Summary
There is genuine intrigue from the ever-expanding mysteries at play, but City on Fire relies too heavily on pretentious, unlikable characters and hopes viewers will ignore the somewhat illogical and unrealistic scenarios taking place in this convoluted crime drama.
We recap the Apple TV+ series City on Fire Season 1 Episode 4, “Land of a Thousand Dances,” which contains spoilers.
City on Fire reaches the halfway mark with “Land of a Thousand Dances.” Episode four follows the many inter-connected subplots from the series.
The detectives hone in on a key suspect in Samantha’s shooting while the arsonists find their funding has been cut, and Keith’s (Ashley Zukerma) sins finally catch up with him.
City on Fire Season 1 Episode 4 Recap
Let’s start with Charlie. The teen has ditched his family, moved in with a gang of arsonists, and committed his first act of crime.
As he hands out flyers with Sewer Girl, he notices that he’s now wanted by the police in connection with Samantha’s shooting. He spots his wanted poster and runs.
To hide from the police, Charlie has his hair shaved short. Sol wants to get rid of poor Charlie, but Nicky states they look after their own. Later that day, Sewer girl tries to kiss Charlie.
But he admits that he hasn’t given up on Samantha yet. Sewer girl reveals that her real name is Lorraine.
Artist William is also wanted by the police. He gets arrested while attempting to perform sexual acts in the toilets for cash. After Mercer’s wrongful arrest, William has Detective Parsa’s business card and asks for the detective immediately.
How does William avoid prosecution?
Parsa questions William, who refutes the charges. Parsa says he can drop them if William goes to rehab. William wants to offer something else instead. He notices Samantha’s case on the walls, which he believes he is linked to. William wants to help Parsa solve the case.
William explains how he was in Ex Post Facto. Samantha seems to be a super fan of this band. William left after his guitarist overdosed and died. He states that he couldn’t perform again after this death.
William informs Parsa that he was at the gig the night Samantha was shot and met Charlie, who the police are after.
He adds that Samantha was shot in the park across the road from William’s father’s building. He thinks these connections are more than just coincidence.
In the other subplots, Keith visits Samantha at the hospital. He is followed by Nicky’s people. It is revealed that Keith was delivering money to Nicky once a month. This money kept the gang afloat.
Who wrote the note about Keith’s affair?
Regan inspects her son Will’s laptop and discovers that the L key is missing. She tells Keith that their son must have been the person who wrote the note outing the affair. As they used a number one instead of an L. Keith assumed that Samantha had written the note, but it was Will.
They wonder how Will could have known. Keith admits that he only brought Samantha to the apartment once. Will must have seen them together. Regan is troubled by this latest addition to the scandal.
Elsewhere, Parsa reads Samantha’s comic book. Characters in the book seem very similar to Keith, Charlie, and Nicky.
It appears to all be autobiographical. Parsa is most interested in a preppy character that fits Keith’s description and that of the man in the CCTV footage from Samantha’s dorm.
How is Amory involved in the fires?
Now invested in solving the case, William follows Nicky, who meets with Amory. It seems that Amory was behind the fires. He was paying Nicky and the gang to start them in the first place. Amory wants to cut ties with the gang now, though, as they are being called terrorists for using bombs.
Nicky threatens Amory, saying he’ll go to the police about the shooting; he knows Amory was also involved in that. He mentions Keith, who was the delivery guy that posted money to Nicky from Amory each month.
Nicky knows that Keith was sleeping with Samantha and has joined the dots. Amory denies shooting Samantha.
Keith is beaten at the cinema by Sol, who mugs the man for his precious belongings. He blames Keith for them being fired by Amory. Keith’s day only gets worse. His son finds him beaten in the toilets.
The detectives question Regan at her work, fully aware of Keith’s affair. Regan can’t believe that her husband would sleep with an underage girl.
Charlie and Sewer girl search through Samantha’s items. Charlie finds a hidden camera reel. He then ditches the gang just as Nicky brings a new plan into place.
City on Fire Season 1 Episode 4 Ending Explained
In the final moments of the episode, Regan calls Keith, asking about Samantha. Keith confirms that he was sleeping with her but didn’t know she was a college freshman. Regan asks if Keith has an alibi for the shooting. He panics and searches for his gun hidden in his wardrobe.
A flashback reveals that Keith’s son Will knew about Keith’s gun. Could Will be the possible shooter? Then the detectives arrive at Keith’s apartment.
What did you think of City on Fire Season 1 Episode 4? Comment below.
