Airtime: Sundays at 9PM on ABC
Episode: Season 1, Episode 6 (S01E06)
Tweetable Takeaway: Lots of twists and turns on an exciting yet frustrating #TheFamily Tweet
So many twists in this week’s episode of THE FAMLY! At the end of last week’s, we learned that Bridey’s drugstore paternity test proved that Adam wasn’t John’s son. She confronts Willa with this information. Willa says that Claire had an affair, and Adam is a product of that. He’s still her brother, just not John’s son. Thankfully, there is more to the mystery than that, because that would have been a pretty lame conclusion. Claire gets some shocking news from a doctor when Adam is hospitalized. But let’s start at the beginning.
For all the exciting twists and turns that the Adam mystery takes, the episode isn’t perfect. Too much time is spent on a boring Hank subplot. The girl who sold him the cake last episode shows up his doorstep. She’s inexplicably attracted to him and gives him her phone number. How she knew his address, but didn’t know about his troubled past is unclear. He eventually goes on the date, but freaks out when things get sexual. He later sees a doctor, who seems to be giving him voluntary sterilization shots. The whole thing is strange.
Detective Meyer goes through with her plan to use Adam as a bait to draw the pockmarked man out. He wears a shirt the man gave him and tells the reporters waiting outside his house that he’s going to get a burger at the mall. The pockmarked man does indeed show up, staring Adam down. When Adam begins freaking out, he takes off. The FBI swarm the area, but are too late. The pockmarked man slips out with his wife, who was in a baby store. So frustrating! The FBI weren’t supposed to let anyone leave the mall! Do your jobs!
Adam is taken to the hospital. He has an intestinal blockage and requires minor surgery. A nurse delivers flowers to the room, but they’re addressed to a Ben, not Adam, so Claire gives them back to her. A doctor shows Claire X-rays of Adam’s surgery. The blockage was right underneath the appendix. Claire is in disbelief. Adam had his appendix removed when he was five years old. She realizes with creeping horror that the sleeping boy in the bed isn’t her son.
There are some flashbacks to ten years ago. We see that the pockmarked man lured Adam away from the crowd with his cute dog and then stashed him in a soundproof chest on the back of his truck. He then ate dinner with his then girlfriend, now wife. It was smart of him not to flee the scene, as no one would suspect that someone would be hiding Adam essentially in plain sight, but slightly unbelievable. How did he get him in the chest without anyone noticing?
At the police station, Agent Clements tells Detective Meyer that they recovered the jacket the pockmarked man threw in the trash. She later finds dog hair on it. They review security footage from the mall when Detective Meyer spots something suspicious. She recognizes the pockmarked man’s wife, as she interviewed her about the bunker and the oil refinery. I’m glad the police are finally shown as competent, but isn’t the mystery solved now? She’ll go to talk to her, ask about the men in her life, and come face to face with the pockmarked man. I’m not sure how they’re going to drag this out for six more episodes.
Meanwhile, Willa has been hiding under desk at Claire’s campaign headquarters. Bridey’s news has sent her into a tailspin. Danny takes her out for a drink and she drunkenly hooks up with Bridey. As much as I dislike Bridey, I’m glad Willa got some. The poor girl is so tightly wound; she deserves a little happiness. She goes home to a distraught Claire, who asks if she knows who Ben is. Willa breaks down. She clearly recognizes the name, and Claire accuses her of having done something. What?! How did Willa orchestrate this? I’m excited to see just how deep this conspiracy goes.
At the very end of the episode, we see that Adam wasn’t alone in the bunker. There was another boy down there—the mysterious Ben, who is now pretending to be Adam. It’s a great reveal, but sad. The real Adam has to be dead, right? We still have half a season left, so I’m sure even more layers and lies will be exposed.
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Jennifer Trofa lives for two things: spreading the “Superstore” gospel and themed “Law & Order: SVU” marathons on USA. When she’s not binge-watching her favorite shows, she’s reading any book she can get her hands on.
Twitter: @jtrof
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Jennifer Trofa | Contributor
