There’s blood in the water, and the sharks are circling around. The third episode of Apple TV’s Sugar reveals a lot of secrets. John Sugar is closing in on the Siegel family secrets, and vice versa. If the first two episodes told you anything about Sugar, it’s that he’s a man of persistence. He’s set on a case that is far more twisted than it seems, and the men in Teresa’s house only complicate things further.
Spoilers Ahead
How Does Sugar Save Melanie And Teresa?
The men in Teresa’s apartment force Teresa to call Melanie there. Melanie rushes to help Teresa and lands herself in trouble. The Boss wants to know what happened to Clifford, but Melanie almost convinces the guy that she has no idea who he is. Meanwhile, Sugar already had Melanie being followed by his “civilian” associate, who’s also an old friend, Charlie. Sugar notices two high-end jeeps outside the apartment and a guy keeping watch from the other jeep. Sugar enters the apartment from the back, and his panic episode stops him just when he’s about to break in. Sugar somehow gets back to normal and storms into the apartment. He introduces himself as a Probationary Officer and charges every goon in the room, and even goes on to threaten Teresa with having her kids taken by child services. His outrageously expensive suit and watch give him away, and the boss takes notice. Sugar’s impulses almost get him into a fight, but Charlie has set fire to the jeep downstairs to distract the goons. All of them immediately leave the apartment to check on the jeep, and the only man who’s supposed to keep guard is taken out by Sugar in a jiffy. The men discover a smoke bomb under the jeep, and that gives enough time for Sugar to escort Melanie, Teresa, and her kids to a safe corner of the street. Charlie takes Teresa away, and Melanie hops in with Sugar.
What Happened On The Night Of Olivia’s Disappearance?
After saving her life, Sugar asks Melanie to spill what actually happened. Melanie helps women get out of abusive relationships, and Olivia joined her a few months ago to help. Olivia was recovering from her addiction issues and finally found some purpose in life. Melanie has helped Teresa break out of a mess of a marriage, but the Vazquez sisters’ luck with men just can’t get worse. Olivia and Carmen got extremely close with each other, and Olivia called Melanie on that horrific night. Olivia found Carmen dead when she reached her place, and when Clifford returned with a body bag, she shot him before he could hurt her. Melanie came in to see two dead bodies lying on the ground, and in sheer panic, they loaded Clifford into the body bag and put him in the trunk of Olivia’s car. Melanie claims that was the last time she saw Olivia. Sugar acknowledges that love is the only excuse she has for hiding this whole thing. Melanie figures that only a true virgo would say such things.
How Does Kenny Find Out About Sugar’s Past?
Bernie Siegel is set to dig something up about Sugar, and Kenny comes up with an idea. One of Kenny’s former flings is an NSA agent, Everett Roberts. Kenny asks a favor of him, and he gets information about Sugar’s past life. Sugar once enrolled in DLI Monterey, where future federal agents and diplomats learn foreign languages. Sugar’s record shows he completed the course in a few weeks and then joined the Marine Corps. Kenny is worried that since he has no wife or kids, it’s hard to bring him under their thumb. Everett suggests that Sugar’s mother lives in Arizona, and they can always get to her. Ruby is aware that Everett is looking for info on Sugar, but she never tells Sugar about it. David and Bernie later have a conversation about the invitation, and David’s brilliant mind has used Google to its full potential to figure out that the invitation is from a certain “Cosmopolitan Polyglot Society.” David has heard rumors that retired spies from all over the world may work for an organization where they collectively want to do good for the world. Bernie has even made a movie about a similar idea, which flopped because of the weak premise. David tells Bernie that he and Kenny are going to pay Sugar’s mother a visit in Arizona.
What Happens At The Party?
The strange invitation, which David and Kenny couldn’t figure out, leads to a party of spies and agents like Sugar. He hesitantly decides to go to the party and just get it over with. Sugar’s internal monologue is the main deal about the show for me. He’s an extremely reliable narrator, and his thoughts and feelings are understandable and relatable to some extent. Sugar meets an old friend named Henry, and he tells Henry about the Shibuya Crossing (which is the name of this episode). Sugar is fascinated by the Shibuya Crossing, and he once sat for hours just observing the people, almost feeling them. Soon after, Sugar is called upstairs for a one-on-one conversation with Ruby, a ritual every agent must go through during the party. Each agent is supposed to write their objective findings related to their cases in a diary, and Sugar’s diary is full of his vague thoughts. His diary is more similar to a poet’s than an agent’s. Sugar himself came up with the idea of the diary after Djen, and Ruby is disappointed about him working on the Siegel case. She’s never been supportive of Sugar in this specific case, but she still gives him a new diary before Sugar leaves the party.
Who Is Doctor Vickers?
As early as the pilot episode, Ruby tells Sugar to visit Dr. Vickers about his health issues. When Sugar asks Ruby for information on the guy who threatened Teresa, she reveals his name to be Byron Stallings. Ruby tells Sugar that she’d need more time before she could provide him with more intel on Stallings. After Sugar leaves, Ruby dials Dr. Vickers to tell him that Sugar is onto Stallings, and he replies that Sugar must be stopped in a hurry. Why do Ruby and Vickers protect a lowlife criminal? That’s a mystery we are yet to know. Vickers also tells Ruby to let others know that Sugar is close to Stallings. A person named Miller is also in play here, and Ruby is instructed to reach Miller to break him the news. So it’s not just a couple of people on top who’ve got Stallings’ back; it might be everyone else except Sugar.
What Lies Ahead For Sugar?
Ruby deletes all information on Stallings from the system. She also starts checking Sugar’s diary to look for something. Meanwhile, Bernie and Kenny have entered Arizona, trying to look for Sugar’s mother. By the end of this episode, the stakes are high, and everyone else is working against Sugar. His meeting with Doctor Vickers is due in a day, and his mother’s safety can be violated. If there’s one thing this profession has taught Sugar, it’s to expect lies from people. He knows how to separate the people from their lies and secrets. It’s not going to be an easy road to finding Olivia, but Sugar’s nostalgia for Djen pushes him to seek Olivia more than anything. Sugar must find the girl who has disappeared from a family that cares more about burying her stepbrother’s crimes and launching him into stardom.
