Given Jean’s intimate relationship with death — having cleaned them up for 15 years and committing murder at a young age — it was only a matter of time before we saw how it’s affected his psyche. Apparently just enough to start holding conversations with dead people. One of the many highlights (or lowlights, depending on your POV) in this week’s episode.
The eighth episode starts off with Jean visiting Maureen… only to find the dead body of her husband, Sam. He’d apparently hung himself after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Among the long list of concerns one should have after the passing of their spouse, Maureen’s main bone to pick is what people will think about Sam killing himself (priorities, right?).
So Jean crosses a line for a friend. He changes the death scene to look as if Sam got drunk and drowned in the bathtub. This is new territory for Jean because he’s doing this strictly by choice instead of having a gun held to his head if he doesn’t comply. Sam’s ghost – or Jean’s mental manifestation of it – even appears and tells him this in so many words. Things take a real Sixth Sense turn when Sam’s spirit hangs around and starts to question Jean’s methods and life choices, going as far back as the day he killed the man his mother was having an affair with.
Speaking of affairs, there’s a general rule that whenever someone says “just this once,” things are almost guaranteed to happen many more times. Martin and Sonny Clay are no exception. Just to make things completely clear, Sonny lets Martin know that Nelson wouldn’t kill them both if – more likely “when” – he finds out. Just him.
After Jean’s botched attempt at turning Nelson Clay in to the police, both parties understood it was only a matter of time because things were dealt with. So when Nelson invites him to the most abandoned parts of the woods to pick mushrooms for dinner (because that’s not suspicious at all) he pretty much knows the jig is up. But when Nelson reaches for his gun, with noticeably shaky hands for some reason we’ll likely explore later, Nelson is knocked unconscious.
When he and Jean wake up, they’re each tied up to trees with two men holding them hostage. After some bravado mob boss threats, the two realize they’re in way over their heads and run, leaving Jean and Nelson tied up with a gun out of their reach.
The two spend the rest of the night waiting for Martin to find them before they freeze to death. Unfortunately, Jean’s phone dies and Martin has to wait until the next morning to find them. Once he does, he cuts Jean loose first and almost shoots Clay for planning to kill his brother. Jean takes the gun and ultimately decides to let him live before taking him home.
Meanwhile, Julie goes to comfort a grieving Maureen and finds out about Jean’s affair with Claire, which is completely new information to her and leaves her shaken to the core. The kicker is that she had just said she was fine with “everything” and still loved him. Everyone has a line, though.
Later on, Julie is greeted by Victor Clay in disguise as a potential client. Due to finding out Jean’s an adultering criminal (instead of just a normal criminal) and Victor’s natural charm, she has a moment of weakness and kisses him. After feeling embarrassed, she leaves and Victor breaks back in to look through the house and does a bunch of twisted things before stumbling across Sonny’s necklace in Martin’s room. You’ll have to watch to see exactly what those twisted things are…
To see these and the other close calls with death in this week’s episode, catch Spotless on Esquire Network on Saturdays at 10 EST, 9 Central.
