I remember a time when TV shows were all standalone episodes. Each one was an independent story that revolved around a new topic. When, by chance, there was a two-part episode, the second would start off with “previously on….” Now that shows are more like soap-opera continuations of a longer story arc, that little intro has become obsolete. Until now. I am so thankful that Dirk Gently has brought back the “previously on” because oh boy do I need a refresher each week.
So, previously on Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) and Todd (Elijah Wood) were working together to find the missing Lydia Spring (Alison Thornton), daughter of the dead billionaire Patrick Spring. They broke into her captor’s home, hid in the shower, and then stole his dog as they escaped. They traded the dog for Farah Black (Jade Eshete), who we found out was the bodyguard to the missing Lydia—albeit not a very good one. Oh yeah, and the holistic assassin can’t be killed, the universe won’t allow it.
This week, we find out that Lydia actually went to see her captor voluntarily, looking for answers to questions about her grandfather, who killed her mother, and maybe even an explanation of last week’s episode. We also meet a couple of new characters, but very briefly. Their identities aren’t yet clear, but their conversation is interesting. They’re discussing the different bodies, or vessels, that they have been inhabiting. Yes, like aliens taking over a human form. Perhaps the Project Black Wing we heard about last week?
Cut to the Colonel and his Sergeant in the car, the ones tasked to bring in Dirk Gently, one of the subjects of said project. Thanks to the Sergeant’s stupidity, the Colonel explains it to him, and therefore us. He explains that the Black Wing’s only mission was “to seek out, codify, and collect individuals with sensory-perceptive abilities beyond the normal human scale.” Keep in mind that Dirk Gently is one of those individuals.
I’ve stated before that one especially freaky thing happens in each episode that we hope is explained at some point. In Episode 1, we had Todd seeing himself in the hallway when the elevator door opened. In Episode 2, we had Todd holding the Corgi over the edge of the bridge when it talked like a female and asked for help. In this episode, Todd’s sister Amanda (Hannah Marks) has a breakdown in the grocery store parking lot, and the Rowdy 3 (who are actually 4 men) stand over her and kind of suck this blue, wavy air from her. She hallucinates for about 20 seconds, and we see some strange images that include Todd, Dirk, a bat (the animal not a piece of sports equipment … that’s for another Sunday night show), and a Hammerhead shark.
Bart (Fiona Dourif) and Ken (Mpho Koaho) are the sidebar again this week. After killing the biker, they get ambushed by a biker gang. They’re tied up in a field, and the gang attacks to avenge their friend—too bad they’re no match for Bart because she can’t get hurt. She kills them all, and both she and Ken survive.
Ken: “You knew this was going to happen.”
Bart: “Well not this, but something like this, sure.”
Ken: “It’s real, isn’t it? It’s all real. You really are who you say you are. Some kind of killer angel.”
Then, something fun happens: Dirk and Farah go back to the dead billionaire Patrick Spring’s house and are given an envelope by his lawyer. It’s a treasure map, and they follow it to a wall in the basement. Farah breaks it down—rogue wall enthusiasts be damned—and they find a hidden room.
The room has been built by an inventor named Zackariah Webb, who built the home originally and then disappeared. They find some neat gadgets inside and another map-like item that Amanda later explains is the electric grid schematic for Todd’s neighborhood, with his apartment building in the center. His apartment building that is in—wait for it—Springsborough … like Edgar Spring, Patrick Spring’s father and Lydia’s grandfather. Dun-dun-dun.
Todd: “You knew this was going to happen.”
Dirk: “Not this but something like this, yes.”
Todd: “It’s real, isn’t it? It’s all real. You really are what you say you are, some kind of holistic detective.”
Are you seeing the parallel with the conversations between Dirk and Todd and Ken and Bart? This has happened before. Since Bart is attempting to find and kill Dirk, it might not be a good parallel.
Dirk’s epiphany this week is that maybe Patrick Spring didn’t hire him to stop his murder but to solve it. To recap the whole premise, everything is connected. The characters are starting to connect things and we are starting to see it, too.
We end with the Colonel confronting Dirk, who he calls Icarus, asking him to come in for debriefing. He tells him that he’s not a detective, and Dirk is very upset by the encounter. Lydia is still acting like a dog; clearly she and the Corgi have switched bodies, which explains the female voice at the bridge. One mystery explained, although how they got switched is another matter entirely.
See also: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency 1.02: “Lost & Found” Episode Review
Kerry Hammond loves all types of mysteries. She is a Book Reviewer and Blogger for Mystery Playground. Follow her on Twitter @kerryhammond88.
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