'Ridley' Recap: Season 2 Episode 6

Ridley airs Sundays at 7:00 pm on WTTW and is available to stream. Recap the previous and following episodes.
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With Farman off the case and Ridley in charge, the team begins to look more closely at the murdered Oliver Grant’s family. His mother Sarita’s car was seen at the go-kart track where Oliver seemingly bought drugs. And she closed a company account days ago that was transferring regular amounts into Oliver’s personal account to cover his drug debts.

Sarita knew her son was an addict but believed he would turn things around now that he was engaged. She explains that she went to the go-kart track to see its manager Matt Brandon, Oliver’s supplier, to pay off all of Oliver’s debts.

Looking into the family’s accounts also reveals that Oliver bought a ring the day before his engagement party and his murder, as well as an apartment in Cheshire that he said would provide a fresh start for him and Amelia, his fiancée.

But Amelia doesn’t know anything about the apartment, and her engagement ring was a family heirloom from Sarita – Oliver didn’t buy it. She explains that he sometimes rented apartments close to the company’s developments to be near his work. She did suspect he was having an affair, and he admitted it when asked, but he had promised her at the engagement party that he would change.

Sarita was a strong proponent of the marriage because she thought it would save Oliver – and it would help her do business with Amelia’s family. But Amelia also loved Oliver despite everything. However, Oliver’s brother Lewis also loved Amelia. Knowing that Lewis would do anything for her, Amelia went to him with evidence that Oliver was once again using drugs, and the brothers then fought about both the drugs and her. Lewis thought he could treat Amelia better than Oliver.

But Amelia still chose Oliver. When Lewis tries to help his mother in the company business, she tells him he can’t replace Oliver. So he goes to Amelia’s for comfort, but she also refuses him.

Farman’s son Jack is rejecting her and her wife Geri because she arrested his friend, Jordan, for dealing drugs for Matt Brandon. Farman hasn’t seen Jack for a day, as she worriedly reports to Ridley. She tells him she needs to be kept involved with the case, even if it has to be in secret, so that she can keep tabs on Jack. Ridley agrees, and updates her.

He takes her with him to visit Ava Tunstall, the model and influencer who organized the rave at which Oliver was killed. The ring Oliver bought was engraved with an “A,” apparently not for Amelia, and Ava has too nice of an apartment for the amount of money she could be making. When the detectives arrive, Jack is there.

As he and Farman leave together, Farman warns him that he’s hanging around with dangerous people who are under investigation, and he agrees to not speak to them anymore.

Meanwhile, Ava tells Ridley that she only had a fling with Oliver – but he did give her a ring and pay for her apartment. She didn’t tell the police because she’s afraid of Matt, who met Oliver at one of her raves. Even though Sarita paid off Oliver’s debts with Matt, Matt kept selling Oliver more drugs – and charging high interest. When he heard that Oliver had bought a new apartment in Cheshire, he demanded the interest payments immediately and threatened Oliver.

The gun that killed Oliver still has yet to be found – until Ridley spots an unfamiliar bag on his boat. Jack is the only person other than Ridley who has had access to the boat.

Ridley calls Farman to tell her. She insists that she be the one to bring Jack into the police station. Everyone tries to be kind to Jack, but when he claims not to know anything, Goodwin arrests him. Under interrogation – with Farman listening and Geri sitting in – Ridley finally convinces Jack to share a bit of information. He says that Matt gave him the gun; he met Matt through Jordan and ran errands for him. He shares the location of Matt’s drug storehouse.

When the police show up, the drugs are gone, but paraphernalia for them is still there. As is Matt himself, badly beaten on the floor. He says Oliver’s brother attacked him.

Lewis admits it. Oliver had told him about Matt; that’s why Lewis insisted on going with Oliver to the rave and giving Oliver the gun, as Oliver was going to confront Matt over his debts. Assuming Matt killed Oliver, Lewis followed him after being rejected by both Sarita and Amelia. Matt was packing his car from his storehouse – and it is soon found nearby, filled with drugs. Lewis had a wrench and hit him, wanting him to confess. But instead, Matt threatened Lewis and Oliver’s “backstabbing” girlfriend and began laughing about Oliver’s death. Lewis lost it and beat him to unconsciousness.

But there’s no evidence that Matt killed Oliver. There’s no gunpowder on his clothing, and his fingerprints aren’t on the gun.

So Ridley goes back to Jack and says he lied to them that Matt gave him the gun. All the evidence is now pointing to Jack as the killer. Jack starts to cry, and the interrogation is paused.

In the break, Ridley has Darren look through Ava’s social media in search of the bag in which the gun was found – and she’s spotted in one of her photos with it. Ridley returns to Jack and tells him that Ava was using him; she didn’t like him. He opens up. She texted him after the rave and he got excited; he liked her and she had never texted before. When he met her, she was scared and gave him the bag; he wanted to protect her. He assumed it was drugs, but eventually realized it was a gun.

The detectives return to Ava, who admits that she had a partnership with Matt: he would pay her to bring him customers via her raves. When she met Oliver while modeling in a photoshoot for his company, she saw a wealthy mark and introduced him to Matt. But then Oliver became interested in her. She tried to end their relationship because she was making money off of him, but he kept giving her gifts and eventually she fell in love. When she tried to get Oliver to stop buying drugs from Matt, Matt got nasty and started charging high interest rates.

When Oliver came to the rave to confront Matt, Matt revealed that he and Ava were working together to extort him for money. Oliver then confronted Ava; his gun fell out of his pocket. He started insulting her and her working-class upbringing. So she shot him. She then used Jack’s infatuation with her to make him take the gun for her.

Jack is released on bail; charges will eventually be filed against him.

Ridley performs for the first time in a while at the club he owns with Annie Marling. Annie’s boyfriend, Harry, has encouraged Ridley to return. Harry is bringing in new business for the club and ready to become a partner, but Ridley can’t warm to him as a person. Nevertheless, he contemplates cutting Harry in as a gesture of support for Annie.