'Prodigal Son' Episode 5: Malcolm's briefly carefree avatar when he's 'high as a kite' has fans in awe of Tom Payne's acting chops
Spoilers ahead for Episode 5 'The Trip' of 'Prodigal Son'
This week, fans were greeted with a version of Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) that they had never seen before — an accidentally high Malcolm.
The investigations to this week's crime lead Malcolm and Dani (Aurora Perrineau) to a nightclub. During the interrogation, there is sudden firing which leads to a box full of drugs (presumably cocaine) bursting open in his face.
And naturally, he happens to inhale a decent quantity enough to get him high. When Gil (Lou Diamond Phillips) arrives at the scene, he meets Dani, who has just broken rank and gone ahead with the interrogation by herself.
However, Malcolm blurts something silly out that worries Gil — "why is everyone moving in slow motion?". Malcolm says he may be "high as a kite" but thanks Gil for filling the role of a father after the arrest of his real father Dr. Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen).
Once it is confirmed that Malcolm is indeed high, Gil asks Dani to escort him home, where Malcolm wants to eat some grilled cheese sandwich. He even puts some music on and coaxes Dani into dancing.
This is the first time — albeit for merely a few minutes — that we see Malcolm carefree and childlike, full of glee. Of late, things have been torturous for Malcolm mentally and to see him in this high avatar was delightful.
"I must say, despite his nightmarish visions, Malcolm is quite adorable when he's drunk or high," said a fan. "The scene where Malcolm accidentally gets high is so far my favorite part of the entire series wow," said another.
But it didn't end all that nice either. When left alone, Malcolm's visions returned. "Wow. Malcolm cannot escape his visions/demons even when he's higher than a kite," said a fan.
At the same time, there are those who are finding factual errors with the presentation. "Our drug cloud choices seem to be coke or ecstasy + shrooms (sounds like a bad combo but ok) and none of these is shit you can sleep on. So, even punched hard, I don't see him getting real sleep. Most shit lasts 4-6 hours min (I think less for coke) and then he wakes up just fine? Okay," said an unconvinced fan.
'Prodigal Son' airs on Mondays at 9 pm ET/PT on Fox.
