Found Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Making Heroes Out of Monsters (And Monsters Out of Heroes)

Critic’s Rating: 4.3 / 5.0

4.3

“Be careful making heroes out of monsters,” was Found’s quote of the hour.

Gabi extolled those wise words toward the media, feasting and salivating at the chance for clickbait about Sir on Found Season 2 Episode 7.

I’d say the reverse is true within this hour and series: “Be careful making monsters out of heroes.” People are inherently flawed, and it’s easy to lose sight of that when emotions get in the way.

The case was a prime example of a controversial figure like Rash disappearing.

If not for their roommate, frenemy, or whatever you’d refer to them as, no one would have realized that Rash went missing, and most wouldn’t have cared.

And we’d never know for sure if Rash would’ve survived the ordeal if their kidnapper would’ve released them as they said, or if Rash would be another queer person who slips between the cracks and vanishes into oblivion with the world around them none the wiser.

Rash was many things, an aspiring journalist turned shock jock, or at least that’s what many presumed them to be.

Interestingly, even Dhan had reservations about Rash and expressed some judgments about their method of eviscerating other figures by exposing the sins, misdeeds, and wrongs of whoever fell into their crosshairs.

It’s so easy to judge people like that, particularly in this age when journalism is such a convoluted field comprised of earnest individuals passionate about what they do and want to do good work, those who succumb to politics and lack integrity, and just any random person.

Ironically, the criticism of Rash was that they were too political to be a good journalist, and that was a problem.

Ultimately, their existence is considered political, and calling out injustices while being something people couldn’t understand was all it took to indict Rash.

Naturally, this was a case that Dhan took to heart because of how deeply impactful it was for him as a queer man.

But it also was difficult for him because he never recovered from Gabi, initially expressing that they’d handle the case independently without her.

He’s also not doing well with falling out with Ethan.

Found has an Ethan problem, and it’s hard to vocalize why it’s irritating.

The hour at least acknowledges the ethics of the situation between these two when Ethan shared that he gave up practicing for Dhan.

As a therapist who fell in love with his patient, which they’ve led us to believe, he would’ve had to do it.

But it also fosters a type of resentment that feels as though it will always be between them.

Ethan chose Dhan over his livelihood and practice, but what’s upsetting is that he feels Dhan continuously chooses M&A Gabi over him.

It’s such a layered situation that raises some flags, and I don’t know how the characters should get through this or if I even want them to.

I find it unsettling that Ethan speaks to Dhan more often than not, like he’s his patient more than his husband, while simultaneously falling into that annoying trope of the spouse who is only there to express annoyance about the person they love’s devotion to the job.

In the end, I always have the same reaction to that setup: “You knew they were like this.”

I’m left wondering if Ethan has ever examined this situation in which Dhan may have experienced some form of transference and latched onto Ethan as his therapist, just as Dhan’s entire purpose, existence, and security are wrapped up in his devotion to Gabi.

Ethan seems to resent Gabi for being something to Dhan that he may very well be to him as well.

It’s all very messy, and not unexpected, from a man who faced captivity in war and had the struggles Dhan had.

There’s no question that Dhan’s devotion and loyalty to Gabi know no bounds, but they also perfectly fit the profile of a man who was in the military and understood the transcendent bond between comrades in arms.

For Dhan, Gabi is vital in making him whole and giving him purpose; she’s his family.

Unfortunately, she’s a driving force in tensions between Dhan and Ethan, but from what we’ve seen thus far, the frustration is in not understanding Ethan’s expectations.

He likely wants Dhan to place him first because he feels he sacrificed everything to do the same for Dhan.

But then, all one can do is keep reverting to the fact that Ethan knowingly married a trauma survivor and doesn’t seem to make full allowances for how that dictates Dhan’s behavior.

Or, I can give him the proper due of not liking that Dhan works with Gabi and M & A but still putting up with it anyway.

Ethan and Margaret shared a moment as well, as he had been instrumental in helping her relax while she was still dealing with the aftermath of her arrest and banishment from the bus station.

I’m grateful that Ethan emphasized that Margaret needs an impartial therapist not connected to all this. We didn’t veer into the messy and unethical territory of him serving as hers.

But in typical fashion, Ethan used his precious bit of screentime to pile onto Gabi as well, seemingly holding her to account for why Dhan won’t start a family with him and feels indebted to Gabi.

As a professional therapist, it’s such a shortsighted impression of that dynamic and tries to minimize what we see as genuine love for Gabi.

It’s tiresome, but it also is what it is.

As the season goes on, one can’t help but feel deep sympathy for Gabi, and this is where Found plays both sides in her actions.

Viewers can forgive and sympathize with her after everything she did because we’re seeing the story unfold and the emotional damage she has suffered from Sir.

Meanwhile, the other characters can strongly indict her for her actions and hold her accountable.

But Gabi is suffering so much, and it’s increasingly more difficult to witness.

Her nightmare about Sir becoming the public’s hero after helping and receiving a medal was so jarring yet so understandable.

We know how easily and quickly society jumps at the chance to reform an attractive White man.

The public played right into Sir’s desires, too, as message boards and comment sections were filled with speculation about the fundamental nature behind Gabi and Sir’s relationship, confusion over why Gabi would have an issue with a hot man showing interest in her, and general thirsting over Sir.

The self-awareness of this series is as entertaining as it reflects its own audience and fandom’s reactions back to them.

In Found Season 2, they’ve doubled down on proving that Sir is truly evil and calling out those more invested in the villain.

The narrative around Sir shifted so quickly, and you could see how much pain it caused Gabi and how much it drove her investigation into finding him.

She was already particularly sensitive and vulnerable because it was a special day for her, one in which she honored her late mother.

Gabi’s pain is always palpable and brimming beneath the surface, and the flashbacks are great at fleshing some of that out and giving us the necessary context.

Young Gabi was determined to make the day special again for her and her father, especially since they missed it when she was in captivity.

But his alcoholism ruined everything, and Rich’s pain only exacerbated Gabi’s own.

A’Zaria Carter remains such a remarkable talent. With so much happening in the present, sometimes there isn’t enough focus on just how incredible she does with these flashbacks.

It delights me that Gabi could stay with Gina and Lacey when her father went to rehab.

That only further cements how she and Lacey are like sisters, yes, but it also gives us this much-needed context and background to Gabi’s relationship with Gina.

She’s the maternal figure Gabi never had after her mother died, and this speaks to how that relationship may have shaped Gabi as a woman who endured what she had.

It pleases me that Gabi still has Gina.

But again, it seems like the only people who are aware of how dangerous things have been for Gabi lately are Dhan and Christian.

Dhan does not trust Christian.

Dhan’s expression when he saw Christian asleep in the chair after pulling an all-nighter with Gabi was priceless, and he didn’t hesitate to lay down all the threats by the end of the hour.

Dhan Rana stands on business, especially regarding Gabi Mosely, and I love every second of that.

I believe his every word when he says he’ll put a bullet in Christian and not blink twice.

Of course, knowing that spells trouble for the fate of his marriage because Ethan is correct in his assessment of the lengths Dhan goes to for this woman.

It even led to another classic confrontation between Dhan and Trent.

Dhan’s a hero just for being the main one who takes Trent to task when he gets all self-righteous, but even I had to laugh at how ridiculous they looked trying to outrun each other when chasing after a suspect.

Trent is a direct threat to Gabi and everything that M&A represents in Dhan’s eyes, and one can only imagine how much worse things will get when he realizes that the police have shut down M&A and Zeke’s internet access.

Zeke’s hacking into the police server was a huge mistake and only fueled the fire in the case Trent had been trying to build against Gabi.

Interestingly, he discovered that Trent had intercepted a letter that was supposed to go to Gabi, but he couldn’t find out what it was about.

Zeke is in a bad position because he cannot leave his home. Unless they find other avenues of bringing him internet access, the cops have hamstrung M&A’s biggest asset.

Zeke’s breakdown was heartbreaking, especially as Trent insisted that all of this was above him and that his being a friend was the only reason Zeke got to stay at home rather than get brought into the station.

It was an hour for breakdowns, as in a list that included Gabi in both periods and Zeke, Margaret had one of her own.

Despite Margaret being borderline insufferable this season because of the Gabi stuff, I loved how M&A worked around the bus station situation to give her some peace.

Setting up her rendition of it at the office so she could still go through her pattern and find comfort was so compassionate for their friend who is visibly struggling these days.

Of course, thanks to the cops, she no longer has that either.

She was able to express gratitude to Gabi for her quick fix, but after losing the feed, she broke down and finally released some of that anger, hurt, and pain that so much of her actions of late are linked to.

Kelli Williams and Shanola Hampton were brilliant in that scene.

There was so much raw emotion for both of them as Margaret fully succumbed to the pain and asked the critical question of how they and Gabi could find so many other people but couldn’t seem to find her son.

Everyone is hurting so badly at M&A that it’s hard to see how they can come out on the other side.

And Gabi routinely being there for everyone else while silently suffering is alarming and painful.

But there were other fascinating elements of this hour.

We saw someone hand Sir the M&A file on Rash so that someone could easily access it and retrieve it undetected.

The series loves to cast doubts on the enigmatic Christian, especially with the new DNA news.

One of the small moments was when Ethan said he wanted to leave Dhan’s lunch, but the receptionist, whom we’d never seen or known, wasn’t there.

She’s likely the culprit, and from the little bits we have seen, it seems that a woman is helping Sir.

Sir’s sister involving herself is the primary theory, too.

A small victory was that Zeke resisted the urge to utilize Sir’s assistance on a case when he reached out to him.

He didn’t share that with anyone other than Lacey, but it’s something vital that shouldn’t have been a secret.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Sir is behind the cops shutting Zeke and M&A down in retaliation for not relaying the message and using his help.

They could find Rash without his assistance, which was a confidence booster after the Sir revelation made them question everything.

But that came at a cost.

After Margaret’s heartwrenching breakdown, it’s doubtful that the most vocal and rigid soldier will be the strongest one if she believes that Sir could really find her son for her.

Over to you, Found Fanatics.

Who do you think is helping Sir?

How are you feeling about Trent’s latest actions?

Did you catch how Sir planned on taking teen Gabi again in the flashback? Let’s discuss.

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