The Night Shift
Charlie's new life on the run takes her to a small town in New Mexico when her car breaks down. She makes do and even a new friend in trucker Marge (Hong Chau). But just as she's about to leave town, she hears news that Marge is being accused of the murder of local Subway employee Damien (Brandon Micheal Hall) when she was caught on camera dumping his dead body out of her truck.
The real story is that Damien met his end while talking to Jed (Colton Ryan), a young local man living in the town's auto shop. Jed has had his eye (very creepily) on Sara (Megan Suri) at the convenience store, and Damien was trying to gently push him away from his obsession. However, it ended up with Jed doing the pushing... pushing Damien off the station's roof and bashing in his head when Damien won $25k from a scratch off ticket. All Jed had to do from there was stash the body in Marge's rig, and the stage was set.
Having used the last of her money at an ATM and sending a signal out to Cliff just where she is, Charlie must race against the clock to clear this bullshit charge from Marge's head.
This episode contains examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: It is pretty clear that Sara doesn't much like Jed because he is a creep with no social skills.
- All for Nothing:
- Jed burns the winning ticket as the police come for him, truly making Damian's death all for nothing.
- Jed sabotages Charlie's brakes, planning for her to die miles down the road. Instead his uncle Abe (and only ally) finds his dirty work, fixes up the car, and turns his back on Jed for good because of it.
- Ambiguous Situation: Did Charlie turn down Marge's advances because she's not into women, because she just didn't see Marge that way, or because she just wasn't in the mood for a hookup at that moment?
- Bludgeoned to Death: Damian is killed via a blow to the head with a crowbar.
- Frame-Up: After murdering Damian, Jed plants his body in the back of Marge's rig, then calls the cops on her when she dumps the body out of it right in view of the security cameras.
- I Call It "Vera": Marge has a pistol holstered to her ankle that she calls "Baby Roscoe".
- I Have No Son!: Abe has always treated his nephew Jed like a son, but when he finds Charlie's brakes tampered with, he realizes how low he has sunk. Jed attempts to excuse his behavior and play himself off as the victim, but Abe simply removes his hearing aids.
- Living Lie Detector: Charlie is this all the time, but it's notable in this instance: she hears from Sara that Damian never won the lottery, and deduced Sara was telling the truth (as far as Sara knew). However, earlier when Jed said Damian never won, she sensed a lie. This gives her a direction for her efforts (lottery tickets).
- No Social Skills: Jed, aside from not taking the hint that Sara isn't into him, also insults Damian's military experience after he's dead. It's to the point Sara calls him out on it.
- Race Against the Clock: Once Charlie has to use an ATM to pay for her car repairs, she has four hours to solve the murder and get out of dodge before Cliff tracks her down. She manages to figure things out and leave just as Cliff arrives.
- Speak Ill of the Dead: Jed reiterates something Damien told him - that he was mostly a paper pusher in the Marine corp - to Sara after Damian is dead. This is more due to a lack of social skills than him reveling in Damian's death though.
- Spotting the Thread: Charlie first suspects something is wrong with the story of Marge killing Damian for breaking into her trailer when she hears Damian was Bludgeoned to Death when Marge had access to a gun.
- Vehicular Sabotage: When Charlie starts really laying into him being the murderer, Jed cuts her brake lines. Luckily, Abe notices the damage while preparing the car, and fixes them.
