Synopsis of 20/20 Hindsight
Synopsis written by Az
Psychiatric Prison
Bobby and Neil are walking in getting riled by CO Cruz about Rickle. He says that if he had been there, they would have finished Rickle off. Neil tells him to shut up. They are on their way to see Rickle. Neil says that he hears that Rickle isn't taking his medication. Bobby asks about Lyla, Neil says sarcastically that she has everything under control.
Hospital Hallway
A reporter is accosting Lyla about Rickle. Lyla asks him if he's the reporter that thought up the headline "The Madman of Midtown." He asks her if she feels any responsibility for accountability for letting Rickle go. Press relations guy (who still has no name) saves her and tells her to say "no comment" from now on. He tells her that it was a total system failure. Rickle wasn't re-cuffed after they took his blood, the syringe hadn't been thrown away and she was the first one to get to him after he grabbed the syringe even though there were police and hospital security everywhere. She says she could have very easily stepped out of the way and let the police handle it. He says she acted on instinct. She says next he's going to tell her that the special review is just an educational tool. He says they're supposed to be.
Psych Prison - Rickle's cell
Bobby tells Rickle that he's heard that he isn't taking his medication. Rickle looks at Neil and says he knows him. The pregnant woman is his wife. Neil says yes. Rickle says he's sorry that wasn't in his plan. Neil says he's going to bow out. Bobby says ok go. Rickle calls after him. Bobby says let him go and asks again why he isn't taking his medication. Rickle says "better stay clear of poison hazards whenever possible" and mumbles about Odysseus. He starts to shake his head when Bobby asks him if he's hearing the voices. Rickle says he doesn't go around wanting to kill people and he can see everyone's confusion and he knows why they are confused. Bobby says you told me that these people weren't who they appeared to be. Rickle says no one knew who these people were but him. He got the message and he couldn't let them wander around pretending that they were regular people. Bobby asks him if he got the message right. Rickle says the gods know more than we do and they're not going to instruct someone to do something wrong. He starts mumbling about the balance of power and starts screaming mission completed. Bobby calms him down and tells him that the medicine can make things quieter for him and give him some balance. Rickle asks if he's in a hospital, Bobby assures him, then Rickle says then it will be all right. Bobby says it will be fine. Rickle starts to say he doesn't want to fry. Bobby asks him if someone has told him not to take his medication. Rickle doesn't answer. Bobby tells him that he's not going to fry and gets up to leave. Rickle lies down.
CPEP
Nurses and doctors are discussing Lyla's decision. Nurse 1 says at worst, she was having a bad day. Mrs. C. says she screwed up. Abe asks her if she tells fortunes. She says she saw him and he looked crazy to her. Abe says you know what they say. Heather says Hindsight's 20/20. Mrs. C starts to preach that it's no excuse for someone slipping through the cracks. Abe asks her if she took a fist-full of her nasty pills that morning. Abe and her begin to argue about misdiagnosing patients. Mrs. C tells him to kiss her ass. Lyla walks in and Mrs. C shoots her a dirty look. Abe says hi. Lyla asks her if she has something to say to her. Mrs. C says regarding what. Then says good morning.
Bobby's office
Bobby is talking to his laywer. It sounds like he is losing custody. He gets the boys on Wednesdays and the weekends. He hangs up and Neil walks in. Bobby tells him that he needs initials and dates on some files. Neil asks what's up with Rickle. Bobby says he's basically crazy: he's in an active phase of an acute exasperation of his mental illness. Neil says active? Bobby says his sense of reality and ability to test reality is impaired. Neil says, "So you're saying he's not fit." Bobby tells him that it is normal that Neil is obsessed with the case but Rickle is sick. Neil says he could have killed Rickle in that moment. Bobby tells him that the feeling will be back. He says that if Neil had gotten his hands around Rickle's neck he would have been out of a job. (Note to readers: I don't know about you, but I saw Neil's hands around Rickle's neck last week.) Neil says he knows that. Bobby says good. Neil walks out of the office.
Psych Prison
Rickle in the hallway playing chess. Rickle's lawyer is in room with Bobby and Rickle's parents saying that his client has the right to refuse medication and that anyone who is going to judge him needs to see him in the state that he was in that day in Times Square. Bobby tells him that he doesn't need Rickle crazy to make a NGRI case. He tells the lawyer that he is going to fight him on this and win. Mrs. Rickle asks what is NGRI. Lawyer tells her Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity. Mr. Rickle says he always goes off of his medication when he is feeling better. Bobby says that he is not better and that he killed five people under the belief that he was saving the world from monsters. Bobby goes on to tell Rickle's parents that the lawyer wants him as sick as possible so that a judge will rule him unfit for trial. Mrs. Rickle says that her son is sick and the district attorney wants to see him executed and she would rather he was sick than dead. The lawyer and Bobby argue about the medicine some more and Bobby says that Rickle should not be held accountable for what he did. Mrs. Rickle says why should anyone take his word. Bobby says because he knows what he is talking about. Bobby says he's my patient and he deserves treatment. The lawyer says he's my client and I'm working in his best interest. Mr. Rickle slams his hand on the desk and screams that everyone should call his son by his name.
Street
Bobby is telling ADA Ruth Strickler that schizophrenia doesn't differentiate between the bright and the not so bright. He may be smart but it doesn't make him sane. Ruth says he knew where he was and he knew why he was walking through the streets with a nine-millimeter which is an argument for premeditation. She asks him to be her expert witness. He tells her she should be prosecuting the guy who sold Rickle the gun. A cab cuts them off she screams at him and tells him to back it up. Bobby advises the cabby to do it, telling him that he doesn't know who he is dealing with. She says to Bobby, "Sorry, That's six months worth of not getting any." Bobby says, "You too?"
Hospital Hallway
Ruth says that they got a statement from the woman at the bookstore who said that she rebuffed Rickle and he got angry and went after her which is a rational motive. Bobby says he doesn't think he's guilty and if the DA is looking for a poster child for the death penalty they've got the wrong case. She realizes that he's been hired by the defense already. He says that's open to debate.
CPEP-observation room
Abe is talking to a Mrs. Salvodar about how she wants to kill her husband and she picks up the scissors over her head and all hell breaks loose and everyone grabs her and to get the scissors away from her. She sees her husband through the plexiglas and starts calling him names and they start screaming at one another. Abe calls Heather in to help him.
Restaurant
Neil and Lyla are at lunch, and he is asking her questions to prepare her for her review by the board. She says that Rickle was alert. Neil says that she should have seen him coming a mile away. He tells her that the hospital is on a witch-hunt and that they need someone to blame and starts yelling about what will happen if they find her guilty. She walks out.
CPEP - Observation room
Mrs. Salvodar is going on about why she hates her husband to Heather. She says she can't stand the silence. In a different room, Abe tells Mr. Salvodar that everyone talks to themselves but it doesn't make them crazy. Mr. Salvodar says that she wants him dead, she made a Moroccan chicken that didn't smell right and asks if arsenic has a taste. He says that she is vicious and that it used to be nice and quiet but now it's all noise all the time.
Court
Bobby and the lawyer are telling a panel of judges their arguments for why Rickle should or should not be taking his medication. The lawyer is questioning Bobby. Judge Manhiem points out that Bobby has a pen leaking in his front pocket. He asks if Rickle has shown any violent behavior. Bobby says no but if Rickle continues to go unmedicated he will receive further "instructions."
CPEP
Lyla asks Abe what is going on with the Salvodars. He tells her that the Mrs. is hearing voices that are telling her to kill her husband and Mr. won't leave his wife in the hospital unless he can stay with her. Lyla says he can stay too. Abe sees Mrs. Salvodar going after Mr. Salvodar with knitting needles. He runs out of the office. Lyla yells at the cops outside for not searching people.
Court
Rickle is pacing and mumbling and his lawyer tells him to sit down. Judge Manhiem asks Rickle if he thinks he needs medication. He says no. "The drugs whams out my power. They cut off my communication to Mt. Olympus. My tongue barely fits in my mouth and I'm extremely constipated." Bobby: "Common side effects of Haldol. We can make adjustments for that." He says that he can't see and that the issue is that he needs to be able to see. The judge bangs her gavel and says, "medicate over objection." Bobby tells Mrs. Rickle that it is for the best.
Hospital
Lyla is watching the TV through the plexiglass while a patient manically changes the channels. A reporter is talking about the shooting in Times Square and Lyla imagines that the reporter is Rickle. He is saying, "I want my money back Lyla, Lyla I want my money." A patient pretends he has a gun in his hands but Lyla sees a real gun and hears gun shots.
CPEP - Office
Abe tells Lyla that he is more concerned about Mr. Saldovar killing Mrs. Saldovar. She asks where Heather is and what she thinks about it. Nurse 1 tells Lyla that Heather is at the special review. Lyla looks disturbed. Mrs. Brown tells her she did nothing wrong and that when it's all over they'll celebrate. Transvestites are in the background arguing. The review board calls down for Lyla. Abe tells that she is going to do fine. She says I know.
Psych Prison
Bobby tells Neil that the New York Supreme Court wants them to evaluate Rickle right away. He says that this is a bad decision and that is how Colin Ferguson (the LIRR killer) went wrong and defended himself. While Bobby is talking, Neil is hallucinating and sees Rickle rubbing Lyla's stomach while Lyla is looking at Neil. What is really going on is the nurse is giving him his meds. Neil asks Bobby what Lyla was thinking when she wrestled Rickle for the needle. Bobby says that Neil is really angry at Lyla not Rickle.
Review
We finally get to see Dr. Derrick Hatter. Lyla is asked to describe the day
that Rickle came in. She begins.
Psych Hospital - Meeting room
Bobby, the lawyer, and Dr. Alverez are in the room with Rickle. Bobby tells him that they are doing a fitness examination. Rickle says that it has gotten quiet in the hospital. Bobby tells him that it is the medication. Dr. Alverez explains that they want to make sure that he can assist in his own defense. Rickle says he is ready.
CPEP
Heather is telling Abe that Mrs. Saldovar says that her husband is a selfish grumpy old man. Abe says that he is surprised that he hasn't stabbed himself with the scissors. They debate who is worse. Abe thinks that she has no respect for him. Heather tells him that not all men deserve it.
Review
Lyla is being quizzed on her decision. She says that Rickle told her that he had been treated at Middlesex hospital but he wouldn't tell her what for. The computers over there were down so they couldn't find out what he had been treated for.
Psych Prison - Meeting Room
Wendall starts talking about the beginning of the earth. Dr. Alverez tells him that that's a little bit further back than they had in mind. Bobby tells him to go ahead to this month and asks him what happened the day he got arrested. Wendall says, about the people getting shot?
Review
A doctor on the board mentions that Heather said that Wendall said that Athena was hacking his way out of his skull when he came in to CPEP. Lyla says he was making a literary reference to Zeus and the birth of Athena and was just describing a headache. Another doctor asks that if a patient came in and said he was the lighting hurler Zeus what would be her diagnosis? She tries to argue. Derek looks disturbed. Lyla says she would call him psychotic with grandiose delusions.
Psych Prison - Meeting Room
Bobby tells Wendall to take them through his day. He got up, got dressed and then what? Wendall says he could feel that it was a big day from the moment he got up. Bobby asks if this was the same feeling he had on the bus. Wendall says yes, like that.
Review
Lyla says there was nothing psychotic about Wendall when he presented himself to her. A doctor on the board says there must have been, because Wendall was only days away from a "violent psychotic meltdown."
Psych Prison - Meeting room
Wendall says he had lunch at Grey's Papaya on Broadway and 72nd (great hot dogs) and then walked down to the Coliseum Bookstore on Broadway and 57th. There was a girl.
Review
Derrick asks if there were a lot of patients the day that Wendall came in. Lyla says yes. It was cold and they were getting overflow from the shelters and it was a full moon. Derrick asks were there moon classes when you went to med school? Lyla answers no. Derek suggests that there were more patients than could be handled. Lyla tries to say that they are understaffed. Derrick, now obviously attacking her, says CPEP is not the only section that is understaffed. He asks her if she went to medical school. She tries to argue, he says, "When I misdiagnosis a patient they don't go shooting up a half a dozen people." Another doctor says they need to take a five minute break. They go in the hallway. Lyla asks Derrick what he is doing; he knows the limitations of psychiatry. He says she is making excuses for making a misdiagnosis and tells her she shouldn't be working pregnant because of her hormones and who is she going to blame the moon or her baby. She says that she is licensed to use her best judgement, not to be right all of the time. Her job is to move people off of the edge and Rickle was not on the edge. She is not psychic but she is a good psychiatrist and he knows it. He says now you are finally starting to sound like someone who is interested in saving her job. He tells her to go in and let the board know that.
Psych Prison - Meeting Room
Bobby asks if Wendall had ever met the girl from the bookstore before. Rickle says he hadn't, but she seemed pretty nice. He asked if he could help her, she thought that he worked there but figured out that he didn't and left. Bobby asks if he followed her. There are some cops outside of the room talking loudly. Bobby knocks on the window and tells the cops to shut-up. He asks Wendall if he had his gun, he says yes it was a big battle day and he was "prepared, a good soldier is always prepared." Bobby asks again if Wendall followed the girl. Wendall says yes and he remembered thinking that she should know who he was if she knew so much about Greek mythology. He followed her to where she worked. There were guards, Titans were trying to keep him out, she was one of them and they had to be put down. He says that that was the right thing to do, that was what was in his head. He then contemplates this and says he must have been out of his mind.
CPEP
Mrs. Salvodar tells Heather that her husband steals her money. Mr. Salvodar tells Abe that his wife buys tons of shoes at Macy's, sometimes many pairs of the exact same kind. So he hides the money because that's all he can do. Mrs. Salvodar says her husband hides the money in his sock, "he walks around with elephant ankles just to prove that he's the money man."
Review
Lyla tells the panel that in CPEP that she catches ghosts. "Until someone is able to invent a machine that can help me to see a neurotransmitter misfiring. Invent a machine that can see inside the cornea of a patient who is seeing Satan or inside the eardrum of someone who is receiving homicidal instructions from a toaster oven. Until then I will continue to make decisions based largely upon my gut instinct. That is my instrument." She says if they are going to judge her, they have to do it in the context of that day and if they want to fire here she'll be in CPEP.
Psych Prison
Bobby is taking Wendall back to his room/cell. Wendall asks if he thinks it went well. Bobby says he did fine and he thinks Wendall is feeling better. Wendall asks if he thinks he'll be ok. Bobby says yes.
CPEP
Abe tells Mr. Salvodar that they are recommending an outpatient program Mr. Salvodar says that sounds fine. Mr. Salvodar says that he thinks they could benefit from a butterfly specialist to help him with his stroke. He begins to take off his clothes. Abe asks him why he's taking off his clothes he says, "Oh, are we doing that tie off your pants leg flotation bit?" He begins handing his clothes to Abe. Abe asks him if he knows where he is and the fact that they were talking about couples' therapy for him and his wife. Mr. Salvodar says he's not getting married until he gets out of college and asks if the water is cold. He walks away leaving Abe dumbfounded holding his clothes.
Conference room in prison
Bobby is talking to Wendall, his lawyer and his parents. He says that Wendall understands the nature of the charges and he can help contribute to his own defense. He says that appreciating the wrongfulness of what he has done is a different story. Mr. Rickle says that his son will sit in court all drugged up and emotionless and the jury will see a cold-blooded murderer. The lawyer says that he has a long history of mental illness and believed he was saving the world. Bobby says that that's a given but they won't take into account the delusional system Wendall was functioning under at the time. He says the prosecution will make it be about revenge and the girl. He says that they need to prove otherwise. Mrs. Rickle asks if they can do that. Bobby says not everyone can prove NGRI (not guilty by reason of insanity). The lawyer asks if Bobby will do it and Bobby says yes. Wendall requests to go to Kirby or Mid Hudson hospital until he is better. He doesn't want to go to Rikers. Bobby says no Rikers. Wendall asks if they'll let him go swimming in the summer. Mr. Rickle says they should be focusing on the trial. Wendall asks if he'd be able to go for walks. Bobby says yes.
Leaving the facility, the lawyer can't find his pen.
Voice-over of Wendall reading a letter to Bobby: It's snowing in New York. Neil and Lyla are going home. Mr. Saldovar is doing a weird diving and swimming sequence. Orderlies are running down the hallway to find Wendall with blood running out of the side of his neck and a fountain pen in a pool of blood. They are wheeling Wendall away, we are not sure if he is dead or not. Bobby gets a phone call and runs back to the hospital.
The letter
Dear Dr. Banger,
I've learned a few things about the world. Like what's real is what you see when you open your eyes. I see what I've done. I'd like to apologize to all the people that I have hurt. I know now it was a mistake. I'd like to thank you, Dr. Banger, for helping me see things clearly for the first time since before I got sick. The medicine you gave me really worked. It's helped me understand and it made me see myself, my true self. I know what I need to do. Please don't feel sorry for me. I'm taking care of myself, that's a good thing. You know, whenever I've set a course in my life I've ended up somewhere else. I don't always know where I'm going but I usually find my way.
End
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