Prodigal Son Review: Family Friend (Season 1 Episode 8)

Finally, someone has the gosh darn sense to push Bright out of the lead seat! I like FBI agent Collette Swanson already!

In fact, Prodigal Son should take her lead and boot Bright out of the top spot on the show.

He is the blatant weak link on Prodigal Son Season 1 Episode 8, “Family Friend,” as the character and performance are overcooked, bland, and illogical. 

While “Family Friend,” walks back nearly all of the forward progress made on Prodigal Son Season 1 Episode 7, “Q&A,” there are several nuggets of goodness on the episode. 

First is the inclusion of Meagan Good to the cast!

Even the two-second stare we get from Good’s character Colette Swanson at the close of the episode imbibes some much-needed counter to Bright’s dominance. It is a relief that there will be a woman of color at the helm to provide a new perspective and call out some of the narcissistic shenanigans that have been able to fly on the squad. 

Goody, goody!

Another smart move “Family Friend,” makes is to continue the multi-episode arc for the serial killer case.

This works so much better than the case of the week approach. Not only does it allow for some cliff hangers and suspense building, but it also allows characters to develop more deeply as they go through the process of hits and misses.

The Junkyard Killer is a fascinating case. The ties to Martin Whitly and Bright’s childhood enrich the mystery of the killer and his MO. 

While the show as a whole needs to de-center Bright, he does belong in the story. His part is fascinating, it is just not the strongest lens. 

Dani, Jessica, Gil or Edrisa would provide a much better perspective and heartbeat for the show. 

Speaking of Gil and Jessica, I ship it!

They are pure fire together and I don’t want it to be put out. 

Bellamy Young shines as Jessica Whitly on the episode. Her frantic and manic reaction to the call from a so-called family friend gives us a glimpse into the crumbling facade she has built around herself. 

Gil is protective, calm, and assuring. He doesn’t judge her or minimize her pain. 

What he does do, and this is his gift as a detective, is reframe what she is going through to emphasize her strengths. He is quiet, but Gil’s passion for Jessica is screaming. And it’s not just because he sees Bright as his son. There is more to it than that. 

When we get a chance to see Gil and Jessica together under normal (i.e. not murder related) circumstances it is going to be fun, fun, fun. 

Malcolm Bright continually making brash and selfish decisions that put the entire team in jeopardy is the opposite of fun. The rogue detective has been done over and over again, with far more finesse. 

It’s tired. 

In addition to his irresponsible and rude choices to go after the killer without back-up and bust open the buried RV without regard to potential traps, Bright does things that just don’t make sense. 

When Eve rings at Bright’s apartment, he buzzes her in and opens the door BEFORE HE PUTS ON HIS SHIRT. 

No one who lives in New York just opens their door before someone is up the stairs. And, if you need to get dressed and finish up putting somethings away, you simply say, “Sure, come on up. I’m just finishing up a couple of things and will be at the door in a minute.”

It is eye-roll level obvious that the entire scene is to set up Eve seeing Bright with his shirt off and therefore lighting a fire between them. 

It is poorly executed and unclear why there needs to be another potential love interest for Bright when there are already two on the show, Edrisa and Dani. 

Ainsley has some wonderful potential as a character. However, Prodigal Son needs to give her more “why.” 

She is driven to get the story, but WHY? 

It is not enough that she just wants to succeed for succeeding’s sake. She needs to have an internal motivation that is related to a universal theme of justice, love, revenge, power, or something else compelling. 

So far, she just repeats that she wants a good story. That is overly simplistic and boring motivation. She needs more salty content. 

Prodigal Son has a winter break coming up at it is the perfect time to make some needed adjustments to the series. 

Case Notes

• Frank Harts’ delivery of, “I definitely do not know how business managers are,” is perfection. 
• MORE KEIKO AGENA
• Jessica breaking down to Eve is actually really sweet. She needs a friend. I’m not sure she can trust Eve, but I’m glad she was there for her at a low moment. 
• Dani’s connection to the Bronx seems to have left the building. Odd.
• Father Leo’s ambivalence about all his hard work is so very relatable to those of us in social work. 
• The charm bracelet is a really cool lead with a ton of story potential! 

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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