Parish episode 2 is out now, and here is a complete recap of the exciting new installment in the AMC series, breaking down that major character death from the end of the episode as well as eight other major reveals. Parish has been an exciting ride so far, with the first two episodes setting the stage for a complicated situation that Giancarlo Esposito’s Gray Parish will have to find a way out of. Parish episode 2 ended with a bang, with this massive twist raising the stakes of the series and potentially throwing the world of Parish into chaos.
AMC has released an all-new crime thriller called Parish, with the series hoping to join the ranks of other beloved AMC series like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Mad Men, and The Walking Dead. The series follows Giancarlo Esposito’s Gracián “Gray” Parish, a retired criminal driver who rejoins the world of New Orleans gangs after running into some financial troubles at home. However, Gray soon realizes that he has gotten in far too deep, with Parish episode 2 chronicling the start of Gray’s attempts to leave the Zimbabwean gang and return to his life as a family man.
Much like episode 1, Parish episode 2 starts out with a flashback as well, establishing a potential trend for the AMC series. Parish episode 1’s opening was actually a flash forward to a car chase that occurred later in the episode, and while this was a lot of fun and an exciting way to kick off the show, Parish episode 2’s opening flashback is much darker. As it turns out, the opening scene of episode 2 gives viewers a first look at the death of Gray’s son.
The opening scene of Parish episode 2 sees several police cars and ambulances surrounding an undetermined crime scene late at night. Soon, Gray Parish arrives, with him frantically making his way through the crowd before erupting into tears upon seeing the scene. Although the series doesn’t explicitly say that this is the death of Gray’s son, it seems pretty clear due to context clues, with this storyline most likely being built off of in future episodes of Parish.
After the tragic opening flashback scene, Parish returns to the present timeline. Parish episode 2 picks up right where Parish episode 1 ended, with Gray and Colin finding themselves in Gray’s garage. At the end of Parish episode 1, the Zimbabwean gang murders a man who was supposed to break into a safe, although he ended up throwing the entire heist off schedule. Because of this, the man is killed right in front of Gray, with this setup being played off of in episode 2.
At the beginning of episode 2, Gray and Colin find themselves tasked with getting rid of the body, a stressful job that causes the two of them to butt heads. They first decide to wash the blood off of the floor and burn any evidence. The duo is almost caught when a customer of Gray’s walks in, although they evade the onlooker’s suspicions and continue cleaning up the mess.
Zenzo is one of the siblings that run the mob that Gray has found himself involved in, and as Parish episode 2 reveals, there is beginning to be trouble in the upper rankings of the organized crime ring. One scene shows Zenzo talking to his two siblings, with the two of them explaining their dissatisfaction with Zenzo’s work and threatening to get rid of him.
Although not much comes from this conflict between Zenzo and the other heads of the gang in Parish episode 2, this will most likely play a bigger role in future episodes. Setting up a power struggle between Zenzo and his siblings could create an interesting dynamic that throws the antagonists of the series into chaos, with Zenzo potentially spending Parish looking for a way to gain more power within the gang.
When Gray first decided to do a job for the Zimbabwean gang in Parish episode 1, he intentionally didn’t want to know much about their operation. Gray simply wanted to do the job, get paid, and leave, although things didn’t go according to plan. Gray ended up learning that the heist was meant to steal several passports, causing him to question his involvement and leading to speculation that The Horse was operating in human trafficking.
As it turns out, this is officially the case. Skeet Ulrich’s Parish character confirms this to Gray as they are driving after having cleaned up Gray’s garage, explaining that the gang makes its money from trafficking humans. This is definitely a dark turn for the series, one that will most likely be explored more in future episodes of the series.
One of the biggest points of tension in Parish episode 2 has to do with the body of the dead key man, with Gray spending much of the episode attempting to get rid of it. Gray first takes the body back to his house in the trunk of his car, unsure of what to do with it. Gray first puts the body in a freezer in his garage, covering the lid with a heavy sandbag so that his family won’t find the body.
After storing the body at his house for a bit, Gray and Colin take the body to a swamp that seems to be near some sort of abandoned amusement park. The duo dumps the body but becomes stuck in the mud. Unable to get help due to the nearby dead body, Gray and Colin get creative, allowing them to escape the swamp without the corpse.
Not much has yet been revealed about Gray and Colin’s past, but hints are finally starting to be given in Parish episode 2. It is known that the two Parish main characters used to work together when they were leading criminal lifestyles, although Parish seemingly hadn’t talked to him for a while upon leaving his life of crime. It was clear that the duo had a falling out, and details about the dissolution of their partnership are finally starting to be given.
As the two get into an argument while dumping the dead body, the name “Cleveland” gets brought up. Although nothing has been confirmed, it seems that they are referring to a person rather than the city, with it seeming like one of them messed up a hit. More information about the Cleveland case will surely get brought up soon, further shedding light on Gray and Colin’s past.
Gray seriously showed off his skills as a criminal driver in Parish episode 1, but this may have backfired for him. After taking care of the botched heist, the gang asks Gray if he would continue driving for them, as they are in need of someone with his set of skills. Although Gray attempts to decline the offer, the gang won’t take no for an answer, causing Gray to stay on as their driver.
This means that Gray has become stuck, with him most likely spending the next few episodes attempting to get out of the criminal underworld of Parish‘s New Orleans location. However, Gray is now fully embroiled in the world of The Horse’s gang, and the onset of what seems like a gang war at the end of the episode means that it will be even harder to escape.
Parish’s first job as an official member of the gang is to drive Zenzo’s brother and his brother’s son around, with this seeming like an easy task. However, Gray soon notices that several suspicious vehicles are following him, and his suspicions are right. Soon, several unknown masked gunmen hop out of the cars and open fire on Gray’s vehicle, endangering everyone.
Through some quick thinking, Gray is able to get the car out of the line of fire, crashing the car into the vehicle of the assailants before driving off. However, the vehicle did take serious damage, with Gray and the other two abandoning the vehicle. However, this doesn’t end well for one of the characters involved in the fight. This exciting action scene is pretty tense, with it marking a big change in the story of Parish.
The end of Parish episode 2 ends with a shocking moment, as the gunmen are successful in their mission. Zenzo’s brother attempts to hold off the masked gunmen, trying to give Gray a chance to escape with his son. Gray and the child run off and take cover as Zenzo’s brother pulls out a gun and tries to fire back, although this only works for so long.
As Zenzo’s brother is running back to Gray and the child, he is hit by the masked gunmen and falls down. Although it is possible that he could have lived through the shot, the episode treats it as if it is this character’s final moment. The visual of this man dying right in front of his son is a dark one, with it setting up some big changes in the criminal underworld of Parish.