'Furious' Episode 4 Recap And Ending Explained: Did Nora Remove Alice From The Case?

In the previous episode of Furious, we found out that Catherine, our serial killer, is basically avenging her best friend, Isabel Luna. She left a photograph of Isabel sitting on Jay Easton’s lap with Mira, Oliver Charles’ daughter. She wanted the little girl to hand it to the FBI, which meant that she wanted the FBI to investigate her friend’s death. But at the same time, she was exposing herself as well, because if the feds found out about Isabel, they wouldn’t have much trouble finding out who her best friend was. But Catherine didn’t seem to care; she perhaps knew that she would eventually get caught, but before that, she wanted the world to know about these monsters who’d tormented her and her best friend. In episode 4, Alice battles her own demons while trying to find out who the killer is, and let’s just say that the line between personal and professional life is soon going to get quite blurry for her.

Spoiler Alert

Why did Alice get punched in the face?

Alice struggles to calm herself after the whole episode with Marshall. She is seated in her car, still has her gun in her hand, and doesn’t know what to do. She calls Danny but he doesn’t respond, so she ultimately heads home. Alice calls Cole, the guy she’d met on an app, home, and asks him to get rough with her. She pushes him to the ground and instigates him to do exactly what she wishes for. That is how Alice ends up with a wound on her lips and bruises on her face. She can’t sleep that night, so she contacts Nora and suggests that they go around Hunts Point and show Isabel’s picture to other sex workers. Nora agrees; she too struggles with sleep and she mostly relies on alcohol to cope with the trauma that comes with her job. When she learns about the reason behind the bruises on Alice’s face, she advises her to ask her guy not to leave any marks next time. As it turns out, Nora too has been through similar complex, emotionally taxing situations and she too has sought the kind of inexplicable physical pain as Alice. So, why did Alice ask Cole to hit her? Probably because she wanted to feel numb (of course, this is purely based on assumptions). Living in an abusive relationship has left Alice deeply scarred, and in that moment, maybe she was going through a myriad of emotions, and all she wanted was for someone to help her bring down all the noise. She sought out physical torture to blunt the overwhelming emotional agony. Maybe she did it also because she believed she deserved to be punished for going to Marshall’s place and assuming that he could change. Alice evidently needs help, but unfortunately, she has only a few reliable people she can fall back on, so she chooses to keep herself busy with work. 

What is the connection between Nora and Ed George?

Nora and Alice are on the same page; they are both passionate about finding the serial killer, and they are both deeply concerned about the rampant growth in sex trafficking. As women in positions of power, they want to believe they can bring justice to the girls who’ve been wronged by the monsters out there, but they are also aware of the fact that they belong to a system that is heavily flawed, and which helps influential men find an easy escape. But even then, they don’t give up on the search for Isabel Luna. Alice advises Nora to dig into the Jane Doe cases in the tri-state area around 2012, and for some reason, her expression changes. She quickly starts checking the Jane Doe files, and Nora comes across the description of a victim that matches Isabel; she also notices that the deceased was wearing the same bracelet that Isabel was wearing in the photograph (with Jay Easton). So, why does Nora look like a deer caught in headlights after going through the file? Well, as it turns out, she is the one who closed the case of the unidentified minor!

Nora decides to keep the whole chapter a secret from Alice, and instead she focuses on attending a mental health workshop hosted by ASAC Ed George. We soon discover that Ed used to be Nora’s superior, and it is quite evident that she deeply resents him. Nora had previously mentioned that she had a tough time finding ways to help these girls out on the streets, and I think it’s very likely that Ed wasn’t really supportive of Nora’s endeavors and often created trouble for her. Unlike Nora, whose sole focus has always been on helping victims of sexual abuse, Ed possibly has helped influential men get away with crimes, and that is why he has successfully been “moving up through the ranks.” When Nora mentions Isabel’s case (in 2012, she’d overdosed and her body was found in a river) and that it has both their names attached to it, Ed doesn’t seem as bothered as Nora wants him to be. He is quick to remind her that he has seen her get wasted, meaning he knows how she relies on alcohol, and he indirectly warns her that if she ever dares to get him involved, or disclose any of his secrets, then he will somehow convince the higher ups to take her off the case, citing her addiction. 

How did Alice find out about Catherine?

Alice and Danny head to the foster home where Isabel had spent most of her life. Danny is a little surprised when Alice mentions that she too had briefly stayed at a foster home; he assumes she is lying to win Jolie’s (the head of the facility) trust, although Alice later tells him that when she was 15 she ran away from her home and ended up in foster care. Coming back to Isabel, Jolie shows Alice and Danny a box full of drawings and other trinkets that belonged to Isabel. She mentions that Isabel had been placed in her foster home a couple of times, before she ultimately took off and never came back. 

Alice finds the name “Adrian” in one of the sketches, and she figures he must have been her boyfriend. So, Adrian Murado, her trafficker, used to be her lover, and that’s how he got her involved in the sex trade business. Jolie adds that Isabel was possibly pregnant when she ran away, and that triggers Danny, because he has recently moved his son, Liam, to a similar facility, and he feels terrified imagining the worst possible scenario. When Alice asks Jolie if Isabel had any close friends, she mentions Catherine Grace. According to Jolie, Isabel was the leader of her group, and she always protected Catherine, who was heavily bullied at the time because of the way she stared at people. Catherine worshipped Isabel, and Jolie believes that Catherine intentionally got herself in trouble with a family she was placed with so that she could return to the foster home and be with Isabel. Jolie shows Alice a photograph of Catherine and Isabel, and Alice immediately realizes that she has found the killer. 

Why has Nora decided to let Alice off the case?

Alice and Danny come up with the theory that Catherine could possibly be working off the books as a nurse (because Jolie had mentioned that she’d trained the girls at her facility to become nurses). Alice contacts Nora to update her on the case, assuming Nora will be proud of the progress they’ve made. But the moment she runs a search on the Jane Doe cases and finds a match, she immediately recognizes the shift in Nora’s tone. Nora surely is petrified of losing the case and also her job, which is why she decides to take Alice off the case. She knows that Alice is quite like her, and she will want to go deep. If Alice interrogates Ed, then he will pressure Nora to somehow close the case or get him out of this mess, because if he goes down, he will make sure that she goes down as well. To protect herself, Nora tells Alice that she won’t be working on the case anymore. 

I’m sure Alice won’t just forget about the case; she will keep chasing it until she has her answers. She will also grow suspicious of Nora and dig deep to find out what changed her mind. Nora will reason that Alice is a liability, (especially after she had pointed a gun at Marshall) because of her complex relationship with Marshall, who is also working on the case. But is that really the only reason? Is Nora protecting Alice, or does she know more about Isabel than she has claimed so far? Did Adrian murder Isabel because she was pregnant? Did Jay Easton get her pregnant? According to the Jane Doe report, Isabel had given birth, so what happened to the child? Was Ed promised a promotion to cover up the case? If that was what had happened, then what motivated Nora to agree with her boss? Was she blackmailed? Is there something that she did in the past that could be used against her? Considering Catherine was so close to Isabel, I wonder if Nora came across her while investigating Isabel’s murder. If that’s the case then the question is, how well does she know Catherine? 

Will Catherine get away with another murder?

Catherine has found her next target, Hal, the Easton family’s trusted lawyer, who obviously knew what Jay and Caleb were up to. Catherine targets his son (remember in the previous episode she was preparing to go on a date with a guy named Blanchard? This is that guy), sleeps with him, and refuses to leave his house the next morning. She wanted to see Hal, and she had to throw tantrums to get his attention. Not that she didn’t enjoy watching his wife and son completely petrified. When Hal arrives, Catherine asks him to take a walk with her. He can guess that she is responsible for Caleb’s death, especially after Danny showed him and Jay’s daughter, Emma, the photograph that Catherine had submitted to the FBI. When he tells her that she will end up dead, Catherine lets him know that she isn’t afraid. She casually injects him with drugs before he can even understand what is going on. She keeps him locked in her car and then goes home to Alden. The sweetest moment in this episode is Alden’s grand romantic gesture. He confesses that he loves Catherine and wants her to be his girlfriend. This is probably the first time someone has done something romantic for Catherine without the expectation of sexual favor. She gets emotional and agrees to be his girlfriend. Catherine adores Alden, and he has become her safe place, but unfortunately the happiness won’t last long. 

At the end of Furious episode 4, Hal wakes up, and there’s a high possibility that he will find a way out. Moreover, the feds now know who they are chasing, so it won’t take them a long time to track her down. Catherine will most likely end up behind bars, but the question is will she bring justice to her best friend before that happens? We’ll find out soon!

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