DISCLAIMER: This recap of Death and Other Details Season 1 Episode 5, “Exquisite,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
We’ve reached the halfway point in Death and Other Details. Admittedly, it doesn’t feel like we’re any closer to unmasking Danny’s murderer. That said, at least this season consists of 10 episodes. Perhaps things will kick into high gear with the discovery at the end of this episode.
“Exquisite” drags a bit. The series struggles with juggling plot momentum and character development, often halting the former when fleshing out the latter. Sometimes, there’s a beautiful marriage between the two, but “Exquisite” boasts a lot of scenes that seem irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Of course, I’m prepared to eat crow if I’m wrong. There’s nothing bad about a slow burn, but the narrative should feel like it’s going somewhere. Thankfully, we get some movement on Leila’s side of things. I’m glad she’s more involved in driving the investigation now.
On a more positive note, the views in “Exquisite” are, dare I say it, exquisite. Stunning, even. However, that’s all we’re getting at the moment — lots of beauty but little substance. There aren’t that many characters I root for or sympathize with. Even at this stage, most of them feel surface level. At least the performances are excellent.
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Viktor Sams
We open with Rufus (Mandy Patinkin) telling Rita he hasn’t been honest. He reveals that he and Danny boarded the SS Varuna, hoping to regain his pride. We see Leila (Pardis Saremi) sitting beside Anna (Lauren Patten), who’s asleep. It’s two days ago, the night of Danny’s murder. Leila meets with Danny (Michael Gladis), who reveals that nobody has blown his cover as quickly as she did. He knows Leila is working on a story regarding the Colliers and their potentially seedy business dealings.
However, Leila corrects him, stating she’s investigating Viktor Sams because the Colliers are victims. Leila warns Danny. He shouldn’t get too close to this because Sams has eyes and ears on everything. She refuses to disclose anything else to protect him.
Rufus and Leila
In the present, we see Rufus and Leila right where we left them at the end of episode four. We now know that Viktor Sams caused Leila’s car accident. Meanwhile, Imogene (Violett Beane), Sunil (Rahul Kohli), Yeva (Sofia Rosinsky) and her parents arrive in Malta. After Imogene bids farewell to Yeva, she admits to Sunil that this is the first time in a long time since she’s given “a sh*t.” She vents about her mother’s murder and the ongoing case. Sunil states they should stay the night in Malta. He has a contact who can review the Collier Mills bill of lading for captionem blue.
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Later, while Imogene and Sunil take separate hotel rooms (after a shopping spree), we see Jules (Hugo Diego Garcia) and Winnie (Annie Q. Riegel) in the brig. Rufus visits Winnie, hoping to gain more insight into why she killed Danny. What did Viktor Sams offer her? She claims she’s never heard of that name. Rufus doesn’t believe she acted alone. I think she’s taking the fall for someone else. Teddy (Angela Zhou) watches her younger sister’s conversation with Rufus on the cameras.
Next, Alexandra (Tamberla Perry) confronts Tripp (Jack Cutmore-Scott) regarding the blackmail. Did his family take those photos of them? Whoever it is, they could derail her political career. Tripp vows to look into it. Then, they get it on. Nothing is more arousing than high-stakes blackmail. Elsewhere, Anna dresses after having sex with Eleanor (Karoline). Eleanor insists she understands that Anna’s married. “This never happened,” she says.
Arlington, Virginia
Then, Anna and Leila reunite. Leila urges Anna to get off the ship with her. They need to leave. Anna reassures her wife that they’ve found Danny’s killer. Another flashback takes us to six months prior in Arlington, Virginia. Leila hands Peter Meadows (Donald Sales) a cassette tape. She states she left her phone in her vehicle and parked two blocks away. Peter tells her that he spent 19 years at the NSA, but it was all derailed when they found porn on his server. Now, he’s jobless, divorced and his kid won’t talk to him. Of course, he’s innocent.
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Leila asked him when he started looking into Viktor Sams. Peter emphatically urges her not to speak his name. He’s ubiquitous. After her chat with Peter, Leila replays their conversation in the car. She records herself logging the meeting for her investigation. Suddenly, her GPS reroutes her trip to drive straight ahead instead of turning. Her vehicle starts inexplicably increasing in speed without her pressing on the gas. Leila tries to hit the brakes but to no avail. Her car careens over the side of a cliff.
In the present, Leila tells Anna that one man is behind these events. Anna claims it’s time to contact Leila’s doctor. Believing your wife is en vogue, Anna, so believe her. The following morning, Rufus stands on the deck, observing the murder suspects at leisure. He reunites with Hilde (Linda Emond), who wonders why Rufus is in observation mode. After all, this case is closed. Winnie confessed to it all. Rufus chats with Katherine (Jayne Atkinson) at the bar, who catches Rufus in the act of trying to get her to admit something. She remains tight-lipped.
The Negotiating Table
Eleanor soaks in the pool while her grandmother, Celia (Lisa Lu), talks about family to Father Toby (Danny Johnson). Toby urges her to steer clear of his son after reminding her that he got her everything she wanted. Llewellyn (Jere Burns) and Anna arrive on the deck. They’re in a heated conversation about the impending deal. Anna’s ready to return to the negotiating table with the Chuns. However, Llewellyn insists this new deal the Chuns are proposing is a load of bull.
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Afterward, Llewellyn flirts with Hilde, who mostly seems indifferent to his advances. Meanwhile, in Malta, Sunil and Imogene have breakfast. They have the whole day until they meet with Sunil’s contact. So, they visit St. John’s Co-Cathedral, where they talk about John the Baptist and continue bonding over art. On the ship, Teddy reassures Jules that Yeva and her parents have safely made it to Malta. They flirt a bit. Okay, I can get behind this potential pairing.
Teddy reunites with her sister. She can’t believe Winnie murdered someone. Teddy mentions Viktor Sams. So, she’s heard of him before. Winnie makes a remark that rubs Teddy the wrong way, resulting in the latter slapping her. Teddy insists that everything she does is to protect the family. Teddy confides in Simon (Leslie Kwan), who also doesn’t believe Winnie killed a man. She knows Winnie didn’t do it alone.
Troubled Marital Waters
Later, Anna chats with her mom, Katherine, about divorcing her father. Katherine states it’s much easier to build a life with someone than tear it down. Then, Anna attends a virtual therapy session with Leila. It crashes and burns, with Leila slamming the laptop closed. Leila declares she wants a divorce. She’s tired of being gaslit and feeling unsupported. Honestly? You go, girl. Take care of yourself. Plus, Anna’s got that $3 billion deal on the brain.
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Next, Tripp gets a buddy to invest in his business venture since Danny/Keith got harpooned. However, said buddy won’t kick over any funds unless Tripp donates a cool million himself. So, Tripp asks Daddy Lawrence (David Marshall Grant) for access to his trust fund for the money. Lawrence claims he’s not in charge of Tripp’s trust fund. Also, they’re meeting with the Chuns again that day, but Tripp’s sister Anna has everything under control.
Elsewhere, Sunil confesses to Imogene that he’s broke. He funneled everything he had into the SS Varuna. He asks Imogene to share a deep, dark secret with him. When you think she will unload something related to her past, she simply states she prefers Hot Pockets. Back on the ship, the Colliers and Chuns finally return to the negotiating table.
The New Deal
Eleanor speaks on behalf of her family. She reveals they will pay $3 billion to keep Collier Mills afloat. However, they want a 51 percent stake in the company. The Colliers protest, save Lawrence. As Anna, Llewellyn, Katherine and Tripp prepare to leave the room, Lawrence claims he’ll do what they refuse to do. He reminds them that he’s still the CEO. He shakes Celia’s hand, solidifying the deal.
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Meanwhile, Leila searches her room for cameras. She finds something. Rufus and Teddy join her to discuss who might have access to her quarters. Perhaps it’s someone with knowledge of the cruise liner’s layout and know-how regarding cameras. On Malta, Sunil and Imogene meet with Inés (Michela Farrugia), Sunil’s contact. She takes the bill of lading, storing it in her purse. She claims she can figure out the date on said bill of lading and what the person who issued it ate for lunch.
However, Imogene urges Inés to take a picture of it instead. This bill is the only concrete evidence she has in her mom’s murder case. But Sunil reassures her that it’ll all work out. A resigned Imogene lets Inés keep it for now. After they leave, Imogene notices a man is following them in an all-white getup. Not very inconspicuous, eh? Thankfully, Sunil and Imogene disguise themselves before hopping into a taxi. In true rom-com fashion, Imogene lands on top of Sunil in said taxi.
Dirt
Then, Llewellyn takes an elevator ride with Alexandra. Alexandra asks him about the Colliers blackmailing her. He claims ignorance. However, he does know about her trysts with Tripp. Alexandra threatens to share the Collier family secrets. Llewellyn brushes Alexandra off when he sees Hilde standing outside his room. She asks him why he likes to be bound, to be punished. I can guess where this will go. Sure enough, Alexandra pulls some documents out of her safe. The first page says, “State of Washington vs. Collier Mills Et al.” Uh-oh. She’s got dirt!
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Meanwhile, Imogene makes Sunil stop the boat before they board the SS Varuna. She apologizes for brushing him off earlier and giving him a crappy answer to his question. She tells him about how she cried harder on the day Rufus left than when her mother died. Sunil empathizes with her. Then, he swoops in for a kiss, which she reciprocates. It’s make-out time, y’all.
A Discovery That’s Most Exquisite
Rufus, Leila and Teddy look through the cameras, trying to figure out who planted that camera in Leila’s room. Rufus gets the bright idea of looking through the underbelly of the ship. Armed with an ax, he swings away at the side of the wall until he hits quite the payload — something that glows blue that we can’t see. Leila remarks that it’s not surveillance equipment. Rufus agrees, claiming it’s the whole operation. Someone’s been busy.
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What do you think Rufus, Teddy and Leila found in “Exquisite”? Is it actually surveillance equipment, and Leila was being sarcastic? What does the case file in Alexandra’s hands entail? What will Sunil’s contact find regarding the bill of lading? Only time (and more episodes) will tell.
Death and Other Details drops new episodes every Tuesday on Hulu.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
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