Summary
Things are getting increasingly complicated, but we can only hope the writers can pull it off — episode 7 puts trust on the line as secrets are compromised.
This recap of Amazon original Panic season 1, episode 7, “Trust,” contains major spoilers.
Episode 6 left Heather in a precarious position while the games continue — as I said in the last chapter, the unpredictability keeps this series alive. It’s an intriguing battle to what the characters are going to do next.
With camcorder style direction, episode 7 opens up with the participants inside a truck. The blindfolded participants are told that this challenge is all about fear; fear of darkness, fear of falling, and fear of the unknown. Suddenly, they can hear a train, but it’s really audio on a stereo. The participants are told they can either get back to the truck without assistance or ask for a helping hand — if they ask for help, they must answer a question. The participants are on an old train bridge, and it does not look safe at all.
Sleeping rough // Leela is missing
Heather (played by Olivia Welch) and her sister Lilly (Kariana Karhu) are sleeping in a car. They brush their teeth in public bathrooms and get changed — Heather drops her sister off at the library; her sister is worried that they will have to sleep on the street, but Heather states that she needs to think about it as an adventure. Heather then returns to her trailer and packs. Meanwhile, the police are still pursuing their investigation. But then, they hear that Leela has gone missing.
Natalie explains what happened in the games
We don’t actually get to see the last challenge in episode 7; instead, Natalie’s story gives glimpses of it.
Heather catches up with Natalie — she knows she is out of the games and asks what happened in the game. Natalie tells Heather that they were on an old train bridge with blindfolds, and for assistance, they had to give away secrets; they are turning the participants against each other. Their answers were recorded. Drew and Tyler failed — Dodge used coins to throw to the ground, so he knew where to walk. As part of the game, Natalie revealed that Dodge’s sister is paralyzed, and she isn’t sure her accident happened in a hurricane — she’s worried that Dodge will find out that she revealed his secret. Natalie also tells Heather that Ray answered all the questions; Heather is worried that Bishop will find out everything about them. Natalie tells Heather that she needs to be in the games, and she can still use her immunity.
Diggins rejects immunity, so Heather needs the extra money
Heather asks Diggins if they can be back in the game, but he mentions bylaws and states she can’t and that there is tension between the judges at the moment. Needing the extra money, Heather asks Anne if she can housekeep for her. The woman agrees and tells her it’s time she met Tom — Tom is a tiger. Heather is overawed by the animal. Anne tells Heather to keep the gates closed at all times. This sounds extra important — you wouldn’t bring a lion into a series for no reason.
More leads regarding Abby
The police get closer to the truth in episode 7, serving as an insightful subplot for the main story arc.
Sheriff Jimmy and Capt. John Williams question Bishop; he explains that he lent Leela money because her boyfriend struggled with money. He mentions the photographer Max Slinger and how Hunt and Jimmy had issues with each other and expected them to fight at the party. When the officers meet Max, they see he has modeling shots of Abby on his camera in the deleted section. They ask her if he was close to Abby.
Out of the friendzone
It’s taken a while, from bad boy to best friend, episode 7 shows how it isn’t impossible to get out of the friend zone.
Heather hangs with Bishop for their “first-ever date”. She tells him that she’s out of the games. Bishop tells Heather that he knows she is struggling for money and has issues with her mother, and he wants her to tell him stuff. Heather explains she is dropping out of college to make sure her sister is okay and that he will be the first person she tells when she figures it out. Bishop and Heather kiss. They are both out of the friend zone.
The truth about Dodge’s sister Dayna
Heather learns that Anne knows Dodge as he comes around to the farm to tend to a horse. Anne talks about the accident and how his sister was hurt, and the driver got away scot-free — it was a hit and run. She explains that the sheriff has been trying to lock the driver up for years. Natalie hears this story from Heather, so she confronts Dodge about it — the person who caused the hit and run on Dodge’s sister was a derby winner — she knows it’s Luke Hall. Dodge tells Natalie that she cannot say anything and that the sheriff continues to try and get him.
Luke’s betting system
Episode 7 sees the police delve deeper into the conspiracy.
Max Sling is brought in to be interviewed with the sheriff — he asks how much Luke offered him for the photos of Abby. Sgt. Christine Langley wonders who blackmailed Abby to remain in the games and ask if it was Hunt. Max denies knowing anything, but he does know that the games messed up Hunt. The sheriff learns that Luke offered to cut in Max to help him. Luke had a friend in the court system to help get charges dropped for his DUI. Max also reveals the buy-ins to bet on the game, and that’s when he learned about Panic. Max senses that they have nothing on him, and he leaves.
Heather’s suspicion
Meanwhile, Heather looks for Ray and ends up on his boat — she sees plenty of betting slips regarding the games. Luke enters the boat and sees Heather; feeling spooked, Heather quickly leaves the boat. As she leaves, Ray sees her. Heather says she “made a mistake” and leaves. Heather raises her suspicions to Natalie that Luke is fixing the games and thinks it’s connected to the deaths from last year. Meanwhile, Luke tells Ray that Heather needs to be careful.
The ending
As we know from the previous games, each participant was recorded giving away secrets. All the videos are compiled into one long video — Natalie explains that she made a deal with Dodge, and Ray is asked about Heather. As the episode ends, Heather looks at a betting slip she took. She then receives a text from an unknown sender explaining that the game is not done with her yet.
Things are getting increasingly complicated, but we can only hope the writers can pull it off — Panic season 1, episode 7 puts trust on the line as secrets are compromised.
