If you’ve been wondering why it is that Det. Dani Powell (Aurora Perrineau) has been so immediately accepting of Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) and his, erm, eccentricities on Prodigal Son, well, you’re about to find out. In the show’s fifth episode, airing Monday night, some key details about Dani’s backstory will come to light and help explain why it is that she hasn’t been as opposed to Gil (Lou Diamond Phillips) bringing the twisty brainiac into the team as others.
“It’ll make it make sense that Dani has such a connection to Bright and is so forgiving of some of his actions,” Perrineau told TV Guide of what’s ahead. “You get to see Dani outside of her normal cop costume. There’s a little outside world stuff that happens inside this episode.”
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Whatever the tie that binds them might turn out to be, fans shouldn’t expect to see the two blossom into a romantic item — at least not yet. Per Perrineau, “There’s definitely a bond that they’re building, but I think a lot of times people see a young guy and a young girl, and they assume it has to be a sexual relationship, but I don’t know. They could be best friends. They could be boyfriend and girlfriend. You never know what could happen. I think right now it’s just them figuring each other out, learning about each other, and deepening their friendship.” That’ll be music to Edrisa’s (Keiko Agena) ears, at least.
Perrineau also revealed that whatever is in store for Dani won’t come as a surprise to those who’ve already been serving on the force with her, like Gil and JT Tarmel (Frank Harts). “Her team knows her really well, so I think they understand why she does feel that way [about Bright],” Perrineau explained. “It just doesn’t mean that they also feel that way.”
Dani’s past will be explored in the course of a new homicide investigation which appears linked to a drug cartel, and Perrineau says the crime of the week will have some “real darkness” and be “less comedic than some of the other murders” we’ve seen on the show by far. In other words, if we thought the Surgeon’s (Michael Sheen) cruel copycat and the dad who tried to poison his whole family in their backyard were intense, we’re in for something even eerier on Monday night’s episode. Strap in, folks!
Prodigal Son airs Mondays at 9/8c on Fox.
Aurora Perrineau, Prodigal Son