DISCLAIMER: This recap of Death and Other Details Season 1 Episode 8, “Vanishing,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
It’s the penultimate outing of Death and Other Details (we get a double-episode finale next week), and secrets are unraveling like the bows on Christmas presents. So much transpires in “Vanishing.” Perhaps a little too much narrative cramming for my taste, but at least the twists are satisfying. Well, save Lawrence killing Kira. That feels too obvious. However, there could also be a twist involved in that. Here’s hoping next week bears more fruit in that regard.
“Vanishing” is co-written by Angela Zhou, aka our badass Teddy, and it provides context about what we think we know, answers some questions and leaves plenty of loose threads to explore in the finale. This show is moving at a steady clip, so I hope the ending doesn’t lose momentum.
Side note: “Vanishing” should have an alternate title: “Anna Collier and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” Seriously, that poor girl needs a thousand hugs and naps. More side notes: Has anyone noticed that Lawrence’s smoothies are blue, and the poisonous pigment at the center of the Collier drama is Captionem Blue? Also, I have a theory — Lawrence is Imogene’s biological father. It makes more sense to me than the theory about Rufus.
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One Hour Earlier
We open with Imogene (Violett Beane) marching toward Celia Chun (Lisa Lu) and her table, which consists of Eleanor (Karoline), Leila (Pardis Saremi) and Tripp (Jack Cutmore-Scott). Anna (Lauren Patten) sits at the adjoining table. Imogene confronts Celia about working with Kira as a whistleblower in 2005 in an attempt to take down Collier Mills. Celia smiles, confirming this.
Then, Rufus (Mandy Patinkin) narrates, taking us one hour earlier. He knows Rita wants answers, but there are still some details to iron out. We see Celia sitting in a wicker chair on the deck. She pulls out a photo of herself with her late husband. Her eyes fill with tears as she kisses it. Eleanor finds her grandmother. She claims that Anna deserves to stay on as CEO despite them overtaking the company. Eleanor believes Anna would do a much better job than her father. However, Celia is adamant that there won’t be a business left for Anna to run when she’s done with it.
Sunil and Rufus
Elsewhere, Sunil (Rahul Kohli) is still bound to a chair in his office. Remember, our players are still in the thick of a ship-wide blackout. Rufus looks through Sunil’s liquor collection. Sunil tries to persuade Rufus to untie him so he can get to the backup generator. He can fix the power situation.
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But Rufus doesn’t trust Sunil — after all, Viktor Sams owns the SS Varuna. Sunil claims he knows what Rufus did to Imogene back in 2005. He urges Rufus not to hurt her again. Outside the office, Imogene discloses what she learned about Collier Mills and its use of Captionem Blue. Lawrence and the company knew about the banned substance killing its workers.
Meanwhile, Teddy (Zhou) makes her way through the dark corridors as her team scrambles to get the power working again. She learns that Viktor Sams properly hijacked their system and has barred them from accessing it while deactivating the power.
A Note From Llewellyn
One of Teddy’s employees hands her a note from Llewellyn (Jere Burns). He apologizes, wanting her not to think that his death had anything to do with their time together. We see Teddy rush to the deck as Llewellyn jumps. She screams. The camera lingers on Hilde’s (Linda Emond) expression. She looks pained, which differs from Imogene’s recollection of the event in episode six, where she seems more hardened. My guess is this is a nod to the show’s overall theme of how faulty and malleable our memories are.
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Teddy finds a place to sit so she can finish reading Llewellyn’s note. We flashback to before he committed suicide. He talks about someone sending him a bottle of wine, but the waiter took the cork. Llewellyn apologizes for not saving Teddy any, but “How often does someone send you a ’98?” Teddy arrives. Llewellyn lays his head in her lap. He talks about how being a lawyer for the Colliers was great … until he got older, and they all cultivated beautiful, messy lives.
Teddy admits she’s not a mental health professional, but she believes Llewellyn might be exhibiting depressive tendencies. She states she cannot condone self-harm. Llewellyn reassures her he doesn’t plan to shuffle off this mortal coil soon. He’s a survivor.
A State of Emergency
Next, after the flashback, Hilde chats briefly with Teddy. Teddy confesses she never saw the signs that he was suicidal. Hilde admits she didn’t, either. They spent one night together. Hilde urges Teddy to implement the ship’s emergency protocols. She’s declaring this a state of emergency.
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Then, Anna tracks down Teddy, demanding to know when they’ll restore the power. She was in the middle of an important phone call. That’s when Anna learns about Llewellyn’s death. She reunites with Imogene, who’s about to search Llewellyn’s room. Imogene tells Anna she was present when Llewellyn jumped. She urges her friend to divulge anything she knows about Collier Mills’ doings. Anna claims she knows as much as Imogene does. Hmm.
We see the beginning of the scene between Imogene and Rufus in Llewellyn’s room play out as Anna tells her parents, Katherine (Jayne Atkinson) and Lawrence (David Marshall Grant), about Llewellyn’s death. Initially, Katherine doesn’t believe Anna until the latter drives the point home. Lawrence coldly declares that Llewellyn was always weak. Ouch. He reminds Anna that she had been trying to get him to cut Llewellyn loose for a decade. “The only reason we kept him on was insurance. He did us all a favor,” Lawrence adds. Double ouch.
Lawrence Is Sus
That Derek (Sincere Wilbert) records this conversation outside the room. He tells his followers that some were right about Lawrence being “sus.” Eleanor overhears his TikTok-ery (my new term, you’re welcome) and asks if his followers suspect anyone else of being culpable. That Derek flees, not answering her.
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Later, Leila finds Tripp in her room, passed out on the couch. She holds a lantern and asks where Anna is. Then, Leila asks if Tripp knew about Anna and Eleanor’s night of sexy time. Tripp tries to keep Anna and Leila together. He asserts they love each other. Shouldn’t that be enough? Why let Anna’s cheating drive a wedge between them? Leila remarks that Tripp really loved Alexandra. Tripp admits he wished he listened to her when she was alive. She thought Lawrence was out to get her.
Tripp asks if his father is capable of being the mastermind behind everything. Leila doesn’t think so. This is bigger than Lawrence Collier.
Jules Escapes
Elsewhere, Jules (Hugo Diego Garcia) plays with his tennis ball in his cell. We see a flashback to when Imogene gifted him that ball. She used it to conceal the key she also gave him. Jules waits until the ship employee on guard departs before he unlocks his cell. Winnie (Annie Q. Riegel) sees him leave. She asks Jules to get her out, too. He refuses to help her.
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Next, Simon (Leslie Kwan) enters. He spots Jules. Acting quickly, Jules overpowers Simon, locking him in the cell in his place. Once free, Jules hides when he sees the Collier family making a beeline for the dining room. Lawrence demands Hilde to tell him why he must be present for all this. Why? Because she said so, dude. She wants to keep track of everyone on the ship by placing them in the dining room.
Anna notices Leila at the bar. She tries to chat with her, but Leila ignores her, instead deciding to sit with the Chuns. Tripp joins Leila, Eleanor and Celia while Anna sits at the table beside them. We briefly overhear the conversations at the other tables. Tripp’s friend talks about playing tennis with Llewellyn. Celia’s doctor claims the governor was poisoned with Ricin. Meanwhile, Hilde admits to one of the security guards that Rufus’ instincts have been spot-on during this investigation.
The Cork
Later, we see Teddy in the food pantry. She cries in silence. Aw. She stops when a server enters with empty wine bottles. He puts the corks in a metal “Pasta” container. She recalls what Llewellyn told her about someone sending him wine and the server leaving with the cork. She searches the tin for the one that matches Llewellyn’s wine bottle.
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Then, Teddy and Jules chat with Sunil, who begs them to let him go. He can help with the blackout. Teddy tells Jules they need to find Rufus. Llewellyn didn’t commit suicide — he was poisoned. Meanwhile, Hilde sits with Lawrence. She wants to know why he would charter a ship, invite all the attendees and not show interest in the murder investigation unfolding. Why wouldn’t he want to be apprised of any developments? Lawrence claims he doesn’t have to answer her questions.
In Sunil’s office, Jules frees Sunil to look at the backup generator. Realizing that Viktor Sams hijacked their systems, Hilde’s team probably isn’t coming. They decide to take one of the boats and get help on their own.
Anna’s Parentage
Next, we see the Colliers and Chuns reunite. Lawrence storms off after Celia tells him that after 40 years of having operations in China, he’s refused to learn their language. Anna apologizes on behalf of her father. Eleanor insists that she’ll make a better CEO. That’s when Celia reveals the truth: Anna isn’t a Collier. Lawrence isn’t her father. That’s why she can’t be the CEO. Father Toby (Danny Johnson) admits he disclosed this info to Celia when she threatened his son. Katherine is not a happy camper.
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Oh, but it gets worse. As it turns out, Llewellyn is Anna’s biological father, much to her and Tripp’s shock. Before leaving, Katherine gives Toby a big ole “f*ck you.” Then, Imogene walks in as Katherine departs to confront Celia. Celia tells the group how she came to work for Collier Mills. She was employed there under a different name. We flashback to 50 years earlier in Jiangsu at a factory. Young Celia (Doralynn Mui) meets her future husband, Chen (Howie Lai). It’s love at first sight.
They get married later that year. Then, fast forward 10 years later to when Collier Mills took over their plant. We see the workers sewing the Captionem Blue fabrics, the dye staining their fingers. Chen coughs incessantly while he sews. The new pigment made him severely sick. Celia did everything she could to take care of him; however, at the time, she and her daughter, Eleanor’s mother, didn’t understand the gravity of his illness or what caused it.
Money for Silence
After Chen dies, Llewellyn gives Celia a $25,000 check to silence her. That’s when it dawns on her — Collier Mills is responsible. After the substance was supposedly banned in 1989, Celia used that money to build her own company so the Colliers couldn’t hurt her again. Then, in 2005, we see Kira (Emond) pop into Celia’s office for their first meeting.
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Eleanor asks her grandmother why she didn’t tell her all this before. Celia claims she “swallowed all the bitterness” to give her granddaughter an “unburdened, happy childhood.” Aw. Imogene tries to talk sense into Anna. Her father is behind all this. He continued using a fatal pigment that killed several of his workers. He also murdered her mother. Imogene declares she can prove this, too.
She and Anna find Lawrence on the deck with a drink in hand. Upon seeing Imogene, he calls her “Kira.” He asks her where she’s been and why she left. He misses her. That’s when Anna reveals Lawrence has good and bad days. It’s not a definitive diagnosis, but something to the effect of early-onset dementia. Imogene continues pretending to be her mom to elicit more info from him. Lawrence asserts that Kira left him. “You were the only one asking questions. Why did you have to be a hero?” he asks her.
The Truth
Imogene counters that Lawrence was poisoning people. He erupts, claiming they were lucky to have a job. Then, he says he didn’t want to do what he did, but she wouldn’t stop. So, he made a phone call. Uh-oh. Elsewhere, Hilde, Rufus and Teddy question the server who delivered the poisoned wine to Llewellyn. He insists if it was tampered with, it happened before he touched the bottle. Hilde states that Llewellyn was killed with Ricin, the same poison that killed Alexandra.
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Rufus asks the waiter to disclose which guest sent Llewellyn the wine. Then, we see Hilde and Teddy barging into the dining room. Hilde asks the group where Katherine is. Hilde orders the security team to search Katherine’s quarters. Leila asks Teddy to give her an update. Teddy reveals that Katherine killed Llewellyn. They found the Ricin in her room. Leila asserts that Katherine is Viktor Sams.
Meanwhile, Rufus joins Imogene on the deck, where Lawrence sits alone. She claims there’s no justice here. If Lawrence goes to prison for killing Kira, he won’t know why he’s there. Suddenly, they hear a bloodcurdling scream. Anna sobs near the pool as Katherine, very much dead, floats in it. The IV pole is behind Anna on the deck. Hmm. Imogene and Rufus arrive. Hilde is hot on their heels.
The Return of Andreas
Then, a helicopter lands as Sunil and Jules head for a boat. They notice the boats are missing, and enough explosives are hooked up to blow this cruise liner to kingdom come. Andreas Windeler (Christian Svensson), who works for Viktor Sams (and followed Sunil and Imogene in Malta), barges onto the deck with his crew. Hilde surrenders her gun before Andreas pistol-whips her, knocking her unconscious. Andreas orders them to round up the guests because they’re going to play a little game.
This sounds like some “eat the rich” sh*t.
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So, if Katherine isn’t Viktor Sams, who is? Will we meet him next week? Did he pressure Lawrence to kill Kira, as we learned in “Vanishing”? Who else is on the chopping block? Only time (and two more episodes) will tell.
Death and Other Details drops its double-episode season finale on Tuesday, March 5, only on Hulu.
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