Cinephile, detective, and alien John Sugar (Colin Farrell) has spent the months since we last saw him in Apple TV’s Sugar season one finale searching for Henry. As season two begins, he finally locates him but doesn’t get the answers he wants before Henry (Jason Butler Harner) passes away. As he’s dying, Henry apologizes for making Sugar stay behind but doesn’t tell him what happened to his sister.
Henry committed suicide, something that doesn’t happen on their planet. As Sugar looks around Henry’s home, he finds a board with photos and the message: “Beware of assimilation.”
(The following is a recap of season two, episode one, “Home Away From Home,” and there are spoilers.)
Sugar realizes Djen’s gone. The only thing left to do is burn Henry’s body and his house so that no humans can discover it. Burning it drives home the fact that he’s all alone on Earth. He can never return to his planet.
Ruby left him a letter, just on the off chance he remained on Earth. In it, she admits Earth was the most difficult planet to leave. “This place, for better or worse, takes ahold of you,” she concedes. She loves him and hopes he stays safe.
Since he’s alone without a mission, Sugar decides returning to LA is his best option. He picks up his old life at the Hotel Del Corazon and even gets back into his beloved ‘66 Corvette Stingray.
He was hoping his detective business would pick up, but without Ruby it’s difficult to find jobs. So, instead, he spends his days hanging out at the dog park. His love of dogs hasn’t faded, and he has six mesmerized at the dog park when he makes a tennis ball float in the air before their owner calls them away.
Fortunately, an old friend calls with a request for help. Limo driver Munzer Amin asks him to meet with up-and-coming boxer Danny Moon. Danny’s an immigrant, born in Korea, and Munzer describes him as a good kid. His brother, Ji Moon, has been missing for three days. Ji’s been getting high a lot recently, and Danny thinks he’s just being stupid and not coming home to scare him.
Danny plays Sugar a disturbing voice mail from Ji that sounds like he’s running from someone dangerous. He’s out of breath and says he got away but is sure the guy will come after him because he saw something he shouldn’t have.
The voice mail ends with Ji telling his brother to keep training and not to call the cops. Sugar believes there’s real fear in his voice. He takes the case.
That night Sugar visits Ji’s normal hangouts in Koreatown. One of the stops is a pool hall and some of the patrons admire his car from the window. He notices one woman seemed interested when he mentioned Ji Moon’s name. After beating her in a game, he’s just about to ask what she knows when someone yells at him that his car’s just been stolen.
A young woman outside claims the guy who stole it is a friend. She offers to get it back for him for $300. They briefly chat and he explains he’s a private investigator. When she leaves to make a call, the woman he beat in pool steps outside and says Ji was seeing Hannah McDaniels. Sugar realizes she’s worried and she admits a lot of people are looking for Ji. She hopes he finds Ji before the others do.
While waiting for his car, Sugar confesses he misses his dog and his friends.
Thankfully, the woman he paid drives up in his car.
Back at his hotel, Sugar uses a communication device to see if anyone else stayed behind. “Second group, third wave, California. John Sugar. I’m still here if anyone else is,” he says into the transmitter.
He sends his message and waits. Because he’s been alone for so long, he decides to eat in the hotel restaurant instead of in his room. A woman at an adjacent table stares at him as he continues eating.
After dinner he returns to his laptop (the screensaver is his dog) and searches for “Moon brothers boxers.” Sugar isn’t very knowledgeable about boxing but learns quickly. He picks up on the fact that Danny’s on the rise, while Ji’s career is fading.
Sugar tracks down Hannah McDaniels, a nurse at St. Anthony’s. Hannah immediately denies knowing Ji, and Sugar notices she’s nervous. She thinks he’s there to fire her and is relieved to learn he’s not with HR. Hannah doesn’t want to talk to him if he’s not a cop, but Sugar works his magic and gets her to open up a little. He was there four days ago and asked her to sneak him a hospital key card so he could steal drugs. She hasn’t seen him since.
Hannah describes him as a wild man, and Sugar traces his route down the stairs, wondering if that’s where he recorded the panicked phone call. Ji left the hospital with a thermos full of drugs, which could have led to trouble.
He continues to search for Ji, including in homeless encampments and where druggies hang out.
Back at the hotel, he spends a little time at the bar (even though he can’t get drunk) and meets Charlotte (Laura Donnelly), the woman who was staring at him earlier. They introduce themselves, but he has to leave when he gets a text notifying him that something was delivered.
It turns out he bought a house in the Hollywood Hills that used to belong to Bogart. It’s a three-bedroom with a pool, and the view of the city is unbelievable. The text referred to his belongings being delivered to his new house.
Sugar’s still trying to figure out why his people were betrayed, hunted, and forced to flee Earth. He uses binoculars to look down on the home of one of the men responsible, Senator Tyson Pavich. Tyson’s son, Ryan, was involved in the season one storyline, and Sugar’s certain that Tyson has his own secrets. He’s determined to continue looking for answers.
Season two, episode one ends with a scene of Ji fleeing the hospital, clutching the thermos, and nearly getting run into, while Sugar reminds himself that he must be careful now that he’s all on his own. He also reminds himself to stay busy so that he doesn’t lose his mind, like Henry did.
