Candy’s Room – As the episode opens, Mickey Bolitar (Jaden Michael) and Rachel Caldwell (Sage Linder) stake out a pub when a man is brought outside and beaten. A bouncer (Aaron Smallwood Jr.) orders them to leave.

Shira Bolitar (Constance Zimmer) and Hannah Taylor (Missi Pyle) are asleep when the front door slams. Shira urges her to leave before leaving to confront Mickey about staying out all night without calling. After vowing to call the next time, he points out her weird behavior. Contributing it to sleep deprivation, she invites him to go with her to Dylan Shakes’ (Jack Casey) memorial. He asks for authorization to exhume Brad Bolitar’s (Kristoffer Polaha) body to validate he is buried there.

Hannah tells Chief Ken Taylor (Lee Aaron Rosen) that she spent the night at Shira’s house. Ken questions what Troy Taylor (Brian Altemus) thinks about it. She says Troy knows their marriage is troubled. He admits her not coming home made him “sad” before describing himself as a terrible husband.

Arthur “Spoon” Spindell (Adrian Greensmith) points out that Dr. Kent (Gary Lee Mahmoud) saw Dylan on the same day of his disappearance. Emma “Ema” Winslow (Abby Corrigan) says Dr. Kent is associated with all the missing children. Mickey stresses the need to speak with him. Spoon reminds him of Sunglasses Man (Hunter Emery) picking Dr. Kent up at the hospital. Ema questions if Ashley and Dylan were taken by the same person. Spoon says the kidnapper may show up at Dylan’s memorial.

Ema takes a seat beside Whitney (Alexa Mareka) as Buck (Antonio Cipriano) congratulates Ema for landing the Phantom of the Opera leading role over the intercom. He announces Ema’s mother is Angelica Wyatt (Stephanie March). Spoon punches Buck in the face. Mickey visits Ema’s classroom to find her seat empty.

Shira asks Hannah if Rob is still with the Essex County Board of Health. Hannah informs her of Rob being divorced. Shira tells her that she and Mickey question if Brad is buried in the grave. In a voicemail, Brad announces his and Kitty Bolitar’s (Narci Regina) return to the States. He admits to only trusting Shira before asking her to take care of Mickey. Shira says Brad died a few hours later.

Spoon boasts of punching Buck before announcing his two-day suspension. Elsewhere, a student (Arlette Aponte) snaps a photo of Ema as she descends the stairs. Whitney threatens to flush the girl’s phone down the toilet if she posts Ema’s photo online. Ema demands to know why Whitney told Buck about her mother. Whitney claims Buck threatened to tell everyone that she bought her first 500k uDOu followers if she didn’t give him something on Ema. She says it would have ended her art sponsorships. Ema demands she stay away from her.

Shira admits to bullying Brad into entering Bat Lady’s (Tovah Feldshuh) house. Mickey asks why she did it. She claims to have been having a difficult time and took it out on Brad. He reminds her of what she said about it changing Brad. In a flashback, young Shira Bolitar (Allison Winn) bangs on Bat Lady’s door before leaving to get her parents. When they return, he is sitting calmly on the porch. Back to the present, Shira blames herself for how it changed Brad.

At Dylan Shakes’ memorial, Ken informs Shira of Hannah wanting a divorce. He asks if she will talk to Hannah for him but she refuses. Martha Friedman (Didi Conn) speaks about Dylan and Brad’s friendship. In a flashback, Dylan is up to bat when young Billy Shakes (Taso Mikroulis) yells at him to focus. Brad gets Dylan a world of encouragement. Dylan strikes out. Back to the present, Mickey turns to see a battered Dr. Kent standing in the back. Friedman is taken aback by Billy Shakes’ (Dennis Fitzpatrick) presence. She vows to not rest until the person responsible for Dylan’s disappearance is identified. After the service, she confronts Billy who expresses shame but denies killing Dylan. Mickey asks Dr. Kent who last took Dylan to his office. Elsewhere, Billy confesses to having done something unforgivable to Dylan, Billy denies taking him to see Dr. Kent.

Mickey sees the paramedic (Luke Marinkovich) at the memorial service. He follows him to a church where he sees Sunglasses Man (Hunter Emery) sitting on a pew. Taking a seat beside him, Mickey admits to knowing he is Dylan Shakes. In a flashback, Billy burns Dylan’s eye with a cigarette. Dylan seeks help from Bat Lady. Back to the present, Sunglasses Man/Dylan claims he and Brad rescue children. Mickey says, “Abeona.” Sunglasses Man tells him that everyone has a Butcher. Mickey suggests telling Friedman that he is still alive. He asks what is in Brad’s grave. Sunglasses Man says, “The Truth” before leaving.

Shira tells Hannah that they are “stuck in the past.” Hannah confesses to loving Shira and wanting to be with her for the rest of her life.

Mickey visits the pub in search of Ashley Kent (Samantha Burliaro). When a bouncer orders Mickey to be retained, Candy (Sophia Adler) escorts him out of sight. She claims to be friends with Ashley. He asks if Ashley is there. Candy says after Ashley was sold to a wealthy man, she was placed in the Dungeon. He suggests getting the police involved. She warns if Buddy (Carter Gill) found out, Ashley would be killed. He refuses to leave without her. Candy shows him the way to the Dungeon. Buddy’s men beat Mickey. Kylie (Aubin Wise) informs him that Ashley will go with her man tomorrow. The men restrain Mickey’s hands before leaving. Once alone, Kylie identifies herself as “Abeona.”

As Kyle escorts Mickey to safety, she explains her and Brad’s failed mission to save Ashley and other girls from being trafficked. She asks if Brad is still alive. He says no before entering a trap. The bouncers place him into the back of a van.

Shira finds Dylan’s name written inside a baseball cap. Elsewhere, Friedman informs Bat Lady of Billy attending Dylan’s memorial. Bat Lady reminds her of how she warned him about Billy. Friedman confesses to loving him. Bat Lady admits to sending Dylan where he would be safe. Sunglasses Man thanks her. He embraces Friedman while she weeps.

The bouncers drag Mickey to a beach where they plan to kill him. When a bouncer promises to kill him quickly, Mickey hits him causing his gun to discharge. As he flees toward the river, they fire several shots. The episode ends.

 

Harlan Coben’s Shelter Review

Mickey convinces Shira to exhume Brad’s body. Hannah hooks Shira up with her cousin, Rob at the Essex County Board of Health.

Hannah asks Ken for a divorce, so she can be with Shira who believes they are stuck in the past. Not wanting a divorce, Ken vows to support Hannah’s restaurant goal.

Dr. Kent tells Mickey that Bat Lady brought Dylan to his office after Billy burnt his eye with a cigarette. Bat Lady removed Dylan from his violent home life. Sunglasses Man tells Mrs. Friedman that he is Dylan.

Mickey returns to the pub where he and Rachel tracked Octoface. Candy leads him to the Dungeon where Ashley is staying. Kylie and Buddy are running a human trafficking operation out of the pub. Kylie tells Mickey that she and Brad worked for Abeona. Mickey assures her that Brad is dead. Mickey is taken to a beach to be killed. It is unclear if he is able to flee.

When Buck finds out that Whitney purchased her first 500k followers, he threatens to expose her. Knowing it would be the end of her sponsorship and ruin her reputation, she betrays Ema by telling him that Angelica is her mother.

The episode deserves a 5.8. Get more Harlan Coben’s Shelter recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Our onsite advertising builds online awareness, click the link to learn more.