Trust season 1, episode 9 recap: ‘White Car in a Snowstorm’

The penultimate episode of Trust season 1 gives us something to hope for as Getty III is freed from his captors.

This week Trust gave us a beautiful, riveting episode as we head into next week’s season finale. After eight episodes of grief, despair, and little hope, Getty III finally breaks free of the shackles of his captors. As the episode begins, we see a hauntingly snowy landscape as Gail and Chace are sitting in a car waiting for a phone call.

It appears they’re waiting for someone to call but Gail isn’t convinced that they’ll ever receive. At this point, we’re assuming the call is linked to Getty III’s rescue but aren’t sure how it got to this point. In conversation, Chace reveals that he has a 12-year-old son–say what?

We rewind back to the events that transpired after Getty III’s ear was cut off last week. His ear is slowly making its way to its intended recipient in the hope that it will finally push the Gettys to fulfill the ransom. All the while, Getty III is struggling to stay alive as a veterinarian is tending to his deteriorating health.

Credit: FX

When Chace arrives at Gail’s doorstep with Getty III’s ear, she does not hesitate to confirm that it is indeed her son’s ear. She goes to Getty Sr. to tell him they must take some action because they are sending bits and pieces of Getty III back, and they need to do something before he is killed.

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Getty Sr. blames John Paul for this because he refused to accept Sr.’s offer to take a loan with interest from the trust. John Paul continues to refuse because he does not want to be in debt to his father. Sigh, what is up with these Getty men?

The episode wraps in President Nixon as well when Gail writes to him imploring that he pay attention to this case. As we all know, Nixon was having his share of issues during this time but reaches out and makes a deal with Getty Sr. to push him to rescue his grandson.

The new deal? Getty Sr. will give half the ransom money from his personal fortune, and the other half will still be a loan from the trust–but interest-free. Thankfully, John Paul agrees to this new deal and things begin rolling to rescue Getty III. Things aren’t looking too great for Getty Sr., however, as Penelope tells him she’s leaving and his pregnant girlfriend packs her bags too.

Credit: FX

With the exchange well under way, Primo decides to up the ante and make it an operatic performance. He demands that Gail and Chace present everything in white–their clothes, the car they drive in, and the suitcases that hold the money. He also wants it to be snowing the day of the exchange. On their way, the car begins to run out of gas but they finally come to a town where they bribe the locals to give them some.

When they arrive at the meeting point, they are approached by two men who demand the money but tell them Getty III is at another location. Fifty reveals himself and his real name and tells Gail that if anything goes wrong, she can report him to the police. Gail and Chace are sent to a random location where they are told to wait for a phone call–taking us back to where the episode started.

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After what feels like an eternity, the phone rings, giving them a location to pick Getty III up. And while Salvatore briefly thought about killing Getty III, Primo told him that would prevent them from doing this all over again. Getty III is dropped off in the cold and told to meet his mother at a Getty gas station where the attendant refuses to help him.

As he walks away, Gail and Chace drive up, to find that he is not there. But alls well that ends well because they catch up to him down the road, finally reuniting mother and broken, defeated son. The episode leaves us with some images of the real Getty III sans ear.

Trust airs on FX every Sunday at 10 p.m. EST!

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