Rapture
The detectives are left with a lot of questions, but the most pressing one is who killed Guy and Olga?
Olga and Julian share a close bond that is revealed in flashbacks to 1993. They are both 15 years old at the time, and Julian drives Olga around. Olga trusts him implicitly, despite only being 15 years old.
Their complicated relationship is difficult to understand; she’s not a mother but she acts like one, giving Julian what he missed from his own mother; she’s not a boss as Julian is treated differently to her employees; she’s also not a dear friend, given their history.
Julian takes these conflicts to Olga’s funeral, which is attended by a nonchalant Isabelle and a charismatic Lorenzo. While Isabelle and Lorenzo trade names for Olga, form pimp to mama, Isabelle eventually settles on “fuck you Olga”, tipping alcohol on her coffin.
Detective Sunday is also there, far off from the others, but catches up with Julian. She believes he’s involved in what happened to Olga. When Sunday asks where he was that night, Julian claims to be out waking alone…which obviously doesn’t help his case. Still, Sunday believes him at face value and implores Julian to pick up his phone when she rings next.
Julian heads to see Mr Banks, his old teacher, to get more details about Lisa Beck. It definitely brings back memories of the past, specifically that of Lisa Beck. This young woman was someone Julian was romantically involved with and now that Olga is dead, he suspects it could be linked.
Michelle is still worried about Colin but while Richard huffs and tells her he’ll be found, Michelle takes the initiative and heads out to meet with Chris. In exchange for finding Colin, she agrees to keep Elizabeth safe. With this in mind, he hands over a credit card statement which confirms a nearby motel room she’s charged – and could well be hiding out at.
Richard Panish, Panish’s right-hand man, gets there first and he ends up wrestling with Elizabeth. Unfortunately, he ends up knocking her against the cabinet, opening a massive gash across her skull. Elizabeth is dead. Realizing what he’s done, Panish flees. When Colin returns, he finds Elizabeth’s lifeless body and decides to flee too, scrambling down the steps and out into the streets… and to another motel.
When Michelle finally arrives, Colin is gone but Elizabeth is still dead on the floor. She brings this news back to her husband and his men, where she admits to cleaning the room and packing everything up. We know who’s responsible, but it’s spun that Colin is the guilty party here, and getting the authorities involved is a bad look. Michelle admits that the motel owner also knows she was the last one there, and as such he’s “taken care of.” ..
On Sunday, the officers catch wind of Elizabeth’s death and begin an investigation. Panish pays off both Chris and the motel owner, deciding to try and keep the peace. Panish is forced to hand over the security footage too.
Julian is clearly on a different wavelength than both Lorenzo and Isabelle. His past is full of demons; horrifying, grotesque images that dance across his mind. We’ve seen some of it over the past episodes, and there’s a really interesting chat here, with Julian telling Lorenzo that he sees the familiar suit jacket as a costume. Julian is very clearly trying to distance himself from the male escort gig he’s been involved with for so long. ..
Detective Sunday arrives to see Michelle, who is not one of her husband’s paid-for officers. Instead, she begins asking about Julian and her ties with him.
On Sunday, Michelle admitted to using Julian twice and said that they had been together at parties and taken pictures but it was nothing serious. She played the part of them being tourists together and it still doesn’t explain how his picture ended up in the motel room, but we as the audience do. Through flashbacks we see that the ties between Julian and Michelle have run deeper than simple lust.
Julian is a client of the law firm where Michelle works. He admits this to Sunday, and hangs up on him because he’s too much for him. He smokes cocaine with Lorenzo, who left it for him earlier in the episode, and gets dressed in a suit he’s been putting off all chapter long. As Julian drives away, the camera pans out to show that he’s being watched.
The Episode Review
The American Gigolo is a fascinating character study; a deep dive into a broken man struggling to reassemble the pieces of his life back together. Jon Bernthal is one hell of an actor and he manages to slip into this role so effortlessly. You can really see the confliction and pain with every scene and it’s testament to the man’s ability that he manages to pull it off so well.
The flashbacks in the episode help to explore more of the past, with the subplot involving Michelle and Richard Stratton clearly linked to everything that’s going on. It’s clear Julian is being watched and it seems a bullseye has been pinned on his back that could prove to be fatal in the episodes ahead, especially if the proverbial archer is primed and ready to shoot. ..
The new Showtime series is visually stunning and has a great musical score. It’s a bit of a slow burn at first, but it’s well worth sticking with. ..
