We've reached the half-way point in Sugar, because the fourth of eight episodes released on Friday, April 19. Some big secrets have been revealed in this half-hour episode, but many more are left hidden in the dark.
This Apple TV Plus neo-noir detective show follows John Sugar, a Private Investigator tasked with locating the missing grand-daughter of a famous Hollywood producer. Standing in his way is the rest of the family of this influential man, who want to protect their own secrets... some of which come out in episode 4, 'Starry Eyed'.
The episode name 'Starry Eyed' likely comes from Sugar's trip to a movie screening, which lets the movie buff PI rub shoulders with some of his idols. But there's a lot more that happens, so let's dive into it.
Here's everything that happens in Sugar episode 4, 'Starry Eyed', and of course spoilers ensue.
Everyone has secrets
As the episode begins, John Sugar (Colin Farrell) is finally following his handler's suggestions by going to the doctor to get a check-up. He proceeds to tell this doctor the plot to The Thing. This man is Doctor Vickers, who we've heard about but never seen, and he tells Sugar that he's physically fine but mentally unwell.
David Siegel (Nate Corddry) and his henchman Kenny (Alex Hernandez) drive to Arizona to try to get information from Sugar's mother, and she lets them in when she recognizes Bernie from his movies. However once they leave, she calls Sugar — he knew they'd visit her and he instructed her what to say, making sure that she didn't reveal any information.
In the early hours of the morning Bernie Siegel (Dennis Boutsikaris) returns home, and his wife asks where he was the night before. He says he slept in their beach house to clear his mind, and doesn't make any mention of what we saw last episode, that Melanie (Amy Ryan) visited him. He goes to his office and begins to look through family pictures of his previous wife, Rachel, the mother of the missing Olivia.
Sugar calls Ruby (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) for more information on Stallings, the crime boss from the last few episodes. She doesn't have much information, and suggests he's lying low, but if you'll remember from episode 3 she's been deleting records from this man so she may be hiding something.
Taylor's story
When Sugar returns to his hotel, Melanie (Amy Ryan) is waiting for him. She lets him know that Teresa safely fled the city and also recounts something she forgot: before Olivia disappeared she bailed on plans with Melanie, but then the older woman saw the younger one having a heated discussion with a stranger. Sugar and Melanie decide to investigate.
The duo go to the café Olivia and this woman were spotted at, and go around the local area showing people Olivia's picture. One young woman, who recognizes Melanie as a former rock star, also comments that Olivia was a friend of someone called 'Taylor'. Sugar gets Taylor's address and visits this young woman, along with Melanie.
Taylor has a story to tell: she's an actress who was up for a role in a Bernie Siegel film which she mentioned to David Siegel, and the son proceeded to get very creepy toward her. She even went to the police but the Siegel family was too powerful, and a lawyer tried to give Taylor hush money. Eventually Taylor contacted Olivia, who confirmed that this had happened before to other women, and befriended Taylor.
As David and Kenny drive home from Arizona, Margit (Anna Gunn) calls the former. She tells him not to speak to his father Bernie until she's decided what the son should tell the father from the trip.
Sugar attends a movie screening
Sugar wants to speak to Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell) and so is invited to a retrospective screening of a movie he produced called The Winds of Change, starring his then-wife Lorraine Everly. Jonathan wants to talk after the screening but this gives Sugar time to soak in the atmosphere (one could say it makes him 'Starry Eyed', hence the title of the episode).
Margit speaks to Sugar, and we learn that she's an actress as well as David's mother and Bernie's ex-wife. Bernie also talks to Sugar, and the investigator hints that he knows David's secret, however Bernie plays dumb. Bernie's current wife, Wendy, comes to distract him from the conversation.
Sugar notices Melanie arrive, and she's texting someone... as is Bernie. They both sneak out, so Sugar makes his way up to the projectionist's booth where he uses CCTV to see the two have a heated debate. He also talks to the projectionist about his love of film, which developed fairly late.
Later the movie screening takes place, and Jonathan is set to do a Q&A session afterward. However as the film ends Sugar gets a phone notification, as do many other people: a news site has reported on David's treatment of women, and the secret is out. At this Jonathan has a heart attack (though we learn later that he'll recover).
Still driving back from Arizona, Stallings calls David, threatening him not to mention his name at all. We then see Stallings and his crew as they prepare to go somewhere. He leaves one lady in charge of protecting something behind a locked door.
At home, Sugar realizes that the dress Lorraine Everly wore in the movie was the same one that Rachel was wearing in the blackmail photos (from the first episode). He ponders on this, and as he does, we see what's behind Stallings' locked door: it's the jewelry that Olivia was wearing in her last few Instagram videos before she disappeared.
