'Prodigal Son' episode 3: Fan theory about 'missing time' suggests Jessica must have been in on The Surgeon's murders
Spoilers ahead for episode 3 'Fear Response' of season 1 of 'Prodigal Son'
Fans have been literally going "WTF" since the third episode of 'Prodigal Son' titled 'Fear Response' aired on Fox.
Well, for starters, it was an episode that ended on a cliffhanger that pretty much changes how we look at one of the main characters of the show - Jessica Whitly (Bellamy Young).
Over the course of the last three episodes, we had worked up that despite the n number of warnings she sends Malcolm's (Tom Payne) way, she knows more than she lets on. And the latest episode from the thriller proved that she most certainly does.
In order to recall what had happened that night several years ago, Malcolm Bright uses chloroform (the same chemical he suspects his father used to wipe the memory off his mind). Half-dazed he discovers that his mother was with them right behind him when he found the girl in the box. When he tells her this, she hushes him up saying that doesn't concern Bright in any way and that he had no idea how dangerous his father can be.
While this doesn't fully convict Jessica of knowing what The Surgeon (Michael Sheen) was up to, it does point out to the fact that she wasn't entirely clueless either. Plus her repeated warnings to both Bright and his sister Ainsley (Halston Sage) also prove that she does know how dangerous he is.
Before Bright took to the chloroform, he was looking for answers from his mother and his psychologist from when he was a child. He had asked both of them about repressed memories and the possibility that his father could be involved in wiping out his memories. His mother has repeatedly told him to let go of the past and stop looking for answers to what happened that night. But why? Her conversation with Ainsley (Halston Sage) this episode points to how she has been protecting the children throughout.
A theory floating around on Reddit points to this.
"My theory though is that Dr Whitly is hiding the fact that Malcolm in some way helped him kill her [the girl in the box]. I think that Mother knows this as well. It makes so much sense to me considering the "you're just like me" line. I feel like Mother is scared that spending time with his father will "reawaken" something in Malcolm and that's why she's so mad that he's talking to his dad again. And I think his dad is keeping it from him because he does actually love him in some f****d up way and doesn't think Malcolm is ready to learn the truth," says the fan.
They could possibly be on to something. Dr Whitly has been desperate to reconnect with Malcolm on the whole "we're the same" level since episode 1. It has also been shown in flashbacks that he has told this to Malcolm on more than one instance.
The show recently took to Reddit to share a letter that Dr Whitly had written to Bright during his time at Quantico.
"Dear Malcolm, I hope this letter, and all the others , has found you well. We didn't leave things on the best of terms, and I'm sorry for the silence between us, but I can't apologize for the rest. I understand wanting to rebel - every child does it eventually. But Quantico, Malcolm? Really? You want to be just like all the other milquetoast white knights in the FBI? I would have preferred a literal knife in the back. It's not just me you're betraying. It's yourself. And at the end of the day, you and me, we're the same. You can run from the truth of who you are, or you can embrace it. I made my choice, and I know you'll make the right one too, eventually. Write me back sometime, won't you? There's nothing good to read in here. And say hello to your mother and sister for me. [signed] Dad" it says in the letter.
Fans took to digging through the letter. "I think this letter shows that something awful happened to Malcolm while he was drugged as a kid or that he was forced to do something awful," pointed out a fan. It will indeed be interesting to see how Malcolm has a role of play in The Surgeon's crimes.
'Prodigal Son' airs on Mondays at 9 PM ET/PT on Fox.