'Ridley' Recap: Episode 7

Ridley airs Sundays at 7:00 pm on WTTW and is available to stream. Recap the previous and following episodes.
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Michael Flannery’s mother has finally succumbed to cancer. Michael is allowed to leave prison under supervision only for her funeral, where he is upset to see Ridley watching from a distance. Before being spirited back to prison, he tells Ridley his mother’s early death is Ridley’s fault, since Ridley is the reason her son is behind bars.

Ridley then goes to visit the grave of his wife and daughter, and sees flowers from Adam Donnelly. He kicks them away.

That night, a man falls from his apartment on the tenth floor of a rough estate. Patrick Elliot probably didn’t jump to his death, given wounds consistent with struggle, a handprint on the balcony that suggests an attempt to hold on, and fresh paint smeared on his door. He had alcohol and oxycodone in his system, so he would have been a bit woozy. A glass in his apartment was wiped clean, suggesting that Elliot knew his attacker and gave them a drink—and his wallet is still there, so it wasn’t a robbery. There’s a distinctive shoeprint that’s not Elliot’s on the balcony.

Elliot was a clinical psychologist at a nonprofit practice that helps many ex-offenders. Dr. Samantha Larsson runs it, and reveals that Elliot had been on personal leave on her recommendation because he had been showing signs of depression and anxiety. He tended to get too involved with his patients. He had just come into the office again the day he was killed, and she had refused to let him return to work yet.

Elliot’s neighbor Diane Blaine saw him at the estate’s elevator later. She says that he was gay and had a lot of callers. She’s not being entirely forthcoming, as the police soon find out. Her daughter, Rochelle, was a tormentor of Elliot. He called the police three times about homophobic abuse from her and a group of her friends, earning Rochelle a Criminal Behavior Order (CBO).

Rochelle says she was with her friends when Elliot died, but one of them admits that Rochelle left to go see her boyfriend, Jared Boakes. Rochelle admits that she spent time with him in his garage. That’s a violation of her CBO, because Boakes was questioned in connection with a burglary of Elliot’s apartment six months ago. Boakes’ garage is full of stolen goods, including a watch taken from Elliot’s apartment in the burglary, with Boakes’ fingerprints on it.

The police suspect that Rochelle might have resented Elliot for the CBO and then had Boakes kill him. But Boakes’ shoe prints and fingerprints don’t match any found at Elliot’s apartment after his death.

Fortunately, the police have a new avenue of inquiry to pursue. While Dr. Larsson refused them access to Elliot’s patient records, they have won it in court. Ridley goes through them and immediately notices that Cal Flannery—Michael’s brother—is one of the patients. His behavior is noted as erratic, and five phone calls to Elliot’s phone in the past week are traced to the home of Cal’s mother, where he lives.

Ridley convinces Farman to accompany him on a visit to Cal. Ridley is aggressive in his questioning. Cal says that Elliot said he could call whenever he needed to talk, that he didn’t know where Elliot lived, and that he was at the wake of his mother when Elliot was killed.

Farman learns from Cal that Ridley attended his mother’s funeral, and is also skeptical of the way Ridley questioned Cal. She warns Ridley not to make it personal, but also tells Goodwin, who has already chastised Ridley for attending the funeral.

Michael Flannery was a source against the crime boss Adam Donnelly for Ridley, who broke the rules to recruit him—Michael was afraid to serve as a more formal source. Ridley and Goodwin both worked the case, and Ridley eventually had to reveal Michael’s name in court because of his unorthodox approach, to Michael’s horror. Donnelly called Michael to threaten him from prison. But Ridley couldn’t get Michael witness protection because he was not an official source.

Michael eventually left the home he shared with Cal and his mother, scaring Cal. After Michael himself went to prison for killing Ridley’s family in a fire, Donnelly’s men threatened his mom, Cal reveals. Cal didn’t go to the police because he saw what happened to Michael when he did.

As Farman is releasing Rochelle from custody for lack of evidence, Rochelle’s mother Diane reveals that she noticed an unusual presence lurking outside the building before Elliot died. The man’s description matches Cal, especially in what made Diane notice him: he was wearing a suit and tie, as if he had come from a funeral. Diane later identifies Cal as the man.

Ridley goes again to Dr. Larsson to ask about Cal. She reluctantly shares that the relationship between Elliot and Cal became inappropriate, although she says Elliot wouldn’t have broken the rules so much as to have a sexual relationship with a patient.

Farman and Goodwin are both upset that Ridley visited Larsson without their permission. They warn him again, and keep him from the interview when they bring in Cal for questioning. That action brings Dr. Larsson to the police station with a lawyer, because Cal has been diagnosed as vulnerable and thus needs a psychiatric evaluation before questioning.

Once that is completed, Farman questions Cal, with Ridley watching a video feed. Several people at Cal’s mother’s wake said he left earlier than he said, and that he was drunk. His prints are in Elliot’s apartment, even though he said he didn’t know where Elliot lived. Cal admits that he went there a few weeks ago to return one of Elliot’s books; he lied because he knew he wasn’t supposed to be there. He also says that Elliot must have misread signs and came onto him, not the other way around, as the detectives assumed. Cal thought he could trust Elliot.

Cal also gets upset and says that Ridley is trying to frame him.

Ridley talks to Larsson later, asking why she is protecting Cal. She brings up Ridley’s connection to the Flannerys, as well as the death of his wife and daughter—she has read up on him. She tells him he can talk to her if he ever needs; talking about it will help.

Ridley once again breaks the rules and revisits Elliot’s apartment. He takes memory cards out of evidence boxes, finds a recording of a session with Cal, and starts to listen.