Clickbait – Season 1 Episode 2 “The Detective” Recap & Review

The Detective

Episode 2 of Clickbait Season 1 picks up right where we left off. Amiri and the gang open up the van and find…nothing. There’s definitely a metaphor here about clickbait in general but that’s a conversation for another day. Anyway, with no Nick and Amiri a the center of this episode’s focus, reporters swarm on the scene sniffing for clues.

The police department decides to move this case front and center of their investigative efforts, organizing the entire department to try and work out where Nick is being kept. Amiri is determined to get in on the action but given he’s part of the missing persons department, there’s not much he can do. Still, that doesn’t stop him checking out Sophie’s social feed for clues.

Amiri drops Pia off back home and watches as the family are encouraged to hand over their phones for clues to the homicide department, fronted by gruff officer De Luca. Without a warrant they can’t really do this – which Amiri is quick to point out – but they try to find clues that could link to Nick’s disappearance nonetheless.

Well, it soon becomes apparent that Pia and Amiri actually know each other, with the pair matching on a dating app but never getting around to meeting up. Apparently Pia lost her phone back then, hence the radio silence.

With the power of the public on their side, the news report that a brand new app called Geonicking has been launched. This is supposed to help with missing person cases, and there’s certainly pressure on Amiri to try and solve this. It also appears like he has a desire to move across to the homicide department too, which reinforces why he’s so invested in all this.

Teaming up with Amiri, Pia shows off the voicemail she received from Nick just before he was taken. Apparently he had something to tell her and requested to meet up. After handing the evidence over to Amiri, our detective heads into the police station with this new evidence. The sergeant is definitely pleased with his work, but the rest of the officers – especially De Luca – believe he’s just using this case as a way of climbing up the ladder.

Amiri continues to investigate though, eventually learning from Pia that Nick showed up at her work sporting bruised ribs on March 16th. He claimed at the time it was a basketball player at work but the fact he specifically told her not to tell Sophie is certainly a bit of a red flag.

Although Nick hasn’t been found, there is a mannequin with Nick’s face planted on it that washes up on the shore. This is an ominous message and there’s a whole crowd of people there to see this transpire, with live-streams running.

This geonicking app ends up incredibly handy for Amiri, as he follows the clues back to Roque’s Bar. Checking the CCTV footage, he finds footage of Nick getting into a fight with someone. The barman actually kicked both men out but it could tie into Nick’s kidnapping – and the bruised ribs.

On top of that, Amiri continues to butt heads with De Luca, convincing him to check out a remote area in the woods. Why? It’s hard to get to and could well be a good spot for the killer to operate in. Well, it seems to work too and Amiri finds Nick’s dead body by the shore. It’s a crippling blow for him, especially given the promise he made Pia that he’d find Nick alive and well. Amiri now has the difficult task of breaking the news to the family.

Amiri is hailed as a hero back at the station, and he’s even promoted up to the homicide department too. As he sits down to work, he immediately recognizes the man from the bar as someone from Sophie’s past, given what’s in her social media pictures. Was Sophie having an affair?

The Episode Review

Clickbait deepens the mystery this time around, wisely shifting the focus from Pia across to Amiri. It seems like Sophie is keeping more than simple “marital secrets” which I’m sure we’ll find out over the coming episodes. Could it be that she has something to do with this whole ordeal?

That’s to say nothing of the Amiri situation too, which seems a little too convenient if you ask me. As a personal hunch, I think he’s responsible in some way. He’s so invested in this case and his assumptions have almost always been completely sound and correct. Then again, those contrivances could just be the writers so there is that.

Whoever the killer is, they’ve certainly made good on their claims and as the race to find this man or woman heats up, all eyes now turn to the police to try and get this resolved.

It’s not the best mystery series out there but it’s enticing enough to stick with for the time being.