Apple TV+’s Sugar packs a lot into episode three, “Shibuya Crossing,” including more teasers as to John Sugar’s real mission. The episode also introduces John’s associates.
Episode three opens with John (Colin Farrell) confessing he’s been having nightmares. Not even very good boy Wiley the dog’s presence can calm John’s turbulent thoughts. He wakes and checks in with Ruby (Kirby), reporting that Wiley snores and kicks in his sleep. Small talk complete, Ruby confirms she has had no updates about Olivia Siegel.
Ruby’s still against John taking on this case, and John doesn’t know why. He admits to himself that it might be because of his shaking hand and bad dreams. However, he continues to tell himself he’s fine.
Melanie Matthews (Amy Ryan) is also preparing for her day when Carmen Vasquez’s sister, Teresa, calls and says a man stopped by asking about her. (Carmen was murdered the night Olivia went missing.) Teresa sounds freaked out and Melanie assures her she’s on her way over to her apartment.
Melanie arrives at Teresa’s place and discovers it’s a trap. The man forced Teresa to make the call.
John had asked his associate Charlie (who he refers to as a “civilian”) to follow Melanie, and she calls John with Melanie’s location. John’s sure Melanie knows more about Olivia’s disappearance than she admits to, and he and Wiley head to Charlie’s location.
Charlie reports Melanie’s been in the apartment for eight minutes. John notices two F-150 trucks that look out of place in this neighborhood. He also notes there’s a man just sitting in the driver’s seat of one, not doing anything. John checks out the situation while Charlie sends the license plates to Ruby.
Inside the apartment, Melanie claims she doesn’t know where the man’s friend Clifford is but is aware he’s a wife-beater and murder suspect. The man doesn’t believe her and has one of this two associates bring over the blender. He threatens to put Teresa’s hand in it if Melanie isn’t more forthcoming with info on Clifford.
Meanwhile, John figures out which apartment Melanie’s visiting by connecting Vasquez on the doorbells to Carmen Vasquez. Carmen connects to Olivia and Olivia connects to Clifford and Melanie.
John heads around back to find a way in but must pause because of his arm spasming. He forces himself to pull it together and breaks into a backdoor of the complex. Teresa and Melanie are screaming when John knocks on the apartment door, ordering Teresa to open the door. He lies and says he’s a probation officer and he’s there to check on Teresa, who knows she’s supposed to open the door when he knocks.
John claims Child Protective Services is visiting in one hour and she needs to clean up the place right now. He attempts to force the three intruders to leave, but regrettably, the leader isn’t buying it. John’s dressed way too well to be a PO.
Before the situation can escalate, the lookout outside calls the leader and says his truck’s smoking. (Good work, Charlie.) Two of the intruders leave to check it out, and John easily disarms the one who remains behind.
John hurries Teresa and her kids into Charlie’s van while he, Wiley, and Melanie hustle to his car. They make their getaway while the gangsters are examining the cause of the smoke. Once they’re safely away from the situation, Melanie confesses that she and Olivia were helping to get Carmen away from her abusive boyfriend.
Melanie reveals that Olivia got close with Carmen and was worried when Carmen wouldn’t return her calls. She went to Carmen’s place and found her dead on the floor. Olivia was calling the cops when she noticed a gun nearby. A man walked in carrying a body bag and Olivia was forced to shoot him to save herself.
Melanie explains Olivia called her for help and together they moved Clifford’s body. John’s certain the cops wouldn’t have arrested Olivia, but Melanie says Olivia refused to call them. She was worried about how a scandal might affect her family. Olivia was adamant that her family always came first.
The last time she saw Olivia was when they loaded Clifford’s body into Olivia’s trunk. Melanie loves her like a daughter and would do anything for her. John promises he’ll find Olivia.
Elsewhere, David Siegel’s bodyguard Kenny pays a visit to one of his lovers, National Security Agency Agent Everett Roberts, and asks him to look up John Sugar’s records. The records reveal John was born in Ohio and his father’s dead. His mom’s a retired teacher. John’s report cards indicate he’s smart and he was top of his class at Vassar. From college, he enrolled in an Army language school in Monterey. It’s a place where diplomats, military officers, and even spies learn languages quickly.
After school, John joined the Marines. He doesn’t have a wife or kids, and Everett suggests the best way to get more information is through John’s mom, Helen. Helen lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.
As Everett’s browsing through John’s records, Ruby receives an alert that an unauthorized individual is accessing John’s records. Ruby’s able to pinpoint the access to Everett Roberts.
Olivia’s dad, Bernie (Dennis Boutsikaris), speaks with his ex-wife Margit (Anna Gunn) about their son David. Margit’s certain David’s comeback film – a sequel to his only major hit as a child – will be a huge success. It’ll probably even earn him a Best Actor nomination. Bernie bursts Margit’s bubble when he admits one of David’s accusers might talk. Sugar’s investigating Olivia’s disappearance, and he’s incredibly good at his job which means he’ll probably discover David’s secrets.
John puts together what he’s learned thus far and believes Melanie is telling the truth. However, that doesn’t explain why Olivia hasn’t reached out to anyone since that night.
John makes sure Wiley’s all set for the evening – water bowl full, dinner ordered from room service, and TV on to a classic movie – before heading out to the Societe Polyglotte Cosmopolitaine gathering. He doesn’t want to go, but realizes he needs to put in an appearance and catch up with old friends.
The party is at Ruby’s place and the room quiets as John enters. It’s obvious those in attendance are surprised but happy to see him. Everyone speaks multiple languages and Ruby opts for English, joking that she needs to practice the language of this country.
“Here we are again. We scatter, and we return. We got out into the world and we do our work, our essential work. The work we cannot fail to do. But tonight we return to one another,” says Ruby, addressing the group of 20+ individuals.
She’s happy they’re all safe and invites everyone to enjoy good food, drinks, and each other’s company. John tries to relax and enjoy the small talk, but he’s distracted by thoughts of his missing sister, Djen. Only his friend Henry (Jason Butler Harner), an anthropologist, can get John to take it easy for one night. John insists Henry needs to visit Shibuya Crossing in Japan. It’s the busiest intersection on the planet and perfect for people-watching.
John sat for hours just watching them. But then he corrects himself and says “feeling them.” Henry thinks it sounds beautiful.
They discuss difficulties sleeping, and Henry laughs when he says he bought a garlic press in the middle of the night. He was convinced he wanted it and needed it, even though he doesn’t like garlic.
Henry agrees with Ruby that John shouldn’t be involved in searching for Olivia. Henry warns his friend to be careful.
As they’re talking, people are shown in the background going upstairs escorted by Ruby and returning soon after. It’s finally John’s turn and he sits in what looks like an interrogation room across from Ruby. She looks through his journal, which is supposed to contain objective accounts of personal interactions as a result of his stated profession. Ruby isn’t impressed, not even with entries about watching people cross streets in Japan.
Ruby confronts John about his obsession with finding Olivia, noting that in his journal he keeps writing that he feels he needs to do it. She reminds them they are here to observe and not participate in people’s lives. He’s gotten far too close to this case. Ruby warns him to stay focused and never forget who he is.
It’s revealed he chose to be a private investigator because of Djen.
Ruby gives John a fresh journal as they both stare at a box on the table. John asks, “Have you heard from them?” and Ruby confirms she has. The mysterious ”them” has told Ruby they are counting on John and his associates.
The one-on-one is over but before John calls it a night, he asks Ruby if she found out anything on the trucks. Ruby learned the leader of the armed men is Byron Stallings and he has a police record. John asks that she continue to dig up whatever she can, and Ruby assures him she’s handling it. She also forces him to make an appointment to see Dr. Vickers.
David meets with his dad, Bernie, and shares his theory about John Sugar. He and Kenny believe the Societe Polyglotte Cosmopolitaine is a group of spies from all over the world who’ve gotten together to do something either good or bad. They’re not sure which. Either way, he and Kenny are planning a trip to Flagstaff to see John’s mother.
After John leaves, Ruby calls Dr. Vickers and tells him Sugar is on to Stalling. That means he’ll figure out the rest of what’s going on soon. Vickers orders Ruby to tell the others because they need to stop John before it’s too late. He also believes it’s time for Miller to know. (I don’t think we’ve met Miller yet.)
Ruby begins work on deleting all of Stallings’ criminal records from every database.
John drives back to his hotel and in a voiceover, he reveals he will not back off the case. He knows he’s missing something obvious, but not what. John takes a late-night swim while thinking about the case, certain something’s not right about the Siegels. He’s not sure who’s involved or why.
Ruby opens the case on the desk in the interrogation room and it’s a typewriter. She looks through a journal and begins typing.
Melanie shows up at her ex-husband Bernie’s door and he smiles as he lets her in.
Thunder rumbles and John stares up at the moon as he reminds himself to keep it together. The episode ends with John admitting that while everyone has secrets, he is hiding much more than the average person.
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Sugar premiered on Apple TV+ on April 5, 2024 with the release of the first two episodes. New episodes will stream on Fridays.
- Sugar Season 1 Episode 1 “Olivia” Recap and Review
- Sugar Season 1 Episode 2 “These People, These Places” Recap
- Sugar Season 1 Episode 4 “Starry Eyed” Recap
- Sugar Season 1 Episode 5 “Boy in the Corner” Recap
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