Ballard Episode 5 and 6 Recap: Underneath the Facade

Episodes 5 and 6 of Prime Video’s ‘Ballard,’ titled ‘What’s Done in the Dark’ and ‘Beneath the Surface,’ are a dense exploration into the underbelly of systems, be it the Police or the Cartel. Their connective tissue, Anthony Driscoll, takes center stage in this run, with his mastery of deception forcing Renée Ballard to run in circles. Meanwhile, the team’s relentless search into the nitty-gritty of the Sarah Pearlman case bears fruit, although the results inspire more shock than awe. In the background, more of the truth about Robert Olivas’s wrongdoings emerges, revealing a history of evil that reaches farther than what the protagonist anticipated. All these threads coalesce in the lap of the Cold Cases Division, which races against time to bring the culprits to justice. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Ballard Struggles to Balance Her Emotions

The episode begins with Ballard on a date with Aaron, who updates her about his medical certification and his plan to kickstart a special EMT program. While she initially shows interest, her attention is soon taken over by a man who seems to be touching a server inappropriately. Just as the Detective stands up to take action, she realizes that the two are partners. A surprised Aaron asks if she is alright, to which she responds with the vague truth: the recent build-up of stress has slowly been eating at her, and she now sees negativity everywhere. Meanwhile, the center of her investigation on the murder of Luis Ibarra, Anthony Driscoll, walks the street as a free man, with a van full of guns. He rings up Manny, his mole in the Police Force, who assures her that he is very close to fulfilling his task. Following this, he resumes charming Martina, the intern on Ballard’s team.

Meanwhile, Anthony makes his way to the Sunbeam Lodge, where he is greeted by a host of Cartel members. After delivering the guns, he asks to go to the washroom, where he finds a beaten-up man in chains. It turns out that the former cop himself captured him the previous night and holds no emotions towards him. When the Cartel members offer him a ride back, the seasoned criminal assures them that he has his own. A police car waits for Anthony, implying that he has several people within the force working alongside him. The next morning, Ballard is confronted by Officer Nelson Hastings, who comments on the slow progress of Sarah Pearlman’s case. The Detective reiterates the importance of her search methods, refusing to budge to his intimidation.

The Search For the Blue Van Continues

With the entire team assembled, Ballard resumes the investigation, this time focusing on the last four vans remaining on their list. Based on Colleen’s intuition, they decide to put all of their focus on Van number 53, with the Detective heading to talk to the owner, Jenny Garrison. She is accompanied by Parker, who is still reeling from the news that her former partner, Robert Olivas, assaulted Ballard. Elsewhere, Laffont collects all information on Anthony Driscoll’s activity in the months before his resignation and charts it all out in his calendar. The conversation with Jenny Garrison reveals that her abusive husband, Mike, stole the van years ago before running away with another girl named Denise McKenzie. When Parker suggests taking DNA swabs of her and her daughter, Trish, Jenny promptly refuses.

Jenny’s refusal comes from a place of care, as Trish is a recovering drug addict who has just managed to get past the trauma inflicted by her father. While Ballard empathizes with the mother, she nonetheless tasks Parker with locating the girl and getting her DNA. Meanwhile, further investigation reveals that Denise has been missing for 26 years. This, coupled with Mike Garrison erasing all of his history following his running away, suggests that he might be the murderer, with Denise possibly being his first victim. With strides being made in the Pearlman case, Ballard and Laffont redirect their attention to Ibarra. Laffont explains his findings, stating that a three-month gap in Anthon’s activity coincides with the timeline of a DEA raid called the Great White.

Ballard’s Memories Turn Into Parker’s Realization

The duo digs deep, soon realizing that Anthony was indeed playing the role of a triple agent, and was raising Ibarra as a mole for the police, while secretly working with the Cartel to get him killed. The DEA agent mentions that Ibarra had betrayed them before escaping to Mexico, a fact conveniently confirmed by Anthony himself. As the complete web of lies gradually appears in sight, the team gets a chance to relax, with Ballard inviting Parker to her home. At night, the two discuss Olivas in greater depth, with Parker particularly curious about the night of the protagonist’s assault.

Ballard explains that it happened at a party, where Olivas tried to get her severely inebriated, before suggesting that he drop her off at her home. When Ballard refused to comply, Olivas shed off his facade and became aggressive, slamming her head into the door. The protagonist managed to fight back and eventually ran into her partner, Ken Chastain. Hearing this, Parker breaks down into tears, as flashes of her past experience with Olivas point out a similar trajectory. Unlike in Ballard’s case, Olivas managed to coax Parker into the car and succeeded in assaulting her. The new information breaks all of her previous conceptions of the night, and doubt begins to run amok, both directed at herself and Olivas. Ballard relays what she learnt in therapy and tries to help her come to terms with the reality of the incident.

Ballard’s Team Uncovers The True Scope of the Pearlman Case

The following day, Laffont unravels some troubling information: Anthony was reportedly on court duty on the day of Ibarra’s death, which provides him with an alibi. Still suspicious, Ballard decides to seek help and confirm the truth of his presence. Meanwhile, Colleen manages to track down the scrapyard where Garrison’s van was destroyed and heads out to the location with Rawls. Realizing that the records are buried deep in a heap of unkempt paperwork, the two get to work. Meanwhile, Ballard asks Javier’s lawyer for help and manages to track down the court attendance list from that date. Upon not finding Anthony’s name anywhere, her suspicions are all but confirmed that he is the person who murdered Luis Ibarra.

With everyone out on the field, Martina brings Manny into the division’s base, and here he scouts the details they have on Anthony. However, upon meeting the man, he lies about it, claiming that the division is stuck on the Pearlman case. Anthony seems skeptical and threatens him with the consequences of betraying the Cartel. Elsewhere, Rawls and Colleen make a breakthrough, tracing the van back to a storage facility in Oxnard. Here, they make a surprise discovery: the vault, E36, registered under Mike Garrison’s name, is still active. A search warrant is issued, and the entire team comes to the location. When the vault is opened, the police make a surprise discovery: a stack of boxes, all of which contain seemingly unrelated trinkets. However, Ballard soon discovers Laura Wilson’s bracelet, confirming that these are the trophies of a serial killer.

With a total of 14 suspected victims, the case suddenly blows up, and Berchem argues for it to be transferred to Robbery-Homicide. However, the councilman’s influence manages to buy Ballard’s team 72 hours. Everyone quickly gets into action, cataloguing the new evidence and trying to trace it back to a person before discovering the common link between all of them. The investigation into Ibarra’s case also accelerates, with Parker tracking down his wife, Abidail, and son, Gaiyal, and Laffont setting up a spy camera in front of Anthony’s house. Elsewhere, a prison nurse who serves as Anthony’s informant notices that Javier Fuentes has been shifted and immediately alerts him. Subsequently, an unsuccessful hit is ordered on the man, which leaves him in critical condition.

The Investigation Hits a Series of Setbacks

Meanwhile, Parker’s resentment towards Olivas grows as she begins keeping track of his Instagram activity, which depicts him as a fun, charming figure, belying his true nature. Jake and his father, Gary Pearlmans, are summoned to the evidence room but fail to identify any of the trophies. A call from Darcy, the forensics specialist, brings bad news: Mike Garrison has been dead since 1997, which eliminates him from the suspect list. While the news almost breaks Ballard, it brings new insight. His murder can now be tied to a Jane Doe strangulation, which happened only a short distance away, around the same time. Jane Doe is believed to be Denise, but only the dental records remain. Meanwhile, Parker manages to find a new victim named Josie while still struggling to make peace with what happened to her.

Laffont interrupts her conversation with Ballard and informs them that Anthony has returned home. Parker handles the investigations indoors while the other two stake out his address. Eventually, Anthony heads out, and Laffont tails him to a parking garage. In order to avoid suspicion, Ballard and her partner watch from above, barely making out a transaction between the culprit and an officer, but cannot gain any meaningful information before both of them disperse. No meaningful developments are made in the serial killer case, and to top it off, Ballard is also informed that Javier has been attacked and that their cover is blown. Following this failure, she directs their attention to Ibarra’s wife, who is revealed to be alive.

Ballard’s Victory Comes at a Cost

When Ballard returns to the division’s base, she finds from Parker that the case has been taken over by homicide and that everyone has been told to leave. The Detective decides to stay back and do her investigation on the trophies of the serial killer after learning that his last kill was only six months ago. While leaving, Parker gets a notification of Olivas’s live feed on Instagram. She goes to his location to confront him about sexually assaulting her. Giving up the farce, he knocks down Parker’s conviction by suggesting that her life would follow a similar trajectory to Ballad’s if she decides to take legal action against him. Before he leaves, he showcases his power with one last comment, asking Parker if she needs a ride, hinting back to that night.

Meanwhile, Ballard searches for a clue or connection among the trophies, which fails, as nothing seems to come up in the open, unsolved cases. This prompts her to pivot her search to cold and closed cases, her specialty, and soon, she chances upon a lead. She rushes to the Captain and alerts him of her findings: one of the pieces of evidence, a bracelet, tied to a closed case where the girl’s boyfriend was incarcerated. She urges him to give her another chance, as it is likely that they can both solve the case and free an innocent person. Skeptical but impressed, Berchem gives the case back to Ballard’s team. Ballard returns home, opening the backyard door for her dog to pee, and finally lies down to rest. Here, she plunges into a nightmare where she sees herself drowning, only to wake up to her being strangled.

Managing to overthrow her attacker, Ballard crawls towards the door to let her dog in and help her. However, the attacker gains on her and tries to harm her again. A fight ensues as the two of them attempt to survive. Ultimately, Ballard lands a clean strike on his neck, accidentally rupturing the assailant’s windpipe, before taking off his mask, revealing the long-wanted man, Anthony Driscoll. Upon realizing that the emergency services won’t make it on time, she contacts Aaron, and following his instructions, she conducts an emergency tracheotomy using a pen’s tube as an opening in his throat. Breathing a sigh of relief, she sits back with the certainty that Driscoll will pay for his crimes and the mystery will be solved. However, in a last-ditch effort, he takes the pen out and suffocates to his death, cruelly bringing Ballard’s investigation back to square one.