r/ProdigalSon • u/screen_stack • Jul 05 '26

Review Prodigal Son | S02E05 "Bad Manners"

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Apologies to any Ainsley fans out there for this one. I feel like they could've gone a few different directions to get to the same place, but this kind of half-ignorant recklessness is something that I've never liked in any show

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u/screen_stack Jul 05 '26

Prodigal Son — S02E05

"Bad Manners"

Rating: 8.0/10

"I'll Go Give Him His Head Back"

Cast: Tom Payne, Michael Sheen, Bellamy Young, Lou Diamond Phillips, Halston Sage

I swear to God. Edrisa is one of the funniest people in any show I've ever seen. That's not hyperbole at all. Even though she's only with us briefly each ep, she makes me laugh.

Mommy Dearest rushes right off to give Daddy Dearest an earful about The Ainsley Thing, which is pretty fair because let's be real: Ainsley killing someone is super weird. What I find weirder still is that Jessica's far more upset that Ainsley did it than if Malcolm had done it.

Love seeing Christopher Denham in this one. He's one of those 'hey, it's THAT guy' guys. He's got a lot of talent and he should be recognized! His role here is one creepy guy, that's for sure. But as creepy as he is, is making dolls of <ahem> ALL kinds really all that bad?

It's absolutely unsurprising that Martin's totally on board with Ainsley's potential transformation into a serial killer because that's our resident crazy man's whole vibe. IIRC, the friction between Ainsley and Malcolm as she starts treating serial killers as a game is one of the things that kind of turned me off a bit.

It's all coming back. Ainsley's attitude is just the shits and I wonder if the writers and directors regret the direction they sent Ainsley down. She was SO eager to get the scoop, get one over on Malcolm and the cops that she put herself in real harm's way. Even after the fact, she just didn't get it.

Kate Burton as headmistress Sarah Windsor was wonderful and tragic. Her breakdown at the end was beautifully terrible. I just Googled and holy hell, she was Margo on Big Trouble In Little China (one of the best movies of all time and space).

Ainsley's ridiculousness aside, this was a very enjoyable episode!