Looks like everyone is at their breaking point. Jessica tries to keep her calm while caring for Trish. Salinger managed to survive his attack and already is planning his next few steps. Hogarth, on the other hand, is trying to declare her love to Kith to win her back even after the past events. Malcolm also faces his own consequences as he finally let’s go of Jeri and confirms that he actually knows who the masked vigilante actually is. The episode slows down a bit as Jessica’s own kindness catches up to her and puts her into a rather uncomfortable decision. Will she be able to save Trish and herself?

Let us start off with the continuation of the last episode. Salinger was waiting for Jessica to assault him after killing her adoptive mother. However, it was Trish that assaulted him and left a sizeable scar on his face. He has everything on tape and threatens Jess that he will reveal it to the public. Jessica has become a more empathic person and even after the events from the second season, she still deeply cares for Trish. It all is highlighted when she cleans her and rests next to her as she tries to calm her down as much as she can. This scene was perfectly done and really heavy. Everything starts to sink in as we just silently watch Jessica picking skin out of Trish’s nails.

Salinger made a simple deal. Jess has to get rid of the evidence that could get him into jail. Coincidentally, Erik appears and helps her out by using a dirty cop to get into the building. Officer Nussbaumer starts to threaten Jessica only for Erik to randomly reveal his face. It almost seems like his mind has been broken slightly after being abducted by Salinger. I actually quite like Erik as a character. He has a rather simple power that does affect his entire world view. The way he tells the story about his father was really dark and it explained a bit more about how his sister ended up in her current situation.

Naturally, Trish is quite pissed that Jess did it. She lost almost everything and her only victory would have been to see the murderer go to prison. Both sisters are facing their own consequences as their own emotions got the better of them. Sadly, their actions also affect the people around them, something that Malcolm has faced quite often. Costa losing his job really hurt, as his character started to grow on me and I hope that Jess finds a way to get his job back. It may be good for him to spend more time with his loved-one and their new child.

Suddenly, the plot has returned. While Jess’ decision to help Salinger may have saved Trish but it looks like a new plotline may be changing the odds of the game. NYPD officers show up and start to search through Jessica’s apartment. It looks like her deed of the night before may have left a bitter aftertaste as Officer Nussbaumer was found dead. All hints seem to point to Erik whose action the night before showed some aggressive tendencies. Yet, he isn’t the only one that has shown these dangerous developments. Perhaps Salinger wasn’t the actual villain of this season and is just one pawn of the general plot.

VERDICT

3.5 vile sludge out of 5

The episode does slow down quite a bit but this time it feels deserved this season. Erik’s addition in this episode was very convenient but it fits the general story. What did confuse me was that Jess didn’t consider the body cam on Nussbaumer. It felt like a human error, something this show is really good at inserting into the plot but it was rather out of character for her not to consider it. Trish’s development after this episode will be interesting to follow and it seems like they are building up to it. That ending cliffhanger was a nice touch as the Salinger story suddenly felt over to keep some pacing going and it might be an interesting new direction.

ONE-SHOTS

  • Did we just get a reference to Raft from Salinger? Seems that the secret prison might not be too secret anymore.
  • It was quite sweet when Jessica wants to confirm that she hasn’t turned evil after destroying the evidence.
  • One thing the show really handles well is making characters human. Their mistakes and actions weave throughout the story.