Mikes Film Talk

The Family: Nowhere Man finally reveals who Adam really is. He is a boy named Ben who was in the bunker when the Warren boy was brought in. Willa is proven to be a liar and it is now clear just what has been eating Willa Warren.

At long last, the father can be removed from the suspect list as can Hank, the pedophile.

Many questions are still to be answered, however, as each new fact is revealed more mysteries remain.  Why is the pock-marked man making a new soundproof box? Why did Willa lie? What will Claire Warren do now she knows the boy is not Adam but Ben? Finally, what happened to the real Adam, did pock-marked man kill the boy, or did Ben?

Perhaps the biggest question of all is how did Willa know that Ben was not Adam? She must have known from the start  otherwise she would not have intervened in the DNA testing, taken the dental records or lied about the paternal records to Bridey (Floriana Lima).

This was an interesting episode and while it finally got to the truth of who the stranger is in the Warren home, there are other things at play here.  Rather interestingly the story of Hank takes an interesting turn when the young woman from the bakery turns up to ask him out on a date.

The night out ends badly when the woman makes moves on Asher (Andrew McCarthy) and the moment hormones take over, Hank stops things.  He angrily pushes  the woman away and tells her to Google him.  Asher then goes to resume chemical castration treatments that he started in prison. 

Despite all the reveals in this episode of The Family, this was really all about Willa Warren (Alison Pill).  The Warren woman is one screwed up individual.  Crushing guilt over not watching Adam, her apparent suspicion that her father killed him (when she was younger) and her desperate attempt to fool everyone has Willa falling apart.

Another problem that Willa faced was one of sexual repression.  Getting drunk with Danny and calling Bridey fixed that problem as the two end up having sex. This is Willa’s first time, with a woman (and presumably with anyone) and she tells Cruz she does not know what she is doing.

In the flashbacks, it is revealed that pock-marked man was “in the system” (A nice “real life” touch; as most serial killers and rapists are in the system having been questioned at least once by the authorities.) It is also revealed that Meyer had some sort of feeling about the man and she asked for his phone number.

Willa’s  lies aside, the episode followed Meyer’s proposal to use the Warren boy as bait. Danny is chosen to sit with his “brother” at Bill’s Burgers in the mall. Pock-marked man takes the bait and shows up. However, Adam/Ben is ill and the FBI along with Meyer rush to the table and the suspect leaves.

(It is this illness that will end the charade of Ben being Adam.)

Pock-marked (Michael Esper) man takes off his blue jacket and meets up with his wife and escapes the mall. Later Agent Clements (Matthew Lawler) brings the item in and the first thing they learn  about the suspect is that he has a dog. 

They also find “Jane,” the woman who knew all about the bunkers,  on the CCTV footage from the mall, it looks like she is pock-marked man’s wife.

Claire now knows that boy she thought was her son is not, the surgeon reveals that the boy still has his appendix and flashbacks show that Ben was there when Adam was brought in.  Claire questions Willa about the truth and her daughter  apologizes.

Overall the episode put many things to rest, the possible guilt of John Warren and just how Ben knew enough about Adam to imitate him and claim the boy’s home and family as his own.  There is no answer as to why.

Another mystery is why Ben (who does this week’s voiceover/narration) says he was never alone.  Did he kill Adam before escaping in order to steal the other boy’s life?

The Family may have proven that Willa lied and that Adam is really Ben but there are so many things left to be discovered.  One big question mark is Hank Asher.  Why did he agree to chemical castration if he did not kill the Warren boy? Did he kill some other boy?

This series continues to be addictive viewing and should not be missed. The Family airs Sundays on ABC.