The Outsider (1×05) Tear-Drinker Review

For our review of last week’s episode of The Outsider, click here.

Synopsis: After returning from an eye-opening trip to New York, Holly searches for clues at several locations connected to the Dayton case. Jeannie finds herself shaken by an unnerving incident at work and delivers an ominous warning to Ralph. Jack is put on the defensive at Tamika’s baby shower. (HBO)

In the shortest episode of the season so far, Gibney is hot on the trail of the hooded figure (for which we will now call El Coco) as his role in all of this is becoming more and more apparent. Meanwhile, the Andersons are stricken with grief just like everybody else.

Tear-Drinker started with another man afflicted by the goop being shot dead by the police. Now flash back to 3 days earlier when the same man cleaned up an abandoned house (also putting sheets on a bed spring). Anderson filled in Salomon and the others to the best of his ability on what Gibney was up to (she was arguably not the most forthcoming). Nevertheless, he continued to vouch for her and her methods. Meanwhile, Hoskins’s offerings for someone or something were not satisfactory and he was getting frustrated.

Jeannie had an incident at work, running into a hooded figure that wasn’t El Coco. She took that energy back home with her. Jeannie decided to take a nap but she did not possess the energy to get up because she was still thinking of their son who also passed away. In the middle of the night, Jeannie was surprised by El Coco who warned her that if Anderson continued his investigation (Anderson didn’t take her seriously and dismissed this as a bad dream caused by grief), the two of them would die. Meanwhile, Gibney continued to brainstorm with the same bartender about where a boogeyman or grief-eater would go, leading to a cemetery.

The earlier abandoned house belonged to Hofstadter as Gibney entered, taking pictures and noticing that someone has been living there. She took pictures of the graves of all the deceased in the Hofstadter case, finding places where El Coco could have lingered (she asked a hesitant Anderson to do the same without really providing a reason why). Gibney also found the earlier man near Hofstadter’s grave but he didn’t say all that much other than someone f***** both of them over good. Meanwhile, Anderson was distracted by the sketch Jeannie drew of the intruder which looked like the hooded figure/El Coco. While taking pictures around Maitland’s grave, he noticed that it happened to be near the infamous barn (why didn’t anyone notice that sooner?).

Hoskins continued to be weird at Detective Collins’ (Hetienne Park) baby shower (and wasn’t forthcoming with Anderson about his experience in the barn). Collins later got a dream of El Coco taking her baby but when she woke up, to a missing baby until she found it with her husband. Hoskins also apologized to Anderson and offered to help (whether this is genuine or not remains to be seen though it cut away as he started talking about the barn). Meanwhile, Gibney was ready to meet with Anderson and the others to share what she found. Before, then she spent the night with Katcavage, bouncing off ideas and more (the mysterious man me be responsible for Hofstadter’s alleged murder).

After Gibney left him, Katcavage started doing an investigation of his own. While Gibney’s car broke down, the mysterious man took a stranger hostage at gunpoint but would eventually be gunned down by the police (his gun wasn’t loaded).

The episode ended with Anderson laying down and eventually seeing his dead son telling him to let him go.

The Anderson grief subplot resurfacing kind of came out of nowhere but the mystery continues to be gripping as it continues to come together. Seeing Mendelsohn. Cynthia Erivo, Bill Camp, and others on screen together soon is something worth looking forward to.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.