Never Flinch

In Chicago, Kate, Corrie, and Holly are greeted by protesters throwing blood-covered dolls. Holly fails to convince Kate to cancel the tour, and Corrie goes out to check the venue. Holly thinks about Trig and tries to figure out the “central question” of the case. Holly resolves that the question is why Trig cares enough about Duffrey to kill people.

Chrissy drives to Chicago but tells Fallowes that she cannot kill Kate there because of the police. Chrissy plans to kill Kate in Buckeye City, where Holly might let her guard down.

Tones, Betty’s tour manager, calls Jerome and asks him to act as Betty’s security to and from Dingley Park for the Guns and Hoses game. Jerome accepts, and Tones agrees to pay him $600 for the job and reserve a row of seats for Barbara’s family. Jerome invites John, splitting the $600 evenly.

Kate lectures in Chicago, emphasizing the importance of separating church and state, which upsets someone in the audience. After the speech, Holly reassures Kate that it was a good performance, thinking Kate is asking to be assassinated.

John updates Holly on his search for Trig, and Jerome tells Holly about the security job for Betty.

In Toledo, the police cancel Kate’s performance over an anonymous threat of a mass shooting. Kate is livid, but Corrie and Holly try to convince her it is for the best. Kate plans to criticize the police at her press conference, telling Corrie to invite the media and schedule interviews for the following morning. Kate considers holding an impromptu rally elsewhere.

Trig goes to check the ice rink, remembering how pleasant his father was after the Buckeye Bullets won a game. When the Bullets lost, Trig’s father became abusive. Trig hardly remembers his mother, whom his father said “quit” the family. After checking the rink, Trig considers killing a young woman he finds in the woods, but a man joins her and asks for money. Trig gives them $5 and leaves.

Holly brings Kate to three morning shows, where Kate spreads the message that cancelling her event is ludicrous.

Kate makes calls to news shows on the road, and Holly investigates Real Christ Holy from Jerome’s list of churches. Four Real Christ Holy members were charged with assault after throwing fake acid, which sparks Holly’s interest. Of the four members, only Christopher Stewart could fit Corrie’s description, but Corrie is unsure.

Holly calls Jerome, who is at Sista Bessie’s rehearsal, and asks him to do something for her.

Though Holly would prefer to go home, their first stop in Buckeye City is the hotel where Kate greets her fans. Holly wonders if she would take a bullet for Kate, whom she dislikes.

Chris checks into the hotel as William Fergusson and sees Kate, Corrie, and Holly. Chris takes a nap and remembers his mother’s acceptance of his dual nature. Fallowes used the Bible to justify Chrissy’s existence, though Chris does not feel any justification is needed.

After the nap, Chris checks out the Mingo.

Trig wonders why he wants the finale to be at the ice rink, remembering the good and bad times with his father. Maisie tells Trig he has a call, addressing him as Don. Trig is Donald Gibson, the program director for the Mingo Auditorium, and he is also “Juror 9” from Duffrey’s trial. Trig’s mother called him Donnie, but then she was gone. Trig’s father called him “Trigger” after Roy Roger’s horse, and Trig keeps a ceramic horse, which his father gave him, on his desk. The call is from Corrie, who is making sure everything is set for Kate’s lecture. Trig asks her to come to the auditorium at noon the next day to sign papers, but it is a trap.

Jerome visits Holly’s hotel room with blown-up pictures of Fallowes and Chris, including one from when Chris forgot to put his hand down during Kate’s show, confirming that Chris is following them. Kate comes in, and Holly explains the situation. Corrie comes in and identifies Chris as the woman who splashed her with bleach once Holly draws bangs on the photo. Kate refuses to allow Holly to alert the news but allows Holly and Jerome to circulate Chris’s image with the police and Mingo staff.

Jerome prints flyers with Chris’s face and brings some to the Guns and Hoses practice game. Tom takes some pictures and agrees to spread the word, while Izzy practices pitching. George heckles her as her first few pitches fall short.

While Kate swims, Holly calls Fallowes, who deliberately mispronounces Holly’s name as “Gibley.” Holly concludes that Fallowes knows who Holly is and does not want her to know that, meaning he likely knows what Chris is doing. Fallowes denies any connection to the crimes Holly claims Chris committed and hangs up.

Fallowes calls Chris and tells him that his identity is compromised. Fallowes orders Chris to come home, but Chris refuses, demanding that Fallowes find him abandoned buildings to hide in. Fallowes knows Chris’s actions will look bad for the church, but Chris resents Fallowes’s selfishness.

Chris becomes Chrissy and waits for Fallowes to call back, asking a passerby where she can go to relax. He suggests Dingley Park, where the Guns and Hoses game will be played.

The hotel passes out pictures of Chris for Kate’s press conference. At the press conference, Buckeye Brandon questions the safety of Kate’s lecture, and Kate retorts that what is truly unsafe is the closure of abortion clinics after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. She ignores any further questions that blame her for other people’s violence.

Kate invites Holly for dinner, and Izzy calls to congratulate Holly on identifying Chris. Izzy justifies allowing the Guns and Hoses game to go on despite the security risk because it is for charity. Holly pushes Izzy on why anyone would kill people to avenge Duffrey, but neither she nor Izzy can think of anyone who would have sufficient motive to do so.

Tom calls Real Christ Holy but gets no information. He tells Holly a town clerk in Baraboo Junction, where Real Christ Holy is located, noted that Chris got in trouble for dressing in women’s clothing years prior.

Fallowes calls Chrissy, addressing her as “Chris,” and insists she come home. Chrissy refuses, and Fallowes lists abandoned buildings, including the ice rink in Dingley Park, the Holman Rink.

Chrissy gets into the rink by using the same code Trig found. Inside, she finds a woman’s body. She assumes the juror’s name in her hand is the woman’s name, calling her Corinna.

Barbara invites Holly out, and Kate agrees, noting that she wanted to be a singer when she was younger. Holly tells Kate and Corrie to keep the door locked and reminds them that Chris might be dressed as a woman.

Holly meets Tones and Donald Gibson behind the Mingo, and they lead her to the stage where Barbara is performing with Sista Bessie. Holly cannot place why Gibson seems familiar, but she is distracted when Barbara runs to greet her. Barbara introduces Holly to Betty, and Holly watches Barbara and Betty perform.

Chrissy reads Buckeye Brandon’s transcripts and learns that the dead woman is one of the Surrogate Juror Murderer’s victims. Chrissy thinks the murderer is horrible and hopes she gets the chance to kill him.

Trig feels addicted to murder but wants to finish his mission. He sets a new electronic sign message for the front of the Mingo that lists the remaining jurors, ADA Allen, and Judge Witterson’s names paired with Kate, Corrie, Betty, and Barbara, ending with his own name, and he sets the sign to change just after Sista Bessie sings the National Anthem at the Guns and Hoses game.

At an AA meeting, John finds someone who remembers Trig going by another name: Trigger, John, Ron, or Vaughn, but he is not sure.

Barbara texts Jerome with Betty’s schedule for the next day, which Jerome passes on to John. Jerome will ride with Betty, and John will drive Jerome’s car to the field.

John texts Holly about Trig’s aliases, noting that “Trigger” is the name of Roy Roger’s horse. Holly gets coffee, then walks to Dingley Park and buys a newspaper. After leaving Dingley Park, Holly goes to the Mingo and meets Maisie, who shows Holly a possible exit route for after Kate’s show.

Corrie reports a successful booking for the next week and commiserates with Holly over Kate’s disinterest. Holly has no news about Chris or the Surrogate Juror Murderer, and Corrie leaves to sign papers at the Mingo.

Izzy practices pitching while members of the firefighters’ team look on. Izzy intentionally pitches more slowly than she will in the game to throw off the firefighters. Holly calls, but neither of them have any news.

When Corrie arrives at the Mingo, Trig injects her with a sedative, binds her hands and feet, and puts her in the back of a van. Betty arrives with her costume designer, Alberta, and they talk to Trig about the weather. Trig ushers them inside, then finds Corrie waking up in the van. Trig threatens Corrie, tapes her mouth, and demands her phone’s passcode. Trig’s father’s voice criticizes him for assaulting Corrie.

Holly visits her apartment for lunch and feels like she missed something important at the Mingo.

Chrissy wakes up when someone opens the rink’s doors. She sees a man carrying a woman to a post, where he tapes her neck and legs. Chrissy recognizes Corrie, who sees Chrissy and panics. The man does not see Chrissy and leaves.

John serves a man at the bar, and his AA contact calls to tell a joke Trig told at a meeting about hiring someone to clean elephant poop at 10 o’clock in the morning.

Off the phone, the AA contact remembers that Trig’s name is Don.