Hard Sun - S1E4 - Can You Hear Him Now

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Previously on Hard Sun, “Luke 21:25″

This episode begins with Elaine enjoying another dalliance with Will. We learn Elaine not only sports low maintenance hair, she also doesn’t go out of her way to wear a matching bra and panty set when meeting up with a ‘friend’.  She is refreshing; if only her life wasn’t so bleak.

Too soon she is called to the crime scene where we ended last episode. The killer murdered the entire TV crew. While she is assessing the crime, Will heads home singing “Blue Moon” and soon is held by the masked killer at knife point. I was confused at first and wondered why the killer targeted Elaine’s Boo, then I realized it was because Will broke the Hard Sun story. He ties Will up for a bit, and then gives Will his manifesto filmed before he killed the cameraman. Will debates using the video for a moment, then decides he wants the publicity, and he calls his former boss at a tabloid. Later in the episode, it is reinforced  that Elaine and Will use each other to get the things they need. Grace Morrigan seems to realize that as well, and Will is off her radar for the moment.

Grace and Hicks meet up and she pushes him to get her the flash drive. During their interactions, Grace frequently says disparaging, over-the-top remarks about Renko. I think she is trying to bait Charlie Hicks to see if he has any loyalty to his partner, or to keep him from trusting Renko. She says: “She’s like a feral cat, you don’t want that thing stalking you.”

As a result of their chat, Hicks manages to get a copy of Renko’s original rape complaint. The file says that a teacher assaulted 14-year-old Renko. Some intimations are made that maybe it was a sort of ‘consensual’ affair and because of that no charges came to fruition. To be clear, 14-year-olds cannot consent to relationships with adults. Hicks thinks maybe Renko is still in contact with Daniel’s father and has given him the flash drive. The episode ends with Daniel reading the file and walking out of the hospital. I don’t understand how giving him the file will help retrieve the flash drive.

While Hicks is off with Grace, Elaine is working on finding out who killed Hicks’s partner Butler. Because she has told her boss Hicks is innocent, Roland Bell gives her an ultimatum. She needs to find out who killed Butler or her son will go from the hospital to prison. Elaine meets with Butler’s wife who claims she had nothing whatsoever to do with her husband’s death. Elaine lets her know Hicks is the prime suspect. Mari Butler repeats that she knows nothing. Elaine acts extremely concerned and worried about Hicks. This seems hard to believe. Is Renko’s devotion to Hicks an act?

Thanks to the assistance of DS George Mooney, who realizes a copycat killer is at large, our duo catch the Good Samaritan Killer. When they finally nab the bad guy, Renko gets beaten up again. We almost made it through a whole episode without a man hitting Renko. Almost.

What I Liked

There is a tight shot of a photo of the Good Samaritan Killer, then the camera pulls away as a counter terrorism officer pins the photo to an enormous corkboard upon which we see a periodic table of potential terrorists.

The episode is fast-paced, has some nice fake outs and snappy dialogue. A few of my favorite lines are

Hicks asks Renko if she is taking compassionate leave for the day and Renko says: “Not on my Nelly.”

Hicks is talking to his daughter, who is worried about the Good Samaritan Killer coming into her school, “like happens in America” which is too true. Then she calls the killer “well fearsome.”

Renko asks Hicks if he has a plan to catch the killer, and Hicks says he plans to use the priest to “tickle him out like a trout… unethically.”

What I Want to Know

Is this the end of the line for The Good Samaritan Killer and Father Dennis? Or will they be back?

What was the meaning of that montage at the end? Hicks comes home and gets a cookie while his girlfriend cries over her dead husband? And what is it Renko is doing? Contemplating who killed Butler? Wondering if Will has blocked her texts?

What’s Next

Daniel is heading to see his father. What is he going to do when he finds him? How will this help Grace get the flash drive?

What I Googled

Clearly I’m not British.

My favorite end of the world song