The episode begins at a press conference for the missing Edgar Anderson (Ivan Morris Howe). Commissioner Nelson (William Hope) handles Greg (Robert Galas) and Mary’s (Sabrina Javor) questions about increasing crime and the missing Marlon Rochelle (Bence Orere) before turning the floor over to Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Cassie Anderson (Gaby Hoffmann). After a brief hesitation and a look from Cassie, Vincent appears to stun everyone by apologizing to Edgar and asking him to return home. The attendee’s attention is soon drawn to the back of the room where a young boy bangs on the glass door. Once Nelson brings the conference to an end, he threatens Matteo Cripp (David Denman) by telling him that he might be able to keep his job if he can produce a body or suspect. After seeing a fleeting image of Eric (Benedict Cumberbatch), Vincent lingers in his chair too long with a shell-shocked look and draws the eye of Detective Michael Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III).
While admiring a dedication for Edgar, Vincent appears to become uncomfortable with Cassie and Sebastian’s (Jose Pimentao) nearby interaction. He only makes matters worse when he aggressively approaches and runs Sebastian off. Cassie becomes further upset when she learns that Vincent is not skipping out on handing out flyers for work but wants nothing to do with his mother’s, Anne Anderson’s (Phoebe Nicholls) $25,000 reward.
Michael learns from Edgar’s teacher, Mrs. Ryan (Pandora Colin), that he was a bit antisocial. Although she claims this is common in households with one child, Michael’s attention is on one of Edgar’s recent drawings. Edgar not only appears to be fleeing from two dueling parents, but he’s with an older black man that she can’t identify. Later, Michael learns that Kennedy (Bobby Schofield) died in a hit-and-run, but his attempts to discuss the incident at The Lux with Commissioner Cripp (David Denman), he immediately tells him he’s wasting time when he should be looking for Edgar.
The atmosphere is strained from the moment Vincent shows up on the set of Good Day Sunshine and slowly progresses. It’s not long before he’s in a shouting match with Ronnie (Roberta Colindrez) who takes a low shot at him for letting Edgar walk to school alone.
Upon returning to the station, Tina (Erika Soto) gives Michael a file of all known offenders within a five-block radius of Edgar’s apartment. It’s not long before he recognizes George Lovett (Clarke Peters) and is rushing back out of the office. Michael shows up seconds later at George’s apartment, with two uniformed officers and practically invites himself in. Despite appearing guarded, George complies with Michael’s every request, including opening the door that leads to the boiler room. Michael remains with George until one of the officers calls his attention below to what appears to be a cell with a kid’s drawing on the wall and a recently discarded juice box.
Cassie is ignored and trampled as she hands out missing flyers. Although Gator (Wade Allain-Marcus) takes one, she doesn’t recognize him as the owner of The Lux. She manages to chase down someone wearing what she thinks is Edgar’s coat but is practically told to screw off. It’s merely minutes later that she learns from a nearby TV that George has been arrested in connection with Edgar’s case.
Lennie Wilson (Dan Fogler) immediately picks up on Vincent’s erratic behavior when he approaches him to use Edgar’s puppet, Eric. Vincent appears to believe that seeing Eric on TV will inspire Edgar to return. Much to Vincent’s surprise, Leenie agrees and goes to bat for him with Jerry (Donald Sage Mackay) who has just unexpectedly shown up on set. Later, Jerry reluctantly sets a meeting for Friday.
Michel is in the process of scheduling a blood test for George and gathering his previous psych files when he learns Miss Clark has shown up, demanding to speak with George. Despite George’s previous record and close living proximity, it doesn’t take Renata Clark (LaTonya Borsay) long to play the racial frame-up card. During interrogation, George openly admits to letting Edgar draw in the boiler room as well as having type-O blood, which matches what was discovered on Edgar’s shirt.
When Michael shares his discoveries with the Andersons, he’s surprised to not only learn that Edgar’s blood type is A, but Vincent is adamant about George’s innocence, despite the juice box and drawings. Cripp believes differently and practically already has the celebratory whisky out by the time Michael shares the news with him.
Vincent and Cassie are bombarded by reporters before returning home where they argue about using Anne’s reward money. It appears that neither of them wants to use the money, but Cassie is willing to compromise in the event that it might lead to answers. After sharing her earlier encounter in the subway, she notices that Vincent has Edgar’s drawings. When asked about them, he shares his plan to get the network to air Edgar’s puppet in hopes that it will inspire him to return. Once he realizes that Cassie suspects him of being involved in Edgar’s disappearance, he rushes off with the reward check.
Eric continues to push Vincent’s buttons on the subway, which ends up disturbing some of the passengers, as it appears that Vincent is arguing with himself.
Later that evening Michael visits George in his cell with a photocopy of Edgar’s drawing. Although George reminds him that he shouldn’t be speaking to him without his lawyer present, he laughs at the thought that the black man depicted in the photo could be him. Other than George denying that he likes children the way Michael thinks he does, that’s how the entire meeting goes.
The young girl that Cassie mistook for wearing Edgar’s jacket makes a delivery to Youssef (Bamar Kane) while Vincent visits his mother. Anne wastes little time demeaning Vincent and gets worse once he asks to spend the night. Although she tells him that Tia hasn’t made up the guestroom and it’s too late now, she does ask if he needs a motel. Once she notices his strange interaction with Eric, she mentions him going back on his medication. This is how the entire conversation goes until he returns the check and leaves. On his way out he addresses his father Robert Anderson (John Doman) who just looks at him and shuts the office door in his face.
Much later that evening, Michael becomes frustrated when he returns home to discover that William (Mark Gillis) has attempted to shower himself. He gets even more frustrated on his way out when he learns that William has already started allocating his belongings in the event of his death. Upon leaving, Michael stakes out The Lux while listening to the recording he made while trying to take down Kennedy. It’s not long before he’s inside questioning Gator about the recording. After listening to the recording, Gator ensures him that his operation is now legal, despite his past actions. When Michael doesn’t appear to believe him, Gator introduces him to Mandy and his kid, who just happens to be the voice on the recording that Michael has been mistaking for Edgar. William returns to the station in defeat but his night turns even more melancholic when he receives a call from Cecile Rochelle (Adepero Oduye), reminding him about her missing son Marlon.
The episode wraps with a series of short scenes, showing the various characters. While Yuusuf sorts through his bag of goodies that received earlier, Vincent returns to the studio to begin work on Eric. At the station, Michael combs through surveillance footage around Edgar’s apartment while George continues to stew in his cell. Cassie reviews Edgar’s birth certificate before placing a call to Michael.
Eric Review
To start, the episode was entirely too long and I can’t help but feel it would have been far more poignant to split it in two. I did find the story interesting and somewhat different. I can only think of one other series that features a similar storyline which only ran for one season on Sci-Fi several years ago. It was titled “Happy.” If the series could get out of its own way, it could be decent, but all the ulterior political agendas ruined it for me. I’d have to give the episode a 4.6 out of 10.
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