Thursday, April 23, 2015

Forever, Season 1, Episode 21: The Night In Question



Henry is all introspective over a picture of Abigail and reflective of the fact that she left him and now Abe found where she went. He was amazed that she was “so close all these years” but the much more reality – and aging – Abe did point out that since Abigail was in her 70s when she left, she’s almost certainly dead and has been for a very long time.

They decide to go to her old address (and am I the only one who finds it ridiculously cute every time Abe call Henry “dad”?)

At the police station Jo tells Hanson that her trip to Paris – and her whole relationship with          has fallen through. So she’s not taking time off which is a shame because Hanson booked a family holiday to coincide with her days off. And when she goes to the morgue she hears from Lucas that Henry has also taken time off. Lucas babbles about and Jo, in another hint of the relationship tension between her and Henry, wonders if Henry took time off because of her. Lucas, never able to keep a secret, tells her about the research he did for Abe to find Abigail

Henry and Abe do find Abigail’s isolated home but the landlady there says that Abigail disappeared there as well. Memories raised lead to a flashback of Henry, Abigail and baby Abe first arriving in New York.

Less romantically and prettily, in the present Henry recognises a gravesite among the flower beds. He digs and finds a skull. They call the police and the sheriff isn’t entirely helpful but when Jo arrives he’s happy to let them have the old bones. In the grave they find Abigail’s keychain.

Henry is, of course, devastated but equally tries to hide it – he can’t let Jo or Lucas realise who Abigail was to him. Even as Lucas brutally describes how Abigail was probably murdered based on her remains – but he also finds that the victim was no older than 20. This isn’t Abigail’s body. He hurries home to tell Abe much to their mutual relief.

Still, the murder and burial in Abigail’s garden could easily be related to Abigail’s second disappearance.

So one victim ID later (Belinda) and proof she had a medical professional help with injuries (possibly Abigail’s involvement), Jo and Henry are on the case with some nice, sweet not-quite flirting. They confirm at the hospital where Belinda was treated that Abigail was the nurse who helped her.

They interview an old nurse there who remembers Abigail – who just disappeared. She also remembers Abigail treating Belinda the night before she left. Abigail noted Belinda was a victim of domestic violence and took her home with her. She also recognises the name of the man, Teddy Graves, who checked her in

He’s a judge. To his court room to question him just after court. I think he may object to the location. He explains he helped Belinda after she fell at a party (he was a college student at the time). Henry being Henry he accuses the judge of drunk driving and Belinda being injured in a car crash when he hit a motorcycle (a motorcyclist hurt in a hit and run was admitted the same night). Oh and the judge murdered Belinda to keep it quiet

The judge isn’t impressed by wild accusations without evidence.

Of course Reece is also not happy with her ridiculous antics – let alone a 30 year old cold case in a different jurisdiction. So no official investigation. Thankfully Hanson is going to that area and will ask some questions about the motorcyclist the judge ran over.

He learns that the medical file for the motorcyclist has disappeared (and we see Hanson’s kids!)

Lucas has also done some digging (I love Abe “we do not deal in stolen antiques!” followed by “what have you got?” in a whisper). Lucas has brought all the soil from Belinda’s grave to examine. So Henry introduces him to his lab in the basement.

Lucas “whoa you have your own lair.” Oh so perfect.


Henry goes through some of Abigail’s things, has a flashback – and finds a letter from Abigail. It’s written to Henry and tells him she wants to get back together and move to where she is in the country. Of course when she tells Abe, Abe realises that Abigail planning to reunite with them – when she didn’t – means something did happen to her.

In the soil, Lucas finds the judge’s ring. Rather than go to the police, Henry confronts the judge, alone. And violently. Which gets a tearful Henry arrested.

Jo is… not impressed nor convinced that Henry isn’t emotionally involved. Henry tries to dodge the question, but Jo isn’t buying it. But the judges comes in to talk so it distracts Jo

The judge confesses to the hit and run and says Belinda was a long time friend of his – but that he didn’t murder her. Though he says Belinda stopped him going to the police because she was afraid her violent, armed boyfriend would find out she was with the judge. He also hands over the medical file of the man he hit and killed that he stole from the hospital.

Next clue, Henry remembers a reference to a root cellar in Abigail’s letter which they never found – so he and Jo take a late night trip back to the property. They find it and inside they find her jams and chutneys – and Jo gets a call from Hanson with aa new suspicion: who could be armed in the ER without signing in? A cop

Just as Henry finds a sheriff’s jacket in the root cellar. And the sheriff appears to hold them at gun point. Jo manages to stop him just before he shoots Henry (when was the last time Henry died anyway?)

So the sheriff ends up in the police station in cuffs and they get to explain everything to Reece. Reece does one of those “no-one with a badge goes near that man!” which may as well be a “understand, Henry, nudge nudge wink wink?”. She’s not even subtle.

Henry questions the sheriff and he confesses to killing Belinda while drunk by accident. But he didn’t kill Abigail – he saw her leave with another man in a car. Jo, again, notices Henry’s emotional reaction.

But the question does reveal to Henry how far Abigail got – not far.

They go searching and Henry finds the car (which no-one has found in 30 years). He finds Abigail’s body among flashbacks of his past with her.

Autopsy – with Henry visibly emotional – describes how she died in a car accident. But Lucas disagrees – he points out she was killed by a knife (yes, Lucas actually corrected Henry). More, he believes Abigail slit her own throat. Something Henry realised she’d only do to get away from the person who captured her

So we have another suspect. Henry returns to the motorcyclist they never found – the man who caused Belinda to be in the hospital and the sheriff to go there too. He looks through the medical records the Judge gave them and the man was clearly fatally wounded – but no death certificate.

Henry realises – and snaps at Abe to leave – as he calls Adam. He confesses all as the motorcyclist and he told Abigail he was an immortal (he wanted her to kill him so he could come back to life fully healed). She believes him which shocked him – and it proved Abigail knew an immortal. Adam then killed himself so he could leave the hospital and follow Abigail to find Henry, another immortal.

She refused to tell him Adam about Henry and when Adam insisted she drove off the road on purpose and killed herself. Adam pleads that at least he tried to save her (as her body proved). She died to protect Henry






A brief consideration – Henry was with Abigail long enough for her to age considerably and become an old woman – but all the pictures we ever see him pining over are of Abigail as a young woman. I know this can be Henry picturing her always as the woman he fell in love with, but the bulk of his memories of her would, surely, be of her when she wasn’t that age and didn’t look like that? It’s something to consider when we think about how insecure Abigail was of being an older woman with the young-looking Henry.

Henry’s pain was amazingly well acted here. Restrained, desperately under control but so clearly apparent. The whole portrayal of his grief was truly excellent and made this episode one of the best of the season – perfect acting and really did make his relationship to Abigail clear

And Lucas correcting Henry was such a powerful and well done moment.


And it call comes back to Adam! Awesome meta!