Richy Maria Jacob
The series ‘Home Before Dark’ has set in motion the gripping, risky, and revealing nature of investigative journalism. In its first episode, it sets in place evident problems that float to the surface as soon as Penny Gillis is found dead, and Hilde has leading evidence to suspect that it is a murder.
In what we saw last, Principle Kim Collins was the lead suspect. However, the second episode re-shuffles previously established facts. The episode also fleshes out periphery characters and introduces a few new ones.
‘Home Before Dark’ Episode 2 Recap
The episode begins with an introduction to Matt’s father, who is easily confused and prone to anger. Matt meets Frankie, who he doesn’t seem to like much, even more so when he gets to know that Frankie is more successful in bonding with his father than him. Hilde tries to tell Matt about the evidence she found but fails to do so. Rigorous research in the school library and a chat with Matt’s old teacher informs Hilde that Principle Kim and abducted Richie were friends. Young Matt, who was also Richie’s friend, changed overnight since the incident. Unsure of what to ultimately make of it, Hilde and her friends pay a visit to the crime scene (Penny Gillis’s house). Meanwhile, Izzy decides to go to the woods with a boy from school she likes.
Bridget (Abby Miller) takes young Ginny, Hilde’s baby sister, to playschool. Upon finding out that Ginny is Matt Lisko’s daughter, the playschool comes up with an excuse to deny admission to Ginny. Three events follow subsequently. Izzy gets chased by a wolf in the woods and stumbles upon an abandoned cabin. The town folks religiously avoid Bridget and Ginny because Matt witnessed Richie’s abduction (something Bridget had no idea about). Lastly, Hilde and her friends observe that though the blood remains at the crime site, nothing seems faulty with the bulb she fell fixing (the reason given by the Sheriff), and there were no broken remnants of the bulb.
Trip, Hilde’s police friend, makes a visit to the crime site and catch Hilde snooping around, and before she can adequately reprimand the kids, someone runs out of Penny’s house. Trip is unable to track down the suspicious individual. Principle Kim pays a visit to Hilde’s house and confides in Matt that Hilde stole the VCR player that Penny gave to her. Matt calls what she did bad journalism. The episode ends with two events. One, the Sheriff’s office is aware that someone is anonymously tipping Hilde with information. Secondly, The Lisko household gets a call from Sam Gillis, Penny’s brother, in prison, with a tip for Hilde.
‘Home Before Dark’ Episode 2 Review
The second episode breaks down the confidence that Hilde builds with the evidence she previously collects. Though she didn’t make up any of them, the associations she made ended up being faulty as far as Matt is concerned. Now, there could be two ways it plays out. Though Principal Collins said that Penny gave the VCR player to her, there is no evidence to prove that because Penny is dead. There is a possibility that she was playing with Matt’s troubled emotions to remove her from the accused position. Otherwise, Hilde did assume a bit too much without conclusive evidence.
The episode also reveals the double standards of the localities in Erie Harbour. On the one hand, they dislike Matt and his entire family because he didn’t testify against Sam Gillis as everyone expected him to do, including his father. The small town’s mentality is showcased to be quite narrow. On the other hand, though they criticize Hilde and her newspaper, they profusely consume everything she publishes.
Once again, there are clues left for the viewers to make connections. Hilde’s friend jokes about his brother, who once saw Richie’s ghost near the town’s boathouse. Donny talks about missing kids and women in the town and how there are coyotes in the woods. Now, the audience can piece it together if this has some merit. These rumors could be a possible indicator that Richie is perhaps still alive since nobody really found his body. Also, the abandoned cabin Izzy found in the woods and the coyote she was chased by could have some significant connection with the case. Speculations aside, the third episode should have more leading information.
‘Home Before Dark’ Episode 2 Ending Explained
The second episode comes to a close with what seems to be a means by the series to add some suspense and reveal the potential impact Hilde has in uncovering this case whose roots go back to 1988. Someone who looks like Mayor Fife talks to the cops in the Sheriff’s office about stopping Hilde’s investigations. They also seem threatened and furious by the fact that somebody within the Sheriff’s station is providing an anonymous tip to Hilde’s paper. Trip could end up in murky waters due to this. Frankie is shown to read Hilde’s second article with much concern. The deliberate shot to include him in the list of people threatened by Hilde’s journalism could mean something.
At the end of the episode, we get to see that Hilde’s article has reached Sam Gillis, Penny’s convicted brother, in Richie’s case. The looks Matt and Hilde share when Sam says he has a tip for Hilde in a call from prison is a prelude to the storm brewing.
Read More: Where was ‘Home Before Dark’ Filmed?
