Interior Chinatown – Season 1 Episode 7 Recap & Review

Detective

Episode 7 of Interior Chinatown begins with Willis feeling hurt about Lana’s secret—that she’d been in a relationship with Willis’s brother until just before he went missing. He feels taken advantage of and instantly distances himself from Lana.

Eventually, Wong is let go, but the precinct comes under fire for an unfair arrest, prompting the chief to launch an investigation into Willis’s brother’s disappearance. Lana and Green are paired as partners, while Willis teams up with Turner. Lana reveals information about a boat that she and Willis’s brother, Johnny, used to frequent, so they go to inquire about it with the owner. Ultimately, an employee whom Lana recognizes takes off after seeing them. When Green and Lana catch up, they discover that everything is owned by a massive corporation named HBWC. The employee tells them that the boat has also been missing for several years.

On the other hand, Willis and Turner conduct a stakeout to find Detective Carrey, the older detective who had worked with Johnny. Carrey confirms what Willis already knew about Johnny—that he was the leader of the Painted Faces, killed the other detective, and went missing near the docks. Meanwhile, Lana and Green find the boat wrecked and submerged, leading them to deduce that Johnny might have died while trying to flee. Lana shares this information with Willis.

As the episode ends, Willis receives a new detective badge and declares that his story will now begin.

The Episode Review

Well, we finally have the missing brother case wrapped up. But that’s just one part of the story. Knowing the concept of Interior Chinatown and the numerous reiterations about how characters are only playing a part, it’s highly likely that Johnny’s story ended within the universe of Black and White—and now he’s playing another part. This idea is especially plausible given Lana’s explanation in the episode about how easy it is for her to play different roles, which itself serves as a commentary on the metafictional nature of the show. Perhaps a similar fate befell Johnny.

Moreover, in this episode, we see Detective Turner stepping further out of his character and sharing his actual background and feelings with Willis. His potential departure from the precinct might serve as the catalyst for more significant changes in Willis’s life.