Death and Other Details Recap: A Trip Down Memory Lane
When we first return to a beside-herself-with-anger Imogene and a quite contrite Rufus following Lew’s big revelation that Rufus missed something important all those years ago, she demands Rufus walk her through everything he remembers from the case. Rufus agrees to take Imogene back to Seattle 2005, and we get some nifty little tricks that involve Imogene actually stepping into the role of Rufus during that time — signature glasses and scarf included. It’s a fun bit — especially when she feels his hangover by way of a door buzzer that sounds like a freight train running through her head. The bit doesn’t go nearly as far as it should to really work; I mean, she’s not even going to attempt the insane accent? Not even as a joke? Imogene taking on Rufus’s role as he takes on the Kira Scott case — which, we learn, he initially does solely for the Collier money — goes flat, but the way in which director James Griffiths (the episode was written by Myung Joh Wesner) plays with memory throughout is trippy and exciting; this episode easily stands out as the best of the season thus far.
So, what does Imogene learn during her time as Rufus? She spends time going through the initial interviews with Lawrence and Katherine Collier, her own Nana (Kira’s mother), Father Toby, and Llewellyn. While Llewellyn refers to Kira as “an angel” (he was in love with her, remember?), the Colliers disagree, and Nana prefers to call her daughter “a crusader.” Nana and Father Toby both point to a woman who was always trying to help and stand up for others. Although Lawrence is the one person who really gives me the creeps, back then and now still, Rufus explains he had no reason to suspect him at the time. He did, however, make some implications regarding Llewellyn, but the lawyer points out he can’t change a lightbulb on his own, much less rig a car bomb.
The interrogations mostly come up empty, but when Danny finds Kira’s datebook, the detectives finally get a lead. There is a page torn out, and Rufus and Danny figure out that the page contains information about a meeting on February 12 at the Opal Diner. Was the page ripped out so no one would learn about that meeting? They head to the diner to investigate, and, thanks to a line cook, learn that Kira and Imogene were there that day, and at one point, Kira got up and had a heated argument with someone out behind the restaurant. It can’t be a coincidence that this secret argument — one that someone wanted to keep a secret even after Kira’s death — took place one month before Kira was murdered. Whatever happened then could be the key to solving everything.
Rufus knows the only shot he has at figuring this out is through Imogene. When he goes to ask her about it, she is blocked. He pushes a little, as tiny Imogene clutches the blue scarf her mother handed her before her death, but once she grows upset and frustrated, he stops. He cares about her now, and he doesn’t want to hurt her, even if it means a dead end. Unfortunately, this is when the Colliers cut off resources and money and end their relationship with Rufus — and it’s when Imogene believes the one person on her side has abandoned her. But that is not the full story: 15 years later, while working on another case, Rufus and Danny stumble upon a blackmailer named Viktor Sams and connect it back to the Colliers. They call Llewellyn back in, but he’s adamant about clearing Lawrence’s name. What he says, word for word, is: “Lawrence Collier has never paid blackmail. Lawrence Collier has nothing to hide,” and when Rufus disagrees, Llewellyn responds, “You’re not hearing me,” which is a curious way to phrase all of this if you start to think about it!
Regardless, the major takeaways from this moment for Imogene in the present are (1) that Rufus never gave up on her and (2) that she must have some memory of what happened at the diner on February 12. Imogene begs Rufus to help her retrieve it — and so they set out on the second part of their surreal adventure together. This entire memory sequence is where the episode really soars. We follow Imogene as she follows the younger version of herself, through trunks that lead into gardens and into a weird and wild version of the Collier mansion where she remembers Llewellyn sobbing during a rendition of “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues,” and Lawrence putting a necklace on her mother, and Anna and Tripp laughing while watching The Simpsons (does Hans Moleman have something to do with these murders?).
When Imogene first goes to the diner, she opens the door to the alley to find a reflection of herself — that memory is still blocked. When she returns, she confronts the younger version of herself, who then runs off as if she desperately wants to keep this memory buried. It turns out that’s exactly what she’s doing. After adult Imogene finally catches up to her younger self, little Imogene tells her that she promised she would never talk about what she saw that day. But who would she have made that promise to?
We don’t have to wait long to solve that mystery: It was her mother. Adult Imogene finally gathers enough courage to get back in the car with her mother the moment before it blows up, and we learn that we never saw the entire conversation that took place between the two that day. In the car, Imogene asks about the fight with the woman that made Kira cry. Back at the diner, Imogene can finally open that door, and in the alley, she sees her mother arguing with none other than the future governor of Washington, Alexandra Hochenberg, then an attorney Kira went to for help exposing the Colliers for the deaths at their factories. Alexandra tells her that even with a witness, there is no case against them.
Back in the car, Imogene also asks her mother about her other friend, who was also sad that day. This friend lost her husband. This friend was going to be the witness in the case to bring down the Colliers. This woman was Celia Chun.
Imogene may have made a promise to her mother to bury the memory of what happened at the Opal Diner, and she may have buried it so deep, done such a good job, that she nearly wiped it from her memory completely, but she doesn’t need to keep that promise anymore. Imogene storms out of the room with Rufus to confront Celia in the dining room. Celia Chun was her mom’s whistleblower. So what is she doing here, head of an empire, buying Collier-Mills? I knew Celia Chun was up to something! Protect her at all costs! It may have taken seven episodes, but this little mystery here has finally gotten quite juicy.
The Aforementioned Other Details
• Am I crazy, or does Imogene’s mother look VERY familiar? Like someone we’ve definitely seen before? Like someone that might make Llewellyn tell Rufus the truth was staring him in the face the whole time?
• They make a point in the 2005 flashback to have Danny note that he “never forgets a face” — will this come into play when we finally see the moments leading up to his death?
• Okay, Rufus may be a fraud, re: “the world’s greatest detective” stuff, but he is … good at this? He’s good at reading people, at least. He read that line cook for all he’s worth! Justice for Rufus! When will this guy get a real win?