Just when we thought we could let out a collective sigh of relief that Murphy is no longer alone, the shit has hit the fan again.
You got to love this show. During In The Dark Season 3 Episode 4, we got Murphy and Felix’s awkward reunion, Darnell coming through as he always does, and Murphy and Trey pulling off a hell of a heist.
Damn, I love In the Dark.
Michael came through in a way that some of us suspected. He fixed Murphy’s phone and contacted Darnell, and that move was a saving grace for Murphy.
Shockingly, she was still stuck on that abandoned road, and no one else was willing to help her. That whole thing about Canada being this nice, utopian land is a myth.
But it helped that Josiah set Darnell on the path to find Murphy and her friends, and his life was on the line if he didn’t find success. It seems that he took Jessica to get Murphy and the others’ attention.
He’s pissed off that the Guiding Hope gang had to leave some of the drugs behind in their quest to get them all to Josiah, and the drug dealer feels that they are now indebted to him $300,000 or their lives.
Josiah assigned Darnell and Trey with the impossible task of finding the Guiding Hope crew and the money. Sometimes it’s hard to discern if Josiah is better or worse than Nia. He’s more of a sociopath in comparison, and that much is evident.
Now, all of their lives are in danger again. But for these people, it’s just another day that ends in a “y.”
Darnell and Murphy’s reunion was a relief, but instantly Murphy and Trey did not get along at all.
Who would’ve imagined in a million years that it was Murphy and Trey who would steal the entire installment with their enemies to friends chaotic dynamic?!
Say what you will about these two, but somehow, they managed to get shit done! I mean, it still ended in a disaster, but sometimes, it’s about the journey rather than the results.
It’s probably a good thing that Murphy and Felix slept together before they parted ways, and Felix is the type of guy who felt like a conversation needed to happen.
Trey: I’m not getting caught up in the pleasantries, Shorty.
Murphy: Shorty? I’m very tall.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered turning on the burner phone or calling “Lorri” back when he saw the missed calls. They agreed not to reach out to one another for a year, and it’s something they would’ve stuck with for their safety.
It’s so quintessential Felix that he somehow had a job as a mascot, a car, and a laptop no sooner than he stepped off the plane in Toronto. It was hilarious when he bolted from the job in his costume and headed to the others at the motel.
And despite everything that was going on, including the update that Josiah had Jess and was holding her until he got his payment, Felix still tried to carve out some time to talk about the threesome.
Bless his heart; it’s as if he doesn’t know Murphy at all. She doesn’t view sex that way, so you can believe that with everything she had going on since she didn’t think about that experience with him once.
Darnell is always looking out for Murphy and the others, so it was on-brand that he had a plan when he arrived. He hoped they could access Nia’s Guiding Hope accounts and use her money to pay off Josiah.
Unfortunately, in a jaw-dropping revelation, Nia was broke!
Not only was there no money in the account, but she was in the negative five grand. Seriously, what the hell?!
No wonder Nia was on their asses all of the time! Did someone clean her out after she disappeared, or was she walked around talking a good game but without any money to back it up?
It never occurred to you that the blind girl wanted for murder might be pretending not to be blind?
Gene
If the authorities froze her accounts, the money would’ve still shown up even if they couldn’t access it.
The revelation was something that threw everyone off and had Trey ready to go on the run and leave the others to figure things out or meet their maker.
Trey’s indifference to Murphy, Felix, or Jess’ fate, well, that’s something we could expect, but he and Darnell are close. It’s offputting that he considered bailing on Darnell like that.
It’s something Murphy couldn’t fathom at all. Despite everything that she and the others have gone through over time, she doesn’t bail on her friends. She always tries to figure something out.
And that conversation sparked one of the best arrangements on the show to date. Trey and Murphy work well together. They both have a chaotic spirit and willingness to do whatever to get what they need.
Murphy didn’t even have to propose stealing with seriousness for Trey to offer to go through with it himself. If it were anyone else, Murphy would’ve needed to do all the convincing, and her friends would’ve whined about it the whole time.
Trey and Murphy fed off each other’s energy, and they had each other’s backs the whole time. They did well at the casino for a bit, but the problem with gambling is the house always wins.
But pulling off a classic heist with Murphy serving as the honeypot/ringer, and Trey, the stickup kid, was the most entertaining aspect of the hour.
Murphy’s ability to decipher a safe code because of the sound came in handy. Her willingness, however discomforting it is, to use sex to get what she needed worked to their advantage too.
Trey acted like a dick a few times, and he’s not always on the up, but it spoke volumes about his character when he took little moments to reassure Murphy that she didn’t have to go all the way through with certain things, and he had her back.
And he did. Murphy couldn’t go through with actual sex with the gambler. She couldn’t even keep the seduction act up long enough for Trey to get to safety.
She kept thinking about Max, and it was a glimmer of a moment that spoke to how much she loves Max and how her whole perspective of relationships and sex have likely changed because of him.
Murphy: I’m not giving up. I don’t care if I have to rob this casino. I’m going to get that money. I’m going to get that money.
Trey: You serious about that?
Murphy: About what?
Trey: About stealing? Because there’s this guy, he has about a million chips on the table, definitely more than $300,000.
But the timing of that was not ideal. Nevertheless, Trey had her back, knocked out the guy, and they were out of there with the cash.
In the perfect world, they would’ve had a bag full of cash they made in under a couple of hours because apparently Trey and Murphy can work magic, and we would’ve been blessed with Darnell and Felix’s shocked faces.
Unfortunately, everything went to hell because of Felix.
Felix was so uncomfortable with the idea that anyone could perceive him as racist because of comments he made that could be microaggressions that he went out of his way to prove himself a worthy ally.
Oh, Felix. After the talk he had with Darnell, he should’ve accepted that things were fine. Darnell wasn’t thinking about Felix or anything that he said in the first place.
The man has dealt with and heard worse in his life, and Felix isn’t even on his radar, so Felix would’ve saved everyone a lot of heartache if he found some chill.
Instead, Felix wanted to cash in on his white ally card by calling the librarian out on her legitimate microaggressions and discrimination by making a scene.
Yeah, in an effort to show he wasn’t a racist, Felix subjected Darnell to more racism AND an encounter with the police. Nothing a Black man and ex-felon loves more than police interaction with a shady cop.
All Felix had to do was leave the library when Darnell told him, but he insisted on proving something that made him look more like an idiot. Darnell is a man capable of sticking up for himself, and he’s dealt with worse every day.
Darnell: Can you do me a favor and just do exactly what this cop says?
Felix: Yeah, of course.
Felix isn’t solving racism by jeopardizing their lives further for his performative soapbox rant. He gave Darnell more work to do, endangered him further, and subsequently cost the group the money they got to save Jess.
And while Trey’s idea of bribing the cop was good enough, it was puzzling when he gave the officer the entire bag of cash instead of taking the $100k out of it.
If the cop is dirty enough to take a bribe in the first place, even when he was arresting the Black guy for “aiding and abetting a fugitive” without actually arresting the aforementioned “fugitive,” then he’s running with everything!
Aside from some absurd and frustrating developments, it was such a fun dynamic to have here.
Darnell, who apparently had the Guiding Hope Group’s brain cell this entire time, is such an underused character, and the hour was stronger for utilizing him well here.
He has such great chemistry with the other characters, and it was a blast to have these dynamics on display! Trey is an unexpectedly great addition to the mix, too.
He and Murphy made the installment with their rapport and antics. Murphy’s chemistry with all the men was fun and engaging, and it felt like something ripped from a heist movie where a collection of personalities have to come together for a common goal.
The formatting of these installments is different from previous seasons, but they’re appealing.
Now, I’m curious how they’ll reincorporate Max, who will probably only get involved out of a newfound loyalty to Jess.
Murphy’s move of calling Josh could benefit her or backfire, and it’s too soon to tell.
Josh and Gene were hot on their trail, and it’s nice to have competent law enforcement officers in pursuit.
Gene’s admonishment of the cop who didn’t realize Murphy was blind was laugh-out-loud funny. And it’s impressive how well Josh and Gene work, as well as how quickly they piece together clues.
Josh it’s me. I’m ready to cooperate, I just need one thing from you first. I need you to help me get Jess.
Murphy
I’m waiting for the tension that will come between the men when Josh realizes that Gene intends to use Murphy to flip on Josiah and catch a bigger fish.
If Murphy agrees to meet up with Josh and even turn herself in, what does that look like? And will they be willing to leverage anything to help her find Jess?
You would hope so, but who’s to say?
In the meantime, Jess appears to have checked out altogether. When will she know peace?
Hit the comments below with all of your thoughts!
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.