‘Darby and Joan’ Recap: ‘Episode 3 & Episode 4’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three and Four of ‘Darby and Joan’. To revisit the previous episodes, click here.
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One particular aspect of life that we believe we can easily abandon or hide from… is our past, and it makes sense as to why. After all, what has happened… has happened. There’s no going back and changing yesterday so there’s really no reason to give it any license outside of acknowledging the moment. But while that mental mantra works on the small stuff, it simply doesn’t work on the heavier moments in our past and that’s why this line of thinking is flawed for certain. Because the stuff that really hurts from yesterday, it finds ways to haunt us and it never fades until we either learn from it, learn about it… or face it head on. 

If anything, the power of the past and the need to face it is top of mind today, simply because it was the focal theme of the next two episodes of Darby and Joan. For the third episode in this dynamic saga, saw Joan learn a great deal about her husband. Such as the fact that he was not named Ian and basically assumed Ian’s identity for reasons we don’t know yet. But her discovery of this unfortunate truth, was indeed made possible by the past. Since what was true was indeed un-erasable and that of course taught us quickly how the past never fades and to a lesser extent, how we need to face it. For despite the fact that the past broke Joan’s heart, she still desperately needs those answers, and it will be fascinating to see what else she is going to learn about the stranger that she married, since she is clearly not done searching for the truth.

But while that was a vastly unique and subtle way to handle the power of the past and how it is indeed inescapable, Jack Darby’s journey in the fourth episode, was a tad more direct on how it impacts us and how we cannot escape it. Since the woman he left at the alter weighed heavy on his mind courtesy of Joan’s pain and the case they unexpectedly found themselves working on during Christmas and well, being forced to face that once again… put Jack in a supremely thoughtful place. One where he realized no matter how far he traveled or how hard he tried to lose himself in the world, the past was waiting for him and it was either face it or be tormented by it and thankfully, he chose the former option and began to own up to yesterday in a dynamic and powerful manner.

However, while that journey made for some powerful and reflective moments, one cannot forget that this series is a mystery at its core, and there were plenty of unique cases for our heroes to investigate as well. Since these are a pair of tales that saw caravan thieves go after ‘Grey Nomads’ since they seemed to believe older folks were easy targets. Plus, this was also a block of stories that featured a painfully malicious and excessive revenge plot. Because that prank could have killed an innocent person and turned people against one another for no reason, making the man that committed it, about as stupid and shortsighted as they come. But of course, our heroes made it right, because that is indeed what they do.

But all interesting cases aside, what matters more here were the powerful life lessons present about the past. Because such musings move beyond the journey of the characters and are designed to help us learn as well, and we absolutely garnered some wonderful insight here about how to handle the past and what it means to confront it and well, this is likely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to lessons of this sort. For there are four more episodes left in season one of this magnificent series, and still, plenty of self-work for Darby and Joan to handle, and it will be fascinating to see what their next steps are as they continue to learn and heal and grow toward finding peace in their souls and peace with their past. Until next time.

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