‘Ragdoll’ Recap: ‘Episode 5’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains minor spoilers for Episode Five of ‘Ragdoll’.
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When one thinks of stories that revolve around mental health and the road to recovery stemming from a break in that health… we think of inspiration. After all, those types of stories speak to the power of the human condition and how we are resilient and strong and unyielding in our quest to be better and those underlying themes, allow for wonders to take place. Wherein the character suffering from that break, stands tall in the face of adversity and despite some minor stumbles and setbacks, conquers their mental health and demons within before looking toward a hopeful future, one where they finally find peace and fulfillment. Which is a wonderful way to end those stories since you feel great when you put the book down or turn off the television. But alas, that type of story is outright fluff.

Because in reality, the battle to recover from a mental break is no different than coming back from a major physical injury. Which means there is serious recovery involved. The kind that requires all kinds of therapy and retraining of the mind and a concerted effort to not let the brain slip back into old and negative habits and that is at times, no easy task. Since negative thoughts are powerful and traumatic triggers can come about on a moment’s notice and this aspect of recovery is perhaps the scariest part of the process. Because when it occurs, it seems as though one isn’t making progress and one definitely worries that perhaps… one bad day might break them completely. If anything, this more realistic side to mental health recovery is top of mind today, simply because it served as the focal struggle for Detective Sergeant Nathan Rose in the next episode of Ragdoll.

For when we catch up with Rose here, he is embroiled in a powerful cat and mouse game with the Ragdoll Killer/The Faust, the kind that forces Rose to face so much and well… having the burden of the case upon him and his own mortality on the line, combined with the survival related mistakes he’s made over the past few weeks, puts him in quite the dark place. One where his confidence in shot, and where his friendships and relationships are in tatters, and this was just stunning to watch. For this is the struggle in the raw, these are the hardships that come with the road to recovery from a break and that made this sequence both powerful and brilliant all at once. In large part because it finally put a taboo aspect of recovery on display, and also because this helped us to genuinely care about Rose like never before.

However, while this exploration was quite incredible in its own right… we would be foolish to not discuss the fact that this episode also takes the case in a new direction. Because there was a bright side to be found in Rose’s missteps in this tale, in that, it prompted Baxter to push the chaos aside and look at the fundamentals of the case and work to understand the clues that were already in front of the task force. And for her efforts, some serious surprises and revelations came to light, the kind that might change everything for the better, provided of course that terrifying ending doesn’t take the story to darker places. Which we will not spoil here, because it is that epic and that stunning and you need to experience it, and all the other surprises present in this tale firsthand. 

But we can in the meantime, celebrate one powerful tale, one that took its central theme to a whole new level by giving Rose one of the most realistic struggles regarding mental health to ever grace the small screen and this show deserves a standing ovation for going that route. Because it is brave and bold for certain, and it does also set the stage for the finale as well. Because in order to beat the Ragdoll Killer and find the sense of closure he so desperately craves, Rose is going to have to figure out how to cope with his mental state and conquer it just long enough to do his thing and that is going to make the wait for said finale, as brutal as it gets. Until next time.  

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