Prodigal Son Review: All Souls and Sadists (Season 1 Episode 6)

Prodigal Son Season 1 Episode 6, “A” Souls and Sadists,” is so bad it’s funny. But, I’m not laughing.

Truly, the overkill dialogue and outlandish amplification of Bright’s trauma has a satirical ring. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that the show is doing this intentionally. So, our lolz will be an unintentional benefit of the one-star episode. 

Michael Sheen as The Surgeon is still great. It is like he is on a different show, a much better one, while the rest of the cast is stranded on a watered-down and clumsy version of Hannibal. 

As the writers intend, Dr. Whitly is funny and frightening at the same time, or perhaps frightening because he is funny. 

DR. WHITLY: I’ve been exploiting others my whole life.

AINSLEY: Becuase you’re a serial killer.

DR. WHITLY: No, because I’m a white man. 

Despite Sheen’s great performance, “All Souls and Sadists,” is a landmine of dangerous messages and laughable characterization. 

Let’s get a few things straight.

• Recovering repressed memories will NOT cause you to lose your attachment to reality.
• Recovering repressed memories will NOT bring you back to your childhood trauma and trap you there.
• Remembering trauma from your past DOES NOT MAKE YOU PSYCHOTIC. 

These are incredibly dangerous messages Prodigal Son spreads about recovering from trauma. 

Unpacking and facing childhood trauma is hard, heartbreaking, painful work. It is WORK. 

The show does more than miss the opportunity to provide representations of healing from trauma through therapy, medication, mindfulness, and other evidence-based methods.

It actually sends the message that revisiting childhood trauma will turn you psychotic, but it’s okay if it helps you solve a crime. Oh, and it will. Your recovered memories will be accurate and lead you to evidence.

My blood is still boiling. 

The thing is, recovery from complex PTSD is downright dramatic so there is no need for Prodigal Son to rely on these inaccuracies.

Night terrors, pseudo-seizures, disassociation, panic attacks, suicidal ideation, flashbacks, all of these things are symptoms of complex PTSD.

It is frightening to witness and experience these things. Seeing someone who is trauma-informed bring someone out of a panic attack, ground them and calm them, is truly incredible. 

The real experiences of recovering from complex PTSD are exciting, harrowing, terrifying, hopeful, funny, tragic and full of humanity. 

The truth is enough. 

Instead of showing the truth, Prodigal Son uses tired and outdated misperceptions of trauma and mental illness. Through the character of the killer child and the angry killer in Dr. Whitly’s therapy group, the show directly ties mental illness to violence. 

Another misconception! Mental illness does NOT make you violent! 

In fact, people with mental illnesses and disabled people are much more likely to be victims of violence. 

It is crap icing on the ableist cake that the actor Prodigal Son chose to portray the “psycho killer” has a pronounced lisp. This stigmatizes disability.

People with lisps or non-normative facial features should not be coded as psychotic, violent, killers! This is very frustrating to watch. 

I adore Dr. Edrisa and her strange glee at the morose. But, her worship of Bright makes me lose respect for her as a character. 

None of these crimes are complex! Certainly, not the overkill on “All Saint and Sadists.” 

All of us who have watched a crime show, ever, have heard of overkill. Dr. Edrisa is a doctor who evaluates the cause of death.

Why in the world is Bright’s ability to literally look around the crime scene and see what everyone else can and should also see somehow warrant, “God, you’re great!” exclaimed breathlessly from Edrisa’s lips? 

It doesn’t. Bright, a criminologist who has profiled for the FBI, apparently hasn’t even done basic research on repressed memories. 

Only a satirical lens on the great privilege of being a wealthy white man makes any sense to me on Prodigal Son. 

Maybe that’s where it is going with all this? That would be a wonderful and welcome surprise. Currently, Prodigal Son is a crime scene full of violent stereotypes and dangerous messaging. 

Hopefully, they can clean it up soon. 

Crime Scene Notes

• Ainsley’s boy toy is very hot. But, it is not okay that he sexualizes her appearance on a segment where she is interviewing her DAD about MURDER. Gross. 
• Bellamy Young is a delight, but the story is weak. 
• Halston Sage is fine, but her appearance does not fit the role. She’s too sugary and young-looking. 
• Dani found that station wagon so fast! She is the real deal. I wish she had a better vehicle for her story and talents. 
• It is fun to see Sheen having so much fun. 

 

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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