Rectify Review: Thrill Ride (Season 3 Episode 2)

Daniel is, essentially, in his own purgatory.

On this week’s episode of Rectify, “Thrill Ride,” he’s no longer welcome in his mother’s home, but it isn’t time for him to leave the state just yet. He’s still trying to figure out how to function in this world, and finds himself at a complete loss while living at his sister’s apartment.

After literally asking himself over and over, “what should I do?” he decides to make dinner for his sister. It’s what he does best – trying to offer kind gestures to help the women in his life, but ultimately being rejected.

Everything about watching Daniel cook is fantastic. He seems happy, which I think comes mostly from the fact that he feels he has purpose. He prepares a nostalgic meal that he treats as a fancy affair when Amantha comes home from work. He presents her with “all beef franks with a chili topping, a side of the tater tots, and chef’s surprise for dessert” after gushing about the classical music Amantha arrives home to hear him blasting from the stereo.

Amantha is mildly receptive to the nostalgic dinner at first, which is apparently the only thing she used to eat as a child. But she lashes out, and hard, after only a few moments, leaving Daniel to sit alone at the dinner table. It’s a lot like everything he tried to do with the kitchen for his mother, including the gift of that oven. His intentions are thoughtful and good, but aren’t met with the kind of reaction he obviously hopes for.

We really don’t know if Daniel committed that murder, but we have seen that he has a dark side – a violent side. Still, he has more good in him than anything else, so it’s heartbreaking to watch him try making those kinds connections and fail.

You can’t fault Amantha here, though. Amantha has accepted Daniel into her home because she loves him. But the fact remains, she’s also let him ruin her. She feels displaced and in her own version of purgatory in this episode, as her new found job is threatened with the return of Peanut (who says she had an “epidermis” to help with the pain during child birth. I hope we see more of Peanut. I really do).

She is a little more frazzled and unkempt than usual as she begins her journey to figure out who she is outside of her brother – and, maybe likewise, outside of Jon Stern.

Jon, by the way, is still trying to do whatever he can to help Daniel and the family. He’s a comforting presence for Janet, and he also offers a bit of hope with his idea of where Daniel should go when he leaves Georgia. He’s done research and found a place that helps prisoners adjust to life in the outside world – something Daniel is going to need more than ever if his family isn’t going to be around.

Also on his own journey in this episode, both literally and figuratively, is Teddy. Teddy shows yet another side of himself as he tells his brother, Jared, the story of his first time. As he tells the story of the girl’s reputation and the details of their date, it sounds as though he’s about to confess to raping her. Even though that’s not the case, technically, he wore the girl down until she finally gave in.

He tells his brother how he kept saying “pretty, pretty please,” because he really just wanted to get his first time over with. It’s an uncomfortable scene that lets us see more of how Teddy actually views himself. The point is that he wants his brother to be different – and it’s already pretty clear that he is.

Other Thoughts:

• Tawney sees a counselor and admits feeling relieved by her miscarriage. She also suggests the same side of Teddy that he tells Jared about.
• Daniel somehow manages to keep a sense of humor. For example, Amantha says “Jesus,” when he surprises her. His response? “Nope. Daniel.”

What did you think of this episode of Rectify? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Rectify airs Thursdays at 10/9c on SundanceTV.