'Bull' Season 4 Episode 8 review: 'Safe and Sound' may have ended on a tragic note but it works for the show
This review contains spoilers for 'Bull' Season 4 Episode 8: 'Safe and Sound'
Sometimes it takes courage to do the right thing and the end result might exactly not be what you expect it to be. 'Safe and Sound' is a difficult episode and easily the most serious in tone and narrative. What happens when you have a sociopath living among you undetected? All it takes to determine that is a simple test. By the end of the episode, a soon-to-be father himself, Bull (Jason Weatherly) may have lost this battle, but it's one of those instances that are bound to make him a better father.
Eric and Lena Crawford (Sebastian Arcelus and Alexie Gilmore) have lost their eldest son after he was "accidentally shot" by their younger son, Charlie (Jack Gore). The court blames Eric for being reckless as his elder son had access to his personal, registered firearm with one bullet left in the chamber. The same that caused the death of the son. Despite Eric's pleas that he cleaned out the chamber, the attorney Ellen Adair, refuses to believe his appeal.
While Benny Colon (Freddy Rodriguez) and Bull wrestle with the case that has jurors evenly poised on one day and fluctuating the next, they dig deeper to realize that Charlie had symptoms of a sociopath and was a pathological liar. The rest of the plot gets predictable, but not before some heart-wrenching moments that is enough to moisten the eyes. The seven episodes so far have given Bull and TAC happy endings, however, with 'Safe and Sound', the result isn't exactly a win-win. But, that works.
The yawn-test is sure to evoke a few laughs. While it may come across as one of the funnier parts of the episode later on, its contribution to ascertaining Charlie's sociopath attributes is pivotal. As far as cast performances go, Jack Gore ('Rim of the World') delivers a convincing performance. Ellen Adair does well in her stipulated screentime to tick Benny and the judge off.
'Safe and Sound' makes a compelling watch and not many would have expected it to go down the way it did, and as gut-wrenching as it comes across, this is still a five-out-of-five episode.