Oh, In the Dark, you’re guaranteed to provide us with utter madness and chaos.
On an exciting note, Morgan Krantz took a spin in the director’s chair for In The Dark Season 4 Episode 7, directing his first installment of the series, and it’s so much fun when an actor does that.
They know the characters in a particular way and get to translate that through their direction. You can typically notice a person’s distinctive style, too. I love that Krantz had that opportunity and did so well.
But back to the absolute bonkers action that happened throughout this installment.
We still don’t know why Darnell is at the level of pissed he was at Murphy other than “because… plot.”
For most of the installment, we were stuck with Great Value Darnell, who bitched and moaned after Gene and Sarah’s parent-trapped him and Murphy into working with one another.
He nitpicked the whole time, not wanting Murphy to do her own thing to ensure that they made any headway in this investigation, even though he hasn’t produced anything at all in the time he’s spent undercover.
Say what you will about Murphy Mason, but the girl knows how to get some results. And the thing is, Darnell KNOWS that, so it was illogical that he was standing in her way at every turn. But then, Darnell hasn’t made sense as a character for some time.
Murphy: She trust me. She actually likes me.
Darnell: Nobody likes you.
Fortunately, the real Darnell body-snatched his way back, but it happened in the worst, most quintessentially In the Dark way.
If Darnell had allowed Murphy to do her thing instead of him hitting up Reggie again, who doesn’t trust him or pay him mind, they might have avoided Trevor falling to his death later.
Maybe that confrontation gave Darnell a reality check and made him more sympathetic to Murphy’s plight and how easily things can spin out of control.
Now the two of them are bound by the secret of Trevor’s accidental death, and both could stand to lose too much if the truth got out about it.
Gene and Sarah will undoubtedly find out about Trevor, so I don’t know how Darnell and Murphy think they’ll be able to pull this off.
Conveniently, this is the one thing Darnell doesn’t intend to share with Sarah, making him more irritating since he cherry-picks what is and isn’t pertinent when it’s convenient for him.
It isn’t lost that in a single day, Murphy got directly to Paula, proving how invaluable she is as C.I. They should give her an honorary badge (since they gave Josh one) and let her play cop since she does their jobs better than they do.
Murphy is effective. Although, it was bizarre that they didn’t have to check in with anyone along the way about their progress.
Murphy and Darnell coming face to face with Leslie was a surprise for both of them, but it made things more interesting. It means that she and Leslie will have to work together. With their history, it feels like an impossible feat.
Murphy threw herself into this case, and so far, she hasn’t shared anything with Max and Felix, which left both men in the wind and feeling a bit lost.
Felix and Max are such a bizarre but entertaining bromance. In so many ways, they shouldn’t work at all, but Krantz and Deidrick have a fun chemistry that always makes their scenes together irresistible even when you want to hate them.
They had a few poignant moments, namely the conversation they shared over whiskey at Grandma Bell’s mansion. Neither of them can quit Murphy, but Max once again acknowledged how much he needed to so he could move forward.
You wanna talk about pathetic, you’ve done nothing but embarrass yourself and this family, just like your father. Men with delicate emotions are bound for failure.
Grandma Bell
The men bonding, sharing deeper insight into their respective characters, particularly Max, and facing some hard truths was good. There’s no doubt that scene, as well as Felix parting with Max after reassurance that they can be friends, evoked some feeling.
However, Max is so freaking insufferable at this point that it was hard to accept some of the dialogue without rolling your eyes.
I never understood this character’s hold on many viewers from the start, but he’s grown more irritating with time, and he’s reached his absolute worst this season.
I’m still mystified at his audacity. Max woke up in Leslie’s bed with his arm around her as if nothing had happened; it was unfathomable!
Max cheated on Leslie, confessed his love to Murphy, and when she turned him away, he crawled his ass back into Leslie’s bed and attempted to feed her this notion that they could just go back to how things were even though he said he didn’t love her.
It’s such a shitty thing to do that there is no return from it. But it’s so peak Maxwell Parish since he’s honest to goodness spent the entire series hopping in and out of beds like the Hobosexual King that he is, so, of course, he went back to Leslie because he didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Thank goodness Leslie came to her senses and kicked him out. The shoe hitting the windshield was pure perfection. But it meant that Max and Felix spent most of the hour wandering around because they realized that they were simply unemployed, homeless, and broke bums without Murphy and Leslie.
Literally, Max has spent this whole series homeless and relying on women to have a warm place to stay. The hobo shtick has gotten so old and is so offputting.
Felix: What?
Max: I don’t have anyone I can call on, okay?
Felix: Oh. This is rock bottom.
Max: I love that you think that this is what rock bottom is.
But he hit the jackpot when he talked Felix into reaching out to Grandma Bell, and she provided them with his own freaking suite in the house, silk pajamas, a five-course breakfast, and a job at a restaurant.
The best part about it for Max was that he didn’t even have to sleep with Grandma Bell to get all of these amenities, although he probably would’ve considered it. No, this was an extended perk from the last time he slept his way into someone’s home.
Can you imagine what it would feel like for Leslie to know that her ex-boyfriend was shacking up at her wealthy grandmother’s house?
Max hit the jackpot with that one, hoboed his way right up to the top, and then spent time trying to convince Felix that things weren’t bad and that a woman who verbally abused her grandson deserved sympathy and understanding because she lost a child as if Felix being an “orphan” whose parents ostracized him and treated him poorly didn’t mean anything.
And while we’re on the topic of the questionable writing for this series, how is Felix an orphan anyway? Didn’t we meet his mother when he stole the gun from her?
The show’s continued pattern of shitting on Felix and treating him like he’s pathetic has gotten so old and aggravating. When doesn’t a character talk down to this guy? His grandmother’s remarks were biting and harsh.
Felix has a long history of every family member we’ve met speaking to him like that, in addition to how Murphy, Jess, and others have treated him on and off over the years. As a result, it was grating that Max fixed his lips to tell Felix to cut someone else some freaking slack.
But because Felix has no one, it’s why he clings to Murphy so much, no matter how bad she is for him. It speaks to how alone he often feels that he clung to the guy who cheated on his sister with the woman HE loves so tightly and still wants that friendship.
You can’t keep chasing someone who doesn’t want to be caught.
Max
The two of them saying goodbye was sweet, in a way, but again, the notion that Max was about to ride off into his future on Grandma Bell’s dime for his umpteenth second chance was laughable.
Of course, one phone call from Joy changed everything for him. He was shaking like an addict when he realized that Murphy was probably not okay or off doing God knows what. Murphy is his drug of choice, and he can’t get clean.
The shot of Max outside Murphy’s motel door comforting Pretzel was great.
And clearly, Felix was right to be worried about Murphy and to assume something was happening.
With Murphy and Leslie caught up in this situation with Paula, it’s only a matter of time before the boys are into it too.
Darnell: No one is ever going to know.
Murphy: What?
Darnell: Are you going to say anything?
Murphy: No.
Darnell: Neither am I.
Murphy: You’re not even going to tell Sarah?
Darnell: Not even Sarah.
Meanwhile, Josh can’t get over his Murphy obsession for anything in the world. Good heavens, this man can’t quit.
Gene put him on a different case to avoid telling him that Murphy is a C.I., and he’s in freaking files and reaching out to Chelsea. Josh is determined to put Murphy back in jail, regardless of it not making a lick of sense or him constantly jeopardizing everything with his vendetta.
I’m just so freaking sick and tired of this man that it doesn’t bear more discussion. Complaining about Josh is as redundant as Josh’s entire existence and arc.
Over to you, In the Dark Fanatics.
Were you surprised to see Leslie in Paula’s room? What are your thoughts on the Max/ Felix dynamic? Sound off below.
You can watch In The Dark online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.