‘Clarice’ Recap: ‘Ghosts of Highway 20’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Two of ‘Clarice’.
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When we last settled in to discuss the new CBS crime serial series, Clarice, we talked at length about several glaring issues hanging over the pilot episode. In that, said series premiere, rushed a golden opportunity to provide its audience with a powerful tale. One that would have properly put the struggle with PTSD on display by having Special Agent Clarice Starling begin the long road back to healing from it. But instead, that pilot opted to use it as a gimmick and a gateway to offer up excessive fan service set to the tune of ‘Goodbye Horses’, allowing for an uneven story to take place. One that was clearly fighting its own brilliance for the sake of playing it safe, leaving one to wonder if this particular problem would continue along as the series continued or if it was nothing more than opening chapter jitters.
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Well thankfully, the next episode in this new series, wasted zero time in informing us of the fact that the rushed and chaotic nature of ‘The Silence Is Over’ was nothing more than an aberration. For ‘Ghosts of Highway 20’ figured out how to properly explore the power of PTSD in a supremely dynamic and unique manner. A feat that this story accomplished by putting Clarice in some tough spots. Such as having her face expulsion from ViCAP for going rogue in the prior tale and by putting her smack dab in the middle of another triggering case. One that involved her and the team facing off against a paramilitary group known as The Statesmen, and their enigmatic and downright insane leader, who immediately took a shine to Agent Starling.   

After all, she just so happened to be the face of the FBI and he opted to speak with her and only her and that led to quite the poignant moment for Clarice. Because being in a room with a man that reminded her of all of the bad parts of her childhood, immediately triggered old emotions and sour memories and left her a shell of herself and at quite the crossroads mentally. Because Krendler was right, her PTSD was compromising her as an agent she could either accept reassignment back to Behavioral Sciences once this mess came to an end or figure out a way to deal with her PTSD in the here and the now and learn to live with it at work while she healed from it at home, so that she could keep a brilliant career going and thankfully… she chose the latter and opted to add a twist to that decision.

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In that, if she wasn’t going to heal from her PTSD right away, then she had to figure out how to use it to her advantage. Which sounds like quite the wild concept since that isn’t something that is commonly associated with a healthy way back from such an affliction, but the story did offer up quite the unique path forward for this notion. Because Clarice quickly figured out that she could face this enigmatic leader in a manner that would allow for her to resolve her demons from the past, and if she could in fact, help innocent people while facing her trauma… then perhaps she could begin to heal all of it bit by bit and well… her plan worked, believe it or not. 
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Because when given the opportunity to stand toe to toe with this monster, she harnessed every sour memory from her youth and used it to gain his trust before breaking him down and forcing him to make the kind of mistake that would bring justice about for the women he abused in this complex. And of course, by setting those women free and by exposing a crooked sheriff in the process, she did some solid good in the world for a change, and it was her pain that served as the catalyst for that and that did offer some healing. The kind that allowed for us to see Clarice Starling at peace for the first time in well… ever and that twist, also signaled the fact that this series can be more and do more storytelling wise. 

Because this episode really did offer up a fascinating tale, one that truly examined a different angle for a character struggling to resolve their PTSD related pain. And while some may lament the fact that Clarice is powering through it and being tough about it, rather than going through proper treatment, let’s not forget this is set in 1993. An era when receiving proper care for one’s mental health was viewed as a sign of weakness. Which means that even having her deal with it in the first place, in any manner, is a huge deal, one that speaks to the strength of the character and this should provide us with more powerful stories in the weeks to come as we watch Special Agent Clarice Starling, use the wonder of good deeds to stitch her ailing soul, back together. Until next time.

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