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Shadow season 1, episode 3 recap: Ashley’s Secret

By Bethany Lewis

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As Ashley’s secret night job is revealed, Shadow and friends suspect that she might be in more trouble than she thinks.

A man pulls up to a remote area by a lake, looks around discretely, pulls a wrapped body out of the trunk and starts to drag it toward the water on Shadow. Could this be the notorious Trevor?

Shadow busts a drug-dealing ice cream truck driver, running him down with his own ice cream truck as he trips over his own low-hanging pants.

Shadow sounds about as street as Mister Rogers pretending that he wants to buy drugs, but somehow the dealer buys into it. Shadow’s argument to him is, “If I were a cop do you think I’d be talking to you like this?”

More. Shadow recap: season 1, episode 2 recap. light

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Shadow’s deal is that he keeps the money he finds laying around when he takes down criminals. He has a nice little stash and seems to be saving up for an experimental regenerative spinal surgery for his sister.

He watches an online interview with the leading doctor saying that it’s still early days, but the results are promising. The cost is prohibitive for most and the spinal injury needs to meet certain medical requirements, but the procedure is entering phase 2 trials.

Zola tells Ash how she became paralyzed. She and her parents were rushing to the hospital to see Shadow on the day of the lightning strike and they got into a terrible accident. Shadow blames himself, which is ridiculous since he could hardly have helped getting struck by lightning, but it doesn’t make a difference. That explains his drive to save his sister.

During her shift at the strip club, Ash tries to talk to her friend Cindy out of turning to prostitution to pay her bills. Cindy doesn’t see any other way and tells Ash that she’s made her decision. Trevor comes to take her to her first call and Ash tries to intervene, getting smacked in the face for her trouble.

Shadow tells Zola that Max recognized Ash from the strip club. Zola points out that it’s not really their business and that med school is expensive. Shadow would agree (would he?) except that he knows the club in question and it has a dangerous reputation. He thinks Ash might be in more trouble than she thinks.

Shadow might be right. When Trevor brings Cindy to her first call, its for the guy who really wants Ash. His name is Ivan Marx and he’s a big deal. He’s getting impatient and he’s not used to waiting for what he wants. Trevor promises that she’ll come around, she just needs some convincing.

When Ivan is done with Cindy he is disappointed. She didn’t put up much of a fight, he says. He tells Trevor to make sure to clean the body before he dumps it. Whatever Trevor was expecting for this call, he clearly didn’t expect Cindy to die.

Back at home, Ash is concerned when she calls Cindy and doesn’t get an answer. Shadow is concerned and comes to check on Ash. She has a bruise by her eye where Trevor hit her and Shadow asks what happened. Ash is annoyed, refusing to be another victimized woman for Shadow to save. She tells him to stay out of her life, but instead, he goes with Max to the club where she works and catches her on stage.

When she sees him she is shocked and embarrassed. She immediately runs off stage crying. Shadow and Max follow her backstage. Ivan sees everything that happens and calls Trevor to come to take care of it. Shadow convinces Ash he can help after she witnesses some pretty sweet moves he pulls to disable a security guard.

Once at home she tells Shadow, Max, and Zola all about it. She was in debt from her mother’s medical bills so she started stripping when one of her friends told her about Trevor. But he started asking her to do house calls, which she is not into.

She’s afraid something terrible happened to Cindy, so she asks them to find her. After getting them involved she decides that she doesn’t want to get them involved and takes off in the middle of the night. They find her note the next morning and Shadow rushes to find her.

Meanwhile, Ash has gone to see Cindy’s mother and Trevor’s men track her down there. She runs from them but they trap her on the roof. She calls Shadow for help, but before she can tell him anything the thugs grab her.

Shadow rushes off to the strip club and starts beating guys up. Trevor hears the commotion and comes to see what’s up. Shadow holds him at gunpoint and makes him drive to where Ivan Marx has Ash.

Meanwhile, Ash is getting drugged up with something that will erase her memory of whatever Ivan does to her. He says there is nothing like first-time fear. Shadow calls Max for help. For the most part, Shadow gets there and takes everyone down, including Ivan Marx.

He scoops up Ash to take her away and is surprised by Trevor who aims a big gun at him as he walks out the door. Shadow turns his back to Trevor to protect Ash from the gunfire, but Max comes up behind Trevor and shoots him down before he gets a shot off.

There are several scenes that follow of either Shadow or Zola reassuring Ash and telling her that she’s family. Ivan confessed to Cindy’s murder while Ash was drugged, so that mystery is solved. Shadow gives Ash an envelope of money, which she reluctantly but gratefully accepts. She leaves it for Cindy’s mother, with an anonymous note telling her she was never a burden.

Next. Shadow season 1, episode 4 recap. dark

This might sound weird, but three episodes in and every one of them had a script element or scene that reminds me of Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. Not overtly, but there is the rooftop scene at the end of this one where Shadow says about Cindy, “Hey, people are going to do what they want to do anyway, right?” Yes, people are very strange these days.

Then there was the random basketball scene in episode two, and Shadow saying things like, “Don’t worry about it. It’s over now.” This show has a peculiar brand of optimism that is entirely intentional but feels out of place or unrealistic when combined with the hard crime elements of the story.

What did you think of this episode? Be sure to tell us in the comment section below!

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