Summary
Missing You gets off to a typical but nonetheless propulsive start in Episode 1, with several interlocking mysteries being introduced.
The first episode of Missing You is all about introducing various plot threads that seem entirely disconnected but will turn out not to be in a series of contrived revelations. We get a few of those connections here in Episode 1, “Every Breath You Take”, but it’s largely a table-setting premiere that gives a lot to think about and a bit to laugh at. Quite a lot to laugh at, actually.
But there’s the bones of an intriguing mystery here in this premiere, make no mistake about that. And they’re wearing the skin of some compelling characters, virtually all of whom are clearly hiding some quite important secrets. Some silly stuff notwithstanding, how else are you going to kick off a Harlan Coben series?
Meet Kat Donovan
Our protagonist is Detective Inspector Kat Donovan, a copper who has never quite gotten over two traumatic events in her life that occurred back to back – the death of her father, Clint, who was murdered by an assassin named Monte Leburne, and being inexplicably ghosted by her former fiancé, Josh, who disappeared from her life soon afterward.
Naturally, these two things are connected. But Kat is also investigating – alongside her colleagues Nia and Charlie, the latter being a new arrival who you can tell is a tech expert because he openly Googles Kat in the middle of the office – the disappearance of a man named Rishi Magari. This is likely connected too, but it isn’t immediately apparent how so.
Kat’s a proactive get-things-done type who is nonetheless nursing her fair share of trauma, and Rosalind Eleazar (late of Slow Horses) does a really good job of playing that here. She’s introduced in a faintly ridiculous way on a date with Matt Willis from the band Busted which turns south when a chef goes nuts in the kitchen, but in a practical sense, this is a decent scene, since it clues us into Kat’s personality, skillset, dating history, and general temperament. It is a bit ridiculous, though.
Monte Leburne DIDN’T Kill Kat’s Father
Things kick into gear properly when Kat learns through her boss, Stagger, that Monte Leburne is going to die from cancer in a couple of days. Since Kat never found out why he killed her father – the working theory is that it was on the instruction of a mobster named Calligan – she’s desperate for him to reveal the truth before he expires.
To this end Kat gets her PI friend Stacey to get her into the hospital wing of the prison where Leburne is being held, and then a kind nurse drugs him into a stupor so he tells the truth. He admits to taking the fall for Clint’s murder, but claims he didn’t kill him. That was someone else. And since Stacey also learns from her prison guard contact, Tamsin, that Josh visited Monte before he upped and disappeared, it might have been him.
There’s supposed to be an element of ambiguity around Leburne – he’s a contract killer on his deathbed, after all – but I believed him immediately and so does Kat, which naturally turns her entire world on its axis. This scene is completely ridiculous – why does Stacey, a P.I. who follows cheating spouses around, have more connections than a police officer? How many prison protocols is that nurse breaking? – but it’s a functional way to inject some excitement into the narrative.
Ashley Walters and Rosalind Eleazar in Missing You | Image via Netflix
Unhinged Melody
Speaking of Josh, Kat sees him for the first time in 11 years on a music-based dating app called Melody Cupid. She “harmonizes” with him, sending him the song “Missing You” by John Waite which they both sang in karaoke once, albeit with a message saying she’s not really missing him at all and then he says they shouldn’t speak and mutes her. Yikes.
You can see a very obvious musical connection beginning to form here. The show takes its title from that John Waite song, and Episode 1 of Missing You is titled “Every Breath You Take”, after the hit by The Police. The Melody Cupid app is designed to match people based on their musical interests, hence Josh cropping up as a suggestion for Kat. But – minor spoiler though this may be – the show doesn’t really have anything to do with music and doesn’t use music especially effectively. The flashback karaoke scene is, as far as I can recall, the only sequence that really hinges on a specific song.
None of this matters, especially. I just find it weird.
A Stay in the Countryside
About Rishi Magari, briefly.
This guy’s disappearance is the case that percolates in the background of the premiere, and some progress is made in regard to it. Kat and Nia investigate a countryside cottage that Rishi booked for two but disappeared from alone. Whoever was intending to meet him didn’t. We know he’s still in the countryside, though, as we see him staggering around. His frequent imaginings of YouTuber – among other things – GK Barry imply she was the person he was supposed to be staying with.
Rishi’s eventually chased by a man in a tractor and cattle-prodded into unconsciousness, and Missing You Episode 1 ends with him chained up as a captive. It’s a sudden dose of immediacy that livens up the final moments, and it does its job of compelling viewers to hit that “next episode” button.
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