Day Break--What If They Find Him

I'm still liking this show a lot. The story is moving along briskly, and each episode brings a take on the day different enough to hold our attention, yet with enough elements carried over to keep us oriented. And I like that things that have been stated as solved on previous episodes, such as the situation between Andrea and Eddie, remain solved here, thus enforcing the conclusion that Hopper is, indeed, able to make cumulative changes and, presumably, will be able to eventually resolve his situation.

This week, Hopper had to deal not only with some new twists and turns to the conspiracy he's slowly uncovering, but also with the unexpected consequences of his actions last week. Because Hopper stole the murder book--and continues to do so--both Damien and Chad are killed.

These two events comprise the whole of this episode's Day One. On Day Two, Hopper tracks down Damien to question him about Miguel Dominquez. Damien knows him as a sort of mythic boogieman figure, and won't have anything to do with him. He does, however, offer to help ID the Jane Doe. This leads them to a nun who's been safeguarding illegals for a long time. They find her picture in a box of photos--her name is Isabella Contrares. Damien then bails on the investigation. Chad is once again gunned down, only this time the killer is revealed as Hopper's sister Jennifer.

On Day Three, Hopper is able to snag the picture right away, and tracks down Isabella's mother, who is living in her own world where her daughter is still alive. The conversation with her leads them to a Mr. Detweiler, who got Isabella a job at a high-class club. Because he's with Damien, Hopper is able to prevent his death, but Damien leaves without him, apparently not all that grateful. Hopper discovers Chad was killed.

Day Four. Hopper tracks down Detweiler, who proves to be one of the guys from the gravel pit. Hopper goes postal on him and is threatened by Detweiler's wife. On Day Five, Hopper manages to stay calm for a while, but then threatens him, leading to Day Six, in which Hopper hands over the murder book and the hourglass to Detweiler and asks him to just make it all stop. Detweiler says it's not that simple, and apparently it isn't, because when he turns the evidence over to his boss, said boss is not pleased. Hopper has planted a bug with the evidence, though, and hears the boss order everyone killed. Hopper puts the pieces together--this is why Chad was shot. With several phone calls, he is able to abort the planned murders of Damien and Chad. At the quarry, Detweiler is buried in a dump truck load of sand. The shadowy boss then lectures Jennifer about the difference between a warning and an example.

So we get yet another layer of the mystery. Hopper's father is brought up again several times, but his connection to the past case, as well as the current, is still not made clear. Jennifer's reveal as a cohort of the bad guys is a surprise. This leads me to believe that the bruises on her arm weren't caused by an abusive husband, after all, as Hopper assumed, but were a result of something that happened between her and the shadowy boss or perhaps Detweiler. If Hopper's father was involved in the old Jane Doe murder, how is his sister involved in the current conspiracy? All questions I hope the show will be given enough time to answer. Unlike some other shows currently on the air, I have the feeling the writers know exactly where they're going with this one, and if they just get the opportunity to air enough episodes, we'll see some satisfying answers.