Found Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Missing While A Pawn
Denis Kimathi
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When it rains, it pours.
Life has a funny way of playing out because one can experience something challenging, and then, bam! Life adds just a little something extra for good measure.
A couple going through a messy divorce found it to be the least of their concern when something soul-wrecking happened to them on Found Season 1 Episode 4.
We will get to them shortly, but first, we must address that cold open.
Just when one thought Sir could not have done something worse, he proves them wrong.
The hour saw more information about Sir come to light when Young Gabi learned that there was another girl before her called Annie, whom Sir had kidnapped.
It was a rational assumption to think that there was more than meets the eye with Sir, but never in a million years would one have thought his actions were a recurring theme. But now, in retrospect, it makes sense.
We don't know the complete story of how he became the deprived man he is, but if the writers have a plan of humanizing him in any way, they should throw that plan out of the window because that man was beyond redemption.
Someone can make an excuse for one kidnapping that ruined someone's life and all but killed them, but you can't excuse doing that to several people.
In my mind, I have been working under the impression that something traumatic happened to him where he might have lost his whole family and was trying to recreate it in his own twisted way, but the more that came to light about him, the more it seemed unlikely.
He seemed to be a sadistic prick who derived much pleasure from instilling fear in people, especially children.
His ease with abusing children could be explained in a million ways, but it usually comes from having strict parents.
This hour saw the strengthening of a looming hypothesis concerning Gabi and Sir's relationship.
Lacey: Okay, I learned this neat little trick in one of my law classes this week to use on witnesses, to like tell if they're lying.
Zeke: Oh yeah?
Lacey: You can tell a person is lying based on a few things. Like a rise or fall in tone, or avoiding eye contact, or repeating the question back to you, or if a person uses a modifier like honestly or truthfully.
Found Season 1 had teased a complex emotional dynamic between the two where there seemed to be a co-dependency.
Gabi depended on Sir to help solve cases, which would help her rest easy when she was done, and she was convinced that she had done a good thing.
Sir depended on Gabi to feel useful and, if it was in his mind, make up for the atrocities he had committed by helping prevent more of the exact nature.
On an emotional level, Gabi felt like she would never be able to go past the trauma she sustained under his captivity, and the only way to ease the pain was by giving him a taste of his own medicine.
Something bizarre was that they seemed to care for each other. Gabi acted like Sir's opinion didn't mean much to her, but she sought his validation. She wanted him to tell her she was doing great and everything would be okay.
On his part, Sir thought of Gabi as his responsibility, the way a parent thinks of their child.
The biggest tell about their relationship's complexity was that Sir called Gabi by her full name, and one could hear traces of affection in it.
When Gabi lost it after Matthew's abduction case, he sounded like someone who was genuinely scared about what was happening to her.
You know, that, or he was afraid there was an invader, and he would die in the basement alone.
Speaking of dying alone, M&A took on a couple's case who thought they had found their forever soulmate, but the marriage had turned sour.
The ending of a marriage, however amicable or rational the parties want it to be, is always brutal. It deals a blow to many people, and some might not even realize how much a divorce affects them until later.
Yes, I'm talking about children of divorce. I always found it odd that we label these children based on an occurrence they had no control over, and we move on like it's normal.
Zeke: And he shouldn't have to. Matthew should be out there doing kid stuff. Unbothered and free, man.
Gabi: You're right, Zeke, and someday I hope that we are put out of business 'cause we are no longer needed.
Anyway, divorce affects children differently. The closest analogy I can make is having a rug pulled from under you, whether forcefully or slowly.
Some parents make a show out of it, and given how Matthew's parents behaved, it didn't need a genius to guess why he might have run away.
What was concerning was that his being a child put him in greater danger because abusers and predators can smell a runaway kid from afar.
Gabi Mosley and her people sprang into action, and the next forty-two hours were eventful as they turned over every stone in Matthew's life to try and find him before the worst happened.
They went through all his current relationships, whether in the real world or online.
Gabi and her team did the search for Matthew in a typical fashion.
Everyone knew what exactly they needed to do, and they doubled down on it.
A few minutes before the timer had run out, Matthew was found safe and returned to his parents. It was nice.
But for the first time, we saw the team's effort leave a casualty in their wake, and while it wasn't their client, it was also just as bad.
A child was shot, and his father was beside himself with anger.
He asked an important question that I had placed at the back of my mind concerning the team's operation.
Edwards: You said you would protect him
Gabi: Mr Edwards, I tried...
Edwards: You sacrificed my boy for another. Now, you're here to clear your conscience. You're no better than any of those people you attack on the news. You cherry-pick who was worthy of being saved. You're no hero. And now, Tony's in a coma. Stay the hell away from my son.
Looking at their offices and situation room, it was an expensive operation. The show avoided the payment talk between the firm and the clients, but one had to assume that they were getting paid.
What were their rates? If someone walked into their offices without money, but a loved one was missing, would they turn the person away?
The pain experienced by people with a missing loved one is uniform across classes, races, and genders.
What if parents of a white child walked into the firm and, for whatever reason, needed Gabi's help finding their child? Would they turn the parents down because the child was not who they typically took on as clients?
The show had the potential to turn into a gimmick about missing minorities, and it seems the writers are aware of that, which is excellent.
How they navigate this moral issue -- if they decide to even tackle it -- will be a turning point for the show.
Intrusive Thoughts
- Azaria Carter is phenomenal as teen Gabi. Paired with Mark Paul-Gosselaar, they deliver a riveting scene by bouncing off what the other person does.
- Dhan! Seriously! Trent doesn't deserve the constant antagonism.
- Wasn't it sweet how they all hang out at Zeke's? Trent and Gabi almost kissed. It's getting heavy between them, but will their history (and Gabi's secret) prevent them from proceeding further?
- Lacey detected Gabi's lies. Do you think she'll let sleeping dogs lie or will the lawyer in her take over?
Lacey: Gabi lied to me today about Sir. And I have no idea why.
Dhan: It's been a long day, Lacey. Whatever it is, let it go. Everybody has their secrets.
- Matthew's parents were in an awful place when we met them. Do you think they'll be together for long?
Chime in in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.
