Nocturne Episode 2, “For Such a Time as This,” gives Jonah a new connection to investigate when Michael Frost remembers someone named Becky. As Jonah looks into the people Jurek Walter has befriended over the years, Saga Bauer proposes a much riskier way to get answers: entering Riverside Psychiatric Hospital undercover.
Nocturne Episode 2 Recap: What Happened Three Years Ago?
The episode returns to three years earlier, when Jurek Walter is still a suspect, not a patient, at Riverside.
Jonah and his partner, Sam, question him about Michael and Felicia Frost, who have recently disappeared. They suspect Jurek is responsible, but they cannot get the information they need from him.
Instead, Jurek manages to provoke Sam during the interview. Sam loses control and tries to attack him before Jonah pulls his partner away.
Back in the present, Jonah tries to learn what he can from Michael after his return. The boy remembers very little and still has a long recovery ahead of him, but he gives Jonah one potentially important piece of information. He mentions someone named Becky and appears to indicate that she was there with them. Jonah knows the name. Becky is Sam’s missing wife.
Before her disappearance, there had been suspicions that Becky might be working with Jurek. Michael mentioning her now gives Jonah another reason to investigate that possibility, although what Becky was doing and what connection she actually has to Jurek remain unclear.
The information also brings the investigation closer to Saga’s family because Sam is her father. Saga still wants to be involved in the case, and she soon comes up with her own way of getting closer to Jurek.
Jonah Investigates Jurek’s Connections Outside Riverside
Riverside officials know that someone has been helping Jurek send messages outside the facility and begin looking for the person responsible.
Jonah approaches the problem from another direction. He speaks with former Riverside employees and learns more about the relationships Jurek builds with people around him.
Jurek has a history of getting people comfortable enough to share personal information with him. He then learns how to read them and influence what they do. One former employee stands out: Sally Gifford, who is now missing.
Jonah goes to Sally’s house and enters the property. He finds the home in disarray, and Sally and her family are gone. Their whereabouts are unknown.
At Riverside, Karl has his own reason to worry about the investigation. He has been secretly passing Jurek’s messages, and the increased scrutiny could expose him. Karl tells Jurek that he cannot deliver any more messages.
Jurek tells him that they are still friends, but he soon finds another way to move suspicion away from Karl.
Jurek Frames Gary to Protect Karl
During dinner, Jurek deliberately creates a piece of food too large to swallow and begins choking.
Staff sees what is happening through the camera. Karl and Gary rush into the cell and manage to dislodge the food.
The choking incident has also given Jurek the opportunity he wanted. During the commotion, he slips a note into Gary’s pocket.
When staff is searched at the end of the day, the note is discovered on Gary. He protests that he has done nothing wrong, but the evidence makes it appear that he is the person helping Jurek communicate with the outside. Gary is suspended.
Karl knows what really happened. Jurek planted the note on Gary, shifting attention away from Karl after Karl said he could no longer risk passing messages.
Jurek may be confined to Riverside, but the investigation into his communications has not stopped him from manipulating the people around him.
Why Does Saga Go Undercover at Riverside?
Saga believes her undercover experience could give the investigation access to Jurek in a way that conventional questioning has not.
She proposes entering Riverside as a patient.
Agent Quinn is interested in the idea, although she has questions about whether Saga is the right person for such a dangerous assignment. With the investigation moving quickly, Quinn ultimately agrees to the operation. Jonah is more reluctant.
He knows what Jurek is capable of and is concerned about Saga entering Riverside alone. Saga asks him to help prepare her instead, and Jonah agrees to join the team.
Jonah, Quinn, and Nathan keep the operation within a small circle while they prepare Saga for her cover. Once she is ready, Saga enters Riverside posing as a patient and goes through the intake process.
She is now inside the same psychiatric hospital as Jurek Walter.
