Impulse: Top moments from the final two episodes

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Lucas

Lucas (Craig Arnold) has definitely had one of the most interesting arcs I’ve ever seen on the show. I certainly didn’t imagine I would feel so much sympathy for a kidnapper, twice over, and a murderer. As Lucas tries to explain while driving out of Reston with Cleo, his actions did not happen in a vacuum

Lucas had the deck stacked against him from the start because of his father (David James Elliott), both in terms of genetics and how Bill raised him. Clay shares their father’s violent tendencies as well, but Clay is also Bill’s favorite. Lucas had to work twice as hard to get Bill’s attention, so he used extreme measures he thought would make Bill proud. And, sadistically, they did.

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My favorite Lucas moment is definitely his road trip with Cleo. Even while directing his anger at Cleo, Lucas is actually in a surprisingly vulnerable state. He never tries to threaten Cleo, instead he is begging her to listen to him and understand him, not unlike a child would. Cleo, though frightened, recognizes that, too, which is why she calls him “honey.”

What Cleo isn’t able to give Lucas is redemption, so he turns to the Millers. Unlike Clay, he knows the only way to move forward is to accept responsibility for what he’s done.