Things are about to blow out of proportion in City on Fire as Nicky plans revenge against Amory. But in this endeavor, he and the rest of Ex Nihilo won’t have Charlie, as he has managed to escape with Samantha’s negative film. On the other hand, Keith has new guests at his place, Detective Parsa and Detective McFadden, who are onto him. And lastly, we have William, who is out to solve the case on his own. City on Fire Episode 5 takes things up another notch.
Spoilers Ahead
The Gunner
Keith’s interrogation by Parsa and McFadden is left incomplete, thanks to Amory, who has pulled the necessary strings to get him out. We knew he would do it because, one, Keith is Regan’s husband, and two, he cannot risk Keith ending up revealing compromising intel to the cops. The conversation between Keith and Amory in the car reveals that it was Amory who gave him the gun, which he has lost. Also, Keith makes it clear to Amory that it was the latter’s gang that beat him up. Maybe Amory will talk to Nicky about it unless Nicky approaches him first.
Meanwhile, Parsa and McFadden decide to pay a visit to the Hamilton-Sweeney office building after considering that maybe Samantha’s death is a result of the family preventing her from revealing any secret, which she may have learned from Keith, to the cops or anyone else for that matter. Maybe she found out about Bill Sr. and why he was to be arrested. There has to be someone at the office who will tell Parsa and McFadden about Bill Sr. and his financial stunts. Keith returns home and informs Regan about the missing gun. Both realize the possibility that maybe Will found the gun and was the one who shot Samantha. After all, he knew where the party was, and that’s where his father would be. To their relief, the next day, Will reveals that he did take the gun, but he threw it under their Brooklyn house. So, he didn’t shoot Samantha. Then who did? Keith and Regan find the gun and get rid of it in the river. As much as Keith may think that it is a good sign for him and Regan and that they can try to get back together, nothing has changed between them, and it doesn’t seem that it will. Rather, Keith keeping a gun in the house without telling Regan has only made things worse.
The Liar
Solomon is very upset with Lorraine, as she was supposed to keep an eye on Charlie, but he has escaped. Thankfully, he returns, but unbeknownst to them, he has given the film for washing. Lorraine, however, knows that he is hiding something after finding multiple pages from Samantha’s favorite book missing. Charlie must have taken them, but why? She, Solomon, and Delirium inform Nicky about it. And Nicky manages to find the photo studio token [for the wash] that Charlie had hidden in his shoe.
The Artist
William is having a mind-bending time trying to make sense of the clues that Samantha left. The clues connect his former band to his family in some way, and he has to figure it out. And thanks to his artistic skills, joining the dots is the best piece of art he has ever produced, especially according to Bruno. William finally visits Amory at the Hamilton-Sweeney office building, and what follows is the best portion of City on Fire Episode 5, wherein William subtly warns Amory of what’s coming. We also come to know, thanks to William, that the envelopes of money that Amory was sending to Ex Nihilo through the hands of Keith were basically payments for every building they burned down that was later bought by the Hamilton-Sweeney group. William also knows that Samantha loved his band and that Nicky knows the girl as well as Amory. It is only a matter of time before William brings down Amory, after which the latter’s mug shot will be the centerpiece of William’s latest canvas. He hates Amory a lot and believes that it was he who ripped the family apart. Amory’s expression after Will leaves also shows that he has found himself in a very uncomfortable position, which only heightens as he finds out that there is a protest being staged in front of the building.
The Protest
Utter confusion takes place in the next few minutes. At the protest, Nicky has brought Charlie as well because he doesn’t want to risk leaving Charlie alone anymore. Charlie doesn’t know that Nicky has seen the token. Amory calls and tells Nicky to go after William, who is about to leave the building. Nick, realizing that it is his chance to regain the deal, tells Delirium to go to William’s studio (and destroy the proof) and takes Solomon along after William. McFadden is chasing them as well, while Parsa spots Charlie, but the latter escapes. Charlie pays for the photographs with the money he gets from selling his father’s watch, but he finds that three of them are missing. He returns to the store only to find out that someone arrived earlier and took them [we know that it is Nicky’s deed, but does Charlie know that?]. Meanwhile, only Nicky catches up to William on a ferry. Back at William’s studio, Delirium kills Bruno, though inadvertently, and then sets William’s latest canvas of clues on fire.
Does Nicky Kill William?
While William and Nicky have a conversation aboard the ferry, William’s entire studio blows up in front of Mercer. William asks Nicky about Samantha, but Nicky knows better than to tell him anything. Amory wants William to die, and so he will. Only, it won’t be Nick who kills him, but Solomon. Thus, Solomon chokes William to death and throws his body off the ferry. William is dead. This is saddening, and what’s worse is that all his clues are gone too. But all is not lost, as Charlie manages to wash the three negatives by sneaking into the NYU studio. It was Samantha who taught him how to wash film. One of the photographs is of Nicky hugging Samantha. The sands of time are released from the dagger, and we see why Samantha hid the film. She took photos of a burning store that still had someone stuck inside it. The person died in the fire, and Samantha couldn’t do anything. The film was proof of the barbarity of Ex Nihilo. City on Fire Episode 5 ends with a painful shot of William’s body slowly making its way to the bottom of the river. Did Nicky kill Samantha?
There is no telling what will happen now. What will Charlie do? We know that the other two photographs are of the burning store, but how will Charlie know that someone was stuck inside it? And even if he does miraculously find out about it, what then? Parsa is already looking for him. The only miracle that we can hope for is for William to survive. City on Fire Episode 6 will show if our hope works.
