That was a lot.
Another complex missing person’s case landed on Mosley and Associate’s table on Found Season 1 Episode 7, and if finding a missing person was crucial, finding a missing pregnant woman with a risky pregnancy was even more critical.
While a regular missing person has a clock ticking and time running out for them with every passing minute, Denae was also pregnant and without much support.
The case saw Gabi and her team scramble to find Denae, but the obstacles seemed too big at every turn.
We saw Gabi’s team work in an unfamiliar jurisdiction for the first time because Denae was a Native American woman.
I’ll admit that the laws surrounding the governance of Indian Reservations are unclear to me, and every time a situation comes up where the Indian police might get involved, there is always a clash of some sort with state or federal law enforcement.
Gabi was used to dealing with the police and knew how to handle them, but dealing with Kai was a new beast.
Gabi knew how to push the boundaries of regular police, but sometimes, she could push too far.
The episode saw Mark Trent explain what being a police officer meant to him.
You’ve always been clear about who you are and the lines you’re willing to cross to save a life. I used to be. But lately, I’ve been blurring my own lines. … You know, I can’t remember when my morning didn’t start at the precinct. Even as a kid, my dad brought me in just like his dad did with him and his dad before him. Being a cop is who I am. Fighting on the right side that’s just that’s in my blood. I don’t know who I am without the badge.
Mark
Thus far, we had been introduced to Mark as a regular cop who had a past and a working relationship with Gabi and her team, but we didn’t know much about him.
The episode dove a little into him to make us care about him a bit more, and they couldn’t have done a better job.
Through his monologue, we learned just what being a cop means to him, which is everything. His family was a police family, and it was the only thing he knew.
Losing his job would destroy his life and personal worth as he knows it.
To get to Denae, the team had to work through several leads, from Denae’s abusive alcoholic boyfriend to her coworker, who blew the case open by revealing Denae’s inner fears.
Gabi, Lacey Quinn, and Mark found themselves in Virginia, which brought them face to face with Kai, Denae’s overprotective brother.
The reservation was full of suspects, and every time Gabi and her team would clear someone, another person would rise to take their place.
It was a lot of back and forth, and they lost me at some point because it all happened too fast. While I appreciate a case with intriguing twists and turns, there is something like too much, and in this case, too much was present.
Denae’s case was unique in that even after she was found, the search didn’t end there because she had delivered her baby, and the baby was missing.
That was a welcome twist as it showed just how surprising a case can be, and if one is not all in, they can seem daunting.
The episode kept us so preoccupied that I missed the signs that Denae’s doctor was the kidnapper.
When a life is at risk, it is hard. But when a baby’s life, a life they had barely got to enjoy, is at risk, the stakes seem even higher.
A lot can go wrong, and all that is required is for one thing to go wrong, and the baby dies.
When Margaret entered the doctor’s house and the face-off that ensued after she found the baby, that was the tensest scene of the whole episode, and there were a lot of those, especially in the flashbacks.
The flashback scenes showed where Gabi Mosley got her never-dying fighting spirit.
Being kidnapped is an awful thing; I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
But even the worst of circumstances might have a great lesson in them, and while Gabi was always a fighter, events in this episode strengthened her fighting spirit.
[in unison] Don’t give up! Never Give up!
Teen and Adult Gabi
She planned her escape, which involved duping Sir with a great smile and enthusiasm. Now that I think about it, this might be the first time we’ve seen Teen Gabi smile. Her look of constant terror in Sir’s presence is unforgettable.
After the failed escape and drugging, many people would lose their will to fight, but Gabi kept up the fight. She honed it during her time in Sir’s captivity, and it was one of her best assets on the job.
Apart from being there on a case, Virginia was also notable for Lacey and Gabi because it was the state where Sir held them captive.
Sir might be many things, but stupid is not one of them. He knew how to gamble the system to his advantage, and a jurisdiction gray area was perfect for his business.
We had seen Sir play nice with Gabi throughout Found Season 1, but for the first time, he threatened to kill her, and when he said that, it was believable.
If you ever run away again, I’ll make sure that your body ends up on that border — the space between where no one will ever find you.
Sir
The episode ended on a major cliffhanger where Sir was spotted near Gabi’s house, and that was not good for Gabi – and not for the reasons people would think.
Gabi: What the hell happened?
Mark: It’s Sir. There’s been a credible sighting near your house.
Sir’s disappearance would mean a considerable gap in team M&A because even if they didn’t know it, he was part of solving the cases just like any other person in the team. The only difference was that they weren’t as twisted as he was.
Finally, Gabi had a secret to keep. A secret that, if it got out, would tarnish her and M&A’s reputation.
Intrusive Thoughts
- I’m not sure Gabi understood what being a cop meant for Mark. It feels like Gabi is so self-centered she doesn’t think of the other people she hurts while working to bring a missing person home.
- Why was Sir so mad at the thought that Gabi might be having sex with Mark? He seemed to take it personally that Gabi had another man in her life.
- What exactly did Sir do professionally? He couldn’t have known everything he knew about people just from his extracurricular activity of kidnapping children, could he?
- We haven’t seen Margaret and Zeke work together; they were so good as a duo.
Over to you, Found Fanatics. What did you think? Is Gabi too selfish?
Were you able to follow along with the story?
Chime in in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.