A man out for a swim discovers a body burned to a crisp with smoke still lifting to the sky as FX’s Trust season one episode six begins. Gail (Hilary Swank) is informed by the police they believe the dead man is her son, Paul, and Chace (Brendan Fraser) accompanies her to the morgue. She’s warned the upper half of the body is unrecognizable, but she instantly recognizes the shoes. She falls to the floor in a dead faint.
At Sutton Place, J. Paul Getty Sr (Donald Sutherland) is having his head measured for a bust. Penelope (Anna Chancellor) interrupts after receiving a call from Chace along with a photo of Paul’s burnt body. J. Paul immediately orders the measuring to stop and turns his attention to this devastating news.
Elsewhere, Fifty (Niccolò Senni) watches the news as a reporter explains the Getty family refused to pay a ransom and J. Paul Getty III has been murdered by his kidnappers. Don Salvatore (Nicola Rignanese) and Primo (Luca Marinelli) also watch the news, and Primo is very nonchalant about this development since he knows who the dead man is and that Paul’s back in their possession.
J. Paul’s livid that his grandson’s been murdered because the kidnappers went against the standard protocol for negotiating ransom. Penelope’s equally upset because J. Paul’s simply treating this as a business deal gone bad. She reminds him they’re talking about his grandson, his flesh and blood. She blames him for Paul’s death and is heartbroken. She leaves and takes comfort from her lover, J. Paul’s pilot.
Paul’s dad, John Paul Getty Jr (Michael Esper), looks over a few mementos that remind him of his son. He’s upset about his son’s death and angry at his father for only offering $600 for Paul’s return.
J. Paul Getty Sr. actually shows human emotions as he talks to Robina (Charlotte Riley) about his grandson. He begins crying and confesses that no one other than Paul could make him laugh. Robina holds his hand as he sobs.
Chace sits with Gail and asks where her other children are. She explains they’re with her friend and he reminds her they need to hear the news from her. She will tell them, but simply can not today. She then admits Paul was her favorite. He looked like an angel and all he had to do was smile to get his way.
Paul Jr visits his drug-supplying friend Pauline and asks for help. He doesn’t want to talk, he just wants to get high.
Back at Sutton Place, it’s obvious Paul touched everyone’s lives even though his recent visit was very short. Bullimore (Silas Carson) talks to the gardener and recalls how Paul came to him for advice and was a kind young man. Bullimore also reveals J. Paul calls all of his butlers “Bullimore” and his name is really Jahangir Khan, after the cricket player. He’s worked for Getty for 22 years and no one even knows his name.
Paul Jr continues to party, having a wild time after his son’s apparently just been murdered. He tells his fellow druggies about how J. Paul refused to come home when his son, Timmy, was dying of a congenital disease. (The kid was Paul Jr’s half-brother.) All J. Paul did was send Timmy a letter. He refused to come home to see Timmy one final time. J. Paul also refused to attend Timmy’s funeral. However, this time Paul Jr believes his father committed an actual murder. He’s determined to confront his dad with the truth and destroy him.
Gail’s lost in her memories of Paul, including one particular day when her boyfriend slapped him for wearing a skirt. Paul fell and cut his foot and that memory spurs Gail into action. Paul never tied his laces. She’s no longer sure the dead body is Paul’s.
Chace wants to go with her to the morgue, but she lets him know she’ll call if she needs him. She looks at the shoes in person and confirms they are her son’s. She asks to look at the body again and is shown the bare feet. The scar from where he fell after being hit isn’t on this body’s ankle.
As she leaves the morgue she’s surrounded by photographers and reporters. Inside the taxi, she asks the driver why they’re hounding her like this. He replies, “You do not cry. A mother who has lost her son and no tears. For us Italians this is strange.”
Upset, she exits the taxi without paying. She arrives at the theater and demands to see Fifty. If he’s not there, she’ll go to the police and tell them about this meeting place. She’s handed a ticket and told to wait. Fifty arrives shortly but he stays in the shadows. She screams at him for allowing her to believe her son was burned to death. She calls him despicable and reveals she knows the dead body is not her son’s. She demands he return to the kidnappers and tell them to stop playing this game.
A flashback shows the moment after Primo killed his associate, Angelo, and almost killed Paul. The accountant was able to stop him, but just barely, before he pulled the trigger. Instead, Primo killed the elderly couple who alerted him to Paul’s whereabouts.
Gail arrives at Chace’s hotel room and informs him Paul is alive. Chace has been drinking and is with a woman who propositioned him in the bar when Gail barges in, and he immediately sends the woman away.
J. Paul’s informed Paul is alive and he dances, alone, to “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” Penelope arrives and he invites her to join him, but she’s still upset because he could have caused the death of his grandson by treating the ransom as a business deal. He’s in such a good mood that he calls for Bullimore and gives him the day off. J. Paul’s leaving for Rome, but Penelope informs him she has other plans for the weekend and won’t be accompanying him.
As J. Paul was learning the news about Paul, one of his many girlfriends was receiving the news she’s pregnant. She informs J. Paul about the pregnancy and he demands she get rid of the baby and also reminds her she’s in breach of contract.
Meanwhile, Paul’s being held in a dark, damp cave. He’s chained up and his captor blames him for getting Angelo and the other kidnapper killed by running away. The man demands Paul eat and stay alive.
Paul Jr. arrives at Sutton Place, still hopped up on drugs. He’s still drunk, too. Paul Jr says he’s there to deliver his congratulations for not only killing his sons but also killing his grandson. Paul Jr calls his dad a f*cking murderer and J. Paul informs him Paul’s not dead. He hands over the message from Chace explaining Gail misidentified the body. News delivered, J. Paul kicks Paul Jr out of the house.
Chace and J. Paul Getty Sr meet with Primo, Don Salvatore, the accountant, and Salvatore’s men. Salvatore and J. Paul go for a walk alone, a walk that takes an extraordinarily long time. So long in fact that Chace makes himself comfortable and lies down on a ledge. Primo wakes him up and wants to see his gun. Chace doesn’t carry one, but he does have a walkie-talkie. Primo doesn’t believe he’s only armed with a walkie-talkie, and Chace clicks the walkie twice. Within seconds a helicopter appears with a machine gun sticking out the side aimed at Primo and the crew. Point made, Chace signals it to leave and lies back down, pulling his hat over his eyes.
J. Paul is given assurances his grandson’s alive and in good health. Salvatore apologizes for the misunderstanding over the dead body. They are meeting at Hadrian’s Villa, and J. Paul reveals he came there with Paul years ago. He also confesses to believing he is the reincarnation of Emperor Hadrian. They discuss antiquities and Salvatore says Italy is no longer a fine country. It’s been torn apart by communists and others. J. Paul offers Salvatore a mint and they continue to walk.
One of Salvatore’s men asks Chace why J. Paul Getty will not pay the $17 million ransom. Chace explains the rich are different and play a different game that has no connection to normal people.
J. Paul and Salvatore discuss legacies and the senior Getty says he had high hopes for his grandson. However, Paul succumbed to the lure of drugs. He won’t pay the ransom even though he has sentimental value. J. Paul isn’t a sentimental man and absolutely will not pay $17 million for Paul’s return. Salvatore asks how much he’s worth then and J. Paul says the maximum is $2 million. Salvatore explains his organization is no longer held in the highest esteem, unlike his cousins’ organization in Sicily. $2 million is too little and he says, “A living grandson is better than a dead one.” J. Paul laughs and agrees, and then doubles his offer. They continue to negotiate and agree on $5 million. They shake on the deal.
As they’re concluding the negotiations, Salvatore offers a bit of advice. He suggests that empires do not have to crumble and J. Paul should not give up on his sons.
Gail arrives back home and celebrates with her children the news Paul’s alive.
As J. Paul’s about to get on his private plane, Chace asks if he should gather the ransom money. J. Paul tells him to contact Paul Jr. “I did the difficult bit. All he has to do is pay,” says one of the world’s richest men.
More on Trust:
- Exclusive Interview with Sarah Bellini and Laura Bellini
- Recap of Trust Season 1 Episode 1 “The House of Getty”
- Recap of Trust Season 1 Episode 2 “Lone Star”
- Recap of Trust Season 1 Episode 3 “La Dolce Vita”
- Recap of Trust Season 1 Episode 4 “That’s All Folks”
- Recap of Trust Season 1 Episode 5 “Silenzio”
- Recap of Trust Season 1 Episode 7 “Kodachrome”
- Recap of Trust Season 1 Episode 8 “In the Name of the Father”
- Recap of Trust Season 1 Episode 9 “White Car in a Snowstorm”
- Recap of Trust Season 1 Episode 10 “Consequences”
