Prodigal Son Review: Pilot (Season 1 Episode 1)

Prodigal Son Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” asks us to climb into the minds of a serial killer and the brilliant, but troubled, rebel who will catch the killer. 

I have fatigue from all this climbing. 

Truly, Prodigal Son has a big task ahead of it because the TV landscape is saturated with shows that offer lengthy studies of murderous psychopaths and the grumpy guys who “get them.” 

Unbelievable on Netflix is so refreshing and profound because it shifts the focus away from the perpetrator and onto the victims and the broken systems that fail them. 

Prodigal Son is strongest when it focuses on Bright as a victim of his childhood. That perspective, rather than his particular skill at understanding how murders think, is what the show can offer that is new and not so tiring. 

The pilot episode misses with its leading man. But, the supporting cast is good enough and interesting enough to provide hope for the season. 

When you have the talent of Michael Sheen and Lou Diamond Phillips on your cast as supporting characters, the lead actor needs to be upper echelon excellent. 

Unfortunately, Tom Payne as Malcolm Bright doesn’t reach the admittedly high bar.

His performance is overly dramatic and unnatural. Part of that is the writing, which has Bright throwing a temper tantrum at a group of FBI agents, including a Black woman because he is rightfully fired for putting people’s lives in danger. 

His costuming, mannerisms and accent are just off and pull the viewer out of the story.

There is a point on the pilot when Bright is arguing with his mom and he has a pseudo-British accent for a second. The Madonna move is jarring and undermines the emotional impact of the scene. 

Again, the excellence of the other actors on the cast highlight Payne’s more novice skills. Luckily, this is not an unfixable issue and I think that Payne will relax into his character as the season goes on. 

Payne does have chemistry with Sheen, who plays Bright’s serial killer papa, The Surgeon, and Phillips, who plays Detective Gil Arroyo. 

Most significantly, though, Payne has excellent chemistry with Aurora Perrineau’s character Dani. Itty bitty arm touches send sparks shooting across the screen. 

I’m not sure if they’re romantic sparks just yet. All I know is I feel the fire and it burns so good. 

There are other compelling bits to the show that we will get to shortly. But first, I have a bone to pick with Prodigal Son in regards to representation.

The lead character is a cis straight (presumably, based on tension with Dani) wealthy white man. The Surgeon is a cis straight wealthy white man. They are both geniuses. 

There are non-white characters. Detective Arroyo, Dani, JT, and Dr. Guilfoyle are all BIPOC. That is wonderful. 

What is not wonderful is that the Black and Brown characters are the cops, the Asian character is a low-status doctor, and three of the four white characters are in professional/graduate-level jobs. 

This matters because it contributes to the stereotype that Black and Latinx appearing people are only good for their physical contributions in the workplace.

They work hard but aren’t so bright as well, people like Bright. The Surgeon and Bright have complex psyches that can fuel an entire season of episodes. Whereas, the psyches of the cops who help the central white man aren’t as complex. 

The BIPOC need the white savior. 

It’s a harmful stereotype that the show seems to wholeheartedly lean into. 

Likewise, the use of Dr. Gilfoyle as the capable and brilliant, but socially awkward doctor, bolsters the stereotype that Asian people are all brainiacs, and nothing more. 

These portrayals hurt BIPOC because they make us seem less human and therefore easier to hurt and dismiss than white people. 

It is frustrating to see because the casting could have so easily been different. Michael Sheen needs to play The Surgeon. He is excellent and the part is perfect. 

Bellamy Young as Jessica Whitley, however, is not as imperative. Young does a good job, but she could have played another role on the show, perhaps Detective Arroyo’s mysterious Jackie. 

Jessica could have been cast as a BIWOC and that would have uprooted some of the racial stereotypes. 

Bright as a mixed-race character who doesn’t look like his dad, but fears becoming him, all the same, is a darn interesting possibility. 

The stereotypes hurt people and that is the most important reason to avoid them. But, another very valid reason is that they lead to boring storytelling!

Part of the fatigue I mention at the top of this review is from doing all that climbing into the same kind of mind. Not all criminal profilers are rich white guys! And the news, media, politics, is vastly oversaturated with the white male perspective and I AM SO BORED. 

Prodigal Son can’t go back and change the casting. But, they could consider investing as much time, attention, and development on the complex psyches of the supporting characters. If they care to, the writing team can work to address the tropes present on the pilot. 

I truly hope they do because there are several great aspects of Prodigal Son. 

Michael Sheen is perfection as Dr. Martin Whitly. The writing for his character is stellar and manages to find a new kind of creepy. 

DR. MARTIN WHILY: There’s no such thing as monsters.

He is in a cage because of his extreme violence, but he also makes dad jokes. He genuinely pulls off dorky dad and deranged killer at the same dang time. 

I love it and I am super excited to see him and Detective Arroyo face off. 

Phillps as Detective Arroyo is also excellent. His performance is grounded and brings needed tension to the story. The procedural element of the series is not off to a great start, the whole copy cat murder mystery is mostly lost in translation, but it doesn’t really matter because Arroyo makes you care about the team. 

It is more important that we care about the relationships between JT, Dani, and Bright than about the details of the case of the week. 

Phillips performance is the glue and glitter to those relationships; he makes them stick and shine. 

Perrineau as Dani gets off to a rough start with her gum-smacking elevator introduction. However, by the end of the episode, her compassion and patience have become very salient and her character is a more full and interesting presence.

Her eyes are very expressive and the directing on the episode takes advantage of them. We see an emotional depth and it helps to re-center the show after the ridiculous hand-chopping scenes.  

My absolute favorite moments on the episode are when Dani and Bright are touching. It is a strange thing to stand out so much, but it really does. 

When Bright awakens from his night terror, he hugs Dani tightly and sincerely. That is the second I start to actually care about him. 

Then, when Dani is working with Bright at the gala and she touches his arm in an almost protective way, I gasp. It is so freaking tender.

Gestures are underrated. Prodigal Son harnesses their power and uses them to show us who the characters are. I love it!

The final thing about Prodigal Son that is going to keep me watching is the way it explores Bright’s complex PTSD. 

Bright uses a night guard and restraints when he sleeps because of the intensity of his night terrors. He experiences vivid flashbacks that seem to turn into panic attacks. He has trouble with empathy and is extremely impulsive. 

These are very real symptoms of complex PTSD. 

We also get to see how Bright is dealing with the fuzzy and difficult nature of his memory He doesn’t always know what’s real. 

That is fascinating. 

I am eager to go on the journey with Bright as he unpacks his trauma and hopefully finds some healing with the support of his NYPD team.

Prodigal Son is bound to get better with time and I am excited to see the progress. 

Case Notes

• “Ains” sounds too much like “anus” to be a decent nickname. 
• Getting a house cleaner to wipe down your son’s restraints is next level helicopter parenting. 
• Jessica Whitly is FUNNY. She watches her daughter’s news reports but, NOT WITH THE SOUND ON. I die. 
• I love when Arroyo touches his ring as he mentions Jackie. A well-used gesture. 
• It has been way too long since I’ve had Keiko Agena on my screen each week. Her “and you’re very slender,” line makes me laugh out loud. 
• Dr. Whitly is just straight-up doing black-market surgeries out of his cell and no one bats an eye. That’s so New York.

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

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Prodigal Son airs Mondays at 9/8c on Fox.

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