We Are Coming, Father Abraham – As the second episode of Black Bird begins, Tricia Reitler walks home from the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana on March 29, 1993. She disappears when she walks past a dark van. Lauren McCauley (Sepideh Moafi) asks Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) if he likes women. After he says he loves them, Lauren asks what he likes about them so he tells her. He is asked about his breast preferences and that causes him to laugh. Jimmy likes everything about women since he has sisters. He likes this. Although he isn’t saying anything is going to happen, he knows the possibility is there. There is nothing he doesn’t like about women. She asks what he thinks Larry Hall doesn’t like about women. When Jimmy says he doesn’t know, Jimmy admits he doesn’t know.
Lauren says he is no good to her because he is going to have to show he can find common ground with this man. Brian Miller (Greg Kinnear) asks Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser) about his dreams of killing women. Once Larry comes out of his daze, he says it isn’t like that. He just has a lot of dreams from killing them. He mentions that his brother Gary (Jake McLaughlin) has a lot of dreams about falling. Larry calls Gary his twin and he has dreams about drowning too. When asked what the dreams are like, Larry says it is like he is looking down on himself and he isn’t in his body. He can’t tell him exactly what his body is doing, but he remembers that it is something bad. Women are being killed sometimes. When he is shown a picture of the victim, he gets emotional and says he wants to go home.
He gets upset, slaps the table, and tells Chris Drysdale (Chris Drysdale) that he wants to go home. They step out of the room as Brian argues with Russ (Cullen Moss) about not getting anything. Russ and Chris claim Larry just talks big. They have their guy in the Reitler case already and the case is solid. Detective Johansen (Jason Bayle) tells him to go back to Illinois and build a case for the Roach girl. Then, he can come back to Indiana where she was found to take another run at Hall. Johansen says they’ll respect his sandbox if he respects theirs. Brian watches Larry shake Chris’s hand before leaving in a squad car as he curses their sandbox. Brian tells Lauren he is worried that they’ll try to steal the case from him. He says Jessica Roach was likely abducted and killed in Illinois although it is inconclusive.
It is conclusive that she was found in Indiana. It would be federal since the killer would’ve crossed state lines to kill her. She says most US attorneys don’t try murder cases. When they do, it is common for them to get their butts handed to them. She reveals that Hulin just brought in an assassin named Edmund Beaumont. Lauren tells him to put a bug in her eyes about Beaumont. If she puts Beaumont and them on the case, Brian might have a chance of slamming the door on this guy. During a meeting with Beaumont (Robert Wisdom), he says Mark will lead the interview because he doesn’t want Lauren in the room if Hall throat kills women. He also says Agent Mark Ellenberg (Brett Gentile) can do the polygraph so he schedules it for the 15th.
Brian worries they’re giving Wabash and Marion too much time to claim jurisdiction or Hall could get a lawyer. Beaumont says Brian brought this to them so they’re going to do it their way. Jimmy thinks Lauren has already picked him for the job and there was nobody else. He reveals he has black belts in karate and tae kwon do. He is also charming. Lauren shows him a picture of his competition who won a boxing championship while serving with the Rangers during Desert Storm. She thinks Jimmy is full of himself and that is why Beaumont wants to choose the other guy. Lauren asks him why parents get divorced. He claims they had too much fire and passion, but they loved us. She says it is BS before telling him not to waste her time.
She tries to leave, but he stops her to say his mother slept around. His old man was drinking, never at home, and he might’ve been on the take. He describes his childhood as like growing up in an earthquake. They didn’t have any choice in any of it because they just had to take whatever their parents did. He confesses his house was a horror show. Lauren wants him to remember who he was at eight if he ends up in prison with Larry Hall. Although he doesn’t like it, she wants him to tap into it and wear it like skin. Hall doesn’t like his either. Jimmy has been looking at the Jessica Roach killing again and has a question. He wants to know how she died since it was blacked out in the file.
Lauren can only say that the victim was strangled. Although she seems to know more, she won’t tell him any other details. Larry comes in for another interview with Brian and Agent Ellenberg. Mark tries to get him to sign a waiver of rights. He tells him it is okay to look over it. Larry looks at it briefly and quickly signs it, but he refuses to sign a consent for the polygraph. When asked why, he says he doesn’t believe he’ll pass. Brian storms in before Larry can say why he feels like that. He gives him water before Larry asks if he could leave because his energy makes him feel itchy. Once alone, Larry tells Mark that he is so tired right now because he is afraid to sleep due to his nightmares. He gets depressed bad. Although he has been to a counselor once, he was young and it wasn’t very helpful. Larry is also depressed because he is so lonely.
He wakes up alone, goes to work alone, and goes to bed alone. He wishes he had a woman to love him like other guys do, but he doesn’t think it is possible because women don’t like him. When asked what he does with the urge to be with a woman, Larry says he just pushes it down. Mark believes that is why it creeps back up in his nightmares. Larry thinks it is why he does such awful things in his nightmares although they’re only dreams. He is shown a picture of Jessica Roach and told she was in his reality and not his dreams. Larry begins saying he thought she was. He gets permission to touch her before he pictures up Jessica’s picture. Mark asks him how he met her. Larry says she was riding a bike and he drove up to stop to talk to her. She was always nice until she got real sad.
She was sad when she was in his van and later in the field. Mark asks if it was a field in Georgetown, but Larry says it was in Perrysville, Indiana. Mark questions if he remembers where exactly. Larry says it does since it was just past mile marker 16 on 1125. Normally, he wouldn’t remember that and he might not remember that. Larry says he didn’t have time to bury her. He had to drive past a few more times to find an opportunity, but never did. He normally buries all the girls though. When asked how many there were, Larry says there were a few although he just does things and isn’t in control. He mentions the college girl in Marion who he eventually identifies as Tricia Reitler. Mark mentions the other man who was arrested in that case, but Larry says he didn’t do it.
He claims there was one in Wisconsin near one of the reenactments and some in Indiana although he can’t remember which ones he hurt. He doesn’t like the guy in Marion trying to take credit for his act because he didn’t fold the clothes. He goes on to say he didn’t break the zipper and he didn’t feel bad about it. That is why Larry folded the clothes. Once Mark finishes, he tells Chris he needs a confession form and a computer. He asks about the clothes before Brian explains Tricia’s clothes were found in a park about 10 miles from campus. Her earring was ripped from her ear and blood was on her jeans. Her zipper was broken where her jeans had been taken off. Brian says none of this is public information so Mark asks for a warrant on Larry’s home and vehicles. Mark learns Brian is the chief investigator and tells him he just reeled in a serial killer.
Brian says they need to close him. Moments later, Mark begins writing Larry’s confession about him pushing the victim into his van and making her breathe start fluid. Chris comes in to tell them that Larry asked if he should contact a lawyer. Mark changes the name from James Andrew Daniels to Lawrence Dewayne Daniels before printing it. When Larry looks at the confession, he asks if that is what he did before quickly saying he didn’t do this. They tell him he did. Larry says it is no wonder why he can’t sleep at night. Once he signs it, he is left alone with Chris and begins saying oh god over and over. Chris tells him everything is going to be alright, but Larry says nothing is ever going to be alright again.
Jimmy calls Big Jim (Ray Liotta) to see how he is doing. Big Jim admits he is weak and he forgets stuff regularly. Sammy (Robyn Malcolm) is taking too good care of him although Jimmy thinks that is a good thing. Before Jimmy can say how he is doing, his phone time comes to an end. Sammy believes Big Jim should’ve told his son that he went blind in one eye for a couple of days last week. Big Jim tells her to just stop because he has a shorthand with his son so they can say things without having to say them. Brian, Lauren, and others scour through Larry’s house and vehicles while looking for evidence. The first ERT guy said the van smells like three things, including chemical cleanser, Armor All, and denatured alcohol. Brian suggests the van would be the one thing in the world Larry Hall keeps clean.
Lauren meets with Jimmy again and tells him Larry was a janitor who worked nights on the same three office buildings. The company said no janitor cleaned as well as Larry did. That is why they never found DNA in his van. Jimmy is started to ace the tests now. When he asks about the twin, Lauren tells him about fetofetal transfusion syndrome. It happens in the womb when one twin imbibes more of the placenta blood than the other. Gary got the looks, brains, and athletic ability while Larry was stuck being himself. Gary is Larry’s biggest defender. He tells Brian that his brother is harmless even though he is weird. Once Brian tells him that Larry confessed to two murders, Gary says his brother is just so desperate for attention. He says they’re just regular people here and they don’t kill people or know people who do.
Gary asks how he got Larry to tell that story he wanted to hear. Brian says he just wanted to hear the truth. Gary claims he just wanted to close his casebook so he put an idea in Larry’s head because he is impressionable. Lauren tells Jimmy that he should try being a Gary to Larry Hall. He learns that he got the role and they have a plane to catch. They meet with Marshall and the other as Jimmy’s handcuffs are removed. He is allowed to change to casual clothes on the plane. He is told he isn’t going in as a transfer. Instead, he is going in as a scumbag arms dealer and only the warden and chief shrink know the truth. Jimmy says he’ll get over it when he is asked if he is scared. He is told not to get over it because cocky people mess up. Brian tells someone on the phone that he’ll get Larry to blab in the car. He wonders how many Larry will cop to.
He tells Pat that the others don’t care because they think Larry just like confessing to stuff he didn’t do. When the call ends, Brian learns that the Wabash Police have arrested Larry for the murder of Jessica Roach. Lauren pulls Jimmy aside to tell him not to rush this. If he approaches Larry too early, Hall will know that they sent him. He is instructed to treat her like his girlfriend when she visits because she is one of his safety lines. He should talk to Warden Price or Dr. Zicherman if something goes wrong at the prison. He is warned not to get time added to his sentence because it will supersede their deal. If he has to defend himself, he should avoid maiming anyone and getting caught. As the plane lands, Lauren tells Jimmy that she’ll see him in a month or so. While Brian leads Larry out of the jail, he sarcastically asks Russ and Johansen if they need any more pictures with him.
In the car, Brian tries to get Larry to talk to him. Eventually, Larry says he tried to tell him that they were just dreams. He accuses Brian of forcing a fake confession out of him. Brian asks who put that idea in his head before Larry questions why everyone thinks someone else has to put ideas in his head. Larry is smart and has ideas. Brian says he’d like to hear about one of them especially those involving girls. Larry reveals Gary got him a lawyer who said he wasn’t supposed to say another word to Brian because they twist what he has to say. Brian says he signed a confession which Larry calls coerced. Larry begins singing “We Are Coming, Father Abraham”. Jimmy talks to the other guys about their kids. He admits he doesn’t have a kid, wife, or serious girlfriend.
As the van approaches the prison, Jimmy panics and tries to back out of the deal only to find out that it is too late for that. He is told he is the way to guarantee Larry can never walk out of those doors. He is warned Beaumont will never forget what he does so he decides to go through with it. Lauren tells Beaumont that he didn’t fill her with confidence, but he says that will be moot in about an hour anyway. In the courtroom, the judge discusses Larry’s case with Beaumont and Larry’s attorney DeArmond (Michael Francis Horn). Judge Baker previously refused to permit a doctor’s testimony regarding false confessions. Judge Diane Wood points out the fact that Larry signed in block letters. The statement has the name Larry DeWayne Daniels. It gives credence to a state of mind that was suggestible.
It doesn’t help that Brian was described as intimidating to Mr. Hall by other officers. Gary and his mom believe it is getting closer once Larry’s appeal is granted. Beaumont tells Lauren they have a month and she is putting a hearing for a second appeal on the docket. At the prison, Larry is told they need him in the boiler room when he finishes mopping. Jimmy goes through the booking process before he is taken to his cell. Larry tells CO Burden (John Jabaley) that the boiler is pretty messed up because it has been neglected for years and the filth has spread everywhere. Burden agrees to bring him a sandwich since it will be a while. Jimmy eats at the prison cafeteria. Brian sits at the table with his daughter who is busy doing her homework. Lauren calls him to say she’d like to take a look at all the cases Hall is a suspect in especially Roach and Reitler.
He won’t work the case with her so she tells him that he has a guy inside the prison with Hall. Brian tells her that it is desperation before hanging up. Big Jim calls the prisoner to talk to his son only to learn there is no record of him anymore since he is gone. Jimmy listens to the other inmates that night and struggles to sleep. Larry finishes with the boiler and heads back to his cell. Once he is back in his cell, Jimmy sees him for the first time.
Black Bird Review
Through two episodes, Black Bird has been an entertaining series with a lot of intrigue thanks to the fact it is based on true events. There are certain aspects of the series that could be better especially the pacing. By cutting the episode count by one, Jimmy could’ve already been in Springfield having a sit down with Hall by now. Some of the dialogue is just unnecessary. In particular, there is no need to create sexual tension between Jimmy and Lauren when we know he is staying in prison for a while.
It is odd that the show tries to create excitement by claiming that Larry Hall is going to have a chance of getting an appeal and leaving prison. If authorities truly believed Larry Hall was a serial killer, he’d never have a chance in heck of getting out of prison especially after a second trial. Once you’ve been convicted, getting a successful appeal is akin to winning the lottery.
Regardless, most viewers are willing to overlook the writers taking liberties to create a more compelling story. It is odd that there are so few American actors and actresses in a production about American crimes in America. The series has been captivating to the point where I feel the need to learn more about the real events. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Black Bird can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support us by following this link.
