Instinct Review: One-of-a-Kind (Season 2 Episode 6)

On Instinct Season 2 Episode 6 “One-of-a-Kind,” bodies turn up in art installations and the Sleeping Beauty case gets messy.

All shows juggle episodic and ongoing character plots. This is especially true of crime dramas, and some do it better than others. So far, Instinct has been managing their balance well, but things are still getting a bit chaotic.

The Sleeping Beauty case stretches on but has not yet taken over the department enough to stop other cases being investigated. As Dylan would pass up multiple victims placed on public display anyway.

While these kinds of stories come at a rapid pace, they are so far being given the care they deserve. The twists that the anonymous “Ace” is himself the body found in his art, and that “he” is actually “they”—a group of three—are both well done.

I’m a bit more iffy about learning that the third part of the trio killed his partners over their desire to go public. It’s been done, and Paul is just another man so desperate for notoriety that he’ll kill for the sake of pride.

Once case solved still leaves us with another that won’t wrap anytime soon. I’m pretty sure now that the writers want “that” question of whether Ryan is secretly the killer to at least be in the back of our minds.

For now, it’s more believable on some levels than on others. Having the words “Sleeping Beauty” scrawled in his hotel room, already sight of an assault, is a pretty obvious sign that he’s either being threatened or something much darker. Is it too obvious?

Whether with detectives or on his own, Ryan is showing a dedication bordering on obsession for solving this case. If we do go down the “secret killer” route, I worry about unaddressed holes in the story we are told after the revelation is made.

If this twist works, it will be solely because of how it is handled. I can’t say the possibility is one I’m looking forward to, as much because it can fall flat as because, at least for now, I still like Ryan as much as Dylan does.

One person Dylan doesn’t like as much is his new editor. Though many fans, myself included, have been assuming that Joan is absent this season, it’s a bit disappointing to see that confirmed. If nothing else, we need someone who can set Dylan off his game when necessary.

To be fair, the new editor eventually achieves much the same by telling our protagonist he’ll wait as long as it takes for a new book to be ready. This either means Dylan will have no more excuses, or (more likely,) we’ll never hear mention of a book again.

The adoption plot is on the backburner here, save only for the mention that the happy couple has started to panic over everything parenting means. Cliché, sure, but still cute.

I’m still having a hard time relating to the Lizzie/Julian drama that’s more prevalent following their breakup in the previous episode. The conversations about secrets feel circular, with little progress being made for anyone.

I can’t decide if I want these two to make a go of it again or not. I feel for them both, but with so much effort explaining their fundamental differences in work and viewpoints, any relationship could feel forced.

They may be meant to be with different people. If not, I hope the plot gives us a long path to reconciling their differences rather than just sweeping them under the rug. Love can fix many things, even a tedious plot—but we need to see the effort.

 

 

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Instinct airs Sundays at 9/10c on CBS.

 

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