'Expats' Episode 4 Takeaway: Margaret and Clarke Woo pour their hearts out amid Gus' disappearance
Contains spoilers of 'Expats' episode 4
HONG KONG, CHINA: Based on the novel by Janice YK Lee, titled 'The Expatriates', 'Expats' tells the complex tale of a group of foreigners living their lives as expatriates in the suburbs of Hong Kong City.
Directed by Lulu Wang, the last episode of the series depicted Margaret Woo's (Nicole Kidman) obsession with locating her lost son Gus' (Connor James) whereabouts.
She casts her doubts on Hillary Starr's (Sarayu Blue) dead neighbor Christopher Murry's (Barry O'Rorke) participation in the disappearance but gets the shock of her life upon discovering the possibility of Gus' death at the end of the episode.
Clarke Woo blames his race for Gus' disappearance
Episode 4 opens with Margaret and Clarke Woo (Brian Tee) chasing after a sanitation worker in the mortuary to obtain information about additional steps needed to identify the dead body.
The sanitation worker shows them to a room after becoming perplexed. The two follow her, believing they are being led, and are shocked to find themselves locked in the room.
Left with no choice, the husband and wife start pouring out their hearts to each other. Clarke begs her to return to the US, but she says no, stating that she had intended to leave but now that Gus is missing, she wants to stay.
Exasperated, Clarke accuses her of entrusting their children to a stranger like Mercy (Ji-young Yoo). When he realizes his error, he quickly apologizes, but Margaret also holds herself responsible for Gus' disappearance.
Clarke reassures her that Gus' disappearance is unrelated to Margaret and only has to do with his race because it's simple to smuggle a child of that race into the illegal market.
Margaret tells her that Gus looks like her, and that's why she loves him.
Margaret Woo confronts Clarke Woo about his religious beliefs
When the two begin to open up, Margaret asks Clarke about his religious views after he confides that he feels as though they are being punished.
Clarke reassures her that he is still perplexed and that the only reason he went to the prayer meetings was to find some peace and a quiet place to collect his thoughts.
He again asks his wife to return to the US, reasoning that Daisy Woo (Tiana Gowen) and Philip Woo (Bodhi del Rosario) need their families and a sense of normalcy.
Margaret rejects his request, stating that she cannot leave Gus behind in a foreign country and that they should just keep an eye out for him.
As the scene shifts to the mortuary, the two are standing next to a body to identify it, and Margaret erupts into nervous and hysterical sobbing. After giving her some consolation, Clarke breaks down in tears when he realizes that the dead body isn't Gus'.
In the final scene, Clarke is seen lying on Margaret's lap in a car. Feeling rejuvenated by the knowledge that Gus is still alive, Margaret smiles at the camera and reassures Clarke that everything will be fine.
'Expats' episode 4 is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
