City on Fire Episodes 1, 2 & 3 Recap & Ending Explained: Created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ‘City on Fire’ is a new crime drama series based on the eponymous novel by Garth Risk Hallberg. The show just premiered its first three episodes on Apple TV+. The narrative follows the shooting of a teenager – Samantha Young, that opens Pandora’s box of secrets hidden in the city’s underbelly. The seemingly normal lives of its residents are put on the spot during the investigation of this shocking incident.
The limited series follows intersecting storylines and consists of eight episodes in total. It stars Chase Sui Wonders, Wyatt Oleff, Jemima Kirke, Nico Tortorella, Ashley Zukerman, Xavier Clyde, Omid Abtahi, and John Cameron Mitchell, among others.
Spoilers ahead.
City on Fire Episodes 1, 2 & 3 Recap:
Episode 1: We have met the Enemy, and He Is Us
The narrative begins with a snippet from an incident on the 4th of July 2003 when Mercer Goodman (Xavier Clyde) brings police officers to the body of Samantha (Chase Sui Wonders) in Central Park, New York City, who was shot in the head. Charlie (Wyatt Oleff), who was standing nearby, runs away before the feds could notice him. A few weeks before, we see him speaking with his therapist about her.
Samantha was just a year senior to him. She had graduated and started studying at NYU. She met him at the music records store where he worked. He quickly got smitten by her. They started talking about their lives, and he told her that his dad died in the 9/11 attack. She shared a zine that included her works, photographs, etc. They become a thing in no time and start hanging out together almost always.
Soon after, Samantha invites him to the performance of a local band called Ex Post Facto, even if he wasn’t going to have their star member – Billy Three-Sticks. Right after the call, the band members – Sewer Girl (Alexandra Doke), Sol (Alexander Pineiro), and Nicky Chaos (Max Milner), run out from a building that they just lit a fire at.
On the other hand, we see Mercer at a church. Regan Hamilton-Sweeney Lamplighter (Jemima Kirke), her husband Keith (Ashley Zukerman), and their children – Will (Chaise Torio) and Cate (Evangeline Decker), attend the same church. Mercer notices Regan and gets in touch with her. He says that he wants to talk about her estranged brother, William (Nico Tortorella). Since she has to leave in a hurry, she promises to speak later.
Back at home, while going through the envelopes, Regan finds a note that says that Keith is lying to her. She backtracks on Keith’s recent behavior and confronts him about cheating with an underage girl. Sometime later, Regan meets Mercer to talk about William. Mercer says that William is his good friend. He only recently learned that William had a sister. Upon hearing that, she gets a bit emotional and gives him an invitation card for William, inviting him to an Independence Day event of her family.
Mercer meets William at their messy apartment filled with works of art. We learn that he is not just Mercer’s good friend but his partner. Mercer is upset at William for not being transparent about his past and his family. William says Mercer isn’t truthful either with his parents about his sexuality. Anyhow, he does not agree to go to the event his sister invited him to.
Regan and Keith start living separately quickly after their agreement. It seems like they were arguing about his affair for a while, and she finally decided to get separated. Nevertheless, she expects him to be present at the event since her dad does not know about their divorce plans yet. She hopes to speak about it that night. Regan’s precocious son, Will, does not want Regan to get back with Keith. It becomes clear that he does not like his father.
Sol meets William to invite him to the next performance of their band, now named – Ex Nihilo. We learn that William is Billy Three-Sticks. Meanwhile, Samantha calls Keith expecting him to meet at night in person. He says that he can’t come since he needs to attend Regan’s dad’s event. He wants her to cut contact with him and accuses her of sending the note to his house. We learn that Samantha was the college student Keith had an affair with. While he refuses to meet, she worries about something terrible that is about to happen.
William decides to attend his old band’s performance. As a result, Mercer decides to go to Regan’s event. Meanwhile, Samantha takes Charlie to the band’s performance venue but leaves him by promising to return within an hour. Keith reaches his father-in-law’s event by car and notices Samantha standing on the opposite side of the road. So, he tells his driver to keep driving.
Mercer gets down from a bus, right next to Samantha. After a small talk with him, she sits on a bench, and he walks into the event with a white linen suit he borrowed from William. He finally meets Regan and tells her how the guests kept assuming he was a waiter, alluding to their racist mindset. While he is anxious as usual, she is upset that William did not come despite the invite.
On the other hand, Sewer Girl joins Charlie during the performance, and they thoroughly enjoy it. She takes him to the backroom to have a word with Nicky Chaos. They did not know that he knew Sam from before. Sol is particularly salty toward Charlie. So, Charlie thinks he should leave. Nicky takes him to another room and invites him to snort some coke. William walks in for a reunion with his old pal, Nicky. Once they both snort the coke, Charlie does too.
Regan and Mercer go to the balcony and talk about William while smoking some pot. At the time, Samantha was walking in the woods behind her bench. Regan and Mercer hear some gunshots, but Regan dismisses them, thinking they are just some fireworks. She takes Mercer back to the event to meet with her uncle Amory Gould (John Cameron Mitchell). He insults Mercer’s optimistic pursuit and makes him feel demotivated.
While Regan gets angry about Amory’s unnecessary snobbiness, Amory gives her another reason to be enraged. He shares that her father is going to get arrested the moment he lands in the city for financial fraud. He expects her to set the tone for his company. However, she blanks out owing to her drug-infused state.
Meanwhile, Mercer walks outside due to the humiliation and stands at the bus stop waiting for a bus. That’s when he hears a strange squeaking sound. He walks toward it to find Samantha lying in a pool of blood. He calls 911 to get help. Then, he covers her body with William’s coat.
Charlie happens to reach there just then and sees Samantha with a coat on her body. He pees his pants and suddenly decides to take them out and throw them away while running back to his house. Detective Al Parsa (Omid Abtahi) reaches the site to speak with Mercer. Since his coat was on the body, they took him to the station as a suspect.
Episode 2: Scenes from Private Life
The episode begins with flashbacks from Charlie and Samantha’s relationship. They meet at her dad’s house and go to the city for the 2002 New Year’s Eve celebrations. She talks about her dad, who just got fired from his job and hasn’t been doing that well since her mother left. Anyhow, Sam is high on mushrooms and, under its influence, walks through the city.
Upon her request, Charlie brings Samantha to her band’s party and helps her undress so that she can take a shower. Once she rests down on his lap, he kisses her. He says he is in love with her assuming she is asleep. She hears it, and a tear drops down from her eyes.
On the 4th of July, Samantha is taken to the hospital and starts getting treated. Charlie goes to a church and prays for Samantha’s betterment. Keith returns to his apartment and looks incredibly anxious. Mercer also gets taken to the station for further inquiry.
Detective Al starts interrogating Mercer about the suit coat on Samantha’s dead body since it has some heroin in its pocket. Mercer says that the coat is his roommate’s, and he wasn’t aware that William was still an addict. Upon being given a moment of respite, Mercer also prays for Sam’s well-being. Detective Al lets him go while noting that he will still be considered a person of interest.
Detective Patricia (Kathleen Munroe) heads to the hospital to meet Sam’s father, Joe (Michael Tow), sitting next to her bed. She learns that Sam was a good student who went to NYU on a scholarship – also that she was a photographer, and artist, who was into the downtown club scene. But she understands that her father has issues with his business of fireworks, which isn’t doing well.
Meanwhile, distressed by the talks about her father’s arrest, Regan calls his associate. The man hangs up on her without letting her speak with her father. So, she begrudgingly calls Keith to get him to take care of their children until she gets the matter resolved. She shares that her father will be needed to go on trial straight from the clinic due to a federal crime of wire fraud allegation.
Mercer returns home and tells William that he was arrested for the charge of attempted murder, mostly because of racism. He confronts William about the heroin and gets angry for still being an addict. He believes it is William disrespecting his word that he was quitting heroin for good.
William says he feels cheated since Mercer went to his father’s party behind his back. He has a thing against the riches and people working only toward it. William also gaslights Mercer for not realizing his addiction earlier and diverts to another topic. He leaves after hurting Mercer’s face. Then, he returns to the room to apologize to Mercer, who started crying by then.
Regan goes with her kids to the park. Her daughter notices a blue-colored bird, dead, lying on the ground. Regan notices that the bird has been shot. It seems to be related to the shooting that happened when she was smoking pot on the balcony with Mercer. A kid now tells her that the bird is a great blue turaco, which possibly escaped a zoo. Anyhow, she picks it up with a newspaper and throws it in the dustbin.
William goes home and takes a shower. But Sam’s memories still haunt him. After reading news related to the park shooting, he heads out on his bike. Meanwhile, Detective Al and Detective Patricia go to Sam’s college dorm room to speak with someone that knew Sam. They meet her roommate to learn that she last saw Sam two weeks ago. She shares that Sam used to frequently go to music shows of a band with a Latin name.
Bill Sr arrives in the city where the FBI officers await them along with his family members. The moment the helicopter lands, he gets arrested. Before Regan could properly greet him, the officers take him away. Amory seems incredibly calm despite the arrest, which angers Regan. Meanwhile, in the park, the officers search the parameters for any clues. They find a gun, but it couldn’t have been used since it looks incredibly old.
Later at night, Detective Al notices Charlie’s jeans lying on the side. He looks through its pockets and finds a folded-up poster of the Ex Nihilo band’s gig. It becomes another clue in their investigation. On the other hand, Charlie walks in on the band members while they are secretly experimenting with fire. Sol notices Charlie seeing it and beats him to the ground.
Episode 3: The Family Business
Detective Al meets the bouncer at the band’s gig. He recalls Sam coming to the event with a guy. She left but told the guy to go in. The bouncer shares Charlie’s description. Detective Al then meets Sam’s father to get more insights into Sam’s life before. Joe talks about Sam’s love of music and shows a record that was her favorite. He also shows a zine that Sam loved and always worked on. Detective Al takes both things as evidence.
Back in the Band’s crib, Charlie gains consciousness after Sol’s attack. He approaches Sewer Girl with a rod, thinking he has been kidnapped. Sol says he hit Charlie since he was creeping on them. Then, Charlie reveals that he came for help since Sam was shot dead in the park. It comes as a shock to them.
Charlie regrets not being there on time to save Samantha. Besides, his father’s death still haunts him. Nickie Chaos calms him down and says that he has come to the right place. Charlie gets vulnerable with the band members, and they try to pull them into their cult. Nicky expects Charlie to forgive himself instead of putting himself through the turmoil.
Mercer joins William to meet his gallerist, Bruno (Felix Solis), and Jenny (Levana Wang). The two boast about Bruno’s undeniable artistic talent. Mercer says that William spends almost all his time in his studio. Bruno asks to see his latest pieces, and William tries to prolong showing them.
However, since Bruno wants his work soon, William is left with no option but to take him to his studio. Upon reaching there, they notice William has worked on hardly anything. He seems to have spent his days getting high instead, which frustrates them both.
Regan meets Amory and Felicia to learn that her father is getting out of work. She isn’t on board with it, but Amory swears by it while feigning concern for Bill Sr’s health. Mercer meets her right outside. He tells her about William’s intervention and invites her to be a part of it. She seems apprehensive.
Meanwhile, Charlie chats with the Sewer girl and helps her out with some chores. She takes him to a site to move the band’s gear for them. She says everything in their band happens according to their idea. On the other hand, Detective Al manages to ID the guy with Sam that night to be Charlie.
Regan tells Keith about Mercer being considered a suspect since his coat was found on an NYU student’s body in the park. That’s when Amory calls Regan and asks her to attend a time-sensitive board meeting. She denies doing so and says she needs to attend to her brother William’s needs. Amory implies she needs to choose her father over William. She rejects working according to Amory’s demands.
After learning about Sam being shot, Keith starts to investigate the matter himself. He recalls meeting her for the first time by a chance encounter and revisits the places they used to go to. That’s when he stumbles upon Sam’s dorm room and meets her roommate. She shares nothing about Sam’s health but says that she was a freshman. Keith realizes she lied to him about her school year.
Regan joins Mercer and Bruno, among other friends, for William’s intervention. William arrives a little late and antagonizes his friends instead of taking the blame. He also attacks Regan since she ignored him for over 15 years. He thinks Bruno only wants him for money. Despite Mercer’s plea for him to stay, Mercer leaves the apartment.
City on Fire Episode 3 Ending Explained:
Who shot Samantha in Central Park?
After William’s unsuccessful intervention, Regan goes to the meeting at the office to learn that Amory has announced himself as the interim chair. Regan blames him for using her dad’s health condition so that he can steal his CEO position. She looks at their old family albums with Bill Sr and stumbles upon a picture including William in the background. She thinks his chapter needs to be forgotten.
Meanwhile, Charlie agrees to do anything for the band since Sam believes in what the band members believe in. They take him to an empty building to light it up on fire. He questions the reason as any sane person would. Nicky Chaos says that they are doing it as a way to demonstrate how the city should belong to the artists, musicians, and underprivileged people instead of the bad, wealthy people. Charlie gets terrified by their radical ideas. He still lights up the fire and remains frozen.
Meanwhile, the news shows Charlie as a suspect. His mother picks up the phone after seeing his face on television. She calls the feds to alert them about him. At the time, Detective Al and Detective Patricia were speaking to Sam’s roommate. She shares that a 40-something man came to meet her, not a curly-haired guy. (No relation to the recap, but just a remark -Detective Patricia’s put-on accent is incredibly annoying in these scenes! Whether it is the actor’s idea or the director’s, it feels quite inorganic).
Did Keith shoot Samantha in Central Park?
Keith invites Amory to meet in the park to talk about Sam’s accident. He does not want his secret affair to become public knowledge. He asks if Amory has anything to do with the crime. Amory denies it and says that what happened was because of Keith himself. While until now, Keith was being shown as the possible culprit, the needle has now moved to Amory. Does it have anything to do with the band’s messaging being against his capitalistic beliefs? Only future episodes can answer that.
![Asakusa Kid [2021] Review – Takeshi Kitano biopic works more as sum of individual parts](http://www.highonfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Asakusa-Kid-2-768x432.jpg)
