Prodigal Son (2×07) Face Value Review

For our review of the last episode of Prodigal Son, click here.

Synopsis: Malcolm focuses on a case in which a famous plastic surgeon is murdered; Martin gets a new job working in the infirmary with Dr. Vivian Capshaw; Jessica is surprised to learn her younger sister is in town. (TV Guide)

If this latest episode of Prodigal Son is of any indication, perhaps Ainsley takes up more after her father after all. One can’t help but feel for Malcolm who is being torn apart over what’s been happening lately within his family, especially after the revelation that ended last week’s episode. The performances across the board were also on point. Meanwhile, a very special guest star appears in what looks to be a very promising arc.

Face Value began with a flashback of Malcolm delivering a lecture of how anyone could be a psychopath contrasted with the continuation of the events of the last episode with Ainsley showing up on Malcolm’s doorstep covered in blood with no knowledge of what had just happened. Malcolm took it particularly hard as he fumbled with what to do next to protect her. As far as he was concerned, he wanted her to keep a low profile until he figured things out. Meanwhile, after Martin’s exploits at Claremont, he was given a job at the infirmary working as a janitor under Dr. Vivian Capshaw (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Suffice it to say that their relationship did not get off to the best start but a medical emergency saw Martin and his unorthodox methods prove his worth to a still begrudging Capshaw.

Malcolm still had a case to work on but the worrying and distractions only begun (as Ainsley was obviously not going to stand down). The latest victim was a plastic surgeon who was given a lethal dose of botox and disfigured. A torturous death implied involvement from someone or something from her past. Her former partners, Dr. Flynt Donahue (Ward Horton) and Dr. Fred Chabra (Manu Narayan), informed them that their unique formulation that was used to murder the surgeon was accounted for. Squeezing the more submissive of the two, they were pointed towards one of their former obsessed clients. That journey took her to a woman named Francine Depaugh (Kristine Nielsen) who was long past her past issues with Donahue and Chabra and had created her own set up. Francine pointed her to another medical student with a troubled history named Lana Anders who was disfigured by Donahue and disgraced.

In the end, the killer was Anders who had since undergone plastic surgery to change her appearance following being disfigured to become an intern named Summer Hansen (Olivia Grant). Going back to Francine’s office, Malcolm and Dani found Lana about to administer another fatal dose in Donahue. Instead Malcolm, convinced Lana to let him live with his disfigurement.

Edrisa helped Malcolm with the Ainsley stuff. Meanwhile, Jessica’s younger sister Birdie (Rachel York) showed up out of nowhere and surprised her. The family dinner was the epitome of everything that had happened and got awkward. The reason for Birdie’s reemergence was money-related. She had written a tell-all book about Jessica and Martin but instead, Jessica had decided to writer her memoir as a means to control the narrative.

The episode ended with an epic showdown between Malcolm and Ainsley as the former learned that it was all just a prank as the blood all over her clothes was pig’s blood. She found it hilarious as it was just payback for what he did to her and she technically wasn’t wrong about him gaslighting her. Ainsley wanted to mess with his head just like Malcolm did with hers, She didn’t take the situation very seriously but little did they know, there was someone on the Endicott case as Simon Moxley (Alan Cumming) tracked down Endicott’s severed head in Estonia and was now on his way to New York City.

I cannot wait for Moxley to stir things up while the Capshaw and Martin Whitly dynamic works because of the great chemistry of Michael Sheen and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Here’s to hoping that it becomes more of a thing. That scene with Malcolm and Ainsley was also dynamite as Tom Payne and Halston Sage brought it. Too bad we have to wait for mid-April for more.

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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.