The first 48 hours — a critical window in any missing persons case — have passed since Edgar Anderson (Ivan Howe) disappeared in Eric episode 2. Detective Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III) is under pressure from a superior who is more interested in a quick result than the right one.
Meanwhile, Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch) hides a secret about the morning his son Edgar disappeared and the fact he is now seeing a walking and talking version of the puppet Edgar designed. Can the salty-mouthed imaginary friend help Vincent find his son?
Here's our full recap of Eric episode 2.
Following leads
Reporters give the police a hard time at the same press conference that opened the first episode, as crime statistics are high and the case of the still-missing child Marlon Rochelle remains unsolved.
Ledroit continues to work the case, getting more background on Edgar from his teacher, including a drawing underlining how much he hated his home life. The illustrated version of Edgar is running toward an as-yet-unidentified person, which Ledroit thinks could be a clue.
Outside, Vincent and his wife Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann) disagree about pretty much everything. Vincent says he is returning to work, which Cassie cannot comprehend. Cassie mentions wanting to take the $25,000 reward that Vincent's mother has offered, which Vincent is against. She also wants to know why Vincent apologized to Edgar during the press conference? Vincent doesn't have an answer. "Yep, you f***ed it," says Eric. Only Vincent can hear the furry monster.
Ledroit finds out that Kennedy died in the hit-and-run, and Captain Cripp (David Denman) tells Ledroit to keep his head down. Cripp thinks the evidence Ledroit got about "Eight" is insignificant and wants him to focus on finding Edgar.
Back to work
The Good Day Sunshine team is in rehearsal with a new puppet called Mac the Mole, which Vincent cannot hide his disdain for; it doesn't help that he has been drinking. Everyone is surprised to see Vincent at work, but it's hard to show sympathy when he is even more verbally abusive than usual.
Lennie (Dan Fogler) takes the time to hear him out about Eric and even convinces their boss to let Vincent pitch the puppet.
Back at the station, Ledroit goes through the files of anyone convicted of a crime within a five-block radius of the Anderson apartment. A familiar face is in the stack: building super George (Clarke Peters). A search of George's apartment reveals some big red flags, including a locked boiler room with drawings on the wall and an empty juice box on the floor.
When Cassie is handing out fliers at the subway station, she sees a news report about George being taken to the precinct. She also sees someone wearing a jacket similar to Edgar's, but the woman tells her to back off.
Questioning George
George’s lawyer Renata Clark (LaTonya Borsay) demands to speak to her client, noting George's conviction for raping a minor was overturned on appeal. George explains Edgar spent time drawing on the boiler room walls to escape his parents' constant arguments. Ledroit shows George the blood-stained t-shirt and asks what blood type he is. Unfortunately for George, his blood type matches that on the garment.
Vincent and Cassie are now at the station. Vincent believes George is innocent, but Cassie is less sure. George claims he was fixing a leak all day, but his alibi needs to be corroborated.
Back at home, the couple gets into another fight about the reward money Vincent's mother has offered. Vincent explains his plan to get Edgar to come home by getting Eric onto Good Day Sunshine. Cassie calls him crazy. Cassie also wants to know why Vincent hasn't told the police he went after Edgar that morning. She also asks about the cut on his forehead and what his blood type is. Vincent doesn't answer and instead goes to return his mother's check.
Meanwhile, the woman wearing Edgar's jacket heads to a homeless encampment, where she meets Yussef (Bamar Kane). Yussef spoke to Edgar outside the convenience store in the first episode and could be the man in Edgar's drawing. Raya (Alexis Molnar) has what Yussuf asked for, including a rope.
Vincent's parents
Vincent's mother is icy toward her son and doesn’t even seem upset her grandson is missing. She does offer some background into Vincent's delusions when she says, "You're going again." Mrs. Anderson (Phoebe Nicholls) mentions imaginary friends when he was a child and an incident when he was 16, suggesting he needs to medicate again.
His mother won't let him stay the night as there isn't a bed made up, while his father literally closes the door to his office when he sees his son. Vincent then returns to the studio, where he starts to make an actual Eric puppet.
When Ledroit arrives home, he discovers his boyfriend is too weak to get out of the shower. While it isn't explicitly mentioned, it's inferred that William (Mark Gillis) has AIDS. He tells Ledroit to return to work, which means another trip to The Lux.
Ledroit plays the tape to Gator (Wade Allain-Marcus) about the nearly 10-year-old bourbon and the food order for a child he thinks is Edgar. Gator emphasizes everything at this club is above board, and they check the IDs to ensure no one is underage. It turns out the kid is the son of one of the employees, and there is an actual bottle of bourbon. There is also some unresolved tension between them as Gator asks, "What do you keep coming back for?"
Back at the station, Ledroit gets a call from Marlon's mother to remind him her son disappeared nearly a year ago. Ledroit now has the CCTV footage, and on it, he sees an agitated Vincent heading in the same direction his son went. It isn't looking good for Vincent as Cassie phones the detective after discovering her husband has the same blood type as the stain on the T-shirt. What is Vincent hiding about the morning Edgar disappeared?
All episodes of Eric are now available to stream on Netflix.
