American Gothic’s “Nighthawks” doesn’t really get us any closer to finding out who the Silver Bells Killer is. Cam said some disturbing things about a body when he was in therapy as a teen, Garrett is stalking one of the victims’ daughters, and Gunther definitely knew something. So who could the killer be?
What Is Garrett Up To?
American Gothic’s “Nighthawks” begins with Garrett just being Garrett, creepily sitting in his car, watching a family eat dinner, and taking notes. ” She’s alone,” he writes about the woman he’s apparently stalking. He’s about to get out to go to her when another man goes in the diner and approaches the woman.
Back at home, Garrett mopes around and tells his mom he’s not hungry. She notices the picture he keeps of the woman he was stalking as well as the cup he got from the diner. Jack, and Gunther, meanwhile, work to set up some traps, which the cat lady doesn’t approve of.
American Gothic Recap: Is Madeline Lying About Mitch? >>>
Garret continues to stalk this woman. Eventually he makes his way into the diner and someone, (Molly), notices him. She apologizes for his dad’s death and she asks about his plans. She tells him that she has questions for him. Meanwhile, the woman Garrett’s been stalking is gone. So Garrett and Molly talk. It turns out they dated and almost got engaged before Garrett vanished. He assures her it wasn’t her. So why’d he leave? He couldn’t take the pressure of being the golden boy who’d take over the family business. Molly doesn’t buy it. So Garrett asks her to go to their favorite old Chinese place.
Is Cam The Killer?
Brady tells Tessa that Cam has the same belt that killed David Morales. Tessa refuses to believe it, but Brady says they need to get Cam’s DNA, so she promises to talk to him.
The family, minus Garrett, sits down to discuss Mitch’s will. Madeline gets everything, but she’s willing to provide for the kids. She also wants to sell the company. Alison’s not happy, but Madeline’s not budging. Tessa brings up the whole belt issue during the family meeting. Madeline explains she put the belt in the Goodwill pile for Gunther to take awhile ago. Now they all think Gunther’s the killer. The family advises Cam not to give a DNA sample and he agrees. They then notice Jack putting Harper’s doll in a trap outside. He’s trying to trap Harper. “Therapy,” Madeline reminds Cam.
Meanwhile, Brady’s having trouble at work and tells Tessa that she needs to get Cam to give his DNA. She still says “no,” so he asks her to provide her DNA instead, but she hangs up on him. Brady’s co-worker, Dana, happens to overhear him and says it’s legal for him to take a DNA sample from his wife.
Cam and Sophie finally go to see a therapist and explain what’s going on with Jack. Sophie uses this as an excuse to say that they need to get back together, but they ultimately decide to give therapy a try for Jack. Cam notices that the therapist records sessions with children. That means she recorded Cam’s sessions when he went to her when he was a kid. This really, really freaks him out. If the police find the tapes of him saying dark stuff and add that belt on top of it, it wouldn’t look good. He needs to destroy the tape.
Meanwhile, back at home, Brady decides to go against his wife’s wishes, invade her privacy and take her hairbrush. Bad move. Brady takes the brush to Dana to have it tested and says that only he can know about it.
Jack’s really not into therapy and hates the puppet the therapist uses. Sophie, meanwhile, finds the code to the delivery entrance to the back of the building for Cam.
Cam sneaks out at night to get the tapes, though someone’s watching him. Cam finds a tape of himself shaking and saying, “I want to talk about the body.” He grabs it and breaks it. While he’s gone, Jack sneaks into his neighbor’s house to get Caramel. Apparently, the therapy hasn’t helped.
Cam and Sophie take Jack back to therapy but Cam’s freaking out thinking he’s going to be caught. Sophie asks Cam to come over tonight, but he completely dismisses her. Meanwhile, therapy just gets worse. Jack says he brought his own puppet. It’s his neighbor’s dentures. The therapist says she can’t see Jack anymore.
Will Alison And Her Husband Stay Together?
Alison’s still upset that Madeline’s getting rid of the business so her husband suggests he take it over. Alison says she needs him to help with the campaign and the girls. There’s clearly some friction between them.
Tom talks with Alison and her campaign manager about an idea to get more voters by using a mobile game app, but the campaign manager completely slams his idea and suggests her own idea for a fundraiser. They still try to include Tom, but he’s not happy.
Casting Bits: Cheyenne Jackson Returns to AHS, Violette Beane on The Flash and More >>>
Is Gunther The Killer?
While they set up for the fundraiser, Tessa and Madeline see a raccoon get caught in the trap and then Gunther kills it. To them, this just provides more proof he’s the killer. “He’s been giving me the creeps lately,” Madeline says.
Madeline later confronts Gunther over the raccoon. He says it couldn’t be saved, there was no reason to prolong its death and no one should die in a cage. Madeline then informs Gunther this is his last day.
The Fundraiser
Things all come to a head at the fundraiser. Madeline tells Alison that she had a weird feeling about Gunther and there was an incident, so she fired him. Gunther’s not going to take that lying down, though, and creepily stares through the window at them.
Garrett also takes Molly home with him during the fundraiser. They decide to stay in his room instead of schmoozing with the guests. She sees that he kept his old photos of her and they wind up hooking up, but Molly notices all of these scars on Garrett. He refuses to talk about it and pushes her away. She gets freaked out and tells him that Madeline told her he’d been going to the diner. Then she leaves.
Back at the fundraiser, Madeline tells Alison that she’s glad to get rid of the business. Then the mayor shows up. He shows Alison and her campaign manager pictures he has of Cam breaking into the therapist’s office. He thinks Cam was stealing drugs. He wants them to give up the endorsement they were getting at the fundraiser or he’ll put the pictures in the paper. So Alison confronts Cam about it and he begs her to give up the endorsement.
So Alison goes to give the speech, but she completely skips the part about the guy she was supposed to introduce. Instead, she calls the mayor up and says that they talked about the fact that despite their differences, they can work together on arts education.
Alison then tells Cam that he ruined this endorsement for her. He’s been a mess since he was a kid and Jack’s following in his footsteps. Nothing they do helps. It’s pretty harsh. So Cam winds up going to Sophie’s and decides to stay. Later, Jack shows Cam his puppet with the dentures in it. He’s understandably freaked out.
Brady also gets a report that Madeline bought that belt. Back at the fundraiser, Brady’s partner shows up to talk to Madeline and confronts her about buying the belt. Brady shows up and says she may have purchased the same belt, but the DNA didn’t match. Madeline then suggests they talk to Gunther. Tessa also confronts Brady about him taking the DNA and kicks him out.
Finally, after the fundraiser, Tom tells Alison that he’s going to Moscow, he bought the company and he’s done being her lackey. Alison then goes to complain to her campaign manager about it, but she tells her she’s doing okay and they wind up hooking up.
Who Is Garrett Stalking?
Garrett also confronts Madeline about Molly. She wanted to show him the good things in his life so he wouldn’t destroy it. She says she wants him to be happy, he says she wants his silence, and she says she wants both. He needs “to make peace with the past in a way that’s not destructive,” but he can’t. So he goes back to his car and starts cutting himself. Then he goes to a doctor to get his hand stitched. It’s the woman he was stalking. It turns out she’s David Morales’ daughter!
What Did Gunther Know?
Back at home, Tessa and Madeline hear a noise. Gunther hanged himself! He left a note saying, “I’m sorry.”
American Gothic airs on Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. on CBS
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
