‘Alaska Daily’ Episode 5 Recap: Eileen Confronts Her Greatest Enemy in ‘I Have No Idea What You’re Talking About, Eileen’
After a brief interlude from Gloria Nanmac’s case in Alaska Daily Episode 4 on ABC, Eileen Fitzgerald and Roz Friendly returned to business in episode 5. The two tracked down a lead who was originally a person of interest in Gloria’s murder two years ago. But were they met with more questions than answers? Plus, someone from Eileen’s past showed up in Alaska. Read on for our recap of “I Have No Idea What You’re Talking About, Eileen.”
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Alaska Daily Season 1 Episode 5, “I Have No Idea What You’re Talking About, Eileen.”]
Eileen and Roz track down Ezra Fisher in ‘Alaska Daily’ Episode 5
At the end of Alaska Daily Episode 4, the former Meade police chief, Orin Connors, delivered the unredacted version of Gloria’s case file to Eileen and Roz. And it listed two persons of interest — Ezra Fisher and Rega Horne. In the opening moments of Alaska Daily Episode 5, Eileen and Roz have found nothing on Ezra or Rega.
While they continue to dig deeper into the two men, Eileen learns the Secretary of Defense, Green, is giving a speech at the Air Force base in Alaska.
Eileen walks into Stanley Cornik’s office to learn that he has given Austin Teague and Yuna Park the story on Green. And as a shock to no one, she gets upset and tries to convince Stanley to let her write the piece. Eileen’s abrasive nature doesn’t affect Stanley, but she gets under Austin’s skin when she suggests he just wants to sleep with Yuna.
Stanley admits that Eileen’s panic attacks and history with Green persuaded him not to give her the story. Plus, he “doesn’t want Eileen to become the story.”
Meanwhile, Roz finds out that Ezra is in Anchorage and has domestic violence charges. They go to the courthouse to meet with the prosecutor, Adam Barnett. Adam seems passionate about getting justice for victims and openly admits that the system often fails Native women.
Adam is representing Ezra’s ex-girlfriend Taylor, who is charging him with domestic assault. The prosecutor describes Ezra as “violent, unpredictable, and a charmer.” Adam can’t say whether or not Ezra could have killed Gloria, but Ezra being a suspect is not shocking to him. Adam then gives Eileen and Roz Ezra’s place of work.
Elsewhere in Alaska Daily Episode 5, Claire Muncy brings her son’s class ferret — Harry Potter — to work and loses him. When they can’t find him, she and Bob Young have a heart-to-heart chat where he reveals that his wife, Colleen is sick. Bob later finds the ferret in his office.
Does Roz make headway in Gloria’s case?
After leaving the courthouse, Eileen and Roz meet with Taylor in Alaska Daily Episode 5. She tells them about Ezra’s physical abuse and reveals that they have a son together.
The next day, Eileen bribes Roz with coffee to drop her off at the Air Force base while Roz speaks with Ezra alone. And somehow, it works. Their bizarre relationship is undoubtedly one of the best in the show. The writers knew what they were doing when they paired them up.
Roz finds Ezra at work and questions him about Gloria. She discovers that he was at Skeeter’s party the night she went missing, and Gloria was there looking for oxycodone for frostbite pain. She left when she couldn’t find any. However, Ezra claims that he left the party before Gloria did. But when Roz’s questions get more intense, Ezra shifts the attention to Adam and drops the bomb that he’s sleeping with Taylor.
Roz looks into Adam’s other cases, and his clients deny they had a sexual relationship with the prosecutor. However, one woman, Liza Peters, comes forward and reveals that she slept with Adam. And Liza knows she was not the only one of his clients to do so.
Roz revisits Taylor to ask about her relationship with Adam. She gets defensive but also corroborates Ezra’s story about the night Gloria died. Plus, their son provides an alibi for Ezra. And Taylor believes that he didn’t kill Gloria.
Afterward, Roz confronts Adam and says she will write a story about him. It’ll state that he “preys on the victims in his cases. Re-victimizing them by trapping them in a relationship with him.”
The Secretary of Defense returns in ‘Alaska Daily Episode 5’ — but does he have an ulterior motive?
Austin meets with an airman, who tells him that the “vibes” on the Air Force base have been off for the past week. He also relays that Secretary Green’s communications director wants to ensure that Eileen is not at the press conference.
At the base on the day of the conference, Yuna runs into Mr. and Mrs. Choi, a couple who worked with her mother. Their son Greg is a fighter pilot, and they haven’t heard from him in a week. When Eileen arrives, Austin and Yuna fill her in on the concerning information.
During the press conference, Secretary Green claims that he’s in Alaska only to commend the Alaskan Air Force. Eileen questions him about Greg’s disappearance, and Green has no comment. After the conference, the secretary requests to meet with Eileen in his car. Green thanks Eileen for all of the publicity she’s given him. He cockingly claims that her upcoming book will put him in the White House. And Green condemns The Daily Alaskan for good measure.
Back at the office, Stanley makes it clear that Eileen will not go against his orders in the future. However, Aaron Pritchard seems to be on Eileen’s side, and we definitely clocked a hint of chemistry between them. Does Eileen have a new love interest?
The news reports that the Russian Embassy navy found a crashed American F41 jet in their waters. And they found the body of an American pilot, assumingly Greg. So Secretary Green was in Alaska to negotiate with the Russians to get the plane and Greg back.
Yuna meets with Greg’s parents, and they tell her that Greg was scared of flying the F41 because its oxygen system had problems. And he relayed that information in an email to a commanding officer. The Daily Alaskan runs with the story and exposes the Pentagon.
The end of Alaska Daily Episode 4 answers our previous question about the sexual tension between Eileen and Aaron when he shows up at her hotel room and kisses her. However, they both agree it can’t happen again. Bring on the scandal!
Alaska Daily airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
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