- Title: Perception – Prologue
- wiki: link
The discovery of the body of Special Agent Anne-Marie Bishop (Jessica Collins) brings Daniel Pierce (Eric McCormack) full circle to the last case he worked for the FBI before being pulled back into the fold by Kate‘s (Rachael Leigh Cook) return in Season One. Flashbacks showcase Daniel’s theory about a serial killer targeting those with mental illnesses and killing them with heroin which quickly spun out of control leading to full-on paranoia eventually causing Haley (LeVar Burton) to have his friend committed for six months.
Although Pierce at first refuses to help Kate on the case, realizing just what a minefield he may be stumbling into, his curiosity and feelings of responsibility lead to the professor volunteering his services to the FBI. Along with offering a look back to Pierce’s time in a mental institution, and his off-and-on therapist Dr. Rosenthal (Robert Curtis Brown), “Prologue” also gives us the first ever meeting between Pierce and Lewicki (Arjay Smith) and how the former hospital intern came to work at the university as the assistant to one Dr. Daniel Pierce.
When the killer publicly dumps his latest victim (Lisa Brenner) to flee a police chase Pierce and Kate get their first break. Based on her description of the man and the reasons he told her for his actions, which make for a compelling motive, Kate brings in a suspect (Chad Donella) whose guilt Daniel can’t quite accept. And, despite how nuts his theory sounds, Pierce knows exactly who is responsible, and with the help of Kate he creates the perfect situation for the man to prove his guilt and end a case which has been haunting him for years.
The unusual killings and the reveal of the real murderer (which was a little too obvious) are interesting, but the highlights of the episode are the flashbacks to Lewicki and Pierce. “Prologue” also introduces a possible new stumbling block for Kate’s impending wedding by foreshadowing the possible return of Donnie’s (Scott Wolf) womanizing ways when he’s propositioned by an old flame (Brooke Nevin).
