As this episode of Pieces of Her begins, Andy Oliver (Bella Heathcote) wakes up in Jasper’s home. Michael Vargas (Jacob Scipio) tells his boss that he took Andy to Jasper because he thought she’d open up and he suspects something is off about this case. Since Laura Oliver (Toni Collette) pulled out of the program, Andy will no longer have protection. Michael is expected back in Atlanta. He puts the handgun back in the locker and logs Andy’s blue suitcase into the evidence database. Andy’s phone begins ringing so Michael answers it and hears Laura saying her daughter’s name. Michael explains he took Andy to see Jasper before she left with him. Laura asks whether she just left her things, but she won’t say what those things are when Michael asks.

When the call ends, Michael doesn’t log the suitcase in as evidence. Instead, he puts the laptop inside and takes it with him. Mrs. Barfield (Fiona Press) tells Andy good morning, Queller will be back soon, and breakfast will be in the dining room. She tours the house and looks at old pictures before Jasper (David Wenham) returns. He asks her if she plays the piano, but she doesn’t. He tells her that her mother played and their dad filmed every note. Jasper promises to ask Mrs. Barfield to see if she can find the old home movies. He shows her around while asking her about growing up in Belle Isle. When Andy asks what Jane was like, Jasper describes her as serious and a perfectionist.

Andy asks about Paula Kunde who was in the Army of the Changing World and an acolyte of Nick Harp. Jasper is surprised she doesn’t know how Jane knew Paula. He explains their brother Andrew met Nick at Stanford. They thought they were going to change the world until Oslo happened. Nick Harp handed a gun to a woman who killed his father. The woman is dead, but Nick is still out there. He could be the reason Laura was moved into witness protection. Once Andrew died, she pretty much disappeared. Although Jasper doesn’t know the whole story, he knows Andrew was with Nick when he died. When Cynthia (Melissa Bonne) arrives, Jasper tells Andy she is a Queller and this is her home.

Later, Andy watches a video about Martin Queller (Terry O’Quinn) and his business. His Midas touch came to an end in 1988 in Oslo when the Army of the Changing World led by Nick Harp took aim. The Radicals kidnapped Professor Alex Maplecroft and sent Grace Juno (Catherine McClements) to take her place and kill Queller. A year before, Grace’s husband Robert shot their three children and himself after being prescribed massive doses of Haldol. In the video, Grace tells Martin about her husband who had a brain injury and needed help so they pumped him full of his company’s drugs. She believes the drugs were the reason her husband did what he did. Martin yells for someone to get the woman off the stage because she is not Alex Maplecroft.

She shoots him twice before shooting herself under the chin. The video shows Laura running onto the stage to check on her father. Laura meets with Gordon (Omari Hardwick) and tells him she knows he is the one who called the Marshals. He did because he thought Charlie would get her and Andy someplace safe. Although Gordon doesn’t think it is a good idea, Laura signed out of witness protection and will be leaving town for a while. She is going to San Francisco to see her brother since Andy is with him. Laura asks whether he can draw up a new will for her in her original name. He reminds her he doesn’t know who she is. Laura hands him an envelope full of documents about her.

She asks him to do it quickly so she can make sure Andy is taken care of it in case something happens. Gordon finally learns that her name is Jane. She leaves after that. In a flashback, Martin tells the others about making a killing by selling the new drug. Young Jasper (Calum Worthy) recommends commissioning a study, but his father isn’t interested in doing that. Jasper asks Nick (Joe Dempsie) how he found Palo Alto. He says he just followed the trail of BMW. Andrew (Nicholas Burton) jokes he followed the crack vials because they sell more drugs than his father does. Andrew mentions Martin selling the most expensive drug in the world.

The conversation turns to Jane (Jessica Barden) being invited to play piano for the President’s upcoming birthday party. Andrew says he’d rather slit his wrists. Jasper asks if he is going to do that again. Martin tells them Reagan has done extraordinary things for this country and family so they should show him a little respect. Andrew complains that people are dying in the streets, but the President can’t even say AIDS in public. Martin asks Nicks whether he is majoring in liberal bias too. He says no because he is in the economics graduate program. He is interested in finance and how it corrupts people. When asked about his father, Nick says he was mostly a drunk. If he had a profession, it would be beating his mom since he was good at that.

He knew he’d have to make it on his own if he wanted a future for himself. Martin says his children have grasped self-reliance yet. Later, Nick finds Jane playing the piano so he stays to listen. He finds a book and learns Martin likes to keep track of Jane’s mistakes because he wants her to do well. They begin talking about their mothers. Nick knows her mother died a long time ago. Jane feels like her mother is with her when she plays. Nick says it is lonely to play for a ghost. Later that night, Jane looks out of her window and sees Nick outside swimming in the pool. After that, Andy learns that the home videos are ready. Andy watches the videos of her mother playing piano. She begins crying until Mrs. Barfield enters and interrupts her.

Andy wonders why her mother would ever stop playing when she is so good. Barfield gives her one more tape she found. In a flashback, Andy argues with her mother about going to San Francisco to attend an art school. Her mother tries to talk her out of it while saying it takes drive to be an artist. Andy fires back by asking what she would know about being an artist. She asks Laura when she has ever tried to express herself. In the present, Laura drives down the road. In another flashback, Nick offers Jane a ride after her performance. He says she goes to another place when playing, but she is worried about the emotions she’ll feel. Nick tells her she doesn’t have to do this alone although he thinks she is worried she’ll never want to go back when she lets herself out of that cage.

When Jane’s ride gets there, she asks Nick to take her somewhere. They go to a club where they take drugs, dance, and make out. Andy watches the new video which shows Jade strutting around for Nick. He asks whether she is even allowed to date or if her dad feasts on the blood of her suitors. Nick admits he thinks she is worth the risk. She asks whether he likes her because she is off-limits, but he says there are many reasons. Nick asks her what Jane would do if she stopped playing the nice girl. She doesn’t want to answer. Instead, she takes the camera and begins asking him about his hopes and dreams. He wants a ban on ballistic missiles and for Congress to impact the fascist president.

When things get sexual, the tape cuts off. Michael counts the money from the suitcase while wearing gloves. Then, he looks at a paper that mentions the kidnappers of Maplecroft demanding ransom. He writes down the total before getting a call from Andy who confirms she is at her uncle’s. Since she just saw something crazy, she wants to know more about Nick Harp. Michael says they shouldn’t discuss this over the phone though. They arrange to meet tomorrow. After the call, Andy takes Jasper’s book outside where she sits down to join him. She admits she wants to figure out how she fits into all of this while Jasper tells her not to be too hard on her mother.

He understands why she didn’t want to talk about it since he is always the guy whose father was shot on stage. However, he wasn’t in Oslo when it happened. When he came back from buying Christmas presents and saw Feds in the driveway, he worried about a possible audit. Andy shows Jasper a picture of a man and asks whether he met her dad, but he did not. When Andy says her mom claims he did when she was two, Jasper admits they have a lot of catching up to do. She asks about Jane and Nick being together. Jasper only met him once at a family dinner when Andrew brought him. He describes Nick as a monster that Jane wanted nothing to do with.

In another flashback, Jane tells Andrew that Martin knows about her and Nick. Andrew says he and Nick had a small thing although it was never really a thing. If it had to be anyone else, he is glad it had to be her. Paula and Nick arrive in a van. As they ride in the van, Jane tells Nick she doesn’t think she can do this. The van gets closer to the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Laboratory. After they arrive, Jane is given a flashlight and told to flash it three times if she sees a car. When the van drives away, Jane looks at the coin Nick had and notices ACW has been carved into it. The next day, she hears a news report about last night’s bombing of the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Laboratory. Martin invites her in as the report says the Army of the Changing World took credit for the bombing that damaged a few labs.

The group promised new attacks targeting nuclear and biological warfare research facilities. Martin reads a newspaper article about the man taking Haldol and killing his kids. She tells him she drove down to see Andrew last night although Martin suspects she went to see Nick. He invites her to play something at his spring get-together and would prefer something from Chopin. In the present, Andy tries to talk to Mrs. Barfield about something, but she isn’t in her room. Andy hears a recording of her conversation with Michael so she walks toward where it is coming from. She spots Arthur Gibson (Ewen Leslie) and another guy listening to their conversation and looking at security camera footage from Jasper’s house.

She flees the house a short time later. When Gibson sees her on the camera stream, he says to let her go since they know where she is headed anyway. In a flashback, Martin talks to Nick about school which he should finish in May. He wants to know about Nick’s plans because there might be a place for him at his company. They begin talking about Nick’s father working at a factory in Detroit when he was actually working. Martin says he left out the most interesting part which is the fact that Nick Harp is dead. He died four years ago of an overdose. Nick says this is ridiculous. Martin accuses him of trying to marry Jane for her trust fund, but Nick says he wants nothing from him because he is a gangster.

Everything Martin owns has blood on it. As Nick storms out, he asks Jane whether she is coming with him. Outside, he calls Martin names and curses him. She insists their relationship is real so Nick thinks she should’ve had his back in there. He encourages her to leave with him. He tells her to choose between him or her father because this is her chance to live a life on her own terms. Nick warns her she’ll never see him again if she doesn’t leave with him. He ends up leaving alone. Next, Andy meets with Michael and apologizes for running out on him in El Paso. She reveals she thinks Nick Harp is her father. She tells him about the security cameras, Jasper lying to her about Nick and Jane, and their call being recorded.

Michael suspects Jasper has a contact in WITSEC and someone sending him information. He even believes Jasper might’ve sent the guy to the motel. The money in the suitcase might be evidence that Jasper wants to get. A woman running pushes into Michael and apologizes before he begins telling Andy they need to get out of there. Michael collapses to the ground. Although he encourages her to leave, Andy stays until an ambulance arrives. Laura calls the Queller residence and speaks to Barfield while trying to contact her daughter. Laura learns that Andy has left. She asks Barfield to tell her to call if she returns. She tells Barfield it is good to hear her voice again before Barfield tells her she has a beautiful daughter. In a flashback, Jane tells a young Barfield (Bridie Connell) she wouldn’t know what to do without her. She admits she misses Nick all the time, but Barfield insists that is all over now. Martin runs into her moments later and stops to give her a big necklace that belonged to her mother. He asks if she wants to add a few performances to the tour and spend the summer together, but she has social work in Berlin through July.

Although he tells her to cancel that and it’ll be fun, Jane doesn’t seem thrilled about it. Then, Jane approaches the piano, sits down, and begins playing for the audience. Once she finishes, Martin says that is beautiful and he wants more nights like this. Jane goes to the garage and approaches the car. She opens the door and slams it on her hand so she can’t play anymore. She goes to Nick’s place later that night and they have sex. When she gets up in the morning, she hears Nick talking to a small group about people profiting from racism, homophobia, and the war on drugs. Jane joins them before everyone is introduced to Grace Juno. Nick says Grace’s husband and three children are dead and Martin is responsible.

He tells Jane they could use her help before the episode ends.

 

Pieces Of Her Review

As the episodes have slowly come and gone, not much of interest has happened in Pieces of Her. So far, most scenes have been flashbacks detailing more about Laura or Jane’s relationship with her father and Nick Harp. I can’t connect with any of the characters because they feel so shallow and uninteresting. For a series like this, I would expect a lot more action, twists, and turns, but it has been pretty straightforward.

It is becoming a flawed jigsaw puzzle that can’t be put back together because pieces are missing, others are deformed, and you just don’t have any motivation to continue. Even worse, this is only the fifth episode of eight so there are roughly three more hours of torture ahead. The best way to describe Pieces of Her would be dull. The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Pieces of Her can be found on Reel Mockery here. Support the Reel Mockery project by following this link.