Episode Title: "A Day to Give Thanks"
Writer: Kyle Bradstreet
Director: Ken Girotti
Previously on "Copper":
Episode 1.08 'Better Times are Coming'
Story:
Two weeks after he found his wife in an asylum, Corky (Tom Weston-Jones) watches as Matthew Freeman (Ato Essandoh) treats Ellen (Alex Paxton-Beesley). The doctor warns Corky about the withdrawals she'll be suffering from. As he heads out to look for Maguire, Corky asks Annie (Kiara Glasco) to watch over Ellen.
When questioning O'Brien, Eva and Maguire's mother prove fruitless, Corky visits the shopkeeper after Ellen says something about paying a woman with the locket. He learns that Maguire paid the shopkeeper not to tell Corky he got the locket from Madame Grendel. He then heads to the church and confronts the priest about harboring Maguire. The father denies seeing the fugitive but does give Corky Maguire's badge, which he found that morning.
Corky later finds Maguire (Kevin Ryan) in the church and confronts him about killing his daughter and bedding his wife. Maguire owns up to sleeping with Ellen, claiming that Corky abandoned his family twice to head off to war. He admits to getting Ellen pregnant and taking her to Grendel, where the couple paid for the abortion with Ellen's locket. As for the death of Corky's daughter, Maggie, Maguire says he swore an oath never to tell. Corky puts a gun to Maguire's head but ultimately decides it better to let him live with the guilt.
Corky comes home and sends Annie and Eva (Franka Portente), who were looking after Ellen, away. He confronts Ellen about what Maguire said and she admits to having the abortion, which traumatized her greatly. She tells Corky that she heard a baby cry when the procedure was performed, even though Maguire said it was impossible. As for Maggie, Ellen says her daughter saw her in bed with Maguire and called out for Corky. When Ellen tried to quiet her, she pushed the girl back and she hit her head on the door and died. Corky tells Ellen he wished his daughter were alive and he were dead.
Robert Morehouse (Kyle Schmid) talks with Kennedy (Aaron Poole) about another plan to wreak havoc on the city. Kennedy says he can acquire more 'Greek Fire' but Morehouse suggests he hold off on the plan until they gain more local support for the cause. Later that afternoon, Robert has the three Booth brothers over but is upset when his father, Norbert abruptly leaves. The elder Morehouse goes to see Kennedy, who confronts him about being a Southern spy. Kennedy, in turn, threatens to expose Morehouse' business dealings with the Confederates if he doesn't pay him off.
At home, Norbert tells his son he met with Kennedy about a coal conglomerate but Robert doesn't buy it. He goes to see Kennedy and gets the truth out of him. Having enjoyed seeing his father shaken by the threat of blackmail, Robert agrees to fund Kennedy's cause.
Breakdown:
It was called "A Day to Give Thanks" but this week's episode might as well have been titled "Corky's Got a Gun," cause yeah, Corky's got a gun and he was pointing it at just about everyone.
After last week's big reveal, Corky searched for answers with renewed obsession. When he finally tracks down Maguire, Corky learns the truth about his wife's affair with his partner and friend. Clearly not miserable enough, Corky rattles more ugly truth out of Ellen. Not only did she get pregnant with Maguire's baby and have an abortion, Ellen accidentally killed their daughter, Maggie after the child had an adverse reaction to finding her mother in bed with another man.
The good news amidst all this misery is that the nagging mystery regarding Corky's family has been solved. The bad news is that we may not see much more of Francis Maguire, who can't seem to get near a woman without her dying or losing her mind.
Aside from Corky, Maguire and Ellen's 19th Century version of "The Jerry Springer Show," the rest of this episode felt rather sleepy. Kennedy had his way with Morehouse, who agreed to fund another attack on New York. Whether or not he manages to thwart the Southern terrorist's plans doesn't really matter cause guess what, John Wilkes Booth just arrived on the scene. And we all know what he did.
There was little to report over at the Freeman household. Sara is still pregnant and Matthew isn't optimistic about Ellen's chances. Man, the good doctor doesn't know the half of it.
Finally, Corky has proven to be a short tempered man whose passions can quickly turn violent as we've seen with his manhandling of Eva, Elizabeth Haverford and even his own beloved wife. His judgement is also questionable at times. Leaving Ellen in the hands of his mistress and the twisted little girl who is obsessed with him might not have been the best idea.
The last scene in the episode was heartbreaking to be sure, but as Maguire pointed out, Kevin was bedding Eva all the while feverishly looking for his wife. He may love his wife, but it seems Kevin's heart truly belonged to his late daughter, Maggie. Ellen's affair with Maguire, her subsequent abortion, none of this seemed to shake him quite the way that learning how his daughter died affected him. His fatherly affections for Annie have always suggested as much, but the last scene really made plain has much Kevin loved his daughter. The question now is where does he go from here and who can he trust?
