Instinct Review: After Hours/Go Figure (Season 2 Episodes 7-8)

Instinct Season 2 Episode 7 “After Hours” takes us into the world of sex clubs, but I assure you the most interesting thing we see as the audience is Dylan in a kilt as he and Lizzie both go undercover with remarkably good Scottish and Australian accents.

Despite the setting, the case itself is straightforward, and the motive almost boring considering the circumstances. More interesting are the stakes our detectives set up themselves.

This victim is not killed by the Sleeping Beauty killer, but Dylan insists the public think otherwise. Even as he explains the logic of drawing out the killer, I’m not sure I totally get it any more than Jasmine, apart from it amping up the drama.

Ryan is heavily involved in this process, and the theory that he is the very killer he hunts is getting really complicated. That continues in the next episode, so I’ll address it more then.

The bigger focus here is that guy with a podcast who claims to have interviewed Sleeping Beauty, or at least to have a voice mail of him. I still find his story a stretch, but that call into the station is rather convincing.

The relationship-focused arcs are generally status quo here, and it’s a little frustrating. Lizzie and Julian’s tension is being used for humor and Dylan and Andy have another silly argument and quickly make up.

On the bright side, we leave both ex/current couples in comfortable places, but it does feel like repeating a theme to fill a story gap. That in mind, let’s move forward to the next story on hand.

Instinct Season 2 Episode 8 “Go Figure” splits the team up, taking us both to a nearby ice rink and all the way out to Nebraska.

Besides teaching me more than I’d really like to know about just what “incels” are and how they behave, the main point of this episode’s case of the week is to act as a big red herring.

For fans of any crime drama, the immediacy with which a dead figure skater’s coach points to her competition should set off warning bells. So should the rival’s over-the-top attitude on their first meeting.

I’m more invested in the story of the two male partners being in a secret relationship than any other part of the episode. Sadly, the connection this gives two women who appear to spite each other in public plays second fiddle to murder.

The incel mentioned earlier is a much more believable lead on our way to the truth. There’s a strange mix of disgust and sympathy for him, though I’m decidedly more reluctant about the latter.

In the end, though, the killer is the coach himself, and while I might have liked to see the whiny boy do something to make him deserve justice, there’s an important lesson here about how well violence can hide itself in an outwardly friendly image.

I’d have liked to see some of the details drawn out a little more, but I’m preparing to see less of that in coming episodes as we near a finale and dedicate more time to Sleeping Beauty being our central focus.

There’s definitely something at play with how much we’re focusing both on Ryan and how he’s connecting with Dylan. I’m going back and forth on what that is on a near-whiplash pace.

There’s plenty here that could have a dismal degree of significance if Ryan turns out to be Sleeping Beauty. Meeting his parents, seeing photos of him as a child, having him continue to bond with Dylan as he struggles in town—all these scream that they’ll come back to haunt us.

They’re also all the same things that have me anxious. I worry this plot will throw itself through a hole so many other good shows have fallen into, and that we’re so focused on a reveal that there’s little thought given to the leadup.

A twist should work in the moment, but to truly believe it, we must be able to look back on all those little moments and see how they were subtly misleading us. This can be done, but I worry we’re moving away from the possibility.

Just presenting Ryan as a good guy is one thing. Seeing his anxieties and his moments alone where his passion is as steady as ever is something more. All these moments will need to be explained if he’s a manipulative murderer.

This may be done, but its hard to do well under any circumstances, and it’s even harder when there’s so much effort given to the story we’re tricked into believing.

Of course, this may all be for naught. There’s a very good chance Ryan is indeed a good guy. Maybe we’re just meant to be second-guessing ourselves at every moment. Maybe the motive is entirely different.

My other working theory is that we’re meant to bond with Ryan before he winds up murdered himself. It would both fit into a theme of his own obsession leading to his demise and would be another good explanation for all this plot.

Whatever path we go down, I’ll reserve judgement as much as possible until all is said and done. Hopefully we’re speeding toward something worth more than shock value, but there’s only one way to find out.

 

 

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Instinct airs Sundays at 9/8c on CBS.

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