“Trip” the fifth episode of Neagley is the most emotionally charged episode of the season, proving that both action and heartfelt, dramatic moments can exist simultaneously. 

Picking up from where was left off at the end of the fourth episode “Breaking and Entering,” Neagley begins to feel the effects of the hallucinogen she was secretly dosed with. As her teammates Renee and Hudson attempt to ground her in reality, she relives the trauma of her childhood, seeing in crystal-clear view her father killing a man in front of her younger self and finally relearning the root of her haphephobia. 

As Neagley’s trip unfolds, a commercial for Tranqlara (the hallucinogen that Pierce and Lawrence are attempting to market) plays, interspersed with her experience and explaining, in optimistic and bright colors, what the hallucinogen does to a subject’s brain (in this case, Neagley’s). It is revealed that Pierce is pitching this commercial to his shareholders who, unimpressed, threaten to pull funding over lack of results. However, Pierce reassures them that they are close to getting approval for human testing.

On Echo Canyon Farm, Keno works to plan his escape by means of the farmer’s market. However, in doing so, he learns his new friend Mandy has been taken to undergo the illegal human testing Pierce has commenced in secret.

“Trip” portrays a side of Francis Neagley we as viewers have not had the privilege of seeing before. Where previously she’s been stubborn, and self assured, the use of hallucinogens breaks down those walls, revealing the insecurities she hides under her cool facade. We learn, through a confrontation with her father, how lonely she is, and how isolated. The character itself grows more leveled and complex, no longer the cliche detective she could have been seen as before and now layered, and pitiable. Further, this episode allows her relationships with her colleagues to grow deeper, and jumps the hurdle that may have existed from drawing this story forward. Not to mention, now that Neagley has been dosed, the sympathy she possesses for the other victims (those that are not Tommy, or are not related to her) may increase tenfold. 

9/10