Found Season 1 Episode 13 Review: Missing While Forgotten

The happy family Gabi formed with M&A is in shambles!

The truth will set you free, but first, it will piss you off, and Gabi’s team was pissed after her confession at the end of Found Season 1 Episode 13.

The scariest part about all of this is that Gabi’s efforts to protect Lacey may be in vain if Sir quite literally has his sights set on her from inside her apartment.

If this man has already tried to kill her dog, what are his nefarious plans for her?

It isn’t lost that Gabi Mosley was held as a hero in the eyes of sweet Dashika, all the while those closer to her may be grappling with the complexities of her stoking her inner monster.

In that way, the literary references we get in the flashbacks via many of Sir Evans and teen Gabi’s conversations coincide so fittingly with the series and these characters.

I was a sucker for the exchange between Sir and teen Gabi, a meeting of the minds of two with a deep appreciation for literature, delving into the meaning behind these great pieces.

Mr. Randolph, we don’t dim someone’s light no matter how brightly they shine. Now, apologize to Ms. Mosley.

Sir

Young Gabi waxing poetic about severed humanity and death of civility, how a quest for power leads to destruction, or how we can be wrong about what’s right, foreshadows her experiences two decades later.

It makes you appreciate little things like making her such a brilliant student and her captor an intelligent English teacher.

We start the hour with a reminder of how everyone is a bit of both good and evil, as there is nothing binary about the human experience, and we end it with Gabi Mosley crumbling under the weight of a year-long balancing act.

Gabi is a tragic hero. She has a cape, just as Dashika envisions; that version of Gabi exists, is real, and is effective.

But Gabi Mosley also has scars. That cape isn’t pristine; there’s blood on it. And her loved ones have firsthand knowledge of how deeply flawed and broken she is.

The innocence of Dashika’s perception of a hero contrasted with the reality of it and Gabi as a wounded woman and survivor capable of mistakes is striking.

In that sense, the case served its purpose well regarding its connection to Gabi.

We hadn’t heard anything about Dashika before. The way they introduced this, I would love it if Found Season 2 dedicated an episode early into the season to a case they couldn’t immediately solve. Then, they get to revisit it toward the end of the season.

Exploring the series from the procedural front would be a stronger and more intriguing angle.

The twist of Dashika’s case didn’t feel as big as it probably should’ve been, as Lilly stood out early on as potentially having something to do with Dashika’s disappearance.

The tension among the family alone tipped things off too early.

Nevertheless, following along with most of the team, distracted while trying to find Dashika. At the same time, Gabi spiraled so visibly that it was impossible not to take notice.

Dashika’s situation also led to some more intriguing factoids about Zeke Wallace and the background of his kidnapping.

Zeke is one of the most intriguing characters in the series, and he proves that constantly whenever they drop little nuggets about him.

At this point, we’ve gotten so many that I expect him to have a strong push forward in storylines in the sophomore season.

The more you learn about him, the more you want an hour dedicated to his background and experience.

It shouldn’t be all that shocking to hear that someone close to him is responsible for his kidnapping because, statistically, that makes sense.

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And yet, it still pulls you up short to hear that his uncle is the person who kidnapped him. Not only that, but he hasn’t even shared that information with his parents.

If anyone can relate to Gabi, it’s Zeke. He also knows what it’s like to be taken by someone you trusted and knew — someone who should’ve cared about you.

Maybe it’s presumptuous, but knowing this tidbit sets up things well enough for Zeke to be the first to come around and forgive Gabi when the series returns.

If anyone can find some sympathy for Gabi and grasp some of the complicated feelings she has about Sir and still can’t fully own up to herself, it’s Zeke.

But this information Zeke shared was helpful to the case, giving them insight from a child’s perspective of someone trying to protect a loved one.

It eventually led them to Lilly taking poor Dashika in a twisted effort to protect her from who we now know was her abuser, April.

April is a terrible person for dismissing her evident abuse of Dashika as “discipline,” and it pleased me immensely that not only were Gabi and Dhan ready to eviscerate her, but Kareem himself delivered one of the best quotes of the hour about what would happen if they didn’t find his child.

It’s upsetting to think that a part of Dashika probably didn’t feel she could tell her father the truth about her stepmother, or else it would cause tension or whatever else.

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It’s a relief that they got Dashika back, and there was a happy ending there — every moment between Gabi and that sweet young girl made you smile.

But it only made Gabi feel worse. You sensed her triumph, pride, responsibility, and maybe even the burden of being a heroine, a powerful Black woman whom Dashika trusted implicitly and wanted to be like.

We never truly understand the troubles of our heroes, though, do we? We put them on pedestals and never envision that they can fall.

Essentially, that’s what happened with Gabi and Sir when she was younger, and that is what has been happening all season with Gabi and the team.

She’s stumbled right off that pedestal the others have placed her on, and it’s not a pretty picture for any of them.

But I swear before God, if my daughter isn’t found alive, hell won’t be a safe enough place for you!

Kareem

It’s a lot of pressure, responsibility, and weight placed on Gabi in that sense, and we’ve seen it all season.

It’s not fair, per se, but it does put into perspective why she’s spent the better part of the past year harboring this dark secret that would show her at her “ugliest” and most unstable.

She even pressures herself to uphold this particular image of civility and strength that inspires others and leads the charge in their healing journey.

Considering that, as frustrating as her actions have been, you can sympathize with her and understand where her fears stem.

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That pedestal is where Gabi feels powerful as much as she feels the same with Sir confined in her basement.

And she lost that feeling in a fell swoop both ways by the end of the hour. Her power slipped from her fingertips when she realized Sir was out of captivity.

The last vestiges vanished when she had to tell the team the truth, and they physically walked away from her in disgust.

It was as if Gabi was right back to that feeling of being in captivity with Sir having all the power and her not knowing what to expect next.

All of this was a mess of Gabi’s own making, but oof, you had to feel for that woman at the end.

Her efforts to protect the people she cared about by keeping them at a distance and not telling them valuable information backfired spectacularly.

It was only a matter of time before the rest of the team reached their breaking point with Gabi and her secrecy. They were all smart enough to know that something was off with her, but she kept acting as if she was OK or deflecting.

In the middle of the case, there was no time for Margaret to put pressure on Gabi and Dhan, but given that it had been months of her noticing Gabi’s behavior and not pushing too much, she was due for more relentless directness.

She talks about Sir in the present tense. Do you know that?

Trent

And Lacey Quinn’s breaking point was overdue for a minute since she was already suspicious of Gabi.

It’s like Gabi never considered that the people she works with and loves could handle the truth and still love her at the end of the day. Instead, she pushed them to the max, trying to avoid the very thing that ended up happening anyway.

Gabi and Dhan sucked at hiding their nervous energy and the intensity of the situation.

Margaret pressing Dhan was the right way to go because she tends to get more information from him, or at least enough.

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But the Ethan component was a bit grating. For one, it’s so easy to forget that Dhan is married, but part of that is probably my blocking Ethan out of my brain because the idea of him playing therapist more than husband to Dhan is offputting.

Ethan was not wrong at all to be concerned about his husband. He knew better than anyone that Dhan’s behavior was off and far from healthy.

He didn’t want to see the man he loved regress, endanger himself, or anything like that because of this job or Gabi.

But every time we see Ethan, it’s as if his sole purpose is to “therapy-speak” Dhan through things, lecture, or only focus exclusively on his healing and trauma.

That is a concerning component of their relationship if Ethan treats Dhan Rana more like a client or a project to fix rather than an equal partner.

There is a power dynamic that is potentially cause for concern for both men if Ethan must always be concerned or feel compelled to stay in therapy mode to help someone who has been through the traumas Dhan has experienced.

Dhan faces a spouse who is more of a therapist than an equal partner.

It was irritating that Ethan stormed into M&A in the middle of a case to question Gabi about what she had assigned his husband to do.

And while Ethan sure as hell wasn’t wrong about Gabi’s hold on Dhan — we saw that firsthand during Found Season 1 Episode 12 — it also feels like even he doesn’t understand the codependency and deep bond between Gabi and Dhan.

Ethan: What’s she asking you to do? You know I love Gabi as much as you do, but she is the one person to make you do things that you will not recover from.
Dhan: Trust me, please. I love you. I love the life we built. I’m protecting that as much as I’m protecting Gabi.

It may be because we see so little of Ethan and don’t know his relationship with Gabi, but it felt like he bordered on overstepping in a way that could cause issues down the road if that continues to be a thing.

But on the plus, it’s beautiful to see that Dhan has a safe space at home when he gets there after all the potentially triggering and dark things he encounters on the job.

You can imagine that scrubbing Sir’s blood off the basement floor and reaching out to CIA contacts and more about Sir while keeping everything hushed was intense for him.

But Dhan Rana gets things done.

His connections speak volumes about his past and allude to the circumstances that may surround his captivity, so it was great to file more tidbits about him away.

His assessment of Sir is correct, though. It was apparent that the man broke free by any means necessary because he wanted to save her.

Indeed, once he got out and realized that she was fine, he could fixate on other ways to impact her life.

Sir will never let Gabi go; he’s far too obsessed. He was smitten with her the second she waltzed into his classroom, and he noticed that she had a burning passion for literature comparable to his, and she was bright beyond measure.

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Sir saw Gabi as someone who could one day be his equal.

It’s hard to figure out if he was grooming her as a protege or an all-encompassing partner, maybe both, but that happened almost immediately.

We saw that, even after knowing her a day, he’d go to great lengths to protect her by any means necessary.

The man poisoned a teenager, for goodness sake!

If he’d stoop so low as to kidnap a teenager as he did, it shouldn’t be shocking that he’d damn near take one out as a lesson, but it was still a doozy.

He found a kinship with Gabi, hearing about her mother dying, knowing about her passion, and he was so calculated in filing away every bit of information about her father always working, all of it.

Every moment we see how taken Gabi was with Sir as her teacher makes what happened to her all the worse. She genuinely trusted this man and felt safe with him, and he exploited that.

In his own twisted mind, he’s still convinced that he somehow saved her and was her safe space and that they’re eternally connected somehow.

Trent: Gabi, I was so scared that I was going to lose you tonight. That I wouldn’t get there in time… We need to talk, Gabi. I need answers on a lot of things.
Gabi: And I have them. Answers you’re not going to like, but I need to talk to my team first.
Trent: Gabi-
Gabi: This will be the last favor that I ask.

The second we learned Lacey’s dog was sick, it was evident what happened.

Sir had something to do with it, poisoning him the same way he did Kyle, and he likely has similar plans or worse for Lacey, too.

He’s intensely jealous of Lacey and her connection with Gabi. And the funniest thing of all is that he’s solely responsible for the bond those two forged.

It’s his own fault that he gave Gabi her real soul mate.

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Even getting rid of Lacey won’t change who and what she is to Sir, and it sure as heck won’t make Gabi love him.

Sir is a brilliant man who is stupid when it comes to processing what harming a hair on Lacey’s head would do to Gabi and whatever he imagines their relationship is supposed to be.

If anything, wouldn’t you think he’d consider that “sparing” Lacey may garner favor in Gabi’s eyes?

Sir is such a little shit, isn’t he? He trailed blood all over her home, an interesting thing to note for a man who swears by cleanliness and “civility,” and left that cabinet slightly open so Gabi would notice the rat poison was gone.

He believes that helping me is his purpose now. He thinks it binds us. He is never going to stop hunting me, Dhan. He is never going to let me go. I have to end it all now.

Gabi

I don’t think he’ll make a move on Lacey, but he’ll love to taunt Gabi with the possibilities to get in her head.

I also don’t think he can easily make a move on Lacey. She’s a grown woman now who has been battling what happened to her for some time.

This version of Lacey is older, stronger, and capable of fighting back and defending herself, and I wonder if Sir is prepared for that in the least.

Sir breaking into Lacey’s apartment, poisoning her dog, and watching her is creepy and terrifying, though. You never know where his head is, so it’s a serviceable cliffhanger.

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It’s so bittersweet that this is the end of the season. I hate that we must wait so long for more answers, but at least we know we’re getting them, thanks to the renewal.

Musings:

• 
  Was I the only one terrified that Sir had done something to Margaret when she was sitting at the station?

• 
  Is it possible that Sir would consider moving on all of M&A (and Trent), eliminating all the people Gabi cares about so it’s just her and him? The entire team could be in danger, not just Lacey.

• 
  I was proud of Mark Trent for backing away from that near kiss. Not only was Gabi in a vulnerable state, but he knew she was not being truthful with him and wouldn’t allow his affection to cloud his judgment or lead him astray.

• 
  It’s not the first time Found has used the dramatic technique of muting critical conversations that we were building up to, and it’s such a cop-out and disappointing.

• 
  Sir has an impressive and shockingly diverse reading itinerary for 2001. His appreciation for African-American literature is such great detail for this character who prides himself in his worldliness while still being so conventional.

• 
  It’s doubtful that Margaret, Zeke, and Lacey would let M&A fall apart around them because they’re passionate about what they do, but how can they function when they’re angry at Gabi (and Dhan)?

• 
  Notably, each team member took little steps backward in their progress after all of this, wonderfully showcasing how the road to healing and recovery isn’t simple.

• 
  A freed Sir is about to be a problem, but he’s such a fascinating villain that I’m eagerly looking forward to every second of it. Plus, Mark-Paul Gosselaar has been too damn enjoyable in this role.

• 
  Nothing sums up the series more beautifully than “Turn our trauma into purpose.” That’s what all of these wonderful characters do well, and it’s such a poignant message to heed.

Over to you, Found Fanatics.

Where does M&A go from here? What do you think Sir has planned for Gabi, Lacey, and potentially the others? What are you looking forward to in season two? Sound off!

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