'Sugar' Episode 1 Takeaway: Startling discoveries in Olivia Siegel's case leaves John Sugar puzzled
Contains spoilers for 'Sugar'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Apple TV+'s latest mystery series 'Sugar' premiered on Friday, April 5, with two episodes dropping simultaneously. The show introduces Colin Farrell as private investigator John Sugar, who takes up a high-profile missing-person case.
In Episode 1, John is hired by Hollywood's legendary film producer, Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell), to find his 25-year-old granddaughter, Olivia Siegel (Sydney Chandler).
Shortly after taking on the case, John stumbles upon shocking revelations, leading him to realize that a deeper mystery lies beneath the surface that he needs to crack to locate Olivia.
John Sugar finds a dead body in 'Sugar' Episode 1
In Episode 1 of 'Sugar,' John Sugar visits Olivia's apartment and goes through her belongings in search of clues that might shed light on her abrupt disappearance.
He finds the magazines that featured Olivia's biological mother and former actress Rachel Kaye, who died in a car crash years ago.
John also discovers several recent photographs of Olivia with her stepmother, the rock star Melanie Matthews (Amy Ryan). John decides to follow the lead and meets Melanie in a bar, where the two spend the night drinking together.
After dropping Melanie at her apartment, John returns to Olivia's apartment and unlocks her car parked in the garage to look for further clues.
The case takes a shocking turn as John discovers the dead body of a man wrapped in a bag in the trunk of the car.
John clicks a few pictures to identify the dead body, leaves the premises, and heads back to his hotel.
What does John Sugar learn about Olivia Siegel's mother in 'Sugar' Episode 1?
Later at night, while going through Olivia's belongings and conducting internet research on her and Rachel Kaye, John Sugar makes a shocking discovery.
In an old video, Rachel can be seen speaking out against the abuse of women. In a strikingly similar style and choice of words, Olivia also spoke in one of her social media posts.
Further digging into Olivia's belongings, John stumbles upon intimate photographs of Rachel.
By looking at Rachel's photos, it is clear that they weren't secretly clicked and Rachel rather, appears to have willingly posed for them, often making direct eye contact with the camera.
One might speculate that Rachel posed for someone she trusted, and was later blackmailed or harassed.
It is also possible that Olivia somehow found these pictures and suspected that her mother's death wasn't merely a car accident. To find the perpetrators, she may have landed herself in a trap.
At this point, it is unclear how Olivia had these photos and what happened to the mother-daughter duo in their respective timelines.
Meanwhile, the identity of the dead body in her car remains unknown at this point. Has Olivia killed that man? Or does it have something to do with her step-brother David Siegel (Nate Corddry) and Kenny (Alex Hernandez)? The answers await in upcoming episodes.
Two episodes of 'Sugar' are available to stream on Apple TV+.