The Embalming Process
Prodigal Son returns with another stand-alone case this week, one that sees a relatively straight forward murder regarding a man being embalmed after death. There isn’t much in the way of plot development, save for a new character aptly named “The Devil” entering the fray, and for the most part this feels very much like business as usual for Prodigal Son, with a sprinkling of slapstick comedy thrown in for good measure. We begin episode 15 of Prodigal Son in the hospital as Malcolm talks to Dani and tells her his Father is in a coma. Throughout the episode we cut back in time to Martin’s past where he helps a young girl and invites her back to his apartment. These dreamy segments continue to show off Martin’s history, presumably showing the girl he killed and threw in the box. Only, this story changes so she stabs him until he eventually musters up the mental powers to thwart this dreamy apparition. Before we get there though, a new case presents itself for Malcolm involving a man called Kevin embalmed in the living room, with everything around him spotless following his murder. Everything in the room is perfectly aligned too, nothing out of place, which leads Malcolm to believe the killer may be a necrophiliac. In order to try and prove this theory, Malcolm examines the body further. As more information about Kevin’s past comes into view, we learn he had two business partners and one of these may be linked in some way, especially given the intricate manner this man has been embalmed. Malcolm speaks to Tilda regarding Kevin’s embalment and she tells him to speak to Dev. Dev, as it happens, is applying make-up to show his proficient skills and the brand of make-up he’s using is the same as the one used on Kevin. However, the police come to this conclusion out of eyesight of Dev and as they lose him, they scramble up to his apartment to find him knocked out on the ground. “The Devil” (a man named Sterling) phones Jessica and tells him if Martin dies, she’ll be up for murder. However, he can have her case thrown out in a week in exchange for succumbing to his ideas. After Ainsley gets involved and talks to her, she begrudgingly agrees to his terms. Back in the apartment, Edrisa’s quick thinking saves Dev and the police breathe a sigh of relief. As it turns out, the last call Kevin made was to Tilda – his partner. Could she be the killer? Bringing Kevin’s other partner into the station, we learn there was another woman involved in the company, this one a “silent” partner that caused the fire we’ve been hearing about this episode and her name is Leanne. Unfortunately a shaky call from Edrisa rings alarm bells and Malcolm heads to the morgue where she finds Leanne pointing a gun at his colleague. In order to try and save her life, Malcolm promises to get her Kevin’s body. As he opens the door, he learns the truth about why she’s doing what she’s doing; a traumatic experience involving her Mum when she was 6 spurred her on to try and embalm Kevin and keep him preserved for her. Edrisa slams a metal tray into Leanne’s head, sending her crashing to the ground as Malcolm grabs the gun and saves the day. Leanne is arrested and as the episode closes out, Martin awakens from his coma. As far as murder cases go, Prodigal Son’s latest is a bit of a throwaway episode, one with little in the way of dramatic tension and a simplistic approach to the case. The idea of a “secret” partner is a little frustrating, especially given the whodunit vibe running through this but there’s enough in the acting and ideas to keep this one ticking over. It’s ultimately the serialized plot that keeps this one from falling into mediocrity and as we’ve seen from the Junkyard Killer in the past, there’s enough here to make for a really enthralling watch.We’re about 3/4 of the way through this show now and whether Prodigal Son will be renewed for a second season remains to be seen. The ratings appear to be pretty steady so we’ll have to wait and see what the fate of this one is.
