Summary
A strong ending to a series that took a fresh approach to the police procedural genre.
We recap the Peacock series The Calling season 1, episode 8, “Blameless and Upright,” which contains spoilers and explains the ending.
In the season finale, we find out what happened to Elisabeth Serra (Sandy Hernandez), and it’s not pretty. Janine Harris (Juliana Canfield) and Avi (Jeff Wilbusch) solidify their bond, and there are even some hints of a romance developing between the two in future installments. It’s a strong ending to a series that took a fresh approach to the police procedure genre. Episode 8 ends with an intriguing cliffhanger leaving the door wide open for a second, maybe even a third season.
The Calling season 1, episode 8 recap – how did Avi find Elisabeth’s killer?
Just like episode 6, the finale opens with one of Avi’s dreams. In it, he’s a child underwater, on a rollercoaster, then his adult self appears on the ride. He suddenly wakes up in a cold sweat before seeing a terrifying vision of his dad with blood on his face.
We then cut to Janine, who’s at home and about to send an Internal Affairs report about Earl’s excessive use of force when he arrested Brad. However, she ends up changing her mind before clicking the “submit” button.
When Avi and Janine go to see Paul, they’re surprised to hear him claim that he got a call from Elisabeth. He insists the missing woman is alive and well in a Mexican hotel, and Paul and the children plan to join them. He’s already bought tickets for himself and the kids, with the flight leaving in 12 hours. Knowing they have no grounds to force Paul to stay, the two detectives now only have a few hours to uncover the truth about Elisabeth’s disappearance before both suspects are out of reach.
The two first speak to the bank manager who was handling the Serras account. There they learn that Paul lied about who made that bad crypto investment. It wasn’t his wife who lost the money, but Paul himself. When they speak to Elisabeth’s former boss at the members club, they learn that Paul initially made $750k after he got a tip from one of his rich clients. The man then got another tip about the crypto investment and was foolish enough to spend the family’s entire savings account on it.
Avi and Janine soon figure out who gave Paul his bad investment tip. It was none other than Peter Haney. On Peter’s yacht, Avi accuses the billionaire of intentionally giving Paul bad investment advice to steal his money in an attempt to keep the man poor and convince Elisabeth to leave her husband. While Peter didn’t directly murder Elisabeth, in Avi’s view, the billionaire is morally responsible for what happened to her.
Police storm into Paul’s home but only find the two kids who seem to have been drugged. Avi and Janine locate Paul at the house where he was installing the underfloor heating. When they arrive, the man hands himself in after failing to commit suicide.
In the interrogation room, Paul confesses to killing his wife because he was resentful and insecure. Avi loses his cool and, in contrast with his typically calm demeanor, shouts at Paul and compares him with Cain from the Bible, the first murderer. When Paul asks to see his children, Avi tells him the best thing he could do for the boys would be to never contact them again. Paul quietly agrees before going into full Hulk mode. He rips apart the handcuffs holding him, then grabs the interrogation table before throwing it and smashing the window in the interrogation room. The man steals Earl’s gun and tries to make a run for it. Avi follows him and attempts to reason with him, but Paul raises his gun. As he’s about to shoot, Captain Kathleen fires her weapon, ending Paul’s life.
In the aftermath, Kathleen reveals she’s been put on administrative leave until she can get a psychiatric assessment. Avi expresses his gratitude for her saving his life.
The Calling season 1, episode 8 ending explained
Avi and Janine go together to a Sukkot celebration hosted by Rabbi Cermak. Both Janine and the Rabbi seem to like each other. In the middle of the party, Avi gets a phone call about a crime scene. The two arrive at an abandoned house, where they find John Wentworth’s dead body. He appears to have been shot, the gun’s underneath him and someone wrote “Father” in Hebrew on his forehead. Avi is heartbroken over the loss of his friend. The season ends in a full circle, with Avi saying the Mourner’s Kaddish over a deceased person.
What did you think of The Calling season 1, episode 8, and the ending? Comment below.
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