Little Guy, Black Hair

Little Guy, Black Hair
Series	Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Season	2
Episode no.	8
Overall no.	16
Name	Little Guy, Black Hair
Written by	Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner
Directed by	Wayne Yip
Originally broadcast	December 2, 2017
Previous	That Is Not Miami
Next	Trouble Is Bad

"Little Guy, Black Hair" is an episode of the series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, the eighth episode of season 2.

Synopsis

With evil forces converging, Dirk Gently must take charge to rescue the feuding Brotzman siblings from certain death. While in Bergsberg, Panto offers Bart a better life, as Farah and the police contend with the disappearance of Todd and Dirk.

Plot

In 1967, Hector Cardenas realizes his wife sold their farm to the Kellum Mining Corporation and they argue in the kitchen while Arnold Cardenas watches. She picks up the phone to call someone and Hector tries to stop her, a vase falling to the floor and shattering in the process. She grabs a pair of scissors and they struggle, his grip slipping and her arms falling forward, embedding the scissors in his skull and killing him. Stunned, she moves to leave and Arnold grabs her hand to stop her, and she turns around to see the boy she woke up from a nightmare holding Arnold's other hand. She apologizes and runs out as Arnold calls after her, while his brother goes to the kitchen and stares at his father's body. He passes out and the scissors sink into the floor, while Arnold watches in awe and horror as Marina's car starts to fly off into the sky with her in it. In the kitchen, the boy has collapsed, his father's body and the scissors gone.

Osmund Priest has locked down the Cardenas house with a team of Blackwing scientists, explaining to Hugo Friedkin that there is a pocket dimension inside the house. Friedkin clearly does not understand, so Priest has him give the radio to Ken Adams. He tells Ken that he believes Dirk Gently and Todd Brotzman escaped him through another portal in the house, though they have not figured out where it is, and that Farah Black got away from him but is likely still in town. Ken tells him to keep his eyes on the house and hangs up, and Friedkin, who has not read the files, is severely lost despite Ken's attempt to explain things to him. As Friedkin again begin to ramble, Ken interrupts, asking what he knows about "Project Lamia."

Farah returns to the police station to find Tina Tevetino holed up and paranoid following the incident at the hospital, Bart Curlish and Panto Trost having escaped, the internet down, and Sherlock Hobbs still missing. Tina wants to leave Bergsberg, but Farah insists Blackwing is active now and they will not be able to leave unnoticed. She informs her that Dirk and Todd likely went to Wendimoor, meaning they have to stop Suzie Boreton by separating her from her wand. Tina expresses worry about Hobbs, having only become a cop in the first place so she could hang out with him, and Farah insists that "we are the police now."

In Wendimoor, Dirk awakens under a tree to find the Beast staring at him. He flees from her, encountering the Kellum truck along the way, and escapes by hopping on the back of a unicorn-drawn cart.

Todd and Amanda Brotzman awaken chained up in a Dengdamor barn, Todd exasperated to find Amanda not talking to him, stating that finding her had been his top priority ever since she called him. She asks if really thought "finding me would somehow make everything fine" and insists that "we are still not okay," asking what he thought has changed between them. Todd tells her he has Pararibulitis, and his first attack was a sign to him that he couldn't give up trying to find her, no matter what. He was hoping that finding her and Dirk would "get normal life back," and Amanda laughs, stating that "your normal life is over." Their door unlocks, and Frija Dengdamor and Wygar Oak enter.

Ken has Friedkin meet him in the taxi, the only safe room in the facility. He explains that Project Lamia is a shapeshifter that takes on the characteristics and personality of whatever she becomes, going by Mona Wilder in her human form, having been a chair for six years when she was captured. He has Friedkin watch footage of the night Dirk disappeared, showing him his stress toy's eyes turning from blue to green, doing the same thing when Amanda and Vogel vanished. He tells Friedkin that he believes Mona is the doll and is somehow involved in their disappearances.

Suzie reads from the book and learns if she controls Wakti Wapnasi's pool, she controls Wendimoor, but cannot figure out how to work it. It initially shocks her when she puts her hand in it, but she gets an idea and instead uses her wand, causing the pool to glow with purple power.

The cart takes Dirk to a Dengdamor town, where he disguises himself as a Wendimoor citizen and blends in by helping the man driving the cart unload his goods, only to learn he is shipping giant scissor blades to execute the Brotzmans with.

Oak and Frija interrogate the siblings, unable to get any answers to the questions they have. Amanda tries to reason with Frija when she realizes she is Farson Dengdamor's mother, telling her that she knew Farson and that he was a good person who ran away because of the feud, only to be captured by the Kellum knights to distract the families from the oncoming invasion. She begs Frija to make peace with the Trosts so they can stop the army, but she cuts them off and storms out. Silas Dengdamor asks what happened and Frija ignores him and orders the Brotzmans executed, Dirk watching from the roof. Todd moves to take his medication but Amanda tries to stop him, wanting to teach Todd how to weaponize his attacks like her, but he has already taken his pills. Amanda goads him into hitting her to force an attack, leading to them reminiscing about a childhood memory of hitting each other until they stop, realizing forcing an attack won't work.

Dirk tries to break into the barn until he notices the Beast has followed him, and he flees from her.

Amanda asks why Todd's hair is darker, and he explains that Farah dyed it for him, her noting that Farah is out of his league when he reveals they are together. He sighs that he was worried about her, and Amanda states "you were my hero. How do I get my brother back?" Todd sighs "I'm sorry. I'm trying." Amanda points out that they are going to die in an hour, so he should try harder.

Farah and Tina break into the Boreton residence to find Suzie gone, the Scott-toad on the floor, and Bob motionless in front of the TV, still covered in thumbtacks and watching a looped program of Suzie taunting him. As Farah tries to figure out what is wrong with him, Tina realizes the TV is not plugged in. They remove the thumbtacks from Bob and move to leave until The Mage appears on the TV, addressing them directly. He reveals that Suzie has already gone to Wendimoor and orders Bob to kill them. He attacks them, almost strangling Tina and only stopping when Farah shoots the TV.

Dirk flees from the Beast into the woods, only to run right into the Rowdy 3. As they advance on him, the Beast catches up to him and he punches Martin in the confusion. He explains the Brotzmans' predicament and stops them from just rushing in, starting to develop a rescue plan. Martin punches Dirk back in retribution, but agrees to let him lead them while Todd and Amanda are led to the blades and flip off the crowd together.

Farah asks Bob where The Mage is, but he can only respond with small grunts. Tina sets up a method of communication: Bob will grunt for "yes," and stay silent for "no." They confirm that Suzie brainwashed him and she is not coming back from Wendimoor, as well as The Mage being still in their world. Tina asks what he is planning, begging for Bob's help, and with a great effort, he manages to utter "quarry."

As they await their deaths, Amanda admits that she is scared, and Todd agrees. Frija addresses the crowd and promises the end of the Trosts, only for the Beast and the Rowdy 3 to smash through the town gates in the Kellum truck and start attacking the guards. Frija moves to pull the lever that will kill the Brotzmans, only for the hooded executioner to stop her and reveal himself to be Dirk. He frees the siblings as he leaves her to be attacked by the Beast. Wanting to defend his family's honor, Silas engages Dirk in combat while Oak fights the Rowdy 3, who he easily takes on. Silas stops when he learns who he is fighting, and the Brotzmans rush him. They drag him into the truck while the Beast distracts Oak, and they all drive away as the Dengdamors give chase. Silas awakens in Wapnasi's village, and Dirk asks him how long the feud has been going on, learning that it has been three generations, "since the beginning of time." Todd realizes Dirk solved the case, and Dirk begins to explain.

In the 1950s, the Cardenases found a boy on the Bergsberg boat and adopted him as their son, only to find that he had a tremendous power: he could make his dreams reality when he slept. His ability attracted the attention of Blackwing, adding to the stress of his parents while they were already arguing about selling the farm. In 1967, it reached a boiling point when Marina killed Hector, the sight of his body sending the boy into a fit, putting his father in a tree and sending his mother into the sky. Horrified after the death of his parents, Arnold called Blackwing and betrayed his brother, who was so desperate not to be taken away that he tried to use his power while awake to create Wendimoor, working but putting him in a coma. Without their ruler, Wendimoor quickly fell into chaos, the feud between the Trosts and Dengdamors representing Hector and Marina's argument, and it will remain at war until the boy is returned. The boy is actually Project Moloch, comatose in Blackwing.

Amanda remembers that Wapnasi said she had someone in Blackwing she used to survey it, who Dirk realizes is Mona. Vogel points out that Amanda can get them into Blackwing, and Dirk excitedly points to Todd, who smiles and states that "everything is connected." The group begins to laugh with relief, only to be joined by Suzie, emerging from the pool room, having drained it of its power. She grins madly, agreeing that "everything is connected."

Farah and Tina arrive at the quarry, noticing The Mage taking something out of Hobbs' car. He appears behind them and burns them both with his wand, making them collapse. He stands over them and chuckles "we are going to have so much fun."

Behind the scenes

• The episode title comes from dialogue spoken by Vogel: "We're looking for the boss? Little guy with black hair.".

Cast

Starring

• Samuel Barnett as Dirk Gently
• Elijah Wood as Todd Brotzman
• Hannah Marks as Amanda Brotzman
• Jade Eshete as Farah Black
• Mpho Koaho as Ken Adams
• Michael Eklund as Martin
• Dustin Milligan as Hugo Friedkin
• Osric Chau as Vogel

Guest Starring

• Amanda Walsh as Suzie Boreton
• Izzie Steele as Tina Tevetino
• Karin Konoval as Frija Dengdamor
• Viv Leacock as Gripps
• Zak Santiago as Cross
• Lee Majdoub as Silas Dengdamor
• Aleks Paunovic as Wygar Oak
• Dylan Schombing as Cardenas boy
• with Alan Tudyk as Mr. Priest
• and John Hannah as The Mage

Co-Starring

Crew

• Directed by: Wayne Yip
• Written by: Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner

Notes

• Deaths: Hector Cardenas, Marina Cardenas.

External links

• "Little Guy, Black Hair" at BBC America
• "Little Guy, Black Hair" on IMDb