As Gabi waits to be arrested, she and the team search for a missing teenager in Found season 2, episode 11. Let’s break down the events of the episode.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Found season 2, episode 11.
Gabi and the team get a case while waiting for Trent to come to arrest Gabi, they work the case of a missing teenage boy who is neurodivergent. Meanwhile, we find out where Trent raced to that night, and it involves Heather.
Gabi and the team work a case in Found season 2, episode 11
The case involves a missing neurodivergent teen. His father and foster father show up at the M&A team looking forward help because the police can’t do much. It’s clear the two men don’t get along. The biological father isn’t happy that the foster father has such a close relationship with the boy.
However, there is much more to this story. TJ found out that he had a brother who had been adopted, and he’d gone to see the brother. That brother’s father made it clear that TJ wasn’t welcome here. It’s such a shame that adopted parents are so focused on protecting what they view as their own failing of not having a biological child over allowing adopted children find their own family. TJ’s brother is packed with empathy, especially as another teen, and he deserves to know the truth about his adoption.
And I say that the parents feel shame in a perceived failing. Why else not tell a child that they’re adopted? There are plenty of cases where people have found out they’re adopted when they’re older and it’s led to them questioning everything about their life. Allowing children to know that they’re adopted can help them work through the feelings of abandonment while knowing that they have a family who chose them.
TJ’s case is more than it initially seems
There’s footage of TJ’s arrest at a comic book store. After another group of teens trash the place, TJ ends up in there having a meltdown. This led to his arrest, as once again, the cops have no idea how to handle a situation like this. He’s arrested, and that leads to him being stuck somewhere in the system.
He’s in a group home, which is what he runs away from. Gabi is understandably angry that the social worker called in to deal with him was more worried about protocol rather than the safety of a neurodivergent case. The system continually fails people, and this is why Gabi and her team are needed so much.
TJ did leave his backpack at the group home, and Margaret immediately realizes that it’s a go bag for when he’s on the run. It’s there that Gabi works out that Martin, the foster father, had given TJ keys to his lake house. With catch up emails and a voice note about the lake house, it’s clear that this isn’t a kidnapping. This is a custody situation.
Only it’s not. Martin left the keys and notes just after TJ’s dad came back into his life. The voicemail was just after running away, but Martin feared that TJ hadn’t received it. Sure enough, TJ hadn’t. And so, the M&A team is back at the drawing board.
Margaret needs to look into the group home in Found
Margaret sees the way Kristina, who runs the group home, handles the kids. It’s clear that she is great with kids, but something doesn’t sit right with Margaret. Kristina is too perfect.
So, Zeke looks into the group home and finds out that the group home was shut down for a year. A child died in the home, but it was from natural causes. It just took a year to clear Kristina and allow her to reopen the group home. As Zeke looks at the schematics of the land around the home, they realize that there are still mounds of dirt from “work” being done.
It’s clear what has happened. Every time a child has died from natural causes, Kristina hasn’t reported it to avoid being shut down again. She has been burying them all instead. Her reasoning is that the children didn’t have families, so she gave them a proper burial.
What about TJ? The younger kid is able to help with that. He points out that TJ was asking too many questions about the dirt and Lance, so Kristina punished him. She put him in a box with a pipe, so that he could at least breathe. And once again, we’re reminded of major failings in the foster care system. How was all this allowed to happen?
There’s a beautiful ending to the story as well. As TJ finds out that his foster father and father are now on friendlier times, there’s hope for a family for him. TJ gets to keep Martin in his life. On top of that, TJ shares that there’s a friend like him who needs a foster dad, and TJ knows that Martin is the one to be that dad. This is where there is goodness in the system. It needs more parents like Martin.
Another beautiful moment is when TJ’s brother comes to M&A. His mom is there too and shares that the brother now knows the truth. Not only does TJ get to know his brother, but the father gets to know his son as well.
Trent rushes to the hospital in Found
Trent had rushed off at the end of the previous episode instead of arresting Gabi. It turned out that it was to help Heather, who had been shot and driven herself to the hospital. Heather claims that she had driven to Trent’s house to see how he was after a run-in with Sir, and she thinks that Christian followed her and then shot her.
There is a lot that’s fishy about this, but nobody is seeing through it. I guess I’ve just watched too many crime shows, but there is no way that Trent just happened to see Heather at the bar. She was there for a reason.
Christian keeps getting blamed for so much, but we know that he didn’t do it. He was hit over the head by Sir before it all happened. Yet, Christian’s fingerprints were on the gun. However, Gabi refuses to believe that Christian did it, so when he manages to leave a note for Gabi, she wants to look into it.
It’s a happy ending for TJ and both of his fathers, but it wouldn’t have been like that if it wasn’t for Gabi and the team.
Bella’s mom figures out that Sir is in the house
For the longest time in the past, Bella is the only one to know that Sir is watching them. Well, it seems that Bella’s mom finally listened to her daughter and believed her. Just as we think Sir is going to attack the young girls and take Gabi, Bella’s mom tricked him.
There’s a bit of a showdown, but Bella’s mom doesn’t have what it takes to kill Sir. I think this connects a bit to Bella/Lacey in the present day when she says that she regrets not killing Sir when she had a chance. Gabi knows that taking a life changes a person, and she doesn’t want Lacey to change from the Bella she knew. Gabi would also view Bella’s mom in the same way.
And this is how Bella ends up becoming Lacey. Bella’s mom realizes that they need to leave and get to safety, and that means new identities. Bella’s mom wants Lacey to be able to choose the name. The downside is that Gabi won’t be part of this life. Gabi knows why, though. She was observant of the doors left open when Bella’s mom pushed the panic alarm.
Of course, we know that they all find their ways back to each other eventually. As Gabi makes it clear that she will always be there for Bella/Lacey, Lacey finally speaks. There’s a chance to move forward.
Does M&A break up in Found season 2, episode 11?
The end of the episode sees the M&A team ask what’s next. There is no team without Gabi, right? Zeke makes it clear that Lacey isn’t ready to take over. And with that, everyone walks out of the office.
Only, it’s all a ploy. Gabi had seen signs that Sir had been in the office. She had to make it look like the team had abandoned her so that he would come out of the woodwork to take her. It was the perfect way to play Sir at his own game, and finally, Sir is in cuffs. Just how long will he stay there?
This doesn’t save Gabi, though. She turns herself in.
The very end brings us a twist that we did not expect just yet. As Margaret stands outside the bus station once more, a teen comes over to her and takes her on the shoulder. “Hi, mom!” is all he says. Is this really Jamie, or is someone playing with Margaret a little like we saw things play out in Alert: Missing Persons Unit with Keith?
Found airs on Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC. Catch up the next day on Peacock.
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