Death and Other Details – Season 1 Episode 9 Recap & Review

Impossible

Death and Other Details Episode 9 begins with the man who boarded the ship in the previous episode. He talks to the group and tells them they, the 0.01%, are to blame for the dismal state of the world. The innocent have been sent to shore on the lifeboats, including Rufus, Hilde, Toby’s son, Winnie, and the ship’s staff.

He then tells the group that the ship will be destroyed in one hour. He then tells everyone that there are nine seats on his helicopter and invites them to bid for their seat. It’s an auction.

As the countdown to an hour ticks by, the guests wonder what to do. Trip tells Anna they should bid with the three billion dollars they have left. But Anna doesn’t seem in the right state of mind. Imogene convenes with Sunil, Teddy, Jules and Leila. They decide to try and figure out who Viktor Sams is together.

Toby meets Celia and asks her to buy him a seat. But Celia refuses to play the game altogether since it only favours the rich. Later, Lawrence approaches Toby, asking about Katherine. He still hasn’t learned of her death. Toby gets him to sign a blank cheque by saying that Katherine has already approved it.

Eleanor goes up to Room 218, where the man is taking bids. She offers to be a straw bidder. He can use her name to convince the others the bar has increased and earn a lot more money. In turn, she gets one seat. They shake hands.

Imogene enters next and tries to get information out of the man. He claims that it’s not just about being rich but also about making mistakes. Imogene is here for being a thief, Teddy for taking bribes, Sunil for dealing in dark money, and more. Imogene heads back out and we see that she stole Danny’s pocketbook on her way out. Back with the others, they find that Danny’s notes are in code. And the primer is Truth.

Trip enters the bidding room and says he has three billion dollars. The man hands him a tablet with an internet connection for Trip to show proof of funds. But turns out his account has less than a million dollars. The man pulls out the cheque Toby gave him — it reads three billion dollars.  

Outside, Trip confronts Toby but the latter believes that Trip is getting what he deserves. Frustrated, Trip joins hands with Brad who has come up with a deranged plan to steal the man’s helicopter.

Imogene is taking a while to break Danny’s code. Trip bursts into the room but no one there seems interested in joining the helicopter plan. With fifteen minutes to go, Imogene is disheartened. Danny’s notes talk about an unknown crew member on the pool deck that day but she can’t recall. With some encouragement from Sunil, she remembers that Toby’s son was recording a video that day. Jules gets the phone from Toby and they find what they’re looking for.

Now that time is up, the man makes an announcement. The whole auction was a game and the winner is Celia Chun, who refused to buy seats even though she could have. She can give the nine seats to whoever she chooses. Meanwhile, Trip finds Anna in the room with her mother’s body.

On Toby’s son’s phone, Imogene and the group see something that shocks them. Meanwhile, Brad successfully takes off in the helicopter but it blows up in the air. Imogene goes back to room 218 and finds Hilde Eriksson hiding inside! She was the person on the video, dressed as a staff member on the day before Interpol was called. Danny saw her and knew she wasn’t on the crew, so he was killed.

Imogene says Hilde, aka Viktor Sams, organized this entire trip to punish everyone. It was never a vacation. Alexandra was killed for burying the Collier Mills case. Lawrence for the same but he was already suffering, so she killed his wife. She killed Llewellyn as well, poisoned him the night they spent together.

Imogene claims there is actually a personal agenda behind all of this. Suddenly, Hilde speaks with an American accent. She says Imogene sees things that other people don’t bother to notice. The same thing Imogene’s mother once told her. At the end of Death and Other Details Episode 9, Imogene then says the one word that changes everything — “Mom?”

The Episode Review

Death and Other Details Episode 9 is by far one of the most well-written episodes of this season. The short-run time ensures that the script is crisp and to the point. It doesn’t waste any time and every conversation contributes something of value to the story. Backed by the ticking clock and Viktor Sams’ devious game, this makes for a gripping watch. It’s fascinating to watch the characters run around in chaos while Imogene races against the clock to crack the case.

While this is a fantastic individual episode, the overall story still doesn’t feel like it’s hitting the right notes. Hilde being Viktor Sams is an intriguing reveal, at the same time I was expecting something more clever than the trope of the culprit being the person you least expect. Her being Imogene’s mother, on the other hand, is a massive twist and an incredible cliffhanger. I only hope the explanation, due in the show’s final episode, does the reveal justice.