interested in the answer to is whether Frank will “cut off the trunk” by killing Joe Hurley. I understand where Raimy is coming from with this suggestion, but I wonder, will Frank be able to do it, or will he stop himself as Raimy did a few episodes ago.
What did you guys think of the episode? Do you think Frank will be able to kill Deacon Joe? Do you think Deacon Joe is really The Nightingale Killer?
