#Prodigal Son Season 2 Episode 10 Review: Exit Strategy

Well, Team “Free Martin” has reason to celebrate right now.

By the end of Prodigal Son Season 2 Episode 10, the grand escape Martin was plotting for half the season came to fruition, and he and a handful of some of Claremont’s worst and scariest are roaming free in the streets of NYC.

What is everyone else’s worst nightmare may be our best entertainment.

We knew the series would likely go down this route, and yet it was no less thrilling when Martin walked out of those doors, and Malcolm listened to that voicemail his father left for him.

After a season and a half of donning cardigans and shackles, walking along the red walls of his room, Martin is free, and now we get to see what a man, previously locked down for two decades, plans to do.

What does any of this even mean? How long can Martin be on the run without getting captured?

He’s a notorious narcissist obsessed with his family. How does he come anywhere in the vicinity of them while evading the authorities?

Martin’s message was fascinating. He left it for Malcolm, and it makes you wonder if he’s genuine in what he said on there. Does he really think he’s no longer a killer?

Does he think that he’s reformed? He’s displayed the same dark urges the entire time we’ve known him. We need only look at his reaction to his roommate.

My boy, um, I had hoped we could speak again but I don’t have much time. So many things to say but there’s just one thing I need you to know. I am not the man I used to be. I’m not a killer anymore. And whatever you hear, whoever tries to rattle your faith in me, what I am about to do is not abut murder. No, this is about family. Everything I’m doing, everything I’ve done, it’s all for you. For us. I hope you find my, son. You’re the only one who can because we’re the same.
Martin voicemail

Are we supposed to believe Martin will stop cold turkey when he’s out in the world with all of these temptations?

Would Martin be the person who either arranges crime scenes that’ll have Malcolm and the team trying to track him down in some twisted game of cat and mouse, or maybe he’ll become a form of a vigilante who thinks he’s helping the team solve murders?

The series can go in so many different directions, and any of them would be captivating.

It places father and son on opposite sides of the law, only this time, Malcolm will have to catch his father. The question will become whether or not he wants to deep down.

Martin was determined to get his message to Malcolm, and it sounds as if he’s still trying to lure Malcolm to the dark side somehow. Why would he escape prison and then tell Malcolm that he knows how to find him?

If he successfully got away, why would he want Malcolm to find him and risk returning? Does Martin have that much faith in him and Malcolm being “the same” that he suspects Malcolm won’t turn him over?

And where does the Endicott situation factor in here? Martin has all the intel about that, so it could make this resurface again, especially when it comes to Malcolm’s role in disposing of the body and covering for Ainsley and how that could affect his relationship with his team.

Ironically, for all of Martin’s talk about family, it’s Malcolm that he obsesses over most.

He left Jessica at Claremont without a second thought, unsure whether or not she even made it out, let alone made it out alive. He hasn’t mentioned Ainsley, the one who actually killed Endicott, once.

Martin claims that “family” prompted him to escape prison after 20 years. But it’s still hard to determine what his thought process is and what he envisions he’ll get out of life as a fugitive. HOW has his family instigated this rash decision after all of these years? What’s the plan?

It’s one of the few times I’d love to understand the inner workings of Martin’s mind. Martin said that people would try to turn Malcolm against him and that Malcolm couldn’t believe everything he heard, but wasn’t Malcolm already against his father, and he hasn’t put anything past the man?

And if the things people discuss are how he and a couple of other killers poisoned fellow inmates and left them to die while they escaped, then those are the facts.

It’s insane that Martin implied that he’s a changed and better man when the entire escape plan hinged on betrayal and putting people in harm’s way.

If his companions go around murdering people the first chance they get on the outside, then that falls on Martin too.

Hang up the phone or I’ll tell them about Martin.
Friar Pete

Capshaw is going to feel like a fool.

From Capshaw’s nightmares about Martin that damn near served as premonitions to the warning she got from another inmate, all the signs were there that Martin was plotting something. Her feelings for him blinded her and clouded her judgment.

She placed way too much trust in a narcissistic psychopath known for his manipulation skills. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

For a bit, it often felt as if she was the one who had the upper hand over Martin. She radiated so much Alpha energy over him, but the moment they kissed, she lost the control she had, and it went downhill from there.

By the time Jessica visited Martin, Capshaw was behaving like a lovestruck, giggly schoolgirl. Jessica picked up on the vibes instantly.

Oddly enough, while the escape plan that required her golden keycard felt like Martin was playing a long game with Capshaw and intended to screw her over from the beginning, it also seems as though he has genuine feelings for her.

He didn’t have any qualms about sticking to his plans, but he looked and sounded contrite when he locked her in the infirmary. He made it seem as if he’d have never gone so far if he didn’t prioritize his family ahead of everything.

And it couldn’t have been for show since he appeared bothered that Friar Pete blackmailed Capshaw when she saw him with the rats.

Gil: We’re locking down Claremont, you’re safe now.

Jessica: Gil, if Martin is free, no one is safe!

We’ll probably never know the full extent of their bond and Martin’s feelings for it, but while it wasn’t a surprise that she was critical to his escape, it is that he betrayed her like this, and she didn’t see it coming.

I thought she would somehow help him or be the one who was pulling the wool over his eyes, thwarting him. I thought maybe she’d be the Bonnie to his Clyde or something.

If this is the end of Capshaw, then it didn’t play out as I imagined.

One thing that does pique interest is the bank key Jessica found in the “Never Ever” room in Malcolm’s penthouse, where she keeps all of Martin’s things.

Jessica is always concerned about Malcolm’s attachment to his father, yet thought it was a great idea to store some of Martin’s belongings she didn’t want to see again at Malcolm’s house. It hardly makes sense.

The key was attached to what appeared to be a picture of Jessica and Ainsley, and Martin didn’t have anything to say about it when Jessica confronted him. He was too busy leaving her clues that he was plotting to break out.

But there has to be more this bank key, right? Everything means something. Whatever happened to it anyway? Did Jessica take it with her?

Martin taunted Jessica and told her to play detective, and chances are, she’ll stick to it now more than ever. It’s the perfect time to dig into Martin’s belongings and attempt to figure out his next steps.

Can we add Jessica to the list of killer Whitlys? The woman knows how to do some damage with her stilettos, doesn’t she?

Jessica: I can tell when you’re lying.

Martin: Not historically.

Instead of breaking a television this time, she stabbed a Claremont inhabitant in the neck in what was one of the best moments of the hour. Ainsley would be proud, and the women of Prodigal Son sure as hell know how to impale.

Ainsley’s absence was felt only in the sense of wondering how she’ll react to Martin on the loose. It was a breaking story, and she’s nowhere to be found yet.

She’ll be pissed if someone else scoops the story.

Funnily enough, Malcolm took a break from Martin, and it appeared to serve him well. Every time Malcolm attempts to distance himself from his father, and he makes progress, Martin finds a way to screw with him anyway.

Everyone noted how Martin looked well-rested, and the funny exchange with his mother about not waking up screaming every day did imply that he had a decent night’s sleep.

He was even getting comfortable with the idea of telling Dani how he felt.

They didn’t acknowledge how weird it was that he shoved her out of his apartment before baring his soul. There was a slight awkwardness between them, but it was business as usual for the most part.

But it’s the first time we’ve heard in Malcolm’s words that he does have feelings for Dani. He couldn’t deny them, and before he and Dani both got phone calls tipping them off about Martin, he was about to shoot his shot.

I wonder what that would’ve looked like for him and how Dani would’ve responded? Ironically, Martin, who seems to be the biggest Brightwell shipper within the series, is the one who came between them without even realizing it.

Keeping the secret about Endicott is what Malcolm feels comes between him and Dani, but when he cut Martin out of his life for a period, he didn’t think about it as much of an obstacle.

Perhaps part of it was trying to his end of the bargain with Gerard.

Rosalie’s murder investigation turned out to be a pretty good one. Technically, Gerard was the perfect witness with his memory and how much he retained about his surroundings.

Malcolm had a kinship with him, and even though he doesn’t suffer from agoraphobia, you could sense that his trauma and misunderstood genius components were relatable.

Malcolm: Dani doesn’t know how I feel. And she never will for her own safety.

Gerald: That sounds lonely.

Malcolm: Tactical empathy. Classic.

It made things interesting between Malcolm and Dani when she approached Gerard as a suspicious detective, unsure if he was a Peeping Tom, and then thinking about how his condition didn’t make him the ideal witness on the stand.

When Dani and Malcolm bickered about Gerard, you could sense that Malcolm was coming from a personal place, and he was thinking about himself and how Dani was or would respond to him.

Gerard hadn’t been out of the house in nearly 30 years, but it turned out he and Rosalie formed a friendship, and her boyfriend was unaware. He wasn’t some creepy guy who stalked her from afar; had he not seen who he thought was the boyfriend, they wouldn’t have learned about the twin.

You would think if the police said they had a witness that the boyfriend was the one who killed Rosalie, then he’d bring up the fact that he had a twin brother.

It shouldn’t have taken Malcolm bumping into Felix to find out about an evil twin.

But leave it to Prodigal Son to pull the evil twin card. It’s not even their first time teasing it.

Felix didn’t need to kill Rosalie, but he was evidently a total psycho based on the overkill. And, of course, he had to come back and take out Gerard.

Gerard channeling his Chessmaster skills to maneuver around the house and get them out safely was a great scene, especially when it led to Gerard taking his first step outside in 24 years.

They had a close call, though. It was pure luck that Felix didn’t shoot both of them as they were leaving the apartment. He easily could’ve, and one or both of them would end up dead.

But it was a scene designed for Dani to run Felix over with Gil’s new car. Gil’s car is awesome, and it’s hilarious that he didn’t want Malcolm, Jessica, or even JT anywhere near it because of what happened to the previous two times.

But he entrusted Dani with it, and she hit a guy.

It was a fun case, even though Gil and JT faded to the background of it. But the real action of the hour was happening at Claremont.

Over to you, Prodigal Son Fanatics.

Malcolm: What happened at Claremont?

Dani: Your father — the Surgeon, he escaped.

What’s Martin’s game plan? Do you think the bank key means something? Were you surprised that Malcolm was willing to tell Dani how he felt?

You can watch Prodigal Son online here via TV Fanatic. 

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.