From death conventions to coma-induced nightmares, “Death’s Door” is a great episode of Prodigal Son that gives us both hilarity and heart. Edrisa gets a major showcase as she joins the team to actively solve the case, and Martin must fight to get out of a nightmare world that gives him a taste of his own medicine. Read on to see what we noticed during this week’s rewatch!
Dani Opening Up to Malcolm
Throughout the season, we have seen Dani and Malcolm’s friendship grow, but they made even more strides in this episode. Martin is in a coma, and Dani is comforting Malcolm at the hospital. He snaps at her but apologizes, and she understands. While at the funeral director convention, Dani notices that Malcolm is “weirder than usual” and asks what is wrong. He doesn’t really want to talk, but Dani opens up and lets him know that being around all this death reminds her of her father. She tears up and walks away, leaving Malcolm to sit in his guilt for shutting her out when they are learning to be friends. It was a quick but tender moment between the two characters that gave us a snippet of Dani’s backstory. At the end of the episode, they reconcile, and Malcolm realizes he likes talking to Dani. All in all, it was nice to see Dani open up to Malcolm and let her guard down.
Malcolm and Edrisa Saving the Day
In this episode, we get to see a different side of Edrisa — a woman of action. Up to this point, Edrisa’s role had mainly been limited to the morgue and the crime scenes, fleshing out any details from the body that might help the gang solve the case. However, in this episode, Edrisa gets thrown into the forefront of the action, having to save another victim — with Malcolm’s help, of course. Malcolm and Edrisa’s unique (i.e., adorable) friendship helps them at this moment, as Malcolm is able to calm Edrisa down from her freakout caused by having to work on a live patient under pressure and talk her through saving the man. The moment really highlights the pair’s relationship and Edrisa’s capabilities — including her ability to absolutely demolish a mini bottle of Jack after the stressful moment has passed.
Jessica and Ainsley’s Dynamic
Jessica and Ainsley’s relationship throughout the season, though at times complicated given some unique circumstances, still has that loving mother-daughter vibe to it. While they’re in the hospital awaiting news about Martin, Ainsley admits how she really feels about his situation, not exactly wanting him to die right then and there. Jessica then begins to share her own feelings, but Ainsley interrupts her and assumes she’s going to say she’s still in love with him. They both laugh over the thought, and for a few moments, it’s like there’s nothing to worry about. Because of what happened, Ainsley tells Jessica she needs a lawyer, and Jessica realizes that her daughter set her up. It’s downright diabolical, but Ainsley tells her she learned from the best. It’s one of the few moments this season where Jessica and Ainsley act like your normal mother and daughter. They can still laugh even if it’s not the best time, and it shows just how alike the two of them are.
Edrisa Teams up with the Squad
There’s been an outpouring of love for Edrisa since her very first episode, and fans were excited when we learned we’d be getting a more Edrisa centric story. Her bubbly personality and positive energy radiate off of her every time she’s on-screen, which might be a little surprising considering her line of work. She’s so excited to be helping out on the case in this episode, and we get to see a little more of what makes her tick. There are tons of great back and forth between her and the team that proves she’s also an extremely intelligent character; she did discover the foundation match that leads to her saving a life! It leaves us adoring her dedication to her job and her positivity as well as hoping we’ll get to see more of her in season 2.
Martin’s Coma Hallucinations
Prodigal Son has a difficult job to do in writing Martin’s character. He’s naturally funny and charismatic, so much so that it’s easy to forget he’s also, you know, a mass serial killer. But if they show his creepy and sadistic side too much, it’s harder to watch him onscreen. This episode gives us insight into Martin’s mind as he is trapped inside it, still in a coma after being stabbed. At first, he’s taunted by The Girl in the Box as she threatens to kill a young Malcolm. But when Martin realizes that this is his mind and he can control it, the gloves come off, and we see a killer emerge. Michael Sheen is incredibly effective, balancing both the humor and the downright terrifying aspects of Martin’s psyche.
Malcolm Danger Count: 1 (saved by a solid Edrisa Tanaka tray to the head)
Prodigal Son is available now on Fox Now and Hulu and will return on January 12 on Fox. Be sure to check back next week for our #NerdsRewatchProdigal recap!
