Sugar and Melanie track down Olivia's friend, who shares disturbing information about Davy and his family. Davy and Kenny dig into Sugar's past.
When Sugar finally visits a doctor, he's distracted by detailing a scene from the 1982 film The Thing starring Kurt Russell. His brain makes that connection. It seems random. Dr. Vickers isn't particularly interested in taking Sugar's recommendation. The premise sounds ridiculous. A man is performing CPR only to crush through the patient's body which turns into teeth that bite him to death. It's monstrous and horrifying. It also sets the expectation that someone will require CPR by the conclusion of the episode. Jonathan Siegel's heart attack doesn't produce the same moment of horror. Sugar notes that his client will be fine after receiving immediate treatment. However, Sugar still delves into the many terrifying secrets of the Siegel family. He unearths many hoping one will be the reason why Olivia is now missing. His obsession with film provides clues for his job. It's beneficial because of the Siegel family's own connection to Hollywood. Even that invites more mysteries than answers.
At this point, the narrative truly is going around in circles. It's purposefully being abstract. Sugar was told he needed to visit Dr. Vickers. His physical health has been concerning for awhile. However, the doctor sees the ailments as manageable. He's more concerned about Sugar's emotional well-being. It's all an assessment to determine if he can still do the job. His partners aren't solely motivated by his pursuits as a private investigator. That takes up the bulk of his time. He gets dangerously close to uncovering some of the missions they have been working on. Right now though, he's mostly just questioning what's being kept from him. He knows people aren't sharing the full truth. He needs to know if those secrets are relevant. He doesn't expect everyone to be honest with him. He's cynical that way. That makes him good at his job. He also has no one he can really trust. Ruby is a placeholder for that role. She too is full of deceit meant to keep Sugar away from discovering her true motives.
Stallings presents as the figure who connects all of these disparate plots together. At first, he was the gangster seeking answers as to what happened to Clifford. He wanted to exact vengeance for whomever killed his partner. He's more dangerous than anyone has been led to believe. Sugar made the right assessment of him. But again, Ruby is keeping information from him. She is choosing to do so because of some deal she has with Stallings. Moreover, Stallings has leverage over Davy. The Siegel family is rocked by scandal when news of Davy sexually abusing many women is revealed. Taylor shares the intimate details of how she was afraid and manipulated. Davy exerted his power to get whatever he wanted. He felt entitled to do so. He believed his family would cover up any heinous thing he would do. It's ironic that he's digging into Sugar's past to stop the private investigator from looking too hard into the family's secrets. Sugar is one step ahead of him. He doesn't release this story to the public though. It brings a celebratory evening to an abrupt end. But it's all in service to the idea of people dressing up in the lives of others instead of living their own.
In the polaroids Olivia had, Rachel was in the same dress Lorraine Everly was wearing in the film that was just screened. Sugar made that connection because of his film obsession. It's a pivotal moment in which the protagonist is confessing her feelings and the importance of the connection she feels. At times, Sugar and Melanie have fallen into that role for each other. They prop each other up as the only confidantes they can rely on in this investigation. Even then, they still have separate motives. They have to keep each other close. They have to examine each other's actions with precision. Melanie isn't revealing everything she does. Nor can Sugar make sense of it all. He wonders through voiceover continuously that things aren't adding up. Everything is performative. Yet the drama he's caught up in has far more deadly stakes than the plots of the various movies he has seen. It's eery to discover Stallings' girlfriend has Olivia's necklace. She wears it when she's finally alone in the compound. Again, more connections are popping up that require further scrutiny. However, that's only information the audience has. The viewer sees the parallels. They are more than just a window into Sugar's brain. They are meant to serve a greater purpose.
Sugar wants to update Jonathan on what he has learned so far. He wants to gauge how much his client knew. He has long held Jonathan up as a brilliant producer behind numerous successful films. Sugar can't be blinded by that notion. The family is full of darkness. They may all come from the top. Everyone is pursuing their own needs for power and fame. They are calculating and deliberative. They have to plot to ensure the actions they take are the right ones. Anything done recklessly could be costly. Davy hasn't exactly learned that lesson. That's what prompted this whole new scandal. He has never feared for his life though. Through her social media posts, Olivia details how she was terrified all the time. Those pleas grew more and more urgent leading up to her disappearance. Something happened to her. She isn't just missing because she relapsed. That's no longer a convenient excuse. No one can hide behind that rationalization. Yet the narrative isn't exploring the depths of this psychology much further than that simple notion. It's frustrating. It's progress being made without revealing too much. It all carries a unique personal flair. However, that style can't make up for the increasingly lack of substance.
