‘Sugar’ Season 1 Episode 4 Recap: “Starry Eyed”

We’ve arrived at the halfway point of Apple TV+’s Sugar with episode four, and we still haven’t discovered John Sugar’s real mission. After a brief video from Olivia Siegel (before she went missing), episode four finds John (Colin Farrell) finally showing up for an appointment with Dr. Vickers. For some reason, the visit reminds him The Thing starring Kurt Russell. He describes the scene from The Thing where a chest with teeth bites off arms.

Why is he bringing this up now? That’s unclear.

Although his vitals are good, the doctor is concerned that he might be depressed. John is in the middle of denying that’s true when his arm spasms. Vickers is worried John’s not okay, and John wonders to himself why Vickers and Ruby both believe something’s wrong. He thinks something’s up, but doesn’t know what.

David Siegel (Nate Corddry) and Kenny (Alex Hernandez) arrive at Helen Sugar’s home in Arizona and she recognizes David from the movies. She welcomes them in and confirms she’s John’s mom. They pay Helen a brief visit and after they leave, Helen informs John about their discussion. She warns John to be careful; David will not stop digging until he figures out the truth.

Meanwhile, David’s dad, Bernie Siegel (Dennis Boutsikaris), is home looking through old photos of Olivia’s deceased actress mother.

John calls Ruby (Kirby) for updates on Stallings, the man who’s a cohort of the dead guy from Olivia’s trunk. Ruby, who deleted all of Stallings’ records in episode three, lies and says she’s not finding much. She claims he’s only been involved in minor criminal activities, which is far from the truth.

John and Wiley head back to the hotel and Melanie (Amy Ryan) is waiting for them. After giving very good boy Wiley lots of love, she reveals Teresa (Carmen’s sister) has made it safely to San Diego. Also, she just remembered seeing Olivia and some girl caught up in an intense conversation. The stranger was extremely upset, but Melanie didn’t interrupt their conversation.

Although the incident took place six weeks ago, John and Melanie visit the shops in the area to see if anyone remembers seeing Olivia. They hit pay dirt when they stop by a record store and the young woman working there recognizes Olivia as a friend of Taylor. (She only opened up because she’s a huge fan of Melanie’s.)

Their next stop is Taylor’s place, and she’s reluctant to talk but eventually lets them in. Taylor (Isabella Riggs) reveals that she saw Olivia posting stories on Instagram about helping abused women and called her out on it. It turns out Taylor knows David Siegel, and he volunteered to work with her to get a part in his dad’s next film. But then he wouldn’t stop texting her and asking to come over. She turned him down, in no uncertain terms, and he sent a video of them having sex. He had hidden cameras at his place, and they hooked up there just once years ago.

Taylor became deeply upset and felt violated. And then he threatened to release the video if she didn’t allow him to have sex any way he wanted. She went to the cops but once she mentioned Jonathan Siegel, they didn’t look into it. Bernie’s lawyer offered her money to sign an NDA and Taylor refused.

Taylor shared all this with Olivia, and Olivia wasn’t surprised. She confessed that sexual blackmail is her brother’s thing. Apparently, he’s done it dozens of times. Melanie did not know that David’s a predator, or that Bernie has been covering for him. But Olivia knew and now she’s gone. Are the two things connected?

David calls his mom on the way back from Arizona and she suggests he doesn’t tell his dad just yet.

John wants to meet with Jonathan Siegel, and Jonathan’s assistant gives John a ticket to a retrospective of classic film star Lorraine Everly. (Lorraine and Jonathan were married for 23 years and made six films together.) It’s a crowded event, and Jonathan (James Cromwell) promises they’ll have a chat after the screening.

Jonathan and his son, Bernie, pose on the red carpet while quietly insulting each other’s parenting skills. David’s mother and Bernie’s ex-wife, Margit (Anna Gunn), introduces herself to John and asks leading questions about what he knows about her son. John holds his cards close to his vest and doesn’t answer.

Next, John confronts Bernie about David’s secrets, assuring him it’ll all come out sometime. John lets Bernie know that he’s aware of Bernie’s part in the coverup.

After their brief but telling talk, John feels no closer to understanding how David being a sex offender fits in with Olivia being missing. John notices that right after Melanie arrives, she looks at Bernie and then texts him. John wonders if he’s misjudged Melanie and if she knows more about Bernie’s coverup than she let on.

John talks movies with the projectionist while keeping his eye on a bank of security cameras. He sees Melanie and Bernie meeting in a hallway and it’s obvious that Melanie’s upset with Bernie.

John allows himself to relax and enjoy the film. After it’s over, Jonathan takes the stage for a Q&A but it’s abruptly cut short. David’s disgusting secret has hit the news, and Jonathan exits the stage just as the story break. Cell phones light up throughout the theater as everyone learns about David’s sexual assaults.

Jonathan makes it backstage before having a heart attack. The paramedics are able to revive him.

Stallings phones David to see how he’s doing and to warn him not to mention his name in any interviews with cops, reporters, or John Sugar. If he does, there will be hell to pay.

The scene switches to show Stallings exiting a room in his house and closing a padlock. His thugs are hanging out in the living room and Stallings orders them to keep looking for Clifford. He’s heading down south, but they need to follow up with Melanie and find out who John Sugar is.

Stalling leaves his female minion in charge while he’s gone. She needs to guard the locked door to his “special project,” and shoot anyone who comes near it. Also, she needs to feed his two Dobermans.

John returns to his hotel room and retrieves the photos from Olivia’s suitcase. He pulls up a still from the Lorraine Everly film he just watched and compares the dress she’s wearing to the one Olivia’s mom, Rachel Kaye (Natalie Alyn Lind), posed in for the risqué Polaroids. He wonders why Bernie’s wife would be wearing that same dress 30 years after his mother wore it in a movie.

Next, he opens up Olivia’s social media and watches one of her videos. In the video, Olivia expresses her belief that the entire human race is doomed. She also confesses that someone’s been watching her. She’s scared.

As John’s trying to put the pieces together, Stallings’ right-hand woman is looking through a jewelry box. She selects a necklace with a cross…the same necklace Olivia is wearing in her last social media video!

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Sugar premiered on Apple TV+ on April 5, 2024 with the release of the first two episodes. New episodes 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 3 “Shibuya Crossing” Recap
• Sugar Season 1 Episode 5 “Boy in the Corner” Recap