MUCH better. “Anniversary” felt like my show again! It’s amazing what happens when you sort of set yourself up to maybe be disappointed again and then don’t quite know how to react when the episode is really good. I was so please at the end of the hour that the tone and humor were back, and that we weren’t quite rending our garments left and right about Muirfield. The threat was there but it wasn’t Defon Four or Code Yellow, if you will.
So, it’s the 10-year anniversary of Cat’s mom’s death, and Vincent waits on the windowsill for Cat to stir so she doesn’t wake up alone. They chat about how it’s their anniversary, too, and Cat says she’s sort of over the usual “Celestial Anniversary” that her family usually celebrates because she’s feeling more and more like she didn’t know her mom at all. Vincent talks her down and they head over to visit her mom’s gave, where they’re startled to find Gabe paying his respects.
Vincent hangs back while Cat and Gabe reminisce and then she inadvertently invites him to her family dinner and Vincent has a mini-rager and leaves before Cat gets back to the car. Gabe notices the headstone is cracked and mentions it and Cat hadn’t realized it earlier. This sets off a chain of events where Cat and Gabe wonder whether Cat’s mom is alive, and Vincent assures her it’s not possible because he heard her heart stop that night.
Cat tells him Vanessa snuck Gabe out of Muirfield by drugging him and faking his death, and suggests that maybe she doped herself, too. He responds by telling her something’s off about Gabe (after Gabe’s cell number is on the phone of an assassin who tried to kill the mayor) and she should stay away from him and she rightly tells him to get f-cked, not going to happen.
Gabe comes to the family party and shares memories with all of them and Cat’s finally had enough of the pleasantries that she finally corners her dad and asks him if her mom was ever moved. He confirms what Gabe’s PI found out about a supposed gas leak and the address he gives her from the exhumation paperwork leads her and Gabe out into the country to an abandoned house that’s a textbook Muirfield safe house.
Vincent’s warning ends up as a lost leader when it turns out Gabe was the assassin’s actual target because of his real job, something Tess twigs to and gives Vincent a heads up about, so he arrives in time to save the day. While Gabe and Cat troll around the property after the hitman is killed, they find Cat’s mom’s real grave and pay their respects and decide she’s best left there since someone did it with a great amount of care.
Back in town, Cat and Vincent bury their disagreement as he gives her his own variation on a Celestial Anniversary with rooftop lights strung everywhere. He hints that something’s still not 100% right about Gabe but she tells him to shut up and kiss her. And finally, Gabe returns to the country house on his own and finds evidence of a transformed Vincent where the hitman died. He calls his mystery friend and tells her they don’t have much time. Then his hand tremors and his eyes turn yellow. That can’t be good.
We only have two episodes left this season and tonight looks like it’s all about Gabe. I’m OK if we wrap him up, but like I said last week, I don’t really want Muirfield to be the default big bad behind everything. I’m just glad they have a second season to sort it out. If this episode was a sign of them getting back on track, we’re going in the right direction. I was VERY glad the “Cat’s mom might be alive” thing was put to bed with one episode. We still have an unanswered question about her dad, and he didn’t tip anything when Cat confronted him about the headstone, so we’ll have to see if that comes back around.
Here’s a sneak peek of “Date Night”: