‘Prodigal Son’ Season 1, Episode 4 ‘Designer Complicity’ Review: Evidence Unveiled

Well, that was a little disappointing. This week’s episode on Prodigal Son finally went head-on for Malcolm (Tom Payne) and Jessica’s (Bellamy Young) relationship and the suspicions that are tearing them apart. However, as much as I liked that touch of emotion in there (especially on Payne’s part) the episode could’ve wrapped that part of the narrative much better. I do have suspicions that that isn’t the end of the persecution of this relationship in the Prodigal Son so I’m still holding my hopes out for it.

On the other hand, as uninteresting as the presented case is, the show has managed to put out another intriguing aspect to it in the character of Halston Sage’s Ainsley Whitly. For the past few episodes, she’s been a sideliner. But, it seems that she’ll be taking on a bigger role now. And I’m very interested to see what her story is going to be. For now, let’s dive into this week’s infatuation fiasco.

The Blue Bath

This week’s episode of Prodigal Son begins with Malcolm checking himself back in with his psychologist. His tremors have gone out of his control and his suspicions about his mother being complicit to his father’s crimes are making him frantic. However, no matter what his psychologist says, he refuses to listen. Instead, he prefers to dive headfirst into work. Luckily, Gil (Lou Diamond Philips) has just the case for him: Tatiana, the girl in the blue bath.

Peter Kraemer/FOX

Tatiana, a rising Instagram model, was found dead in a bizarre setup at her apartment. And since JT (Frank Harts) was a fan, he realizes that the setup was replicating the first ad campaign Tatiana did for designer Axel X (Julian Elijah Martinez). And just in time, Axel X himself (who turns out to be Tatiana’s boyfriend) arrives at the scene with his staff.

After calming down Axel’s insistent demands to see Tatiana, Malcolm and Gil find out that the girl has been a magnet for stalkers. When Malcolm mentions the setup of Tatiana’s death, Axel freezes. Without hesitance, Malcolm strikes that little moment of suspicion and comes in hot with the questions. Before Axel could say anything that could incriminate him, his bodyguard Joey herds him away.

Gil immediately picks up that something’s wrong with Malcolm. Instead of explaining, Malcolm asks to see his mother’s interview tapes from the time his father was arrested. As expected, Gil refuses. Later that night, Malcolm discovers that Jessica has once again come into his apartment uninvited. She informs him that Dr. Whitly has taken him off his visitor’s list at her urging, of course. From this, the conversation quickly goes sour. Malcolm’s suspicions finally come to the rise and he accuses his mother face to face of being complicit to Dr. Whitly’s murders. And Jessica storms out without clearing up any of the mystery.

The Stalker

Malcolm tries to weasel the truth out of his father. But, for the first time, Dr. Whitley (Michael Sheen) wants nothing to do with both Malcolm and the issue at hand. Bringing himself back to work, Malcolm lays out that the killer is a stalker obsessed with Tatiana. And they have a list of that. But, their work is made easier when JT finds out that her fans are conducting a memorial for her.

Peter Kraemer/FOX

At the memorial, JT and Malcolm pick up Roger, Tatiana’s paparazzi. They bring him in for questioning. And in one of the cringiest moments of Prodigal Son, the two start acting like the bad cops. Nevertheless, the only thing they get out of Roger is that he knew something about Axel and Tatiana. But, Roger wouldn’t reveal it because that would be admitting to violating the restraining order Tatiana filed against him. Without enough evidence to hold him, the NYPD sets Roger loose.

Later that night, however, Malcolm follows Roger on an undercover mission and tries to manipulate him into telling the truth. He even shows him Tatiana’s post-mortem picture showing the strangulation marks on her neck. However, Roger wouldn’t really give. Just as he turns the corner, a car runs into him and Malcolm rushes to call an ambulance. At the hospital, Malcolm gives his mission a second go. Making Roger think that he’s dying even though he’s not, the sly fox succeeds and tricks the guy into giving him his SD card.

The Red Dress

Meanwhile, Malcolm’s words from their nuclear argument have clearly bothered Jessica. Searching through her closet, she finds the red dress Malcolm reminded her she was wearing the night she caught him. As she remembers, earlier on before she caught Malcolm, she had an argument with Dr. Whitly. She was pleading for him to stop what he was doing for the sake of their family. But, in the end, Dr. Whitly turns the tables on her. As he says, the decision to keep their perfect little life doesn’t rely on him. It’s on her.

Peter Kraemer/FOX

Later on, Ainsley discovers her mother as a drunken mess in her room. And as it turns out, the youngest Whitly has had enough of being ignored in the family. Everyone’s centering on Malcolm as they spiral down because of Dr. Whitly. And as Ainsley notes, she might just be the only one who can handle talking to their dad. In the heat of the moment, she even threatens to ask Dr. Whitly for help to boost her career with a serial killer exclusive. When Jessica mentions that Dr. Whitly is her biggest fan, it encourages Ainsley even further.

The Designer

Back at the precinct, the team finds that Roger’s SD card has pictures of Axel and Tatiana in a heated argument. As it turns out, Tatiana was leaving Axel for another fashion brand and he did not like it. As the team continues the discussion about the stalker, however, Malcolm realizes that it’s not Tatiana who had a stalker. It was Axel. Someone was obsessed enough with Axel that he was willing to do whatever it takes to please him. That includes killing the ex who broke his heart and attacking the photographer who knew too much. That’s also the reason Axel froze when he knew about the blue bath. He knows the killer. It’s someone in his crew.

Peter Kraemer/FOX

Luckily, that same night, Axel has a launch party going on. Being the most suited for the occasion, Malcolm gets in and warns Axel. They step outside and Malcolm somehow manages to get Axel to admit that he knew it was Joey, his bodyguard, all along. Before Malcolm can convince Axel to leave, Joey steps out of the building and takes it from there. Being the coward he is, Axel leaves Malcolm for dead. What Joey didn’t know was that it was all a trap to lure him out. Once he had a gun to Malcolm’s head, Gil and the rest of the team comes to the rescue.

A Wife’s Guilt

After the case, Gil finally gives in to Malcolm and hands over Jessica’s interview tape. As it turns out, Jessica is innocent. She was suspicious, yes, but only because she thought her husband was cheating on her. And she blames herself more than anybody for those people’s deaths. As Malcolm realizes, she simply hid it away for him and Ainsley.

Peter Kraemer/FOX

Later on, Malcolm finds his mother on one of her charity works. For what seems like a first, he apologizes. In turn, Jessica does the same also explaining that towards the time of Dr. Whitly’s arrest, she has been drowning herself in alcohol. That’s the reason she couldn’t take her son’s accusation towards his father seriously. Now, Malcolm vows not to let Dr. Whitly between their family again. As he’s making those promises, however, Ainsley is making her own visit to their father. And by Dr. Whitly’s smile, it seems like he has found another family member to sink his claws into.

Prodigal Son continues Monday, October 21st, with “The Trip” at 9/8c on Fox.