005 - Suspect
Summary
Seventeen-year-old Andy Deaver disappears from his boarding school and it turns out the headmaster, Graham Spaulding, is behind it.
Rating
An excellent episode. Disturbing, though.
Discussion
There isn’t a misdirection this time, with someone not behind the disappearance being an initial suspect. The headmaster is the suspect from the beginning, but getting any evidence against him and getting the missing kid is our story.
Spaulding is quite smart - he’d have to be in order to never have been caught until this point. He is smart about denying the photo album is his when Jack returns it, even though his lie is so obvious. But it’s the legalities that matter, and he knows it. However, he actually believes Jack when Jack manipulates him into telling him where Andy is by promising him 15 minutes with Andy. This is clearly not smart of Spaulding and initially seems like a break in character. Would someone as smart as him be manipulated in this way? Perhaps not. But at the same time, he is so damaged and twisted and sick that it is also believable that he would go for the bait. That is an amazing scene. Anthony LaPaglia plays the part of manipulator so amazingly well. He is so good at talking a language that Spaulding knows, hitting what he needs, and yet plays it so that Jack is so clearly disturbed what what is actually coming out of his mouth. Excellent scene.
Notes
Jack’s father was in the Army and they moved around a lot.
The song that opens the episode (which is the song that Andy burned on the CD for the girl he liked and is the song Jack plays in the car for Spaulding when trying to manipulate him), “One of These Mornings” by Moby, also starts the episode in season 2 that involves Spaulding getting revenge against Jack (Episode 28, Copycat).
Quotes
Samantha: He is a retired veterinarian. Sold his practice to take over the school last year after his father died.
Jack: With what qualifications looking after animals?
Samantha: High school’s pretty rough these days.
Jack: Hilarious.v
Samantha: Graham’s chief qualification seems to be that his father was Alfred Spaulding who founded the school in 1956.
Jack: I’ve been giving something a lot of thought. It’s occurred to me that in some ways I envy you.
Spaulding: You envy me?
Jack: The power that you have with those boys, what that must feel like.
Spaulding: What boys?
Jack: Andy. Eric Lipinski. Robbie Griffith. I know there have been others.
Spaulding: There have been many.
Jack: Do me a favor, Graham. Tell me what it’s like, the moment that you take them out. Tell me. You can see the terror in their eyes, right? You can feel their hearts racing. You can feel the cold sweat under your hands, just before you stick the needle in. It must be such a rush.
Jack: Andy made this CD for Phoebe. He wanted her to think about him when he wasn’t there. Is that what you wanted? Is that why you stole? You wanted to think about him? Is it what you two listened to when you were together?
Spaulding: No.
Jack: No, that’s right. That’s right. That’s right, you never got a chance. You never got a chance to go back to him because he’s still out there. He’s waiting. It must be hard. It must be hard knowing he’s out there, waiting. The touch of his skin, the feel of him under you. I understand you, Graham, I do. I’ve been to that school, I’ve seen those beautiful boys, their beautiful bodies. To hold all that innocence in your arms. To take. The power. It must be really frustrating knowing that Andy is out there waiting for you, waiting, waiting, waiting, and you can’t get back to him. You can’t be with him one last time. But I tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to give you 15 minutes with him if you tell me where he is.
Spaulding: You’d do that.
Jack: I’ll give you 15 minutes with him alone. You can do whatever you want.
Spaulding: 15 minutes?
Jack: Whatever you want.