Episode 4, aptly titled "Boy Loses Dad," kicks off with Bermuda receiving an intimate letter from his cherished pal, Eli, detailing his present predicament. Eli divulges how his younger brother has recently embarked on the journey of speech, illustrating vivid scenarios featuring Eli on their weathered walls, seemingly to obscure the imperfections. Furthermore, Eli unfolds the heartwarming tale of his parents' serendipitous encounter. Years prior, Frankie, Eli's mother, was abducted by a truck driver who menaced her with a blade if she dared resist or utter a sound. When they encountered roadworks, forcing the driver to decrease his speed, Frankie seized the fleeting moment to leap from the truck's confines. In a bid to run her down, the assailant chased her, but Robert, her future beau, intervened, heroically saving her and sparking the flames of their love story. Tragically, Robert's demeanor has undergone a drastic transformation; he now exists as a shell of his former self, an avid drunkard whose life revolves solely around the next pint. His clumsiness occasionally reaches comedic heights, as evidenced by an incident where he inadvertently ignited his trousers while attempting to pour a drink.
Eli's life takes another turn for the worse when Bobby Lynette and his menacing cronies target him, showering his face with crimson tomato sauce. Gus, sensing Eli's distress, steps forward to offer his assistance in teaching them a lesson, but Eli, resolute in learning to stand on his own two feet, politely declines. To uplift his brother's spirits, Eli turns his focus inward.
As the narrative unfolds, Gus unveils an astonishing secret: he possesses the ability to glimpse the future. According to Gus, he and Eli have once passed through the veil of mortality, granting him the unique gift to converse with the forthcoming days. Each time Gus envisions their missteps, the whispers of the future guide him in mending those fragments, piece by piece. Gus firmly believes that the enigmatic caller on the other end of the line is his future self, imparting wisdom and guidance. However, Eli remains skeptical, brushing it off as mere whimsy and jest.
Meanwhile, Frankie is struggling immensely to adapt to the harsh realities of prison life. Compounding her woes, Detective Cotton has placed a strict embargo on her communication with her husband and sons, leaving her feeling utterly helpless. Despite penning numerous letters to her boys, she has received no response, hinting at a possible sinister intervention. Eli, desperate for a glimpse of his mother, beseeches Robert to take him to visit her, but to no avail.
Caitlyn, meanwhile, is closely following Eli's plight and the mystery surrounding the amputated leg. She is increasingly convinced that the Vietnamese gang is intricately linked to these events and seeks answers from Detective Cotton. Cotton, though unofficial, drops a hint that Dustin Vang is under their scrutiny and subtly discourages Caitlyn from pursuing the case further.
Tragedy strikes when Child Protective Services descends upon Robert's doorstep, threatening to wrest his sons away unless he proves himself a competent and responsible father. Despite appearances suggesting otherwise, Robert is a devoted father who deeply cares for his children. Recalling a harrowing memory of a camping trip gone awry, Robert had a panic attack and accidentally drove off a cliff into a lake. Thankfully, he managed to save the boys from a grim fate, but Frankie accused him of trying to kill them. However, Robert's promise to ensure Eli and Gus return to school earns him the right to retain custody of his sons.
Remember Detective Cotton? He is in league with Ivan and is privy to Ivan's involvement in Lyle's abduction and the gruesome amputation of his leg. Ivan instructs Cotton to thwart Caitlyn's investigative efforts. Eli, determined to visit his mother, faces a setback when Robert suffers a medical emergency. In a desperate bid, Eli turns to Slim Haliday once again, pleading with her to smuggle escape equipment into the prison so that Frankie can break free. But Slim, realizing the futility and peril of such an endeavor, refuses, cautioning that it would only exacerbate Frankie's problems and land her in deeper trouble if caught.
As the episode draws to a close, a poignant revelation unfolds: Slim is battling stage 4 cancer and has only a few months left to live. Tragically, she suffers a fatal heart attack at the pier, her life extinguished in an instant.
