Episode 7 opens with a teaser set in the desert: a truck lies flipped over as we hear the sound of a man pleading for his life. Sugar’s narration reveals that he initially tried to resist, but ultimately succumbed to violence.
The episode then jumps back two days earlier, where Sugar speaks with Tom. Realizing that Vega has him cornered, Sugar requests for Tom to arrange a meeting with a man named Sergey. Afterwards, Sugar decides to visit Danny in jail, where he reveals to Danny that Vega is targeting Ji and wants to make a trade. Enraged, Danny urges Sugar not to go through with it as the guards begin pulling him away.
On the way back, Sugar meets with Stanley, the professor he has befriended. During their conversation, Sugar finally comes clean, admitting that he wants to know what Stanley has been working on with Pavich. He asks about the meaning of the drawing depicting four circles. Stanley explains that they represent tropospheric nodes—designed to regulate the climate, making the prospect of reversing climate change a reality. Their conversation is interrupted by a call from Tom, who has arranged the meeting with Sergey Ojeda, revealed to be the head of the Los Universales cartel—a man Sugar did a job for years earlier.
At a park, Sugar meets with Sergey’s son, Diego, who leads him to Sergey. Sugar asks Sergey to get Vega—who works under him through his Fire Sale operation—to back off. When Sergey asks what’s in it for him, Sugar responds with a cryptic promise to finish the job, which is enough to persuade Sergey. Afterward, Sugar calls Vega and demands him to free Danny, warning him that Sergey can have him killed. Vega’s expression drops at this. Back in Sugar’s room, Charlotte gives him a call and they agree to meet up and order room service. They end up making love and later open up to each other.
That night, Tom calls Sugar and wakes him up with bad news: Sergey’s dead. He meets with Tom in the lobby, who reveals that on the way to Miami, Sergey’s plane went down. After learning that Diego—Sergey’s son—was not on the plane, Sugar realizes that Diego was behind Fire Sale all along, meaning Danny won’t be released from jail when he meets with Vega in eight hours. Sugar settles for a plan B.
Meanwhile, at the rehab center, Ji and Val bond over video games, with Ji opening up about his life. Their conversation becomes tense when Val reminds him of how far Sugar is willing to go to protect him, leaving Ji with something to consider. The next day, Sugar meets with Vega at a diner and presents him with three passports—for him, his daughter, and his ex-wife—offering him a chance to leave everything behind and start over in Panama. Vega refuses, however, insisting that Sugar tell him where Ji is. Their conversation is interrupted when Val arrives, and as Vega leaves, Val reveals to Sugar that Ji has escaped. Back at the station, it’s revealed that Vega had planted a bug back at the diner table, where he listens in and comes to learn of this information.
Moments later, Vega receives a call from Ji, who has returned to the desert house. Agreeing to the trade on his own terms, Ji asks to meet with Vega alone and instructs him to bring Danny. Vega drives to the house with Danny in the backseat, placing a bag over his head. After searching the area with his gun drawn, Vega finds no sign of Ji. He returns to his truck and drives away, only for it to be revealed that this time, the person in the backseat isn’t Danny—it’s Sugar. It was a ploy all along. Sugar puts Vega in a chokehold, causing the truck to flip over—and we revisit the scene from the teaser. The two struggle inside the truck until Sugar tightens the tie around Vega’s neck, cutting off his breathing and watching Vega slowly die. Having successfully taken down Vega, Sugar crawls out of the wrecked truck and watches as Ji and Danny reunite in an emotional embrace.
The episode ends back in Sugar’s room, where he dismantles the bug, cutting off his connection to the sheriff’s department as we see flashes of how the plan came to be. Meanwhile, behind him, Charlotte searches his closet and discovers a slip of paper containing the drawing of the four circles hidden in his suit, secretly taking it for herself. Beside Sugar, Peg’s ghost appears, and Sugar tells her he did what he had to do.
Episode 7 of Sugar brings Sugar’s mission to rescue Ji to a close, but it also leaves behind a number of unanswered questions. Sergey’s involvement in the situation ultimately feels unnecessary and underdeveloped, while the future of Fire Sale—revealed to be under the control of his son, Diego—remains unclear. After seven episodes, there is an expectation that Sugar’s mission with the Moon brothers will eventually intersect with Pavich’s larger plan in some way, yet the two storylines continue to exist separately, resulting in a more disparate and convoluted narrative. However, Charlotte’s potential knowledge of the tropospheric nodes and her possible connection to Pavich’s project are teased, setting the stage for a climactic finale.
Rating: 7/10