The Bridge - Recap: The Departed

Credit: FX

Ignoring the cold open, which catches us up with Ray (Brian Van Holt) after he disposes of his former friend's body after last week's episode and then never returns to that story again, we get right into the thick of things. David Tate/Kenneth Hastings (Eric Lange) has Marco (Demian Bichir) in his captivity, driving him to an undisclosed location. On the way, Tate talks about how his son, Caleb, died. Though his wife died instantly, Tate explains that Caleb was alive for ten minutes after the car accident that claimed their lives, and while Tate would like to think that his son was unconscious, numb to the pain while residing in a pre-death dreamland, he knows that's not the case. His son drowned in his own blood, his lungs crushed. Tate brings the car to a stop and orders Marco out, revealing that they're on the same bridge where this all started. Not only does he have a bomb strapped to his torso, he has Daniel Frye (Mathew Lillard) in the trunk of the car. During all this, Sonya (Diane Kruger) is searching for Gus (Carlos Pratts) with evidence that leads her to Chambers' house.

The show is a bit labored in getting us to this point, but once it's there, the episode takes off and never looks back.

Credit: FX

In order to complete his revenge, Tate forces Marco to shoot Frye, arguing that Frye had a big part in what happened to Caleb. Marco, however, refuses to become a killer like Tate, and that resistance to succumbing to his baser urges is one of the more trenchant themes that runs throughout the episode, particularly once Tate declares that Marco will never see Gus again unless he kills Frye. Demian Bichir is extraordinary at playing the conflict behind Marco's eyes, the desire to save his son wrestling with his desire to remain a good man. Sure, Frye isn't exactly a great guy, but Marco doesn't believe he deserves what Tate is doing to him. When Marco tosses his gun aside, Tate decides to do the dirty work himself, shooting Frye in the torso and sending him falling over the side of the bridge and into the water. As cops arrive on the scene with snipers prepared to take Tate out at a moment's notice, Marco pleads with the killer to tell him the whereabouts of his son.

Credit: FX

It's at this point that it appears as though Marco is going to get to save his soul and save his son, as we see Sonya bust into Chambers' house and break down the wall trapping Gus. The show keeps it vague as to whether Gus is alive or dead, and this is done to give weight to what comes next, as Tate tries to get Marco to kill him, attempting to follow through on his vow that Marco will become like him before the night is through. He does this by telling Marco that Gus is in a dark, cold place, in an attempt to trick Marco into thinking that Gus is dead. Sonya arrives on the scene and rushes to Marco's aid, revealing that they've found Gus. When Marco asks if they found him alive, Sonya hesitates for a moment and then says yes. Tate, however, insists that she is lying, prompting Marco to ask again. Sonya hesitates a second time, and then says yes. But Marco still doesn't believe her. He asks her one last time, looking her in the eyes this time -- and he sees that she's been lying. Gus is dead. And worse for Marco, he isn't given the opportunity to kill Tate, as Sonya quickly shoots him in the leg before he can shoot the killer. She then shoots Tate as he tries to flee. As he crumples to the ground, Marco gives a heartrending cry similar to the one Tate let out when he discovered his son had died. Sonya, meanwhile, can do little else but cradle her partner in her arms, uncertain of what she's done or how to move forward.

Credit: FX

Everyone involved here is just outstanding. Seriously. Kruger is as good as she's always been, and Lange is tremendous as the increasingly-desperate Tate. But this was definitely Demian Bichir's episode. The weight of his failures being brought to bear on his family makes Marco a much more tragic figure, as he's at least partially to blame for what's happened, even allowing for the fact that Tate is clearly deranged and is blaming Marco unfairly. Bichir plays Marco as a man who has been completely and utterly broken, a man who has become bitter in the wake of his son's death. When Sonya approaches Marco in the hospital, you can sense his resentment towards Sonya, not simply for lying to him but for preventing him from getting his revenge. When Sonya says she was telling Marco what he wanted to hear, like she'd taught him, it's an utterly devastating callback to their interaction from several episodes ago. Sonya lacks the social capacity to differentiate when people want to hear a comforting lie, and when they need to hear the truth. It's not her fault, but Marco doesn't see that right now. All he sees is the body of his son, on the cold table of the morgue. It's gut-wrenching stuff, and Bichir is remarkable all the way through (I just about checked out when he held his hand to Gus' heart, and then to his own, as if feeling for a pulse and hoping against hope).

Credit: FX

This was exhausting, in many ways. The emotional punch of not only losing Gus, but in knowing that Tate succeeded in his goal of twisting and breaking him makes Marco a far more tragic figure than the flawed man he was earlier in the season. Sure, Frye is still alive (though with serious internal and brain injuries), but it feels like we've lost more than we can regain, with only two episodes left. Marco refuses to ever speak with Sonya again, flat-out telling her that they aren't friends and never were, and while that might be the case, it feels like the DNA of the show is changing, in some ways. It should be interesting to see how the show gets the partners back together, and how they tie up the loose ends of people like Ray, Charlotte (Annabeth Gish) and Linder (Thomas M. Wright). As it is now, the series is already remarkably effective at serialized storytelling, so I don't really doubt the show's ability to carry those stories through to a logical, satisfying, likely devastating conclusion.