Episode four of Cape Fear, “Pierced,” follows both a focused plot about Anna trying to free Ruben Ramirez and more reveals about Cady’s revenge on the Bowdens. Anna’s plotline with Ramirez hinges on obtaining a piece of information from a dangerous man, Smiley. Smiley would have to implicate himself in order to say that Ramirez could not have committed the crime for which he was in jail. Anna reluctantly seeks the help of Cady, bending her moral compass and allowing Cady to force a confession out of Smiley. Cady agrees, but he kisses Anna. At the end of the episode, Anna finds out that Nevaeh is Cady’s daughter from a nurse in prison. Tom’s plotline ties him closely with Zack, who is trying to make amends with Sophia. It is revealed that Tom had a brother who committed suicide, but he tells everyone it was a car accident. At the end of the episode, Zack goes to Nevaeh. Similarly, Natalie’s arc in the episode follows her getting a piercing and breaking into her friend’s house at Nevaeh’s behest. 

The dissonance between the adults and the teenagers in this series is increasingly apparent in this episode. Exploring the psyches and backstories of Anna, Tom, and Cady are easily the most engaging aspects of the series. While many of the plot twists involving the teenagers are compelling, the show still struggles with unrealistic interactions and a jarringly strange portrayal of how teenagers talk. For example, while Natalie’s manipulation by Nevaeh is interesting within the context of the show, it sticks out in isolation. The mix of textbook rebellion and the extreme ease with which Nevaeh convinces Natalie to do things slightly strains the story’s believability. All that said, the ultimate results these slightly exaggerated scenes will have on Anna and Tom’s storylines are very promising. Even in this episode, while Zack’s previous interactions with other teenagers have been strange, the scene where Tom intervenes in his confrontation with Sophia was a highlight of the episode. 

The biggest strength of “Pierced” was the direction it took with the adults, namely in its exploration of Anna and Cady. While the implications of the kiss were compelling, the most notable development in this episode was their illegal partnership. While the show could have (and certainly will) explore Cady’s vengeance, using Cady as a means for Anna to bend the rules in her favor was an extremely pleasant surprise. Going forward, their dynamic is set up to go in any direction, especially given how comfortable or uncomfortable Anna will be using Cady as an asset, as she did with Smiley. Many episodes have featured  Cady being chaotic to people beyond the Bowdens. On the surface, these seem like padding, but larger scenes, such as the one at the car dealership, aid worldbuilding, calling into question Cady’s ethics and personality even before his arrest. The show’s attention to the other people Cady wishes harm upon is a major strength of this adaptation, effectively utilizing the longer runtime of a television show to add complexity to Cady. Overall, Cape Fear strikes a very exciting balance between the focused, weekly episodes and telling a ten-hour story. Many minor issues remain, but each episode has explored the three main characters extremely well. 

Rating: 7/10