Summary
Wildly pretentious and utterly ridiculous in places, “The Demon Brother” is saved by a few dramatic stand-offs and a satisfying, if simplistic, breakdown of the entire investigation. Annoyingly, an interesting story is buried underneath all of this cliched dialogue and over-the-top acting.
We recap the Apple TV+ series City on Fire Season 1 Episode 7, “The Demon Brother,” which contains spoilers.
City on Fire’s main villain Amory Gould (John Cameron Mitchell), is referred to as “The Demon Brother,” which happens to be the title of this penultimate installment. In episode seven, Nicky’s (Max Milner) explosive plans come into action while the detectives finally join the dots, connecting Amory to all of the city’s crimes.
City on Fire Season 1 Episode 7 Recap
The police raid Nicky’s hideout after Charlie’s tip-off. They find all of Nicky’s bomb-making materials, yet they still can’t link Amory to this terrorism. The detectives need serious evidence or a solid motive even to be able to question Amory.
Nicky and the band watch the raid from a safe distance. They’re disappointed that Charlie has turned on them, although it was an inevitability in Nicky’s eyes.
Having managed to escape with their bomb, Nicky talks through his final act of terrorism. Sewer Girl is having doubts, though, worried that there will be many innocent bystanders in this explosion.
Charlie sneaks into Samantha’s hospital room and apologizes for all the events that have transpired. He admits that he is going to turn himself in. When he tries to escape, the nursing staff enters the room. Charlie hides from them.
How is Charlie arrested?
Keith hears on the news that Samantha’s life support machine will soon be switched off. He goes to the very same hospital to say his own goodbyes. Charlie confronts Keith within the room, wondering if he is the shooter. When Charlie tries to escape, Keith pins him down. They both end up being arrested.
That same day, William awakens in Regan’s home. The siblings finally have a heart-to-heart. William admits that he knows about Regan’s unwanted pregnancy. William has all the adoption information, but Regan doesn’t want to know anything about her son’s whereabouts.
William and Regan’s father, Bill, refuses to sign some paperwork that admits wrongdoing. Amory tries to force Bill into accepting this deal. Bill’s dementia then takes over, and he wanders off.
Regan is quickly informed of Bill’s disappearance.
They go looking for Bill on the streets near his home. William finds him and finally reunites with his father. The whole gang then heads to the police station together.
William wants to lay out all of the evidence he has for Detective Parsa. They need Amory to pay for his crimes.
Why did Amory want the buildings burned down?
Next, William links all of his evidence together. Nicky was burning down buildings for Amory, who paid him handsomely in return. Amory wanted to start a new development project called Liberty Heights. He had Nicky burn down an entire neighborhood so that he could apply to the city for a blight decree. This apparently would be a cheaper option for Amory.
Bill hands over the paperwork to prove this blight decree, which has Amory’s signature on it. Bill admits that he escaped this morning, using his dementia to his advantage. Keith then enters the room after informing McFadden of Nicky’s bomb.
Keith explains his involvement in all of this. He owed Amory money and performed one simple errand a month for him in return. Keith dropped off payments to Nicky. Parsa decides to get an arrest warrant for Amory and takes Charlie to the location of the bomb threat.
Where is the bomb threat?
Nicky and the gang have already planted the bomb and are long gone when Parsa and Charlie enter the scene. The location Nicky has chosen is, of course, Amory’s business headquarters. The building is quickly evacuated, and Amory escapes before the police arrive.
Bill and the family return home to find Amory out on the balcony. William announces that they know everything about the arson, the blight decree, etc. Amory attempts to flee, but William draws a knife on him. Bill’s security guard attacks William, stabbing him in the chest. This allows Amory to escape once again.
City on Fire Season 1 Episode 7 Ending Explained
Back at the bomb threat, Charlie sees Sewer Girl running back into the building. He chases after her, and Parsa is forced to follow too. Sewer Girl tells Charlie she feels lost and has decided to die in the explosion. Charlie attempts to reason with her.
Sewer Girl shows Charlie where the bomb is. It’s out on the ledge on a window cleaning crane. Charlie decides to try and disarm the bomb himself, jumping towards the crane, which is placed outside Amory’s office.
Elsewhere, the power cuts. This knocks out Samantha’s life support machine and causes Amory to be involved in a car crash. Samantha’s nurse manually keeps Samantha alive while they wait for the generators to kick in.
What did you think of City on Fire Season 1 Episode 7? Comment below.
