The Boy from the Woods

The next morning, Wilde wakes up thinking of Laila. His Ecocapsule alarms go off, so he hurries home. On the way, he passes the site where David died, which gives him more complicated feelings. Wilde watches his pod from a distance. Four members of the Maynards’ security team approach, including Gavin. Wilde calls Gavin. Gavin agrees to send away his men if Wilde will come out and let him into the Ecocapsule—another teen has vanished.

The day after her date with Oren, Hester is delighted. The date was fantastic, and he texts her to ask her out again, but she still feels uncertain about starting another relationship. Wilde calls to request that Hester be his attorney.

After the call ends, Gavin insists on checking the Ecocapsule because Crash is missing. According to CCTV footage, Crash disappeared near the woods by Maynard Manor around 2:14 am. He was alone. Wilde is suspected of kidnapping him because he confronted Crash at school, but another working theory is that Crash and Naomi ran away together. Security knows that they’ve communicated in the past. Gavin suggests teaming up to find the missing kids. Wilde deduces that Gavin is protecting the Maynards but is mainly protecting the Rusty tapes. A helicopter arrives, bringing Hester.

The group gathers in the Maynards’ library. The Maynards hire Hester to be their attorney for the case. Hester’s first rule is confidentiality, so Gavin and Wilde must leave during the briefing. The Maynards request that Hester hire Wilde so that he can stay; she does so, and Gavin leaves. The team, concerned about hidden surveillance devices in the library, moves outside to speak freely. The Maynards update Hester on Crash’s disappearance. They deny that they have incriminating footage of Rusty, but they received a ransom note demanding digital copies of all video footage involving Rusty uploaded to a secure link in exchange for their son; no FBI involvement is permitted. They are wary of Gavin—his connection to Rusty suggests that protecting Rusty is his first priority. Wilde is concerned about the wording of the ransom note: The kidnappers demand the “oldest” tape on file specifically, but they also want it uploaded to a private link, rather than be made public. Wilde suspects that they want to control the flow of whatever information the footage contains. The Maynards play the tape off as nothing, but they are obviously lying.

The Maynards have six hours before they must send the videos to trade for their son. Everyone works to gather information about Crash’s whereabouts; Wilde keeps digging for Naomi as well in case both teens are together. Gavin quickly figures out that the Maynards suspect him because of his connection to Rusty. Gavin confronts Wilde about his encounter with Saul, revealing that he has been tailing Saul. Wilde continues to be suspicious, questioning how Saul discovered Wilde’s interaction with Crash at school as well as Naomi’s disappearance. Gavin wants to work with Wilde to solve this case; Wilde can’t turn him down.

Later, Wilde calls Ava but can’t get through. He visits Bernard Pine’s house to look for Naomi’s passport. It’s still there, which means she isn’t with her mother. Bernard also has no connection to Saul. He reveals more about Naomi’s home life: Pia, his ex-wife, couldn’t have children, so they adopted baby Naomi. Pia, a former model, began to abuse Naomi. Bernard made Pia get help; they divorced, and Pia left, making Bernard a single father. Pia has since remarried and likely doesn’t think about Naomi anymore.

Hester contacts the FBI. They suspect that Crash’s disappearance is an elaborate teenage prank. Oren invites Hester on a second dinner date, and she agrees.

Crash’s girlfriend tells Delia over the phone that no one has heard from Crash since the previous night. However, she denies any connection between Crash and Naomi. Delia wonders if they are together after all. Hester tries to ask Delia about the Rusty tapes, but Delia rebuffs her. Hester sympathizes with her as a mother willing to do anything to save her son. Wilde informs Hester that his security backup team is on its way.

Wilde’s team is his old private security firm, CRAW. Rola, an extroverted mother of five, is irritated that Wilde has been an absent uncle ever since he left CRAW. She delivers her team and a diaper bag of baby supplies and surveillance tools.

Wilde heads to a convenience store near the high school to meet with and update Ava. She doesn’t know Saul but suspects that Naomi and Crash are secret lovers and ran away together. She sympathizes with Naomi when she learns about Pia’s abusive behavior. She invites Wilde over later before returning to work.

Hester arranges a video interview with disgraced actor Arnie Poplin, who used to be on Rusty’s television show. Hester has reservations given Arnie’s habits—he has a substance use disorder and is obsessed with fame—but he is currently their only lead on Crash. Arnie reveals that while he was on the show, he overheard Rusty begging Dash to destroy incriminating footage, possibly of him killing someone. Dash promised to keep Rusty’s secret because of their “bond.” However, everyone knew that Dash would never destroy video footage; he recorded everything. Arnie suspects that Dash realized he had overheard them and arranged to have him fired and blacklisted. Hester is unsure of whether to believe Arnie’s testimony.

Gavin finds Wilde at the convenience store. On the way back to Maynard Manor, Gavin reveals that he and Rusty know about the ransom note. Wilde considers the possibility that Gavin has a mole. Gavin’s people also found a message from Crash’s phone, suggesting that he and Naomi did meet up and run away together. Gavin and Rusty want to assist in the investigation but can only do so with the Maynards’ permission. Wilde remains suspicious.

Rola looks into Dash and Rusty’s relationship; what the “oldest” tapes might contain; where Saul, their current top kidnapping suspect, is hiding; and whether Crash and Naomi are hiding in the Pines’ basement. Rola leaves Wilde with Hester, who updates him about Arnie. Dash denies Arnie’s allegations, while Rusty bullies the media into saying what he wants. Wilde tells Hester about Bernard’s story of abuse; he remains determined to locate and speak with Pia. The Maynards remain secretive and reticent, even toward their attorney.

Hester learns that Laila has a new beau and that Wilde has taken a DNA test. She questions the story of Wilde raising himself in the woods, suggesting a repressed traumatic memory and a misremembered timeline. Wilde disagrees given the lack of DNA results from his test. The two of them are summoned to the Maynards’ for the ransom deadline.

The Maynards do not look well. Wilde tricks Dash into admitting that he is secretly recording everything, and the Maynards decide to comply with the ransom demands, uploading video footage when prompted. However, they remain reticent about the content. After the upload time window ends, a new note appears: The footage is under review; if all goes well, Crash will be returned at noon the following day. The Maynards still don’t want to involve the authorities, so all they can do is wait.

Hester goes on her dinner date with Oren. Their second date, this time at a pizza restaurant, gets off to a good start. They discuss their exes, and Oren deduces that Hester is working for the Maynards. They tentatively begin to discuss the future but are interrupted by Oren’s work call. He must leave early because of a car accident. Hester is shocked and hurt by Oren’s blasé attitude toward the emergency, as David was killed at the same location. She breaks down in the bathroom and decides to end their budding relationship. She gets a phone call informing her that a damaging tape of Rusty has been leaked to the public.