‘Prodigal Son’ Season 1 Premiere ‘Pilot’ Review: Like Father Like Son

Just like having a little too much caffeine, the Prodigal Son’s debut episode sends your heart thumping around your chest like a manic rabbit. It’s not that it’s just plainly terrifying, but it sweeps you into the mania. And I think that can be attributed to Tom Payne and Michael Sheen’s bone-chilling performances. From the get-go, Sheen just gives you the creeps. That smile of his that gave him that angelic countenance in Good Omens is now an unsettling sight to see. Payne, on the other hand, just fits the titular character of Malcolm Bright like a glove. And its this tension between them, that undeniable connection, that makes the Prodigal Son intriguing.

In the Prodigal Son’s premiere episode, the son of the serial killer The Surgeon/ Dr. Martin Whitly and acclaimed criminal profiler Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) is fired from the FBI. Soon, he’s drawn back into the life and minds of serial killers when he’s called by the NYPD to profile a killer who was copying his dad. Inevitably, this causes him to reconnect with his father who he hasn’t seen in 10 years. And just like that, Bright is plunged back into the cage he has so struggled to escape ever since he was a child.

The Copycat

On one mission, Bright is sent to catch the serial killer Claude Springer. When they proceed to scour the slaughterhouse he’s in, Springer catches Bright and hides him away with his other hostages. Upon waking up, Bright uses his profiling knowledge to calm the man down. Just as the man puts his gun down, he’s shot from behind by one of the cops. This ruffles Bright and he knocks the cop down with one good punch. That and the FBI’s diagnosis of his apparent psychotic inclinations due to his complex PTSD and narcissistic tendencies was all it took to get him fired from his job. As Bright stands to surrender his badge, he advises the panel, “Next time you call someone crazy, ask for their gun first.”

Fox

After losing his job, Bright returns to New York. There, he’s swept up by NYPD inspector Gil Arroyo (Lou Diamond Phillips) to a high profile case in the city. Thinking like the killer, Bright immediately maps out the events preceding the murder. He recounts that the victim was taken by surprise and was injected with a paralytic before she died. As he gets deeper into the details, it dawns on him that this killer was copying his dad. More specifically, the killer was mimicking the quartet, a series of killings The Surgeon committed in ’92 designed as an experiment to find the most agonizing ways to kill someone.

The Quartet

In the morgue, Bright and the others find the three women that have been murdered by The Surgeon’s copycat have similar bondage markings on their arms. But, these markings consistent of BDSM have all been done days before the women’s death. This leads the team to conclude that maybe the latest victim was waiting for a dom.  After a quick search, Bright and detectives Dani Powell (Aurora Perrineau) and JT Tarmel (Frank Harts) turn up at Nico Stavros’ (James Cusati-Moyer) apartment. Unfortunately, he’s not answering either his phone or the door so they break their way in.

Inside, they find the copycat’s equipment and poor Nico locked to a chair with a ticking bomb underneath. Suddenly, the killer shoots at them from the shadows and makes a run for it. Dani immediately takes off after him but loses him in the streets. Meanwhile, with no other means to break the lock binding Nico to the chair, Bright picks up an ax from the equipment. And with a few seconds to spare, he chops off Nico’s hand, releasing him, and allowing them to run out of the apartment before it explodes.  Down on the streets, Dani meets them immediately noticing that Bright is seemingly dazed and even bordering on euphoric.

Back at the precinct, Bright gives his profile of the killer. According to him, the killer is a bald, white, smart, rich, and romantic male that is bent on revenge. Before he could further discuss his profile though, he is called to a little petite soiree with his mother and sister. And there, Bright’s mother Jessica (Bellamy Young) warns him not to visit his father again. Contrary to her carefree and socialite initial introduction, Jessica is as haunted by her husband’s murders as Bright.

The Doctor

Falling asleep at the precinct, Bright is plagued by night terrors about his dad. This particular one is about the time he discovers a body in one of his dad’s suitcases when he was just a little boy. Promptly terrifying him then and now, Bright springs out of his chair asleep and tackles Dani who was headed his way to check on him. No wonder he shackled himself to his bed whenever he slept.

The next morning, Gil indirectly excuses Bright’s little slip and presents drawings made by the surgeon himself about the quartet that was found left behind by the copycat. This is what pushes Bright to finally pay that visit to his dad. Quickly swatting any attempts of pleasant conversation from Dr. Whitley, Bright immediately presents the drawings. Whitley denies helping the killer and even voluntarily presents the journal from where the drawings were torn from. After making quick connections, Bright deduces that the killer must be one of his dad’s patients. And after searching, he comes down to two files both fitting his profile. He could only choose the right one with his dad’s help.

Dr. Whitley hesitates and Bright immediately sees why. The old doctor is afraid of his son walking back out that door again never to return. Using this as leverage, Bright promises to come back if Whitley helped him. And Whitley plucks out the rich developer Carter Berkhead’s (Michael Cerveris) file.

The Surgeon’s Prodigal Son

With a suspect clear in their eyes, Bright and the NYPD invade Berkhead’s socialite party. Dani finds Berkhead’s wife and the two women enter a more private room to talk. Suddenly, Carter sneaks up on Dani and knocks her out.

With Dani down, Carter aims a gun at her. But, Bright rushes in just in the nick of time. He tries to soothe Carter by empathizing with the killer. Then, Dani attempts to take a stab at Carter with a small pocket knife. Unfortunately for her, Carter’s quick. This gave just the right amount of distraction for Bright to grab the syringe full of paralyzing drugs though and dig it into his skin.

With the syringe ready in place, Bright begs Carter to finish the quartet. But, Carter refuses not deeming Bright worthy. Almost manically, Bright insists that he does confessing that he is the son of The Surgeon. He changed his name and became a profiler to get away from his dad thinking he was afraid of him, but in reality, Bright was afraid of himself. Seemingly convinced, Carter places his hand on the syringe. Suddenly, a shot echoes and he falls to the floor wounded by Gil’s bullet.

‘We’re the same’

Later on, with Bright’s true identity out in the open, Dani and JT ask Gil for an explanation. Apparently, back in ’98, Gil was sent to the Whitley’s to sort out what they thought was a prank call from a kid. Dr. Whitley graciously let him in and even prepared tea. But, as Gil waited in the foyer, a young Bright inconspicuously warned him telling him to bring out his gun because his dad was going to kill him. At that moment, Gil remembered that The Surgeon used tea laced with ketamine to tranquilize his victims. That same night, The Surgeon was caught, his very own son being the one responsible for the call that did him in.

Fox

After the case, Bright visits his dad, staying true to his word. There, he wonders if his dad simply orchestrated the whole thing to get him back. But, of course, Whitley denies it. Instead, he soothingly tries to convince Bright to let him back into his life to help him solve cases together. Without a definite answer, Bright simply bids goodbye to Dr. Whitley. As he walks away, Whitley’s lips curl to a small fond smile as he utters the words “My boy.”

‘Prodigal Son’ Season 1 Premiere Overall Verdict

From the Prodigal Son’s trailer in itself, I was strongly reminded of Hannibal. At this point, both shows feature the same narrative—a serial killer and the making of his protege. However, while Hannibal was the very picture of elegance despite its grotesque topic, Prodigal Son is gritty and often messy. It’s understandable though given that it’s the pilot episode.

Although some parts of the show were easily generic, what’s gripping about it was the narrative of the relationship between the serial killer and his son. It just draws you in. And with great actors like Sheen and Payne taking the lead, there remains to be a great hope for Prodigal Son to come from under other serial killer shows’ shadows.

Prodigal Son continues next Monday, September 30th, with the “Annihilator” at 9/8c on Fox.