S01.E02: All You See Is Dark

[formerlyfreedom]

Both newly freed from their respective captivity, Adam Warren and Hank Asher find homecoming is a thing easier said than done. After meeting Adam, the reason for his incarceration, face to face, Hank grapples with a dark secret he's been keeping for more than ten years. Meanwhile, Danny is still suspicious of Adam's true identity, a fact he shares with Bridey, not realizing she's a reporter. Haunted by her past and the role she played in helping to convict the wrong man in Adam's kidnapping, a determined Nina leads a team of detectives into the woods to find the area around the elusive "red dragon" where the young boy was being held by "the pock-marked man." But the mysterious figure is one step ahead of the detectives and sets to destroy the only evidence that is left. Distracted and emotionally traumatized by her son's shocking return, Claire tasks Willa with persuading John to participate in her campaign. Willa reveals to her father just how much she has protected him in the past and quietly threatens to expose him if he doesn't cooperate.

 

 

 

[Primetimer]

It's all or nothing, and all you see is dark...because, like Al Lowe, you're banging your head on the wall.

Read the story

[mac123x]

I think this is going on my "don't bother" list.  Interesting premise, poorly executed.  Of course the only family member who is suspicious is the  one that no one will listen to because he's a drunk.

[wonderwoman]

"The bloodless daughter

So, she has become the major domo of her mom's city council campaign, even protecting the family for ten years from the scandal of her dad's affair with the detective handling her brother's case. I have to ask: who cares about being on city council this much? Like, what powers does this position grant a winner and her family that they'd treat it like a kingmaking ritual requiring the ultimate sacrifice of multiple generations? My city council's meetings are broadcast over local basic cable and they mostly sit there and talk to crazy people who come in wearing onions on their belts."

In agreement re "the bloodless daughter," can't believe how she tried to jack her father -- who are these people? But the mother (that I can't even remember her name speaks volumes, no?) was running for city council when Adam disappeared 10 years ago. She's currently the mayor, and is running for governor -- much higher stakes.

Edited March 7, 2016 by wonderwoman

[AuntiePam]

From the recap:

"When Danny goes to Adam's old dentist to casually ask if they can get a copy of his dental records "for a family scrapbook," he is informed that his sister already picked them up. First of all, the...police wouldn't have those? The identifying dental records of your brother who has been missing for ten YEARS? Secondly, you can't get them this way. Third: scrapbook."

That's enough for me -- I'm out. What a ridiculous way to try to prove the kid is or isn't Adam.

[bybrandy]

From the recap:

"When Danny goes to Adam's old dentist to casually ask if they can get a copy of his dental records "for a family scrapbook," he is informed that his sister already picked them up. First of all, the...police wouldn't have those? The identifying dental records of your brother who has been missing for ten YEARS? Secondly, you can't get them this way. Third: scrapbook."

That's enough for me -- I'm out. What a ridiculous way to try to prove the kid is or isn't Adam.

The police would have them but I don't think drunkson whose name  I haven't bothered to learn is going to get them from the police, but the police having them wouldn't exclude the dentist also having them.  

 

I've gotten copies of my dental records from the dentist plenty of times.  I don't think he'd give a copy to my "sister" because who does that?  But you can in fact go to your dentists office and ask for copies of your dental records.   

 

And while I suspect that they shoudn't just give them out to anybody the whole playing on sympathy about something like that might actually work... the only thing is much like you can get your dental records from your dentist, the office doesn't give you the one and only copy.  They make a copy for you.  So dental nurse could have made a copy for Drunk!Son and  Machiavelli!Willa.  

 

As for Willa, I felt kind of bad for her.  She thinks she's protected her mom?  But clearly her mom knows... or is thinking she's protected the mom the story she's sold to dad?

 

I kind of liked the scene with Dad and the criminal and I continue to like Drunk!Son.  I don't know if those things are because I like Rupert Graves and Zach Gilford.  

[thuganomics85]

I know that there is always friction between the various different law enforcement agencies, but I couldn't stop laughing over how over-the-top it was when the police chief revealed to Nina he called in the FBI.  They even gave them a creepy slo-mo entrance!  You would have though he brought in the mob or something.  To be fair, maybe Nina has seen enough shows like The Following and The Blacklist to know FBI can't be trusted.  But still!  Beware, the Evil FBI!

 

OK, right now, I'm starting to think Willa is going to end up being the big factor in all of this.  I do think Claire is using "Adam" to further her political goals and she clearly doesn't know how to handle his PTSD (her freaking out over him wanting to sleep in a closet), but Willa just seems like someone who is hiding some shit, and Allison Pill is playing her in a way that is starting to creep me out.

 

Adam though is really being suspicious now, and more likely might not be the actual Adam.  Too bad the only person who suspects this is still Danny, who no one will ever trust.  And I'm choosing to believe they made him a former football player because of Zach Gilford's past work.

 

No surprise, Hank is hiding something.

 

Way to go, John.  You apparently were sloppy enough in your affair with Nina, that your own daughter found out when she was 13, and is now straight-up bribing your cheating ass.  But I guess that stupid interrogation scene last episode did show that he isn't very good at this.

 

Totally not surprised the reporter is basically just getting Danny drunk and banging him, in order to get info.  I just wonder if they are going to go down the typical route where she suddenly starts getting actual feelings for him, feels guilt about it, and then he discovers the truth, and it all falls apart.

 

Same opinion as the pilot.  Great cast, but I'm just not sure if everything will come together.  It's still early though, so I won't give up yet.

[Free]

I think this is going on my "don't bother" list.  Interesting premise, poorly executed.  Of course the only family member who is suspicious is the  one that no one will listen to because he's a drunk.

 

Poor him when he finds out about that woman.

[OpieTaylor]

I'm in! I usually find fault with weak premises and ridiculously unlikely things that happen in shows, but so far I'm liking the creepiness of this.

[Bobbin]

Apparently lost in this murky mystery is that mom is now the mayor. No one was paying any attention to her or her campaign for councilwoman at the time Adam disappeared. It seems likely that she's been using public sympathy and hysteria since then to get elected. Did Willa, the family Machiavelli, have something to do with Adam's disappearance--and his timely reappearance? Did she frame Hank to be sure the search for Adam would be called off so he wouldn't be found and lose the sympathy vote?

So Adam's hit-or-miss memories are all connected to clues in family photos. He may be the real Adam and the pictures are just trigging forgotten memories. Or he may be pulling a Kevin Spacey from "The Usual Suspects." Or he may have trauma-induced amnesia or be homeless, and is sincerely trying to be the boy in the pictures.

Claire is trying with grim determination to make Adam and everyone else act "normal" as though nothing has happened. But her spoiling him with attention is hardly normal. Running for governor is not something you decide and announce on the spur of the moment and never mention to your spouse. Or maybe it is in Maine.

Adam is so patient with everyone. Too patient, maybe.

Hank could have explained that he was railroaded into giving a false confession by Tina (who had no physical evidence that would have justified an arrest, let alone a conviction), but that would have been too logical, something in short supply on this show.

[rue721]

I'm really enjoying this. It's hokey and melodramatic, but that's a big part of what I like about it.

 

The "revelation" I thought was most interesting was that Adam was telling the truth about the basement in the woods. He didn't lead the cop on a wild goose chase, he told her exactly where he'd been. That makes me think that regardless of whether he's lying about his identity, he's probably being genuine about his feelings and at least some of his past.

 

Judging by how much he wanted to sleep in the closet, he really did stay in that basement for a long time, too. It's tough for me to believe that he'd be homesick for the basement where he was apparently imprisoned and raped, but maybe that's realistic? I honestly don't know.

 

Something else that stood out to me was that the pockmarked man was so ready to destroy all the physical evidence by burning the basement to cinders, but he apparently has no interest in going after Adam himself. And Adam apparently knows this, because he doesn't seem at all worried about blasting his own whereabouts all over the news. He even sent a cop after the pockmarked guy; Adam is not laying low!

 

This episode also proved that something is really wrong with Hank. What was up with him cleaning up the garage with bleach? And his own mother seemed unsettled by him after Adam disappeared and he didn't want to take muffins over to the neighbors. It seemed like she suspected him? And then at the very end, when he went to bed on the bare mattress -- I don't know if that was because ABC thinks we're so stupid we wouldn't understand that he's laying on his new mattress without us being able to physically see the mattress right under him, or if it's part of his characterization that he's such a freak that he doesn't use sheets. What kind of person doesn't use sheets?! :P

 

Anyway, the funniest moment was when the older brother told the receptionist at the dentist's office that he wanted the dental records for a scrap book. He's kind of a dumbass, and I can actually believe that he'd come up with a bizarre lie like that. But it was hilarious that the receptionist believed him! Who in the history of the world has ever put dental records in a scrapbook?

[designing1]

 

Totally not surprised the reporter is basically just getting Danny drunk and banging him, in order to get info.

 

Rather than resorting to the time-worn plot of "woman achieves what she wants through sex", I really wish they'd made her a smart, skilled reporter who was capable of getting info by doing actual, investigative journalism. Now that would have been surprising.

[JapMo]

Agree about the dental-records-in-a-scrapbook lie was hilarious. I actually thought at first he was at a free clinic getting checked out for an STD.

I don't think it would have taken much for that reporter to get Danny to spill the beans about his suspicions. But no, the writers take the low road and have her use sex to get a story. Shame on you, Bridey. What would Lois Lane say?

I'll continue to watch, because it's at the same time on Sunday night that Secrets and Lies was, and I loved that.

[AuntiePam]

Agree about the dental-records-in-a-scrapbook lie was hilarious. I actually thought at first he was at a free clinic getting checked out for an STD.

 

It wasn't just the scrapbook lie that was hilarious -- what is Danny going to do with the records?  "Hey Adam!  Come here and open your mouth."  He knows what to look for, how to compare Adam's mouth at 9 and 19? 

[bybrandy]

It wasn't just the scrapbook lie that was hilarious -- what is Danny going to do with the records?  "Hey Adam!  Come here and open your mouth."  He knows what to look for, how to compare Adam's mouth at 9 and 19? 

 I honesty think Danny hasn't thought that far ahead.  Heck he came up with "scrapbook" on the fly.  

[Morbs]

I can buy him wanting to sleep in a closet.  It's what he's used to, and people get accustomed to the way they sleep.  I don't buy he'd be let out of the hospital after a day though, and he'd have a lot of problems from being chained up for 10 years and probably need a lot of physical therapy the show doesn't want to take time for.  It's just the overall dumbing down of every character and plot point that makes me wonder why I even bother with a network show.  The whole, "The doctor doesn't exist!" nevermind he killed himself point was really weird too.

 

I think Danny will turn out to be a fraud, another victim of the kidnapper who met the real Danny in captivity.

[emma675]

Just when I'm ready to give up on this show, they catch me with something at the end that pulls me back in for another week. This episode it was Danny (I think that's drunk brother's name?) piecing together all of the "memories" Adam had by looking at all of the family photos.

 

Adam is good, trying to show that he is who he says he is and remembers things, but then he goes and forgets that his best friend was a girl named Alex? He can remember a busted tail light, but not his best friend's gender. Get it together, fake Adam. When drunk brother is onto your game, you're slipping.

[PugLoaf]

Count me in the group that keeps getting drawn back in. I hate myself but I love a mystery, even one that is less than expertly told (I sat through all of Deception just so I could see who the killer was). 

 

I too want to know what his plan was for the dental records. Take an at home impression using a bunch of marshmallows? A bar of soap? Though as some said I suppose it is possible to believe that a regular person wouldn't think that far ahead. 

 

Female reporter kills me as JapMon and others have said. They had to make her a lesbian blogger who is willing to get with a man for a story? So not only does she need to use sex to get her story, she needs to completely go against who she is as a lesbian. Or is she not a lesbian she just writes a lesbian blog? Was that a joke and she is just a regular reporter? This town has more than two staff reporters?! (I lived in a small town until recently, the local paper had exactly two staff writers)

 

The Mom is not endearing herself to me and I want to agree with all the others who said the sister is very suspicious.

 

When creepy neighbor saw Adam outside the house I couldn't decide if he knows that Adam is not Adam (because he killed the real one ten years ago) or if the moment was just supposed to read as uncomfortable because one was accused of killing the other, nothing deeper. I suppose it could just be suspicion, since he knew the real Adam yet this one doesn't seem to recognize him. Also why all the bleach? Just to hide the evidence that Adam hung out there at all? Yet you kept gloves in your ceiling that any proper search of your property would have found? It makes me lean toward the possibility that neighbor did in fact kill him or at least think he killed him and maybe left him for dead at which point someone else scooped him up. 

[iMonrey]

 

Did Willa, the family Machiavelli, have something to do with Adam's disappearance--and his timely reappearance? Did she frame Hank to be sure the search for Adam would be called off so he wouldn't be found and lose the sympathy vote?

 

There's definitely something screwy about the sister. My initial thoughts were that she killed Adam - or at least felt responsible for whatever happened to him, which she knows and nobody else does. And now she's doing her damdest to make sure everyone believes Adam is Adam. 

[JapMo]

Adam Warren "Scrapbook"

 

- copy of his dental records

- bloody tissue he used when he cut his hand playing with glass

- his toddler bib with spit-up his mom kept under her pillow for a decade

- Age progressed photo of Adam at 25

- Sympathy cards from his fake funeral

- Obituary notice in engraved frame

[Free]

Apparently lost in this murky mystery is that mom is now the mayor. No one was paying any attention to her or her campaign for councilwoman at the time Adam disappeared. It seems likely that she's been using public sympathy and hysteria since then to get elected. Did Willa, the family Machiavelli, have something to do with Adam's disappearance--and his timely reappearance? Did she frame Hank to be sure the search for Adam would be called off so he wouldn't be found and lose the sympathy vote?

So Adam's hit-or-miss memories are all connected to clues in family photos. He may be the real Adam and the pictures are just trigging forgotten memories. Or he may be pulling a Kevin Spacey from "The Usual Suspects." Or he may have trauma-induced amnesia or be homeless, and is sincerely trying to be the boy in the pictures.

Claire is trying with grim determination to make Adam and everyone else act "normal" as though nothing has happened. But her spoiling him with attention is hardly normal. Running for governor is not something you decide and announce on the spur of the moment and never mention to your spouse. Or maybe it is in Maine.

Adam is so patient with everyone. Too patient, maybe.

Hank could have explained that he was railroaded into giving a false confession by Tina (who had no physical evidence that would have justified an arrest, let alone a conviction), but that would have been too logical, something in short supply on this show.

 

Willa does seem creepy in those scenes.

[rue721]

Get it together, fake Adam. When drunk brother is onto your game, you're slipping.

 

This episode got me thinking that Adam is genuinely nuts. I don't even know if he has a game plan, at this point. He didn't seem to use the information from the photos in a useful or even purposeful way at all. For example, Adam drew attention to Danny's car's taillight instead of saying something that sounds more like it would come from memory -- like acting surprised/happy that Danny's still driving the same car. Same thing with the way that Adam dryly recited the information about what shoes "he" was wearing when "he" was kidnapped. If he wanted to say something about his outfit in that picture, why not mention the white T-shirt with his mom's campaign slogan plastered on it? He could tie his mom's campaign gear or going to a campaign event much more easily to "bad memories" of being kidnapped and to present-day relationships than he can tie a pair of random sneakers to anything useful.

 

I guess what I'm getting at is that Adam didn't use any of the info he got from the photos for emotional leverage. He could have used "happiness" about Danny driving the same car as he did when they were kids in order to capitalize on Danny's love/nostalgia for his little brother, but he didn't. He could have used "anxiety" about the mom's campaign in order to capitalize on her feelings of protectiveness and selflessness for her missing son, but he didn't. Instead, he just made a couple dry, pointless observations about a broken taillight and some retro sneakers.

 

Also, kid!Adam must already have been kidnapped before Danny broke his arm, if Danny hadn't quit football yet before the kidnapping, and it's plausible that Adam would think that he might have quit because he broke his arm -- so I'm not sure why Danny would think that Adam was pretending to actually remember the broken arm, just because he asked about it? Tbh, I think Adam was just trying to get into Danny's good graces, by asking him about his life and acting sympathetic/reassuring. At least in that scene, I don't think he was trying to ~weave a web of lies~, he was just trying to get Danny to like him.

 

Someone else said that they thought Adam was being too patient, but honestly, regardless of whether this Adam is an imposter or not, I would expect anyone who's been living at some creep's mercy for years and years to be very eager-to-please, and to try very hard to say whatever other people want to hear. That's pretty much what I figure is happening in any of the scenes between Adam and the mom -- he's going to mirror whatever she does and agree to whatever she says, because he's not going to cross her. I don't think it says anything either way about his true identity; regardless of who he is, I would expect him to be agreeable and non-confrontational because, apparently, he's used to living with a terrifying person who abused him and kept him shackled in a basement.

 

If he is a people-pleaser, it's also possible that he genuinely wants this family to feel that they've gotten their son back, and to be invested in convincing them that he's the same old Adam that they lost, out of a sense of duty/kindness toward them (as well as for his own purposes). He obviously knows it's futile to try and actually become that old Adam, since he says over and over that "you can't go home again," but I think he actually is trying to settle into the family and actually is trying to fill missing!Adam's shoes.

 

To me, the strangest and maybe most suspicious thing he did was when he and the mom were in the closet together, and she heard him say in his sleep, "My name is Adam. My name is Adam."

 

When creepy neighbor saw Adam outside the house I couldn't decide if he knows that Adam is not Adam (because he killed the real one ten years ago) or if the moment was just supposed to read as uncomfortable because one was accused of killing the other, nothing deeper. I suppose it could just be suspicion, since he knew the real Adam yet this one doesn't seem to recognize him. Also why all the bleach? Just to hide the evidence that Adam hung out there at all? Yet you kept gloves in your ceiling that any proper search of your property would have found? It makes me lean toward the possibility that neighbor did in fact kill him or at least think he killed him and maybe left him for dead at which point someone else scooped him up. 

 

Yeah, I'm very suspicious that Hank murdered Adam. He looked so blasé about Adam's disappearance when his mom was telling him to take those muffins over to the Warrens', even though he and Adam were "friends." His mom must have thought something messed up was going on, because she apparently lied about his alibi before he was even accused of anything (when the cop came to the house and asked about his/their whereabouts on Friday night), and gave him a really weird look when he was painting that model plane in the kitchen and she was talking about the kidnapping.

 

Then Hank referred to Adam in the past tense to Adam's mother, even though the kid had been missing like one day at that point. This episode also made it clear that not only did he really go to the fair, but that he spoke to Adam when Adam was alone (on the swings) -- so he had the opportunity to snatch him. Adam trusted him and would have gone with him willingly, so if he's the kidnapper, that would also explain why the kid could be taken from a busy place in the middle of the day and nobody noticed a fuss.

 

Then, it was INCREDIBLY suspicious how Hank washed out the whole garage with bleach. I mean come on! He was hiding something terrible. And then he CONFESSED to the murder. It doesn't make sense to me that he'd confess because the cops had "bad stuff" on him, because what could they possibly have on him that would be worse than the kidnapping and murder of his eight-year-old neighbor!?

 

And he's still so awkward/strange in the present day. Why would he introduce himself to Adam as the man who'd killed him? Why would he be so bewildered by finally being vindicated/released/paid, unless he knows that he really did do it and deserve the punishment that he got?

[formerlyfreedom]

Then, it was INCREDIBLY suspicious how Hank washed out the whole garage with bleach. I mean come on! He was hiding something terrible. And then he CONFESSED to the murder. It doesn't make sense to me that he'd confess because the cops had "bad stuff" on him, because what could they possibly have on him that would be worse than the kidnapping and murder of his eight-year-old neighbor!?

 

I could fanwank that he was trying to erase any trace that Adam had ever been in the space with this scene - wasn't the garage where they were working on the ship in the bottle on before school?

 

Yeah, it's a big fanwank, but then they threw amateur dentist/detective brother in there, and my mind just kept ping ponging around, so I lost that thread....

[KaveDweller]

Anyway, the funniest moment was when the older brother told the receptionist at the dentist's office that he wanted the dental records for a scrap book. He's kind of a dumbass, and I can actually believe that he'd come up with a bizarre lie like that. But it was hilarious that the receptionist believed him! Who in the history of the world has ever put dental records in a scrapbook?

 

It reminded me of a Seinfeld episode where George needs to get someone's death certificate to get a discount on airfare, and he tells the doctor (or whoever) he wants to put the death certificate in a scrapbook.

 

Adam is good, trying to show that he is who he says he is and remembers things, but then he goes and forgets that his best friend was a girl named Alex? He can remember a busted tail light, but not his best friend's gender. Get it together, fake Adam. When drunk brother is onto your game, you're slipping.

 

After that reveal I kept expecting the best friend to show up in the present timeline.  Maybe she'll show up next week.

 

Yeah, I'm very suspicious that Hank murdered Adam. He looked so blasé about Adam's disappearance when his mom was telling him to take those muffins over to the Warrens', even though he and Adam were "friends." His mom must have thought something messed up was going on, because she apparently lied about his alibi before he was even accused of anything (when the cop came to the house and asked about his/their whereabouts on Friday night), and gave him a really weird look when he was painting that model plane in the kitchen and she was talking about the kidnapping.

 

Then Hank referred to Adam in the past tense to Adam's mother, even though the kid had been missing like one day at that point. This episode also made it clear that not only did he really go to the fair, but that he spoke to Adam when Adam was alone (on the swings) -- so he had the opportunity to snatch him. Adam trusted him and would have gone with him willingly, so if he's the kidnapper, that would also explain why the kid could be taken from a busy place in the middle of the day and nobody noticed a fuss.

 

Then, it was INCREDIBLY suspicious how Hank washed out the whole garage with bleach. I mean come on! He was hiding something terrible. And then he CONFESSED to the murder. It doesn't make sense to me that he'd confess because the cops had "bad stuff" on him, because what could they possibly have on him that would be worse than the kidnapping and murder of his eight-year-old neighbor!?

 

And he's still so awkward/strange in the present day. Why would he introduce himself to Adam as the man who'd killed him? Why would he be so bewildered by finally being vindicated/released/paid, unless he knows that he really did do it and deserve the punishment that he got?

 

The guy was a registered sex offender, so the mother probably assumed the cops would come after him and was preemptively giving him an alibi.

 

I agree that the sister is suspicious, but she was 13 when Adam disappeared. I'm not sure a kid that age could mastermind an abduction/murder. She could plant evidence or cover up for the dad's affair, but more than that seems a bit of a stretch.

Edited March 8, 2016 by KaveDweller

[Texasmom1970]

So Adam's hit-or-miss memories are all connected to clues in family photos. He may be the real Adam and the pictures are just trigging forgotten memories. Or he may be pulling a Kevin Spacey from "The Usual Suspects." Or he may have trauma-induced amnesia or be homeless, and is sincerely trying to be the boy in the pictures.

 

During that scene I said Keyser Soze, Keyser Soze then I realized I would rather be watching "The Usual Suspects" and I tuned out!

[ShowsILoveToHate]

I have no clue about what's real or not regarding "Adam", but that actor looks a LOT like the actor playing the bad guy in the woods.  I wonder if this was done purposely.  Maybe "Adam" is the guy's son and real-Adam was being held captive by him/them and.....  oh heck with it...I don't know!!!  lol

[mandigirl]

Could someone please explain this to me!! They couldn't get a search warrant for sex offender's house because no evidence linking him to a crime... so Willa leaves the ship in the bottle... IN SEX OFFENDER'S HOUSE. So how did the detective get it? She couldn't get a warrant! Also, last week, the Detective's major revelation was that the ship in the bottle only had sex offender's prints. That appeared to be the ship in a bottle that Adam and sex offender were working on. How was a teenager able to scrub her brother's prints from the bottle leaving only the sex offender's (if that were even possible)? 

 

 

Rather than resorting to the time-worn plot of "woman achieves what she wants through sex", I really wish they'd made her a smart, skilled reporter who was capable of getting info by doing actual, investigative journalism. Now that would have been surprising.

ITA 100%. 

 

I was disappointed that Willa went straight for the threat with the father. As a (supposedly) skilled tactician, I would have thought that she would have at least tried to appeal to him. He seemed annoyed by the governor situation, but probably would have listened to his daughter. 

[peachmangosteen]

Female reporter kills me as JapMon and others have said. They had to make her a lesbian blogger who is willing to get with a man for a story? So not only does she need to use sex to get her story, she needs to completely go against who she is as a lesbian. Or is she not a lesbian she just writes a lesbian blog? Was that a joke and she is just a regular reporter?

 

I asked this in the pilot ep post. I still don't know if she's a lesbian or if the 'lesbian lifestyle blog' was a joke, or if she writes that blog but isn't a lesbian.

 

I have no clue about what's real or not regarding "Adam", but that actor looks a LOT like the actor playing the bad guy in the woods.

 

I noticed that it this ep, too. And it too made me wonder if maybe this boy is that guy's son and their running a con. I don't really understand why they would though.

[PugLoaf]

 

I noticed that it this ep, too. And it too made me wonder if maybe this boy is that guy's son and their running a con. I don't really understand why they would though.

 

This is a very good point I hadn't noticed til you and showsilovetohate mentioned it. In one of the eps (sorry I watched them both at once) woods-guy made a comment about the family needing a lot of prayer or having a lot of trouble or something to someone who commented on the newspaper story, this might support a con theory. Are they supposed to be incredibly wealthy? Maybe a money thing?

[Madding crowd]

I'm finding the drunk son to be an interesting character. I think he recognized that something was odd about Adam bringing up the random things like the broken arm, and the photos on the mantle were a great revealing moment. It could mean Adam is conning the family, or that he lost so much of his memory and is trying to fit in, or he could be taunting the son somehow by daring him to guess if the it is a true memory or not.

 

Trauma can make people lose a chunk of memory, but it usually is for a specific time period, not selective. It would be unusual for Adam to remember the shoes he was wearing, but not the name and gender of his best friend.

 

I was wondering about the scrubbing the garage scene and wonder if that is a red herring to throw us off the scent. Maybe the guy was paranoid because Adam had been coming there and he thought there might be a trace. Or maybe he did kill Adam.

 

I join those who hope the name Adam is just a coincidence and not related to the Adam Walsh tragedy. So far, I don't like the daughter and thought her comment to her dad about "I didn't know what inside you meant" was just gross no matter what she found out/covered up.
 

[candall]

I was disappointed after the pilot because it seemed pretty obvious--e.g. "Fake-Adam" had picked up details from his co-captive, "Real-Adam," who's now dead (although wouldn't two victims talking about home have covered something as unique as a bottle ship hobby?)  And I had Andrew McCarthy down for innocent of murder but guilty of laying some pedophile groundwork.  I thought the sister would only have a weak storyline about guilt over getting her neighbor convicted.

 

Episode Two and. . . kudos!  It looks like I'm all kinds of wrong.  Fake-Adam appears to have had coaching from someone who didn't know Real-Adam very well and now he's being very subtle, taking his authenticity cues from photographs.  Smart.  And look at Creepy Hank bleach the hell out of that garage!

 

There are definitely some howlers.  I'd like to think my political representatives have more sense than Mayor Mom and don't go flying off the handle every five minutes.

 

But as long as they barrel along and keep me guessing, I'm in.  I spent two seasons with The Following for less.

[Perkie]

The other problem with requesting the dental records, was that at 8-9 yrs old, you have mixed dentition, half adult teeth, half baby teeth that haven't fallen out yet.  How do you even begin to compare that to an 18-19 year old who has his full adult teeth.  You can't make that comparison.

 

My theory;  Willa accidentally killed the kid, disposed of his body, neighbour saw it.  New Adam is either boogie man's own son, or a kid that he actually held captive who escaped.  Willa knows it's not her brother because she knows he's dead, so she's trying to cover all tracks that might prove he isn't who he says he is, so as not get caught for what she did.  Neighbour also knows he isn't the real kid but can't confess because it would out the sister.  Maybe he went to jail in the first place to protect her.  

 

I don't beleive he's the real Adam.  

[iMonrey]

 

Could someone please explain this to me!! They couldn't get a search warrant for sex offender's house because no evidence linking him to a crime... so Willa leaves the ship in the bottle... IN SEX OFFENDER'S HOUSE. So how did the detective get it? She couldn't get a warrant!

 

I don't get that either. I'm assuming that she was, eventually, able to get a search warrant later in the investigation, and this will be shown in some future flashback. On the other hands I may be giving the writers too much credit. We'll see.

[Last Time Lord]

I don't know if I like this show, but I definitely find it compelling. Especially the kid playing Adam.

[BellyLaughter]

This show is trope garbage (God no wonder ABC will keep feeding the dead rotting carcass of Castle if this is all they have to replace it with.....) but it's in the amateur leagues when compared to the trope of all tropey dramas Finding Carter.  So there's that.....

[jhlipton]

Not only did the [lesbian???] reporter (why would they introduce her as such if she's not?) have [unprotected???] sex to get her story, she also ordered a drink -- a double -- when the brother explicitly said he didn't want one.  Did she Roofie it as well?  How did she get him to drink it? And was it before or after the hallway sex?  This show is so dumb, yet I think I'll keep watching.

 

Oh, and, BTW, Police Chief, Nina didn't convict the sex offender.  She may have arrested him, but you decided to go to the DA, and the DA put him on trial.  Moreover, if you had given her the 5 guys she asked for, your evidence wouldn't have gone up in smoke.  So stuff it, asshat.

[Kimmature]

The acting and the cast are far outpacing the writing, which is a shame.  I like the premise, and a lot of the actors are bringing it, but the major plot gaps/stilted dialogue are just making it difficult to keep watching.  

[backformore]

I have no clue about what's real or not regarding "Adam", but that actor looks a LOT like the actor playing the bad guy in the woods.  I wonder if this was done purposely.  Maybe "Adam" is the guy's son and real-Adam was being held captive by him/them and.....  oh heck with it...I don't know!!!  lol

Yeah, I was heading in that direction too.  The two actors have their hair done the same way, it seems to give the hint that they are related. 

So, yes, your theory seems plausible.  Or familiar -   like it was a Law & Order plot once?  

[Guest]

Then Hank referred to Adam in the past tense to Adam's mother, even though the kid had been missing like one day at that point. 

What I found weird about that scene was the mother used the past tense before Hank did, though with her question it could be somewhat better explained.  It was something like "What was the nature of your relationship with Adam?"  I would think one day in, she'd say, "What IS the nature of..." but I suppose if she had already mentally decided their friendship was over due to learning Hank's past, she might choose past tense.  As a mother, I would NOT be using past tense that early, even in that context.  

 

I'm thinking fake Adam is a bad guy.  He reminds me of the Edward Norton character in Primal Fear.  Maybe it is all just a con.  Pockmarks knows who in the family killed Adam and this is his blackmail... take my f'd up son in as Adam, get him care, then send him to college as your own and pay me off with your new governor salary.  Win/win/win.  

 

So which nefarious Warren killed Adam, or hid his death?  If I had to guess today I'd guess the mom.  

[ari333]

Wow. All good premises. You guys should write.

 

Why was weird neighbor saving Adam's mittens in a can in the ceiling tile? And if there was a search to find the (planted) ship in a bottle why didnt' they DUH find the mittens? ANd why is he caressing them? He is a pedo but didnt' take  Adam? Im confused. And what did the other dude (pockmarks?) burn down in the woods? I should pay more attn.  

[ari333]

What took me out of the story is... why cant they just get a new DNA test done by a Dr. who they know is real ?  :-)

[iMonrey]

The only one interested in doing another DNA test is the drunken brother and nobody is listening to him. Nobody else at this point suspects Adam is a fake - or at least nobody else is interested in proving it. I guess he could steal some of the kid's hair or something and take it to a private lab and ask for a comparison to his own DNA to see if it's really his brother - but how easy is that to do and how much would it cost?

Edited March 10, 2016 by iMonrey

[ari333]

The only one interested in doing another DNA test is the drunken brother and nobody is listening to him. Nobody else at this point suspects Adam is a fake - or at least nobody else is interested in proving it. I guess he could steal some of the kid's hair or something and take it to a private lab and ask for a comparison to his own DNA to see if it's really his brother - but how easy is that to do and how much would it cost?

I've forgotten already. Who else suspected that the DNA test was bogus? THe Nina detective or the reporter? and did the sister really pick up the dental records or someone posing as the sister? and Adam is an adult. IS there not some HIPPA thing even for family?

[wayne67]

At this point I'll give this show one more episode to make me care. 

So far the only thing I find amusing is Fake/Real Adam's general creepy serial killer vibe.

 

The constant flash back/present day stuff drives me bonkers and I already hate Lesbian Reporter, Controlling Mom and Minion Daughter and I'm ambivalent about the Drunko brother.

 

I keep confusing the Dad with the Pedo next door neighbor. Dam face blindness. 

[St. Claire]

IS there not some HIPPA thing even for family?

 

I know that I have to sign an authorization at my doctor for my husband (and my mom, now that I'm an adult) to be able to get info, so I would assume that siblings would also be denied access to medical records.

[Free]

The acting and the cast are far outpacing the writing, which is a shame.  I like the premise, and a lot of the actors are bringing it, but the major plot gaps/stilted dialogue are just making it difficult to keep watching.  

 

Definitely, the acting is what's making it watchable, otherwise it's a mystery riddled with plot holes and "why can't they do this' scenarios that keeps popping up each episode.

[Black Knight]

It seemed to me that Nina's mention that the ship bottle they found in Hank's house only had his prints meant that Willa didn't plant the bottle. If she had, she would have taken one of her brother's bottles and planted that, and as a result it would've had his fingerprints, which would've been more damning. They shot that sequence where she went to Hank's house and was standing at the drawer with the bottle in it very ambiguously, so that we couldn't be sure whether she just opened the drawer and was a little surprised to see the bottle, or if she put the bottle in the drawer and then we were looking at her look at what she'd just done. But the fingerprints issue, to me, rules out Willa. She obviously feels guilty about something - something beyond not watching Adam when he was taken - but I think it's for something she did after she found the bottle in Hank's house.

 

The sequence of events we've seen so far from Willa's POV is: She sees Adam running out of Hank's garage, so she knows that he's visiting Hank. She doesn't think much of mentioning that she saw Adam talking to Hank at the rally, but then her parents drop the bomb that he's been convicted for indecent exposure. Nina says she can't get a search warrant because there's not enough evidence, and she can't get evidence without a search warrant. So I think Willa decided to go into Hank's house herself to see if there was anything pointing to him being responsible. She found the bottle, freaked out, and did something that we'll find out about later - I figure she probably did something that enabled Nina to finally get her search warrant.

 

Hank saying the cops had stuff on him - I assumed he meant the child porn they found on his computer. Nina did a pretty good job of scaring him in interrogation about how a jury wouldn't understand. Most cases plead out rather than go to trial, and realistically, not all people who plead out are guilty. But they face the choice of pleading guilty and getting a lesser sentence or going to trial and risking a much worse sentence. A lot of people aren't willing to roll the dice. I completely understand why he was not willing to roll the dice, given the child porn and the conviction for indecency. He had other factors going against him, too: First, his mother completely screwed him over by taking it on herself to provide him with a fake alibi, one easily disproven. So the fake alibi looked bad. Then he cleaned his garage to get rid of any trace of Adam ever having been there, not knowing that Willa already knew Adam had been in there. (My guess is that's probably how Nina got the search warrant in the end, by Willa telling her that she saw Adam in there.) Maybe he did kill Adam and maybe he didn't, but even if he didn't I understand why he cleaned the garage out at that point, although it was a dumb thing to do. By that point he knew he was a suspect and was scared. I think one thing this show actually has done kind of a nice job with is showing how you can screw yourself over (or others can help screw you over, like his mother) and thus get in even more trouble.

 

I think this kid is most likely not Adam, but I feel for him either way. We saw in the pilot how his back is covered in scars, and that's enough for me to sympathize with him. His back leaves no question that he's been horrifically abused. If he's lying to try to get in with a nice family after everything he's been through, so be it. I can forgive that. (Yeah, it turns out they're not all that nice by our standards, but by his standards, they're still probably the freaking Cleavers. They don't hit him or rape him, they take him outside...)

 

I do think this episode humanized Claire more. She's clearly ambitious and can be self-serving, but at the end of this episode she got into the closet to sleep there with the boy who might or might not be her son. It was a loving thing to do, and something she had nothing to gain from except a lousy night of sleep and an aching body in the morning.

[DrSparkles]

Yeah, I was heading in that direction too.  The two actors have their hair done the same way, it seems to give the hint that they are related. 

So, yes, your theory seems plausible.  Or familiar -   like it was a Law & Order plot once?

I feel like this was a SVU plot...

[ForeverAlone]

That's because this basic story was a SVU episode from season 10.

[DrSparkles]

That's because this basic story was a SVU episode from season 10.

AH  HA!!!