Found Season 2 Episode 21 Reunites Margaret’s Family to Disasterous Effect and Introduces Dhan’s Past
We knew the members of M&A would be vulnerable to this game the Evans siblings are playing, but they genuinely forgot about Jamie.
As the newest and unofficial addition to the unit, with the entire team stretched thin so often, it’s no surprise that he’d be the easiest to access. Hence, the final moments of Found Season 2 Episode 21 weren’t so much shocking as they left that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.
How on earth will they resolve this Lena situation?
M&A’s Latest Case Spotlighted Anti-Semitism
When we learned that an entire family was missing, there were so many questions about how that could be and how it would play out.
But as the case fell into place, it combined many things like conflict in religion, the type of normalized anti-semitism that has sadly become commonplace, and genuine greed.
One of the biggest issues this season is that with so many personal elements and Sir, and that content dominating much of the larger arcs, sometimes the cases feel a bit perfunctory.
At Found’s core, it has always prioritized finding the missing, particularly those who slip through the cracks and don’t get the treatment they should.
Because Found operates between a gritty thriller and a procedural, sometimes the balance is tricky when trying to avoid being too much of one over the other.
The Braunstein Case Exposes Overt and Subtle Bigotry
If I had to address this season halfway through, the cases started to fall by the wayside as the other half-dozen plots swallowed them up.
The Braunstein case had a similar vibe of not necessarily operating as the A or B plot, so it didn’t have the breathing room to work as a case.
It needed a bit more balance, but it still succeeded in doing what Found does best: illuminating societal issues and holding a mirror to ourselves as viewers.
The hour tackled anti-semitism on two fronts that was worth noting; the vile, overt bigortry that people are most accustomed to (Zev’s bully and his father displaying pure, unadulterated ignorance and malice toward everyone, essentially) and the more insidious, pervasive bigotry via micoaggressions that often feel like tiny cuts rather than a quick, apparent laceration.
The only reason kidnappers took the Brownsteins in the first place was because a career criminal knew a Jewish family in the neighborhood was wealthy and mixed up Lieb’s family for the Braunsteins because “all the Orthodox Jewish families look alike.”
Goodness, people are so painfully ignorant sometimes it physically hurts.
Even with a Compelling Angle, the Case Suffers Because of More Pressing Arcs
The case was great in showcasing that, contrary to the popular belief of the bigoted or the unintentionally ignorant and dismissive, yes, even seemingly innocuous microaggressions have the potential to be dangerous, not just exhausting.
Zev could’ve died because some scumbag couldn’t decipher which Jewish family he was robbing, which not only made him a terrible bigot, but also a really crappy thief. Who doesn’t perform enough reconnaissance to know their marks?
The Braunstein family had little presence or any real impact, though.
We didn’t know enough about them to feel the emotional ties to their case. Ironically, they spent more time parroting facts and information about Judaism than actually giving the characters the space to embody it and show us rather than tell us.
I appreciated little factoids, like how Zeke apparently studies religons extensively and thus knows a lot about Judaism, or that Dhan was observant enough to pick up that Kosher clue (while exiting the home in a throaway line), or Gabi’s notation of MLK and Rabbi Prinz’s dynamic at the March on Washington, but these were just random lines and bits tossed in as padding withhou exploration.
It was nice to have Peter Jacobson guest-star as a red herring, as the guy notoriously plays some of the shadiest characters onscreen.
Found Occasionally Struggles to Balance Its Cases with the Personal Arcs
But alas, like some cases this season, this one felt more like an afterthought than one I had any real attachment to, or where they fleshed out the victims and made us invested in finding them.
The hour covered the highlights of the case, much of which happened offscreen. Then, it moved on.
I wish it had more room to breathe a bit, but Found has simply too many plots that it’s juggling, especially as it sets up the finale, to address them all.
We’ve spent so much time on Margaret and Jamie this season, and there have been many highlights.
I can attest to being wary of Jamie when he first arrived, but Parker Daniel Queenan breathes so much life into this character that as we peeled back layers, he’s been a substantial addition.
It feels natural for him to be part of M&A these days, even in an unofficial capacity, and I love to see his passion for their work as he finds his version of healing through the process, like the rest of them.
The Family Reunion We’ve Waited For is as Messy As Imagined
Where the arc has always faltered, and the last couple of instalments in particular have highlighted as much, is how much of a disservice was done in exploring the full breadth of this arc by excluding the other three family members for so long.
By this installment, I found myself deeply frustrated and incredibly sympathetic to Darryl and the girls, who haven’t had any real opportunity to give this arc weight with their perspectives.
Darryl was never the bad guy for having to step up and be the strong one who moved FORWARD (not “on”) from his son’s abduction. They had a family to raise; he had to work and provide for his entire family, including Margaret, whom he supported while she was grieving and before she found steady work and comfort at M&A.
With each passing moment of the Jamie arc, Darryl and the girls’ perspective is so glaringly missing that sometimes, it’s difficult not to feel frustrated with Margaret for exclusively monopolizing the bulk of this storyline as a mother grieving and fighting for her son.
Understandably, she’s one of the main characters, so the focus would always be on her, but it shouldn’t have been to the exclusion of the other family members.
When Jamie accidentally let it slip that he had been around for a full month before the others knew, my heart broke for all of them. Margaret’s rationality and reasoning are all empty and hollow.
Darryl and the Girls Get the Shaft in Properly Exploring the Reed Family Fracturing
Even this idea that it was to respect Jamie’s wishes doesn’t land well when she could’ve easily told her husband the truth or her suspicions and requested he give Jamie space to adapt before a big reunion.
Margaret’s quest to bring her family back together ultimately feels like the family is split in two, with Darryl and the girls on one end and Jamie and Margaret on the other. That makes this such a difficult arc as it’s played out.
It was jaw-dropping to learn that Margaret hadn’t actually seen her oldest daughter in 12 years. TWELVE YEARS! She hadn’t seen this girl since a year after Jamie’s abduction.
As a society, we always joke about Boy moms and that particular bond that can sometimes be detrimental to all others. Still, goodness, it’s hard to view Margaret’s fixation on Jamie as anything beyond that.
Her daughters have always felt like afterthoughts, so having both express forgiveness easily the first time they’re all together without any real buildup feels unearned.
The hour then adds to this a bit by implying that Jamie and his mother are cut from the same cloth.
We learn that he had actually seen his father and sisters at a park once, four years ago, but just as he was working up the nerve to go to them, he noticed a creepy guy preying on a girl at the park and thwarted a possible abduction, thus missing his chance with them.
Found Defines Jamie and Margaret as Cut from Similar Cloth Versus the Rest of the Family
It’s this thing where we’re naturally championing the nobility of him and Margaret finding their calling in helping others and having this special intuition and ability to read people.
Of course, saving this girl was the right call. But it also sucks that it’s positioned as this thing where Margaret and Jamie cannot possibly have their full family and excercise their calling at once.
M&A and finding the missing always come first.
I would’ve enjoyed the reunion so much more if I had felt as if we ever knew any other members of this family to appreciate the impact and monumentality of this moment; however, they’re just fixtures for conflict in Margaret and Jamie’s lives, undeservedly.
How quickly Margaret lashed out at Darryl for having the audacity to react to shocking news only shows that there’s no real hope for this family. While the siblings may be okay, it’s doubtful Margaret will ever have any real ties to anyone outside of Jamie.
Perhaps they’ll revisit this now that Lena took Jamie, but it’s doubtful.
Are We Finally Getting the Setup to Dig Into Dhan’s Past and Trauma?
Everything with Dhan and his FBI friend is also hinting at Dhan getting deeper exploration soon, and that’s something I’m excited about, and more of a reason I need that renewal!
Dhan has so much favor with this man because he’s likely the person who saved him from captivity, and his friend feels eternally indebted to Dhan.
But Dhan still carries a lot of scars from that captivity, and so much of his pain is rooted in his relationship with Mike and Mike’s addiction, causing their botched operation.
If Mike is calling, though, something deeper must be going on, and it feels like they’ll potentially open the door for Dhan to spiral a bit from guilt if something bad ultimately happens to Mike, because of Mike, and now everything with Jamie, Lena, and Sir.
It’s no wonder he and his soul sister are so close; they practically mirror each other in taking on guilt for things beyond their control.
He’ll never forgive himself for Lena getting away, especially when he learns about Jamie. This will cut him deeply, and with whatever is happening with Mike lingering in the distance, I anticipate a rough season finale for my favorite character.
Gabi’s Play to Manipulate Sir Nearly Works
As many of us predicted, Gabi’s poisoning and abduction were a ruse to manipulate Sir into luring Lena out of hiding. It worked out well until Lena met him in that hotel spot, and he was able to confirm what he was starting to suspect.
The two going down memory lane was a great scene, and I genuinely would love to know so much more about Lena and her dynamic with her brother. It’s utterly fascinating, and MPG and Danielle Savre have great chemistry onscreen.
Heather was livid when she felt like Sir betrayed her, but she managed to escape. However, it’s hard to tell if part of her plan includes taking down Gabi and M&A for good or actually retaliating against her brother for the close call.
She’s such a wild card that I’m excited for what the season finale can bring with her in it, and ready to go for blood against M&A.
Interestingly, we don’t know where Sir is in all of this. He always chooses Gabi, but he helped Lena when it mattered most.
Gabi’s Hope for Atonement Raises Concerns
However, he can’t seem to rein in his sister, so we’re at this interesting precipice of not knowing if the Evans siblings can be a united front or if Sir will stand against his sister, who has done nothing but long for his devotion and attention.
It sets up a huge conflict for the finale, likely with us on edge!
There’s also the very real fear that Gabi could publicly out herself for what she did to Sir to “atone” for her sins, and I need Gabi to show herself some grace!
Please, don’t put Gabi in any more precarious positions at the end of the season!
Over to you, Found Fanatics.
Watch Found Online
If you read this whole thing — wow, we’re impressed.
Please consider leaving a comment or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it too. Small actions, big impact — that’s how you help sites like ours thrive.
-
Found Season 2 Episode 21 Reunites Margaret’s Family to Disasterous Effect and Introduces Dhan’s Past
Dhan and Gabi make a last-ditch effort to trap Lena using Sir on Found Season 2 Episode 21, while Margaret reunites her family with frustrating effects.
-
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 1 Episode 20’s Horrible Mother’s Day Was All Too Realistic
That Mother’s Day brunch went about as well as expected. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 1 Episode 20 was the …
-
9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 17 Finds Hen at a Crossroads, While Buck and Eddie Collide
The 118 continues to grieve the loss of Bobby, while Athena heads back to work on 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 17. Our review!
-
Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 5 Brings Back A Familiar Face After The Most Disturbing Scene Of The Season
Yes! When they mentioned ME Warner on Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 4, I was disappointed she wasn’t …
-
TWD: Dead City’s Chaos Continues: Gaius Charles, Kim Coates & Dascha Polanco Spill on Season 2 Fallout Following Blood-Soaked Premiere
The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Episode 1 introduced new villains, but could any of them be heroes? Kim Coates and more weigh in.
TV Fanatic is searching for passionate contributors to share their voices across various article types. Think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.
The post Found Season 2 Episode 21 Reunites Margaret’s Family to Disasterous Effect and Introduces Dhan’s Past appeared first on TV Fanatic.
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
