Jess is a badass, and her friends can never argue otherwise.
She had a close call on In The Dark Season 2 Episode 6, nearly losing her life for the sole reason of being looked upon as untrustworthy, but she used her skills to save her life and Nia’s.
Of course, Nia’s days may be numbered after Murphy’s phone call to Darnell.
Felix and Murphy meant well by keeping Jess in the dark about the recent developments in their job description, and their reasoning behind it was sound.
Jess has proven to be a talker, over-emotional, and more inclined to freak out and not handle things well. However, there was no way they could maintain keeping the drugs at Guiding Hope without her founding out.
The events of In the Dark Season 2 Episode 5 alone should’ve taught them that excluding her was going to come back to haunt them.
And while they thought not updating her somehow protected her, the actual result was antithetical. It put Jess in more danger when Nia assumed that Murphy and Felix didn’t tell Jess because they didn’t trust her.
And if they didn’t trust her, then why should she?
Jess had that working against her, but a jealous Sam was behind Nia’s distrust. Sam could not handle that Sterling was spending so much time with Jess.
Sam: Just find another front.
Nia: I’m not going to find another front just because your girlfriend is sleeping with this chick.
In her defense, it does appear as though Sterling has developed real feelings for Jess, and their relationship is more than a job.
She doesn’t mind “babysitting” Jess, and she’s considerate of her feelings and genuine in trying to look after and tend to her, but of course, Sam is noticing all of this, and it doesn’t sit well.
It was one of the first times we saw Sam react from emotion rather than practicality. She’s so pragmatic, and she’s the one who tries to remind Nia to keep personal feelings out of matters.
She didn’t have any reason to support why Nia should move the drugs or remove Jess from the operation, but she was willing to give Sam some leeway and check in on Jess.
Sam: I need you to end it.
Sterling: End what?
Sam: With Jess. I just don’t want you seeing her.
So, again, what is Ben’s deal? We now know that Sterling works for Nia, but what about him?
It’s like they keep using him as a red herring or a significant clue, but they haven’t given us much about this character for us to understand where he’s coming from or care that he’s involved and meets his end.
During this installment, he made you raise a brow when he bid Jess farewell and said something about her having fun on her way home.
He doesn’t come across as a caring person, so it wasn’t something he’d say out of the blue in sincerity. And no sooner than Jess was out of Guiding Hope, Sam pulled a gun out on her.
Are we supposed to believe that Ben happens to see and notice things from all the time spent hanging around and not doing his job? Or does Ben have some greater involvement in everything?
We haven’t had much on his death. The only addition to the flash during this installment was Josh calling Murphy while she and Felix were cleaning up the crime scene.
Jess meeting Nia for the first time was intense, and one could only hope that Jess learns how to respond to questions and lie better.
Nia blindsided Jess when she told her that the heroin was at Guiding Hope. Maybe things would’ve gone smoother, and Jess wouldn’t have been on the brink of facing down Sam’s barrel if she played it off that she knew better.
Darnell: Sam told me what happened. You OK?
Jess: No.
Darnell: Nia’s lucky you were there, Jess.
Jess: It wasn’t my choice.
It turns out Trey’s reckless and stupid decision to come after Nia was what saved Jess in the end. In this instance, being in the wrong place at the wrong time was a blessing.
How warped and twisted is the entire situation when Jess was pleading for her life one minute, and then had others begging her to save Nia’s in the next?
A lesser person would’ve fled the second Nia went down, and they would’ve left her there to die. Maybe most of their problems would be resolved if Jess did.
However, Jess isn’t that person, and she put her veterinary/medical skills to use. She inadvertently made herself useful to Nia without intention.
I don’t know how we’re supposed to trust her if her own friends don’t even trust her?
Nia
Jess was in her element, quick on her feet, and she kicked all kinds of butt while saving Nia’s life. It’s one of the few times we see her at her most confident and self-assured.
Part of it was probably the shock, and she was operating on adrenaline and auto-pilot, but it’s also a matter of Jess being the most confident when she’s operating and such. She would’ve made an incredible doctor or surgeon.
Sam’s jealousy and the hostility she harbored toward Jess became something of gratitude. She was impressed by Jess, and it seemed as though she understood why Sterling found Jess so appealing.
It was enough to make Sam demand Sterling stop the canoodling with Jess. Maybe she could understand why it would be easy to fall in love with her, and she wanted to nip it in the bud before it got worse.
Your heart broke for Jess when she got home and told Murphy what happened. She had checked out by then, and she was so angry and hurt, she couldn’t even engage in an argument or have it out with Murphy.
Isn’t that far worse than anything else?
Murphy was absolutely gutted, listening to Jess sob in her room after a night where she almost died because of her friends’ choices.
Felix is none the wiser after his close call with the drugs at the dropoff, but he’s inclined to do whatever he can so they get out.
Murphy: There’s a way better approach.
Felix: Don’t sleep with him.
Murphy: I’m not going to sleep with him, idiot.
But how does standing back and letting Darnell give Josiah the upper hand over Nia help them? Wouldn’t it put them in more harm’s way with Josiah instead?
At this rate, they would probably want Josiah to handle Nia before anyone else since both Dean and Gene and Josh are after Nia too. Except, with their investigations, the rest of them could go down with Nia as well.
Murphy tried her best to gain access to Josh’s files and determine what all he had on Nia, but Josh, while sweet and trusting, isn’t reckless or an idiot.
Every time Murphy thought she could get the information, he shut it down before she could.
Josh is such a sweet guy, and it’s endearing that the friendship he and Murphy have developed feels real and isn’t rooted in sexual attraction or romance.
Both of them scoff at the idea of the other making a pass, and Murphy, against her instincts, is fond of Josh. It only means their friendship is bound to blow up, and it’s going to hurt when it happens.
Josh thinks Murphy cares about him and is genuine in wanting to help him, but if he finds out even a half-truth of what’s going on, he’ll believe she used him, and their friendship wasn’t real.
And he’s going to find out something, if not from his work, he will start piecing things together with Murphy after that trip to Dean’s house.
Murphy: So are you after some drug lord or something. You’re going to put him in math jail?
Josh: Well, I’m actually after a woman right now.
Murphy: Wow, we really are taking over.
Chloe is continuing to struggle with socializing a bit, but she and her new friend have a close bond, and she’s behaving like a stereotypical teen.
You can’t fault her for trying to have a social life, and Dean does seem to smother her a bit in that regard. But then, he also leaves her to her own devices and is shocked when she finds something else to do.
He’s doing more damage than good by trying to keep Chloe away from Murphy. He isn’t even giving her a reason for why they can no longer be friends, and his irrational shrieking about Murphy being the poor influence on Chloe shows how out of touch he is with his daughter.
But that blowout outside of his home had Murphy commenting about him being a killer. Josh took it in stride, assuming it was some reference to police brutality, but Chloe didn’t respond well.
Sterling: Are you serious? You told me to get go close to her.
Sam: To all of them.
Does this mean she believes her father is a killer now? Does she think this is the reason he and Murphy are at odds? It’s hard to say what Chloe is thinking and what she gleaned from that exchange.
I imagine the focus on Chloe and her rebellion has some relevance and will contribute to Dean getting exposed.
I also think his partner will piece things together too. Gene is underused, but Matt Murray is effervescent and a delight whenever he’s onscreen.
Gene has been doing most of the work while Dean is brooding and trying to cover his butt. If Gene hadn’t deciphered the Klingon message Max left, then they wouldn’t have figured out the exchange spot was at the grocery store.
He’s the reason they were able to make such a big bust. It was a close call when the dog sniffed out the drugs in Felix’s backpack.
It put a dent in the operation, and it kept Max from getting a delivery. Now, he’s in a bind and has an inmate who is threatening to expose him.
Wouldn’t the guy risk as much if he snitches on Max? Is it that Max is afraid of getting beat up, attacked, or worse again?
Why doesn’t Nia have anyone looking out for him in prison for that matter? Max is in a rough spot, but his portion of the show feels shoehorned in most of the time.
With Darnell and Murphy possibly working toward taking Nia down from the outside, what will that do for him? It seems as though he’s screwed no matter what.
Darnell: Hey, Murphy. What’s up?
Murphy: I’m in. Let’s take Nia down.
I have no idea what to expect from the upcoming installments; how about you?
Will things be better or worse if they get Nia out of the way? Did Jess impress you during this hour? Are she and Murphy damaged beyond repair now?
How do you think Josh will factor into all of this? What does Chloe believe about her father now? Hit the comments 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.