At the beginning of Rectify’s 4th reason, Daniel Holden (Aden Young) is shown relaxing in his new bed. He is disturbed by a phone call. He quickly shuts it up and prepares to begin the day. Daniel looks over at his new roommate, Jesse (Desmond Phillips), before exiting the New Canaan house. Moments later, Daniel hops on the bus and arrives at work. He walks through the warehouse and collects the customer’s order. Once he has finished, he lets his boss Julian (Hunter Burke) know that he is finished. Julian insists Daniel should leave early, but that is impossible since the bus will not be around for another 45 minutes. In the midst of an awkward conversation, Daniel asks for his check. Julian asks about Daniel’s situation to which Daniel replies he is grateful to have a job.

Julian agrees to punch Daniel out. Seconds later, Daniel finds himself at the Nashville Regional Bank, where he deposits his check. He returns to the New Canaan project. There, he finds a social worker speaking with a new participant, Brittany (Anja Akstin). We also see Avery (Scott Lawrence) speaking with a group of ex-offenders about getting a job. Brittany is told to tell the truth about her background and to turn a negative into a positive. Daniel hands over his paystub, before introducing himself to Brittany. Daniel tells the woman about his lengthy prison stint, while also discussing the difficulty of obtaining a job. Daniel finally checks his phone and listens to a voice mail from Janet (J Smith-Cameron).

 

As Daniel makes his exit, we see a collage on the wall featuring the number of New Canaan participants hired this year. The number is 261 and Daniel’s picture is stuck right in the middle. Daniel returns home. His roommate Jesse tries to speak with him, but Daniel clams up and says very little. Jesse informs Daniel that the group session is beginning, before he exits. Avery leads the group conversation. Pickle speaks first. He tells the group how difficult it is to get a job and how the interviewers always change their opinions when he tells them about his prison stay. Jesse is given the opportunity to speak. He passes, but Avery delves deeper. Jesse admits his mother and daughter will be visiting very soon. He admits that is something to look forward to, but he says nothing more.

 

Tyrus speaks next. He complains about those at work speaking down to him. He admits he feels like teaching them respect like he would in prison. The others convince him doing so would be a mistake. Daniel is finally give an opportunity to speak. He tells the group about his day, his job and getting his check cashed. Finally, Nate says a prayer and the group session ends. That night, Daniel hears Jesse get out of bed, enter the bathroom and eventually leave. Jesse looks back and sees Daniel, before making his exit. Daniel heads to work. He is reprimanded by Julian, who insists Daniel messed up the previous order. Daniel denies making a mistake and insists he double checks all of his orders. The boss makes matters worse by immediately believing Daniel is at fault. Daniel’s coworker Earl is ordered to help refill the order.

 

Once the bosses leave, Earl gets rude with Daniel and tells him not to screw up this time. Daniel becomes visibly angry, but he remains calm. Seconds later, the lights inside the building shut off. Apparently a transformer has blown. Earl gets permission to go for food until it is fixed. He invites Daniel for a beer, but the offer is refused. Daniel takes a stroll. He observes a man, Peyton (Joshua Mikel), carrying a weird mannequin of sorts into a building. Daniel follows the man inside and is introduced to two artists. Daniel admits he was curious about the bird and wanted to know more. The female artist attempts to convince Daniel to come and help them with their upcoming event. Daniel laughs at the ideal of working for free. Daniel admires the woman’s work, before the power comes back on.

Daniel prepares to leave. The woman stops him and asks for his name. Daniel admits it doesn’t matter, before making a hasty exit. Daniel returns home late. He learns that Jesse failed a drug test and has been forced to leave the halfway house. Avery ridicules the men and insists they don’t have to live here. Tyrus admits he does, since leaving would violate his probation. Daniel is asked about Jesse. He denies knowing anything. He prepares to head up the stairs. Avery admits Daniel probably didn’t know anything. Moments later, Daniel is confronted by the other men in his bedroom. They tell him that he could’ve held Jesse, but did nothing. He is also told he is either one of them or not. Daniel admits he doesn’t know if he can be a part of the group. In the morning, Daniel visits Avery for a private conversation.

 

Daniel speaks with Avery about his time in prison. He tells him he was locked in solitary and could only speak to others through the grates. He also tells Avery how Kerwin’s execution left him devastated. Daniel opens up about his crime and confirms he doesn’t know whether or not he is guilty. Avery tries to convince Daniel to try and love himself. He also tells Daniel he needs to put it in the past and move forward. Daniel admits he doesn’t feel like he deserves it. Avery tells Daniel he has been leaning towards guilty and that maybe he should lean the other way for awhile. After the conversation ends, Daniel pays a visit to Chloe. He agrees to volunteer, before revealing his prison stint. Chloe makes a joke that she was in a sorority and isn’t proud of that either. They learn one another’s name and are formally introduced.

 

Daniel returns home and finds the other guys playing cards. Although he is a little awkward, he manages to engage the men and is invited to play cards. He watches from a distance, before the others force him to get involved. As the episode comes to an end, the men teach Daniel their card game.

 

Rectify Review

The opening episode for Rectify’s 4th season was great. It seems we have moved forward quite a bit, but Daniel still have plenty of problems to work out. Most notably, he has a difficult time fitting in and socializing with others. The episode was a little slow, but incredibly deep. Of course, Aden Young’s immaculate acting led the way. The complexity of Daniel Holden is captivating.

An 8.5 out of 10 is deserved. Catch up with previous Rectify recaps as soon as possible.