The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey – Episode 5 “Nina” Recap & Review

Nina

Episode 5 of The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey starts in the past with more flashbacks showing Ptolemy and Coydog together. They arrive at a party with Blues music rocking the room. This is obviously prior to Coydog getting into trouble, although ironically he does get into mischief at the party, leading a girl upstairs after paying his way.

With Coydog gone, he’s given a young Ptolemy is offered a bath downstairs in the big tub situated in the living room. Here, he gets his first taste of violence when a card game goes awry. What begins as a simple fight soon escalates when one of the women hurries downstairs and plunges a knife into the man’s back and chest. Ptolemy is watching all of this take place.

Fast forward to the present and Ptolemy wakes up with a glass of whiskey with water. The taste brings him back to a separate flashback, in a really slick edit as we see Ptolemy middle-aged, complete with a moustache and handgun. He’s not happy about Sensia rocking up late and she’s clearly been out with other men, just like we learned earlier in the season. However, she convinces Ptolemy that he’s the only man for her.

In the present, Robyn shows back up and the pair riff about old age and life in general. Robyn and Ptolemy have a good vibe, with a solid joke about drunk bed bugs to round out the conversation. When he finally wakes up, Ptolemy rings Nina and broaches the idea of showing up for Reggie’s eulogy. She’s not exactly thrilled with the idea, but when Ptolemy points out he’s got some money for her, she decides to meet at 2pm.

Before that though, Ptolemy shows up to see an old friend, Moishe. His father was actually in charge of a case Ptolemy was involved in and they go way back. Ptolemy is there to sort out his Will, with Robyn serving as the gatekeeper for this. In order to discuss the logistics though, Ptolemy needs to talk with Moishe privately.

Ptolemy trusts Robyn with his life, and after helping him out at his toughest moments, this feels right for him to do. With a key in hand, Robyn joins Ptolemy and Moishe as they head to a safety deposit box. Inside happens to be the the Brasher Doubloon, which is worth 17.29 million dollars. He wants to cash that in and turn it into a trust account for Robyn. However, she doesn’t want to have that sort of responsibility. If Robyn refuses though, custodianship will then turn to Moishe instead.

While Robyn mulls over what to do, Ptolemy meets up with Nina. He hasn’t seen her for a while, but she admits that Reggie always spoke fondly of him. Ptolemy hands over $5000 and urges her to stick around and hear what he has to say. Nina agrees to do so. Dr Rubin is also encouraged to show up too, while Roger tags along with Robyn.

With everyone gathered together, Ptolemy speaks up and after some kind words about Reggie, admits that he owes the man his life. Ptolemy is going to do everything in his power to make sure his death isn’t in vain. Interestingly, he also mentions his daughter Doris, who commit suicide in the past.

However, Ptolemy starts to stutter and fumble his words, seemingly regressing back in the wake of this illness. He doubles down on finding out who Reggie’s killer is, with Ptolemy confronting Nina about Alfred and how he could be Reg’s killer. She can’t be sure it was him – nor can we to be honest- but when he shows up, complete with a scar and spiky hair – Ptolemy confronts him.

Ptolemy wants to pay him off to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere near Nina again. He confirms he’ll be in his apartment the following day at 2pm. Remember the first episode? Ptolemy waiting with a gun? It looks like we’re catching up to that timeline now!

The Episode Review

The penultimate episode to Last Days of Ptolemy Grey sees Ptolemy start to reckon with his condition while simultaneously trying to hurriedly pass across his Will and possessions to Robyn when he passes. Seeing Ptolemy waver slightly during the big speech seems to be indicative of how little time Ptolemy has left, and that much is likely to cause some big heartache next episode.

The ties between Robyn and Ptolemy have really helped elevate this show, and Samuel L Jackson’s acting has been fantastic right the way through the series. Now though it seems everything is left open for an emotional finale to come. We’ll have to wait and see what’s in store for us there but one thing’s for sure – it’s going to be quite the emotional ordeal.