Harlan Coben's Shelter Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Phantom Threads
Jasmine Blu
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The good news is that the hour didn't feel as though it was hurtling through too much plot at lightning speed.
As a result, Harlan Coben's Shelter Season 1 Episode 4 was infinitely easier to follow but still filled with twists and that tense cliffhanger.
We also have some confirmation about Ashley's whereabouts, but for how long?
As suspected, Rachel is a friend, not a foe, and Bat Lady remains one of the series' most puzzling characters.
Shelter is one of those series that, more often than not, makes it challenging to keep up with all the little tidbits they throw at us as it spins about a dozen plots simultaneously on its axis.
Nevertheless, it's an intriguing ride, and whether you can keep up with everything or not, it's nothing short of entertaining, primarily due to the likability of many of the series' characters and how well the actors do at bringing them to life.
The hour was juggling the trio figuring out more leads on Ashley Kent's whereabouts while also discovering new information about young Dylan Shakes, the abrupt and mysterious disappearance of Charlotte Kent, whatever cryptic dynamic exists between Bat Lady and Mrs. Friedman, and new information about "Luther."
And we got all of this in an hour that still delivered a shockingly interesting plot about the Phantom of the Opera school musical, Ema's growing crush and burgeoning romantic relationship with Buck's sweet and hot sister, Whitney, and more context behind the sapphic goodness that is Shira and Hannah.
Yet, the pacing of the hour felt slower and more balanced than in previous installments.
Bat Lady blew poor Mickey's mind with the photo of the alleged Butcher, who looked precisely like the EMT who responded to his father on the scene.
His confusion about the entire situation and how impossible it had to be sparked a bit of tension among the group as Ema insensitively insisted that it couldn't be true without considering Mickey's feelings.
Mickey: So you both think I'm crazy.
Both: No.
Ema: That's not what we're saying at all.
Mickey: It sure sounds like it.
Ema: Yeah, we're the bad guys, Mickey, not the Bat Lady who thinks she's Terminator Anne Frank. She's done nothing but fuck with you.
You can see that Ema Winslow is new to having friendships and doesn't always know how to navigate them and the feelings of others, but that's one of many things that makes her such an endearing character.
She may be new to being a friend, but she's damn good at it. Her response to Mickey was a faux pas on her part, but she went right to work trying to get to the bottom of everything, and she was smart enough to know that this development was another indicator that Bat Lady was playing with Mickey's head.
With Mrs. Friedman confirming that the Butcher was actually someone different and Ema determining that it was a photoshop and that Luther wasn't credited as at the accident scene, they know something more sinister is happening here.
More has come to light for Mickey to realize that his father recognized Luther, noticing that Luther had that same butterfly tattooed on his arm that he sees everywhere else and buying into the notion that his father may not be dead after all.
Mickey, you're just seeing what you want to see.
Ema
The ambulance logo was an excellent clue for Mickey to recall. I also wondered if ambulance number 75 would come into play.
But the bittersweet result from digging into that was Ema and Mickey learning that Luther stole the ambulance from a private ambulance company, which doesn't make it easier to figure out who Luther is or who he works for, but confirmed that something shady was at play.
With this, the trafficking angle worked into the plot. It was confirmed after it was alluded to during Harlan Coben's Shelter Season 1 Episode 3; one has to wonder if the butterfly tattoo is connected to whatever trafficking ring or something opposing it.
On the one hand, we got confirmation that Mr. V was heavily involved in trafficking children and that Ashley was someone he sold.
It explains why she was so paranoid about people finding her, possibly why she freaked out when she saw Octoface, and that incident with the men trying to take her and toss her into a van but couldn't kill or shoot her because they "needed her alive."
It seems that there are two factions at play: an organization doing all of these awful things to children and whatever Bat Lady is embroiled in as she hails herself as some hero for the downtrodden and protector of children in some capacity.
Mrs. Friedman knew Luther's face and name, which implies that he perhaps works for or is associated with Bat Lady in some capacity. However, it makes you wonder, if he was one of her associates, why she'd throw him under the bus by filtering his face to Mickey.
If he's the person who took Brad, then he could be involved with something else entirely.
We know Ashley also has that butterfly tattoo, so is it a brand related to the trafficking or a symbol for something else?
What's evident is that Bat Lady is on some crusade, and Mrs. Friedman is involved with it or cognizant of it, too.
It was interesting to hear that they once were friends. But they have different methodologies and opinions.
Mrs. Friedman disagrees with violence, so she finds Bat Lady murdering Mr. V abhorrent regardless of his role in trafficking. And she took it a step further with her anonymous tip to Ken about the body buried in the backyard.
Bat Lady: Your Mr. V, as you so fondly called him, trafficked children. He sold a young girl for money.
Mrs. Friedman: Ashley Kent.
Bat Lady: Yes. And do you know how many children suffered and died because of his greed? Believe me, I did the world a favor.
Mrs. Friedman: Murder is still murder, Elizabeth, no matter how you wrap it up.
Even during the tense standoff he had with Bat Lady with Sunglasses Man in the shadows waiting to kill him, it was apparent that she would've done the smart thing and buried a dead animal on top of the body to throw things off.
It's the logical thing to do, especially when she's the talk of the town all the time anyway.
Bat Lady is not above doing whatever it takes for her cause, including putting an old friend in the ground if she gets in her way.
Interestingly, the angle for Mrs. Friedman's connection to Bat Lady could be Dylan Shakes. If Mrs. Friedman has been a notable and treasured teacher for decades, then most likely, she was for Dylan, and she noticed that he was getting abused at home, but she blames herself for not doing enough about it.
Bat Lady: Goodbye, Ken Taylor. What? You've lived in this town your whole life. Of course, I know you. Haven't changed much, have you?
Ken: Sorry to have bothered you, ma'am.
But there are multiple forces at play. If Bat Lady sees herself as a protector of children, then she may have had something to do with trying to save Dylan.
Dr. Kent likely got attacked because of his involvement in whatever organization tries to keep kids safe.
Spoon and Ema's discovery that he kept records of Dylan Shakes' abuse, but they never had enough to put Dylan's father away, was a hell of a clue.
It's also notable that Dr. Kent saw Dylan on the day Dylan disappeared, but he didn't keep notes on what happened to Dylan that day or prompted the visit.
Listen to me; I'm going to let this one pass because once we were friends. We were friends. But fuck with me again, and I'll put you in the ground too.
Bat Lady
Perhaps Dr. Kent was part of some organization, to the degree of what Brad was involved in, since he always stated that they "helped people" and arranged to get Dylan Shakes out of town and away.
It would also explain why Ashely shared the last name and claimed to be related to the Kents. If she was on the run or in hiding from her trafficking ring, and Dr. Kent and his now missing wife were part of some secret crusade to help others, it would track.
It also speaks to why bad things have befallen them. Seriously, where the hell is Charlotte Kent now, and does no one else in town think it's suspicious that this woman vanished days after her husband was attacked in their home?
It's a tale of three interconnected mysteries, and Mickey Bolitar and the gang's attention is often split among them.
At the forefront, Mickey spent much of the hour focused on Ashley. It's taking too much out of him, reeling over the mystery with his father, and it's the one he most often places on the backburner in favor of Ashley.
Fortunately, he got the lead of a lifetime when Spoon and Ema showed him the video footage of Rachel, and while she initially tried to deny and downplay it all, she recognized when she had no choice but to tell him her side of things.
It's such a pleasant surprise that the series doesn't play into the Mean Cheerleader Trope. Rachel was driven to help Ashley mere moments after that embarrassing moment with the other cheerleaders because she felt guilty about not standing up for Ashley and ensuring that cheer auditions were a safe place.
She saw the whole kidnapping attempt and how terrified Ashley was, and she offered to assist her however she could, even when Ashley insisted that she didn't want to drag Rachel into anything.
It's time to talk about Ashley.
Mickey
And that's how we learned that Rachel has kept Ashley in her pool house since she disappeared. The glimpse of her we saw was Ashley at Rachel's, and Rachel cleared out Ashley's locker to help Ashley out.
But it's disconcerting that Rachel Caldwell is so accustomed to being in a house by herself, and now she has the mysterious Luther out there, cutting the power and phone lines and on his way to get Rachel.
He was probably the person who was sneaking around Rachel's house before.
It seems Luther, Octoface, and Bat Lady are all after Ashley, and it's a race to see who gets their hands on her first.
It's better to have Mickey as an ally in the know than in the dark because he wouldn't give up on any of this. But it doesn't bode well that he's headed out to confront or potentially attack Luther.
Hopefully, he'll get some answers, and nothing too awful happens. Also, it would be nice to get a Mickey and Ashley reunion.
Of course, there's also the possibility that Luther will successfully take Ashley, and they'll have their work cut out even more.
On the seemingly lighter side of things, the adults are having one hell of a love triangle situation happening.
Whitney: You bitch, you can sing, too?
Ema: I was just trying to help.
Whitney: Shut the fuck up and never stop singing.
It's refreshing that the love triangle trope hasn't fallen on the teens; they're too busy trying to solve real problems.
Troy Taylor thinks he's at risk of one with Rachel and Mickey, but Mickey and Rachel are just friends, and it's rather refreshing.
Ironically, Ema is close to one with the twins, as one can only assume that Buck's behavior is horribly cliche; he makes fun of her because he secretly likes her nonsense.
But they don't give that the attention it desires, thankfully, and he's routinely called out for being an asshole.
And Spoon is genuinely amused and sees the chemistry and sparks between Ema and Whitney. They really are an adorable prospect.
Meanwhile, it's hard to understand what's happening with Ken, Hannah, and Shira. The women are great, and Ken is a bit of an ass with some obvious problems that need to be addressed more.
Hannah has Shira RATTLED and FLUSTERED. She damn near gave herself a heart attack working out while reflecting on their super hot hookup.
Shira Bolitar couldn't even be in the same room or look at Hannah without getting flustered. It was rather adorable.
And Hannah had too much fun screwing with her in that regard. Forcing Shira to give a speech was the worst, but she seemed to find the move amusing.
And Hannah has no shame about cheating on her husband.
But it once again begs one to wonder how she and Ken even ended up together in the first place. It didn't even seem like they liked one another in high school.
There was always this tension and chemistry between Hannah and Shira back then, and Ken seemed none the wiser.
Both women were dismissive of Ken, even back then.
Ema, I love you, okay? I would kill for you, and I would fucking die for you.
Spoon
They started something in high school before Shira left town, and the awkward tension between them was because Hannah felt Shira abandoned her and ran away rather than be with her.
Shira expressed that she had to leave because all she wanted was to be with her, which implies that if she had stayed home to be with Hannah, she would've never pursued her dreams.
But it also makes you wonder how "out" either woman was back in the day, if that was also a factor in their relationship, and how much Ken knows.
He's smart enough to pick up on something.
Hannah is fascinating in that it genuinely makes you wonder why she settled with a man she clearly doesn't love, who also happens to be the ex of the woman she loves.
It's a nice little side story simply because anything with Constance Zimmer is gold. Shira is such a great character, and it gives us some juicy drama.
But I'm also curious how it'll factor into other things as the season progresses.
Hannah described their hookup the night before as a "one-and-done" that she had to "get out of her system," and said she's happy just being friends with Shira.
But Shira has deep feelings for Hannah.
What the actual fuck is going on?
Mickey
Boiler Room Round-Up:
- I went from having zero interest in the Phantom of the Opera musical to a surprising amount of interest. Buck's voice is amazing, and so is Ema's, and the gender-swapped production with the bully and fascinating poly-enemies-to-lovers potential has piqued my interest.
- I could listen to Ema and Spoon Spindell singing all day. Those two easily have one of the best dynamics in the series.
- Troy and Rachel are a younger version of Ken and Shira. Troy always comes across as seemingly aloof and easily distracted, and Rachel knows how to play him to keep him out of things.
- Where the hell is Charlotte Kent, and who took her?
- Ken was damn near reduced to a child when he had to face off against Bat Lady, and you could tell everything she said to him, including that dig about him not changing, had him shaken.
- I wonder if there was more significance to Mickey telling Ema about his mother having to change her last name to something Anglicized to get ahead in her career, or was it just another one of those casual POC references?
- If anyone touches a hair on Frenchie, I mean, Mrs. Friedman's head, I will riot!
- It was a bit heartbreaking to hear that Ashley, who heavens knows how long she's been trafficked in her life, wanted to impress the cheer team with her dancing, and they made fun of her for being too "slutty."
- Who knows what that poor girl's experience with sexual expression is like because of what she's endured?
- Mickey felt a bit detached from Spoon and Ema for most of the hour, but he and Ema made up, and that hug was one of the cutest scenes. Their friendship clique is so precious.
- What plans does Bat Lady have for Mickey? It's like she's working toward luring and grooming him for something, and she may have had a similar relationship with Brad.
Over to you, Shelter Fanatics.
Were you shocked that Ashley never left town and has been with Rachel? What do you think Luther wants with Ashley?
How many different organizations don't you think are at play? Do you think we'll ever see Brad again? What happened to Dylan?
Hit the comments below with your thoughts, theories, and speculations.
You can stream all-new episodes of Harlan Coben's Shelter Fridays on Prime Video.
You can catch up with all of our Harlan Coben Shelter Reviews.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
