The Perfect Son

Olivia continues building a mound to stand on for her escape. Because she’s so weak, she struggles to build it effectively. She realizes a bone from Phoebe would be more efficient than the empty water bottle she has been using. She begrudgingly picks up a bone, promising she will get out of the hole to get justice for herself and Phoebe.

Erika is working on a story for the newspaper when she hears a crash from the kitchen. She goes to investigate and finds a brick, on which someone wrote “MURDERER,” thrown through the window. As she cleans up the broken glass, the doorbell rings. The police are there to arrest Liam. Erika calls Liam down and the police arrest him. Despite believing that he is guilty, Erika has a strong urge to protect him. As the police handcuff Liam, Erika suddenly yells at him to tell the police where Olivia is. Her outburst shocks everyone, and as Liam leaves, he tells her again that he didn’t do anything.

Hannah emerges from her room, upset at Liam’s arrest. She says that she knows what Erika thinks of Liam and tells her he would never hurt Olivia. Erika believes Hannah doesn’t know Liam like she does. Erika remembers Hannah and Liam’s younger years. Liam was an easy baby and very charming to strangers, while Hannah was very fussy. Once at the park, when Liam was four years old, he announced he was going to kill an ant he was playing with. His cruelty scared Erika but didn’t seem to bother Jason when she told him about it later.

Jason calls Liam’s lawyer, John Landon, and they make a plan for Liam’s bail hearing the next day. Because Liam is charged with murder, he may not get bail. Landon reveals that the police found Olivia’s blood type and three strands of her hair in the 4Runner’s trunk. Landon says he’s going to try to convince Liam to reveal where Olivia is. Erika asks if Landon thinks her son killed Olivia, and he tells her he does. He promises, regardless of Liam’s guilt, to do his best to defend him.

Later that night, Erika finds Hannah watching The Princess Bride, Hannah’s favorite movie, which she watches when she needs comfort. Erika joins Hannah and apologizes for their conversation about Liam. Hannah reveals that she knows Erika hired Frank to scare off Liam’s romantic interests and sent Liam to a child psychologist. Hannah wants to protect her brother and get him back home. Erika knows Liam and Hannah have always been close and tells Hannah that they will get Liam home.

Jason and Erika get ready for bed. They discuss Liam’s case, but Erika changes the subject to what she learned about her father. She always told herself that Liam’s issues were not her fault but worries they may be related to her genetics through her father. Shocked, Jason asks whether Erika will go see her father. He encourages her not to because he’s a murderer. Erika realizes they may soon have to visit Liam in jail, and she will visit him often because he is her son and she loves him. She tells Jason that Liam inherited being a murderer from her. Jason denies it, but for the first time, Erika sees that he doubts Liam’s innocence.

Exhausted and out of food, Olivia continues building her mound. When she tries to step onto it, she finds it difficult because of her broken leg. She perseveres through the pain, reaching the top of the hole only to find the door locked. She begins pounding against the door, aware she must break through to escape.

The next morning Erika reads the paper. The newspaper cannot print Liam’s name because he is a minor, but people in the online comments use it. She reads the comments, noting that most people think he is guilty. The comments obviously written by people who know Liam are the hardest for her to read. Jason tells Erika that someone spray-painted their house and promises to take care of it. When she starts to cry and blame herself, Jason comforts her, telling her she’s a great mother. He tells her to get ready for Liam’s bail hearing.

Erika’s boss calls, and Erika realizes that she forgot an article deadline. Her boss tells her to take an indefinite hiatus from the paper to focus on her family. Realizing she’s been fired, she goes to get ready for the hearing. When she gets out of the shower, an unknown person calls her, threatening to kill Hannah like Liam killed Olivia. Shaken, Erika continues getting ready for the hearing.

There are a lot of reporters at the hearing. Erika is shocked at how little and young Liam looks in his prison jumpsuit. She recalls the last thing she said to him, feeling guilty for accusing him of murder in front of the police. The prosecutor and Landon give their arguments, and Landon secures bail for Liam. Despite the victory, no one is in a celebratory mood. Erika has a bad feeling as they open the door to their house and enters in front of Liam. Inside, she sees a knife.

Olivia’s mother rushes at the Cass family, holding the knife they use to cut their Thanksgiving turkey. She begs Liam to tell her where her daughter is. Jason tries to calm Olivia’s mother, but she keeps accusing Liam of killing her daughter. Eventually, exhausted by her grief, she collapses, crying, saying she wishes Olivia never met Liam. Jason calls her a taxi, and Liam goes to his room, showing no emotion.

The police interview Hannah. They ask her about Liam’s weird and sometimes threatening behavior, but she says that people are making too big a deal of it. She tells the police not to believe what people like Tyler Martinson say about Liam. She tells them that Liam came to her defense when Tyler was mean to her, but acknowledges she isn’t sure what he said to make Tyler leave her alone. She continues to defend her brother and proclaim his innocence, promising that the truth will be revealed.

Erika continues to receive phone calls all day, most of which are threatening. Jessica calls to tell Erika she shouldn’t have bailed Liam out of jail. Jessica says that everyone knows Liam killed Olivia, and Erika should cut ties with her son. Erika hangs up. The phone rings again, and this time it’s Frank with an address for Erika’s father. He jokes that he now understands why Erika had him scare off Liam’s romantic interests. When she gets off the phone, Erika wonders what her father will do if she shows up at his door.

Exhausted from spending most of her day banging at the door above her, Olivia hears footsteps and starts screaming for help. Her captor shines his flashlight in her face and asks how she is doing. He asks how it feels to starve to death and holds up a bag of bread. He offers to give it to her if she tells him how she feels. She does, and he gives her the food and water. If she cooperates, he says, she will get to live, unlike Phoebe. He says he’ll return in a few days and leaves her alone again.

The events of the past few days and her continued Xanax use exhaust Erika. When she encourages Liam to eat breakfast, he asks why she cares, since she thinks he’s a murderer. She explains that she loves him because he is her son, and he laughs at her. Erika remembers that his psychologist said Liam is unable to feel love. She runs into Jason, getting out of the shower. He looks tired, and Erika assumes she kept him up with her restlessness. She tells him she needs to run some errands, and he agrees to look after the kids. Looking in the mirror, Erika realizes that she, like Liam, looks like her father, and she wonders what she is capable of.