In The Dark Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Mommy Issues
Taylor Whalen
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Good ol' Murphy is back and still up to no good on In The Dark Season 1 Episode 2, "Mommy Issues," and it offered a lot in terms of better establishing Murphy's humanity, while also creating even more mystery around Tyson's death.
The first scene showed us a terrible memory of Murphy's, the night that she got mugged.
It was pretty brutal; there was blood everywhere, and her terrified screams were hard to hear, but then, enter Tyson -- a wonderful, unassuming knight in shining armor who knocked out the mugger, saving Murphy's life.
We get treated with more of the fabulous dynamic between Murphy and her roommate and all-around best gal: Jess. These two get funnier and funnier each time they interact, and it would be great to see how their friendship came to be.
Jess cares enough to make up for Murphy's all around lack of caring; their origin story would undoubtedly be funny and heartwarming.
Jess does, however, get fired from her role of Murphy's one night stand scout after the guy she picks for that night turns out to be a bit of a weirdo.
Murphy: Jess, you're officially fired from being my bar eyes.
Jess: What happened?
Murphy: Dude called me mommy.
Vanessa (Jess' girlfriend) asks Jess if she ever misses being with men, which leads to a full-on panic attack within Jess.
It's a sweet moment that does find closure in an even better moment toward the end. It's great to see the LGBT representation here with this couple. Bisexual people in relationships tend to come up against this challenge often, and it was a good portrayal of a common issue.
But of course, Murphy doesn't care about the cuteness that is Jess and Vanessa (Jenessa?), she only cares about finding out more information about Tyson. She's one-track minded.
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Then, in what can only be assumed as a way to reel in the idea that Murphy cares about herself, we get to the UTI storyline.
The number of times you have to get a UTI to know that you have a UTI just by peeing once is not a small number. Murphy, Murphy, Murphy.
We see another flashback. Murphy thanks Tyson for saving her. She smiles more at that moment than she seemed to on In The Dark Season 1 Episode 1, and if you haven't seen it yet, you can watch In The Dark online via TV Fanatic.
Is it just me or does Murphy only genuinely smile when it's aimed at or because of Tyson? I hope that we get more flashbacks of these two.
The scene in the pharmacy was too great. The dynamic between Maria and Murphy is hilarious; Maria just stands by with that knowing, shaking-my-head-on-the-inside look as Murphy starts opening bottles of random juices before she finally finds the cranberry juice.
I don't need the dumb antibiotics. Since the beginning of time, women have healed themselves.
Murphy
Once at the police station, Dean tries to explain, yet again, that without a body or evidence, there's not a whole lot they can do. That enrages Murphy. Her conviction is not something to be taken lightly; this woman cannot be told anything when it comes to seeking justice for her friend. It's admirable.
Chloe's back as well, and she, of course, wants to hang out with Murphy and say hi. Things get a little hairy when Murphy tells Chloe that her dad (Dean) needs to get laid. That launches yet another great, funny and sweet storyline.
Oh, also, Murphy's parents, Joy, and Hank,", are hosting something called a "Barkery which, if you couldn't guess, is a bakery but with dog treats. And they want Murphy to be there. In a dress.
The dynamic between Murphy and her mother was pretty rough in the pilot, save for a small scene at the end, but it seems to be growing into something much more complex. There's a give and take there that can be appreciated because as much as we want to root for Murphy, she is a huge pain in the ass.
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And then, as if she couldn't get any more ridiculous, Murphy goes to Jess, the veterinarian, instead of a gynecologist. Despite her protests, Jess, because she's a saint and none of us deserve her, of course, helps Murphy and prescribes her an antibiotic.
Apparently, I'm a rottweiler and two chihuahuas, so I'm cutting back on carbs.
Murphy
After yet another tiff with Joy, Murphy has another painful and heartwrenching flashback of Tyson. It is particularly painful; Tyson shows off his amateur origami skills with a candy wrapper he's folded into a pterodactyl, and then shows Murphy how to do it just by feel.
She mimics the movements in the present with a tearful look that pulls hard at the heartstrings.
Their friendship goes beyond an unlikely duo that hangs out near the alley and jokes around. Tyson saved Murphy, in what seems like more ways than one.
I'm going to figure out who killed Tyson because I owe him that.
Murphy
Darnell's back and sketchy as ever, hanging with who we'll come to know as Max. They're at Max's food truck, which seems to be a place that Darnell can launder money through, so we know right away that Max is into some shady business practices. Not a lot of hope for the lead romantic interest of the show.
But people can change, right? Maybe not Darnell, though. He dismisses Murphy yet again, this time more seriously. It's pretty obvious that she's sniffing around in a place that he doesn't want her to sniff.
It's honestly hard to tell at this point if he is trying to warn her because he's scared himself or because he had something to do with it. It could go either way.
Of course, to Murphy, that's just all the more reason to sniff harder.
Max and Murphy officially meet. Not a ton of chemistry there right off the bat, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Not all couples can be explosive right away, and a good slow burn is always appreciated.
Murphy, of course, could care less about their chemistry and only agrees to go out with them to get more information about Tyson. Like I said: one-track minded.
Tying back to the amazingness that is the Dean-Chloe-Murphy fiasco, Chloe, who was roaming around the police station earlier in the episode trying to find a restroom, ran into what looked to be a frequent flier jailbird type. Sure enough, she sees it as an opportunity to heed Murphy's advice and set up a date for her dad.
Sweet, sweet Chloe. Unbeknownst to her, jailbird turns out to be a prostitute. Too good for this world, Chloe. Too pure.
Max and Murphy go on their date, and he takes her to his favorite view of Chicago. Murphy is unamused. For a second, it seemed like maybe he had something else up his sleeve, but he didn't. Just a big fat date fail. It's not looking good for you so far, Max.
Despite the tasteless choice in venue, Murphy did seem to have a pretty good time. She's pretty good at being grumpy, but she's terrible at pretending to be grumpy when she's having a good time.
I have a UTI, and I'm not going to have sex with you, but thanks for the wine. And the sandwich.
Murphy
He gives her what she wants, which is Tyson's mom's address. But they have a conversation right after that leads us to think that Max has some serious experience with dealing with dead people and dead bodies, which leads me to think that he's a lot more dangerous than he appears to be.
And not in a sexy way, really, but in a dishonest way.
Enter Rhonda, Tyson's mother. She's sweet, and she knows who Murphy is, though she didn't know she was blind, to which Murphy tells her that Tyson never saw her as a blind girl.
Tyson's character keeps getting more and more filled out, and it just makes me miss him more.
Murphy walks around Tyson's room and sees the same pterodactyl he made when they first hung out. She pockets it, then finds his ancient iPod and proceeds to start the song that he'd paused midway through, Bob Dylan's "Shelter from the Storm." It's fine. I didn't need my heart anyway.
She starts to cry (let it be known that Perry Mattfeld has one of those she-cries-you-cry-type faces), and Rhonda knows something is wrong. Tyson's not okay.
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They share a moment, and Murphy gives Rhonda an earbud to listen to Tyson's iPod. Both women sit in sadness and terror at losing a boy they loved. Murphy takes some empathy away for her own mother after this experience and shows up in a dress to the Barkery.
It's lime green and made of chiffon and absolutely terrible, but Joy appreciates it, which makes me appreciate Joy. What did I tell you?! Endearing, if not a little infuriating.
Joy: You look like a lunatic. But you wore a dress.
Murphy: Is that what this is? I asked for overalls.
The confrontation with Murphy prompts Rhonda to go to the police, however, and they find that Tyson's phone has gotten wiped. This all just keeps getting weirder.
Jess and Murphy sit around talking and being cute yet again at the end of the episode. She tells Murphy about the exchange of "I love you" between her and Vanessa, despite the fact that she had a strap-on tied around her waist. This is the kind of content I need to keep happening in this show, team. Keep it coming. It's absolutely golden.
Is she more of a garden hose or a soup can gal?
Murphy
And then in a classic John Cusack type move, Max starts throwing rocks at Murphy's window, to which he claims was his only way of contacting her without her number. Cheesy, but it somehow works on Murphy? You are all over the map, girlfriend.
Again, her pretend grumpiness doesn't go far, and she agrees to a second date. Murphy is uncharacteristically giddy as Jess fiddles with the candy wrapper pterodactyl, which she unfolds to reveal a new clue: Tyson had a girlfriend.
In the last scene, we see Darnell visiting someone in prison that we haven't met yet. They talk about Tyson's phone getting wiped, and then Darnell brings up Murphy without naming her, saying that he's going to 'take care of it.' That is never, ever good.
You want to help? Skip on out of here and leave me and my family alone.
Darnell
Will Tyson's girlfriend have more information about his whereabouts the night he got killed? Will Darnell take his threats against Murphy the next level? Is Max more involved in Darnell's shady business than he seems? Is Murphy's relationship with her mother finally starting to repair?
There is more and more mystery, but also an exceptional amount of character development. What's coming up should even be better!
