City On Fire: Season 1/ Episode 5 “Brass Tactics” – Recap and Review (with Spoilers)

Two more people die as we’re led to new suspects in Sam’s case.

Release Date (Apple TV+)	May 26, 2023
Director(s)	Liz Garbus
Writer(s)	Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage
Newly Noted Characters and Cast
Delirium ‘DT’ Tremens	Dylan T Jackson
Previously Noted Characters and Cast
Charlie	Wyatt Oleff
Sam	Chase Sui Wonders
Sol	Alexander Pineiro
Nicky	Max Milner
Regan	Jemima Kirke
Will	Chaise Torio
Keith	Ashley Zukerman
Amory	John Cameron Mitchell
Detective McFadden	Kathleen Munroe
Detective Parsa	Omid Abtahi
Bruno	Felix Solis
William	Nico Tortorella
Sewer Girl	Alexandra Doke

Plot Recap

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What Happened To The Camera And What Was On It – Charlie, Sam, Sol, Nicky

As established, Sam loved being close to Nicky and wanted to be under his tutelage and potentially as close to him as Sewer Girl is. Now, whether or not they were messing around? That’s hard to say. All we know for sure is that Sam documented more than she was supposed to, and the last time she did that, Sol caught her and demanded the film. She did her best to hide the film that Charlie found, but Sol destroyed her camera in the process since, as established, he has trust issues.

However, with Sam hiding the film, Charlie developing it, and learning the truth that Nicky was involved with a fire in which someone died in? This makes Charlie a liability, and as established in this episode, Sol knows no limits when it comes to keeping a roof over his head. So Charlie may not want to return to Nicky’s headquarters.

Eliminating One Suspect – Regan, Will, Keith, Amory

While Keith has no issues answering questions from the cops, Amory quickly removes him from that situation out of fear of him saying too much to the wrong person. Keith, knowing he is innocent, seemingly is okay with talking, but with the gun he used to have on him in case Nicky’s people got violent missing, he conveys this to Amory, who finds himself questioning if it is worth saving Keith. Yes, he is family, but he is increasingly becoming a nuisance.

Luckily, when it comes to the gun, he and Regan talk and realize it was Will who took it, and thankfully, Will doesn’t lie but confesses he did take the gun but says he only shot a bird. That and sent that letter. So, with that, Will is no longer a suspect, the gun is found and immediately thrown into the river.

But, to add a few more details, Regan and Keith, while still on the path to divorce, she does allow him to sleep in the same bed with her, platonically, the night before Will’s confession. So be it loneliness or maybe missing him, there seems to be something left for Keith to latch onto. However, that hook erodes further with each new development in Sam’s case.

I Don’t Get My Hands Dirty, You Know That – Amory, William, Nicky, Sol, Bruno, DT, Bruno, Detective McFadden, Detective Parsa

With much bravado, William decides to go to his family’s building, confront Amory, and make it clear he is onto him. As this happens, Nicky is protesting gentrification outside to cause some headache for Amory. Unfortunately for William, revealing his hand so soon and disdain for Amory, paired with Nicky desperate for Amory’s attention, means his doom.

Despite Detective McFadden and Parsa being in the lobby, neither can do anything. Sol manhandles McFadden and makes it so she can’t help William and Parsa? He spots Charlie, who is able to get away. Which leaves William ultimately being killed by Sol, thrown off what assumingly is the Staten Island Ferry, and all of his evidence? DT, the quiet, Black member of Nicky’s group, destroys all the evidence by fire. Also, while destroying the evidence, he kills Bruno by hitting him with a hard piece of wood or by having him die in the fire.

Review

Highlights

The Death of William

William’s death allows you to understand a few things: One, Sol is capable of killing people with his bare hands, that Nicky isn’t above having someone killed to save what he is working for or his livelihood and Amory isn’t against giving a kill order. This combination puts them all as possibilities for Sam’s murder, especially as it becomes clear that Amory hired Nicky to destroy places so that the Hamilton-Sweeney group could buy the property or land and build luxury homes on that plot, specifically in the Bronx area.

Answers To Some Questions

From learning Will didn’t murder Sam, what happened to her camera, and maybe that Amory is part of the cause of William leaving his family behind, we got quite a few answers to many questions. Now, are we much closer to learning if Amory screwed over Bill or who killed Sam? Not really. We are going through the process of elimination, and all signs point to Amory being involved, but we also thought Will was the killer. So, it could be that the most obvious person isn’t who we should be looking it.

So, with that in mind, maybe Sewer Girl killed Sam?

Previous Episode: Episode 4	More From The Series
Next Episode: Season 1/ Episode 6 “Annus Horribilis”

Asked & Answered

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