Review: Alaska Daily, Season One – Episode 10: “Truth is a Slow Bullet”

(Warning: this article contains spoilers about Season One of ABC’s Alaska Daily)

The penultimate episode opens with Eileen and Roz back in jail, interviewing Toby (without his lawyer present) for the umpteenth time. Toby is innocent. But, unless there’s a major revelation, he will be going to jail after falsely confessing he killed his lover, Gloria Nanmac. Gloria had a burner phone so she could hide her relationship with Toby from her mother. Those phone records have yet to be examined and could play an important role in securing Toby’s freedom. “I never hurt her,” cries Toby, “but I can’t get the deal unless I say I did. That’s messed up.” I have a feeling this episode is going to be another deep dive into the unjust-justice system.

The topic around the Daily Alaskan watercooler is weeping spruce blight – caused by a non-native species. “Non-native species, the root problems of all Alaska,” chimes in Roz. Sublet. Gabriel seems more like his old self and is taking on a new role: an in-house Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) database. Jindaháa, Roz’s boyfriend, is leading the team alongside Gabriel. They use the last toner cartridge from the newsroom printer while printing out the piles of data; it’s a big job.

Eileen and Roz examine Gloria’s voicemail again and notice there are voices in the background. A clue! Naturally they go next door to Al’s Dank Buds seeking help from Al, a budding audiophile. “First time I’ve been in here,” comments Eileen. “Yeah, not me,” says Roz. Mmmhmm. Eileen notices Matanuska Thunderfunk is for sale, the same strain that made an appearance in episode three. Al manipulates the audio file and finds something significant: a child’s voice telling their dad they want to leave the party. Wasn’t there a previous suspect who claimed taking their kid home was their alibi??!! Ezra Fisher, they are coming for you.

Gloria’s burner phone was registered with Teletrove Cellular. Bob has a contact and he’s tasked with asking his friend for Gloria’s records. Bob and Gary are members of the home brew collective Anchorage Yeasty Boys. The fact that Bob is in a home brew collective and doesn’t have a full beard is reaching, but I’ll allow it. Bob strikes out. Gary won’t let him have access to Gloria’s records without a court order. Eileen pleads with Bob to ask again. Claire encourages him to enter the “pushy waters.” That he does. Bob approaches Gary at his home and applies pressure, warning Gary the Daily Alaskan is prepared to leak a recent Alaska cell phone poll where Teletrove came in dead last and publish an article detailing Teletrove’s failure to respond to consumer complaints. You go, Bob! Alan releases the records.

Roz reaches out to Taylor, Ezra’s ex and baby mama. Taylor begins to slam the door until Roz plays the voicemail with what she all but confirms is her child, 10-year-old Jackson, on the recording. Taylor tells Roz that Ezra is back in town after laying cables in yet another Alaska village. Eileen and Roz begin to wonder if other women were hurt or went missing during Ezra’s frequent work trips. Eileen focuses on finding a connection with MMIW and Denali Broadband while Roz heads to Spenard to confront their number one suspect. Roz decides to approach the violent and possibly murderous Ezra Fisher alone at night, at a mostly deserted worksite. Did she sample the Thunderfunk before tracking Ezra down? Roz is as unfazed as ever, but this entire operation does not seem safe. My anxiety is through the roof. At first Ezra is all smiles, but after Roz plays the voicemail with his son’s voice on it his demeanor changes abruptly. He ends the conversation.

Austin and his ex-wife meet with a mediator to discuss how custody of their son will go after her big move to Chicago. It doesn’t go well. Yuna comforts him in the backroom and Austin reveals he’s considering leaving Alaska for his son. Yuna is upset and makes the case he shouldn’t leave a place he and his son love just because his ex-wife can get a better job. Austin thinks that’s “hot” and Yuna makes a move!!! Finally, the Austin/Yuna romance foreshadowed back in episode one grows some legs. They kiss for a long time. Austin is giddy.

Back at the newsroom Eileen gets a crash course on how rural Alaska’s police departments work. Namely, there often aren’t any. Her mind is blown when Roz reveals one in three villages don’t have cops, and if they’re lucky they’ll have a VPO. Eileen is confused again. “Village Police Officer. A member of the community,” Roz explains. Austin hands them a stack of files that document Denali Broadband’s work in 27 villages across the state. To uncover Ezra’s potential misdeeds, they’re going to have to do this the hard way — by tracking down VPOs one by one and hoping they get a lead.

In the middle of all the research, Alan with the New York Times calls offering Eileen a job. Her face lights up but she’s loyal to Stanley. Alan promises to text her a back of napkin offer (Eileen – I need to tell you something: tread lightly when it comes to back of napkin offers in Alaska! IYKYK.) and touch base with her soon.

Roz gets a hit – a VPO in Tuxecan remembers dealing with Ezra. He beat up a local girl there and troopers charged him. Why wasn’t this in his file? They need to get to Tuxecan but are worried about the Daily Alaskan’s budget. Eileen calls Poet Pilot and next thing I know they’re soaring through the air with several Alaska Huskies climbing over Roz in the backseat of the aircraft. Totally normal.

VPO Sadie welcomes them to Tuxecan with a ride out to a shooting in progress. A man with a gun is shooting at his dead friend’s house. He misses him and is mad he died. Sadie deescalates the situation (unarmed, as Eileen notes) and drives the man back to town. Eileen asks about 911. Sadie explains if someone in her village calls 911 they get transferred to an 800 number which then connects you to a call center in Wasilla. “That’s like calling Miami to get the police to come out in Chicago,” Roz remarks. I can only imagine the reaction of lower-48ers when they heard this line. Even as a life-long Alaskan it’s hard to wrap my head around sometimes.

Eileen and Roz interview the girl Ezra beat up in Tuxecan. One night he snapped, and she had to play dead to survive. Sadie restrained him and called the troopers who then took him to Sunrise, a village 60 miles away. The DA never called, the charges were dropped, and Ezra was gone. In Sunrise the duo searches Ezra’s name on the local system and comes up with file detailing the dropped felony assault and domestic violence charge. “Why isn’t this charge on Court View?” asks Roz. The official cites a recently passed law that prohibits publishing dropped or dismissed domestic violence charges on Court View. Ezra Fisher has been allowed to hide behind this law. Austin was able to find two additional domestic violence charges related to Ezra Fisher. With one episode to go, it looks like we have our killer.

Roz heads back to Taylor’s house armed with this new information. Roz tells Taylor Alaska is more worried about protecting the reputation of abusers than the safety of their victims, and asks again if she can talk to their child, Jackson. Taylor agrees. Jackson admits his dad, Ezra, took him to a grown-up party in Meade the night Gloria went missing. Jackson was sworn to secrecy and threatened he would get in trouble if he told on his dad. Jackson says Ezra left him at the party and drove off with a “sleeping” Gloria.

After a failed meeting with the district attorney, Roz and Eileen vent to Stanley. “Good news is we’re pretty sure we know who killed Gloria. Bad news is, it’s not the guy going to prison. And we can’t do a damn thing about it.” This is a hell of a story. Stanley reminds them the truth is a slow bullet and encourages them to keep writing. “You’re having a dialogue with Alaskans,” he reminds them. “It matters.” Bob provides Gloria’s burner phone records. “I channeled my inner Fitzgerald,’ he proclaims. They are a bombshell. Gloria repeatedly called 911 two days after she went missing, left for dead on the tundra. Eileen and Roz believe there must be a recording, and they’re going to find it.

Eileen receives another text from the New York Times. She tries to shield it from Roz’s prying eyes. Roz admits she has a secret, too. Eileen and Roz both have job offers. Eileen from the New York Times and Roz from The Washington Post. Neither one has decided if they are going to stay or go, but both are waiting for a sign. Gabriel provides one: a functional and comprehensive MMIW database spanning decades. The moment in the newsroom is profound as everyone sees in real time the faces of all the recorded missing and murdered indigenous women completely fill in a map of Alaska.

Season finale prediction time: It’s pretty clear Ezra Fisher killed Gloria. Next week I expect to see Ezra arrested, Toby freed and Gloria’s murder finally solved. Eileen and Roz will turn down their fancy pants jobs and stick with the Daily Alaskan. Austin and Yuna will keep making puppy eyes at one another and finding excuses to make out in the backroom. I’m nervous about Bob. His wife is ill and it sounds like she’s not expected to live much longer. I’m hopeful for some more daddy/son Pritchard drama. Conrad said it was war, but we didn’t get any action this episode. Claire will keep churning out stories like the workhorse she is and Gabriel will continue to find his niche. Stanley will come out the hero – taking a chance on Eileen, and putting a spotlight on an important yet often overlooked issue. A girl can only hope the season ends with Eileen stopping by Al’s Dank Buds for some Thunderfunk before booty calling Pilot Poet one more time for a ride high above her new home, the Last Frontier. I hope she at least pays for gas. The final episode of this season of Alaska Daily airs Thursday, March 30 on ABC.

Allison Hovanec was born and raised in Alaska. She and her husband are raising three young children in South Anchorage. She is a co-owner of the Alaska Landmine, writer for the Alaska Political Report and generally competent.

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