Mr. Mercedes is back and it seems to be jumping right back into the action. It’s picking up roughly a year after the event from last year where Brady got smashed in the head by Holly and Bill had a heart attack. The episode starts showing Brady and Bill going through the different medical struggles each are dealing with and it is made quite clear that Brady is unresponsive — Holly seriously knocked the shit out of him several times.
Brady’s doctor is a man name Bruce Babineau (Jack Huston) and he seems to be a pretty well respected doctor. His wife works for some sort of medical testing company or something and gives him a medicine that is supposed to regrow brain cells. So, he starts to slowly give that to Brady to see if it can help him. Brady seems to be the best human patient to start this with because worst case scenario it kills him and voila a murderer is dead.
Life seems to be getting back to normal for Bill. He and Holly are working together at their own private investigator firm called Finder’s Keepers. Business seems to be going well, when security guards don’t get in their way that is, but most importantly, Bill seems to be keeping busy. While he is feeding his tortoise a branch falls down and breaks Ida’s gazebo and Bill promises to build her a new one.
Later, Bill and Holly meet up with Bill’s old partner to give him a lead on a fugitive. Pete then comes over to help Bill clean up the remains of the gazebo. Pete goes inside to get another beer and after he doesn’t come back for awhile Bill goes to check on him. In what might be the most confusing death scenes I have ever seen, Bill finds Pete dead on the floor. I say it’s confusing because I don’t understand the purpose of it. Why is this important to the story at all? To introduce Bill’s ex, Donna (Nancy Travis)? Is it only to set up a dream sequence later on? (Which I thought was actually really fun.) I guess we will see maybe. After Pete dies, Holly moves in with Bill to help take care of him emotionally, which is just about the sweetest thing ever.
Photo Source: Mr. Mercedes, ATT Audience Network
So, after the funeral we see Bill go to the cemetery and he ends up at an empty grave. That’s when Brady shows up dressed to the nines. Seriously, dude is looking SHARP. Brady talks a lot and mostly mocks Bill, but eventually he sends Bill into the grave which leads to a hospital. There he finds a conscious Brady and no nurses or doctors. Back out into the cemetery Brady is dancing around, playing instruments, and being super charismatic. That was a lot of fun. Then…Bill wakes up.
After having this dream Bill goes to see Brady. Brady is still basically a vegetable — or as Dr. Babineau refers to him, a gord — and Bill takes his breathing tube and squeezes it and just when you think he is never going to let go he does. He leaves and shortly after that you see Brady’s eyes flicker alive.
Photo Source: Mr. Mercedes, ATT Audience Network
Overall, I was very please with this episode. I’m not thrilled they aren’t following the books closer, but I can look past that because the writing is good and the acting is spectacular. We all knew that Brendan Gleeson and Harry Treadaway would be good, but the supporting cast is so damn good, and none better than Justine Lupe who plays Holly. Holly is easily one of my favorite characters in recent memory and the Holly that Lupe brings to life is amazing. She makes her real. I could spend the whole time talking about how great the acting is on this show and it wouldn’t do it justice.
I am curious to see how they have Treadaway doing things this year. Assuming they are going to have him in his vegetative state, but with mind control abilities, they’re wouldn’t be much for him to do acting wise. My assumption is they are going to have him go into his fortress of solitude, if you will. Just a space in his mind that is like a control center. We shall see and I cannot wait.
