Expats – Season 1 Episode 3 “Mid-Levels” Recap & Review

Mid-Levels

The opening minutes of Episode 3 of Expats follow Mercy through her day. There is nothing special about it. Something tells us that she has many days like these…going to work, coming back home, and looking for any leads on missing children. A distinct feature of the prologue is how isolated the framing makes Mercy feel, bringing out her loneliness. It is almost as if people talk around her in riddles that she doesn’t get.

Margaret’s situation is not too different, even though she has a loving family around her. She is spending a lot of time at the Kowloon apartment as usual. Margaret looks at the photo of Gus and Christopher’s dog the police found on his phone. Although it is not a big deal, she obsesses over it, discovering a conspiracy by Hilary’s dead neighbour. On the phone, Margaret throws everything to convince Hilary that Christopher had something to do with the kidnapping…that somehow, his death is connected to Gus’ disappearance. But Hilary isn’t buying it. 

Her own life is in tatters, with no sign of David since their big fight. He is staying at a hotel where he continues to see Mercy. Puri is secretively cleaning David’s laundry and Sam is acting as the go-between. However, all of this doesn’t last. David lashes out at Mercy after Gus’ disappearance is brought into the conversation. He reveals the real reason why he doesn’t have feelings for Hilary like before. During the questioning, Hilary “paused” momentarily when the detectives asked her if David might have taken Gus.

That hesitation decimated every shred of perceived respect David saw in Hilary’s eyes. He could never be together with her after that. David animatedly shouts and goes around the hotel room, pretending to look for Gus. Mercy joins in on the charade, showing how both of them are deeply impacted by the incident. Hilary receives a text from David which was clearly meant for Mercy. He refers to her as “bunny” and glowingly mentions how passionate their love-making affair was. Hilary is shaken but maintains her calm. She has a big dinner party to look forward to that night, which David won’t be attending for obvious reasons.

Mercy runs into a girl named Charly on the metro. They strike up an instant friendship, with Charly even inviting her to see a band perform at a club. Mercy’s inner turmoil, however, forces her to resign from the situation and leave the club as Charly is ordering drinks. 

Clarke’s faith is gradually becoming stronger as his visits to the church increase. He has increasingly sought inner peace through prayers and listening to sermons. On one occasion, he asks Father Mambo for help in seeing the light at the end of the dark tunnel he cannot get out of. Mambo gives him a rock that symbolizes God’s presence in the littlest of things; that he is always around us and watching over us.

After Hilary finds out that Puri is doing David’s laundry, she throws it out and threatens her against repeating it. Margaret’s obsession with the case grows disturbingly as she strips Philippe at the house to take pictures of any identification marks he has. Margaret fears that if Daisy or he goes missing, the police might not have enough to find them. When it is Daisy’s turn, she obstinately refuses to cave. Clarke is home by that time and pulls Margaret away from her.

During Hilary’s dinner party, Margaret knocks at her door and pleads with her to get access to Christopher’s apartment. Hilary has a spare key as she often used to water his plants. Hilary is quite shocked at the demand and makes it clear that she won’t hand over the keys. She believes Christopher was a good man and Margaret’s probing will destroy his legacy. However, when Margaret mentions how Hilary will never understand a “mother’s experience” of losing a child, she budges. Hilary goes back in, crying, and asks Margaret to keep the keys.

In a bid to get a handle back on her life, Hilary goes to Omahony’s, where she finds David. She beseeches him to come back, despite all the mistakes and bitterness. David looks convinced that perhaps they can live together – for now. However, when Hilary makes an insensitive joke about the bar, David turns sour. They fight, post which Hilary walks out of the bar in anger. 

Clarke surprises the kids with a dog named Chauncey, whose “rehoming” poster we saw at the church. The climactic revelation is heartbreaking for a viewer. Clarke and Margaret are visited by Detective Chang, who says that the police have found a body matching Gus’ description.

The Episode Review

Despite being an hour long, Episode 3 largely sticks to the script, further building on the portrayals of our three female protagonists. Small pockets of the screentime are also reserved for Clarke and David’s characters but the minutes aren’t meaty enough. I feel a little more effort to integrate their arcs along with the female characters could elevate Expats. But even in its current shape, the show is turning out to be a fine drama and all three leading ladies handle the responsibility of their characters quite well. 

I cannot get over how beautifully the makers have filmed Hong Kong. The city is quickly turning into an important protagonist in the storytelling. Episode 3 is cinematically riveting and takes bold steps in the right direction.

Irrespective of what happens to Gus in the next episode, Expats has made a telling mark. It remains to be seen if there is redemption at the end of this journey or not. Any hope for a “hopeful ending” lingers in the shadows.