Florida Man – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

Welcome to Hell, Mike

Before we dive into the aftermath of Mike learning Delly’s professional coverup, episode 2 of Florida Man sees us go a little further back to understand why Delly came to Florida. She came back five days ago with a very clear plan: find the gold that Gil mentioned to Yenkov in exchange for his life. Yenkov did not take him seriously until Gil said the exact number that the sunken Spanish ship from 75 had: $100 million. He gave Yenkov’s men a location in Central Florida. They came to check it out but did not find anything, which is why Gil was killed by Moss.

Delly overheard their entire conversation. She even got the gold coin that Gil spat out of his mouth during the torturous session with Moss. Before she could find Gil’s boat for more clues – since she didn’t find anything at the place Gil told Moss – she saw Mike in Florida. She came up with a plan conspiring with Jason, the EMT professional, to make it look like she died. The plan went really well but as Jason was taking Delly in the ambulance, the hooligan who had stolen a police car crashed into them. Jason went to the ICU and Delly was left without her money and phone (because Mike took her purse).

Mike wants to give up Delly so that he can be free but in reality, he knows he doesn’t want that. He tells Moss anyway that Delly is dead and the criminal boss asks him to come back. Mike is not off the hook with Moss, making him anxious. Clara, Benny’s wife, who owns the Palm’s Motel where Mike is staying, overhears his conversation. Mike agrees to check out the boat the next day with Delly. She tempts him into having sex that night and compares him to Orpheus, giving this episode its title.

Captain Delgado, Iris’ boss, gets the update from her on Yenkov’s case. He had an alibi for the night Gil died: Delly’s birthday party. But it seems like Iris would next look for Delly to corroborate the story. Andy comes down to the moral to interrogate Mike but he is surprised to find Delly walking up to Mike in the flesh. They leave as if everything is normal but Clara is not happy about it. She has doubts about Mike but Benny is not concerned – yet.

Kretcher goes to a gun show looking for a firearm but he isn’t lucky. A little boy tries to sell him one he found near a crocodile. Funny story behind how it got there – Kaitlin, the news anchor, did a story about a man who robbed a convenience store with a hand grenade. He killed the owner with that gun and to get rid of the evidence, threw it in the lake. The boy “fished” for it and here we are.

Kaitlin is annoyed over Mike not having kept his side of the trade. Delly and Mike check out the boat but do not find the gold. Mike strong-hands the keys to Gil’s boat from the dockmaster’s assistant. He asks Delly to leave the country but she isn’t ready to go without him. He calls Moss and settles on a new deal: he stay in Florida and finds the person who killed Delly. Whoever did, perhaps thinks Moss “isn’t his father,” ergo, he isn’t as intimidating. Moss’ ego dictates his actions and he agrees.

Ketcher is stopped by a policeman for speeding. When he cannot find the rental car’s registration and the officer sees a gun used in a murder incident, Ketcher is arrested and thrown into jail. His wife makes matters worse for him by inadvertently announcing to everyone that he is a police officer. Iris tries to corroborate the story from Mike but he lies that Moss was with Delly all night.  Iris is taken off the case when Delgado is informed Mike works with Yankov to avoid a conflict of interest.

Mike lies to Patsy to get her to check on Jason, who is in a coma. Delly goes back to where the ambulance had the accident and finds a blue pen-drive. Moss is planning a memorial for Delly and discovers that the pen drive is gone from his safe. Mike spends time – reluctantly – with Sonny in Patsy’s backyard. In conversation, Sonny mentions the flea market at Lake and Colonial, the same place Gil said the truck was. Sonny confronts Mike about involving Patsy in his scheme but he resists any accusations.

Delly uses someone else’s computer to look at the contents of the USB. Mike recalls how his father told him Mike finding the coin in the fish when he was a child was a sign that Mike was destined for great things. This kept Mike going to gamble his life away in search of the next big win. When Mike finds out the truck has been towed, he breaks into the compound of the towing company that night looking for it. He calls Delly and tells her he found the truck. Delly meanwhile, meets with Sonny, indicating an ominous end to this maelstrom of events.

The Episode Review

Florida Man has nicely settled into a rhythm in just its second episode. The storytelling is light in terms of the underpinned unresolved emotional issues, which might surface later as the central narrative arc gathers pace and gets more complex. Mike’s final monologue in episode 2 established him as a meaningful character who is a theme in himself.

Abbey Lee as Delly is a fitting casting choice and she slots into Delly’s character effortlessly. The USB drive she stole from Moss might be something that Delly has been planning for a while and this might be her grand plan all along. If that happens, Florida Man will instantly become a modern classic.

The Netflix show is truly living up to the reputation of the “Florida man” meme that went viral in 2013. We are desperately waiting for Ketcher to get more involved and Clark Gregg simply cannot be cast as a sidepiece!