Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Parish season 1, episode 4!
Parish episode 4 is now here, and here is a complete recap of the episode’s 10 biggest reveals, including what Anton’s plan for Gray actually is. While Anton has been set up as the big bad of Parish, with him briefly appearing in episode 3, he has now had his first big role in Parish episode 4, with him shaking up the stories of Gray, the Horse, and the other characters in Parish. Because of this, Gray has to deal with several new complications in his bid to get out of the gang, something he does in Parish episode 4.
AMC’s new crime drama Parish is finally here, with the first four episodes of Giancarlo Esposito’s all-new highly anticipated series now released. Parish is hoping to follow in the footsteps of other belvoed AMC series like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and Better Call Saul, with Giancarlo Esposito returning to the network in order to headline the cast of Parish. Parish follow Gray Parish, a retired criminal driver who again becomes entangled in his life of crime, with him only wishing to escape the gangs of New Orleans and protect his family.
Like some of Parish‘s other episodes, Parish episode 4 again opens with a flashback, this time showing what Gray was up to seven years ago. In the flashback, Gray is still working as a driver, with him being tasked with picking up an unknown customer who is using an alias that references the song “Johnny B. Goode.” However, Gray quickly realizes that he is actually picking up Anton, the villainous gang leader who revealed that he had a history with Gray in a previous episode.
Anton gets in Gray’s car and begins asking him if he will ever return to his life of crime, to which Gray says no. Gray explains that his commitment to his family will keep him out of returning to his past life, but he promises that Anton will be the first to know if he ever decides to change his mind.
After the flashback, episode 4 returns to the present as it prepared to pay off the tense ending of Parish episode 3. Anton explains that he is upset that Gray rejoined the criminal underworld of New Orleans without telling him, calling back to their conversation seven years ago.
Anton explains that he has a plan for Gray, with him revealing that he wants Gray to kill The Horse. Anton says that he knows that Gray has been working for The Horse, and due to thier rivalry, Anton wants The Horse dead. Thus, Anton plans on having Gray get close to The Horse and kill him. If Gray refuses, Anton’s men will kill his family, with them continuing to hold Rose and Mak hostage until Gray finishes the job, with this being the main conflict of Parish episode 4.
Parish episode 2 established that there is a mole operating withing The Horse’s gang, with them believing that this is how Anton’s gang is getting information about their plans. However, nobody knows who the mole is. Several key figures have become suspects in episode 4, but the three siblings can’t agree on who it actually is.
Zenzo loudly proclaims that Gray himself is the mole, with him explaining that this is how Anton knew to attack Gray’s car at the graveyard. Shamiso isn’t sure about this, while The Horse believes that one of his siblings may be the traitor, with Gray backing up this idea. Gray explains that Zenzo and Shamiso would both benefit from The Horse being gone, hoping to throw suspicion off of himself. This leads to a fight between the siblings, one that doesn’t get resolved.
After the fight between The Horse and his siblings, Zenzo and Shamiso leave the room, giving Gray the opportunity to take a shot at The Horse. Although Gray didn’t bring in a gun, he does have a wire that he can strangle The Horse with, with him pulling the wire out and preparing to kill him. The tense sequence builds up as Gray readies the weapon, although he doesn’t end up killing him.
Gray and The Horse are interrupted before Gray is able to get the wire around The Horse’s throat, missing his best opportunity to kill The Horse. Gray knows that he will have to take another try at a later point, with this interruption simply pulling off the inevitable. Gray would’ve been caught here had he tried to kill The Horse, which is why it is a good thing that he hesitated.
When Gray’s attempt to kill The Horse is interrupted, it is for good reason, as the gang has made some progress in figuring out who the mole is. It is revealed that Anton’s goon who attempted to kill The Horse in episode 3 is being held hostage, with the gang interrogating and torturing him. The hostage breaks, with him giving them information on who the mole in their organization is.
Not much information is given on who this person actually is, with it just being known that he was sent to finish the job after the failed assassination of The Horse in Parish episode 2. Gray is the one who was able to knock the hostage out in the previous episode, although it isn’t known how long he has been held hostage or what torture he has had to put up with at the hands of the gang so far.
As it turns out, the mole in the gang is Skeet Ulrich’s Parish character, Colin. Some characters, including Gray, had already questioned if Colin could have been the mole, although their investigations have been inconclusive so far. However, the hostage claims that Colin has been feeding Anton’s gang information for a while, although Colin attempts to deny this, putting him in a tough situation at the end of Parish episode 4.
Colin has been a pretty mysterious character since the very beginning of Parish, with his motivations and true backstory being kept tightly under wraps. Gray doesn’t believe that Colin is the mole at first, although it is hard to say if Colin actually is, as the episode doesn’t provide a definitive answer. The hostage doens’t have any reason to lie, although it is possible that there are other explanations.
After getting the information that he needs, The Horse makes a pretty drastic move, with him slitting the throat of Anton’s gang member. This is a move that shocks Colin and Gray, with it being remniscent of the big death at the end of Parish episode 1. This move was an attempt to get Colin to admit to being the mole, with him being worried that he may face the same fate.
However, this doesn’t end up happening, as the tides are turned in a big way. The moment is interrupted by Gray getting a phone call from his wife, with this distracting The Horse and potentially putting Gray in a much worse situation. However, Colin manages to live through the encounter, with The Horse’s killing of Anton’s man sure to have consequences on the future of the Parish TV show.
Gray’s encounter with The Horse is intercut with Rose and Mak being trapped back at the Parish house, with them being held hostage by two of Anton’s men. While they are alone with him, Mak makes a break for it, causing Anton’s man to chase after her. This gives Rose the chance to grab a weapon and beat the man to death, giving them a chance to escape.
Anton’s other goon shortly comes back inside after getting off the phone, only for him to find the dead body. However, Rose and Mak somehow deal with him offscreen, with Gray finding his wife and child safe when he returns home near the end of the episode. Rose and Mak are now fully in the loop on Gray’s life of crime, with it leading to them having to make some drastic decisions.
Back with Gray, The Horse, and Colin, the phone call from Rose causes tensions to be high, with it revealing to The Horse that Gray is working for Anton. Gray manages to get The Horse’s knife and threatens him with it, with Gray then explaining the situation to The Horse. Although he is upset, Gray has the upper hand, allowing him and Colin to get away unscathed. This surprisingly went well for the duo, although Gray still has the problem of Anton to deal with.