As Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) is finally shifted to the high security prison for the criminally insane in Black Bird, a monumental task awaits him. He now needs to get close to the alleged serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser) and discreetly exact a confession out of him.
The killer’s reserved personality doesn’t make it easy for Jimmy to gain his trust in a prison full of lethal people. So, how does he manage to get close to Larry without making him suspicious of his true intentions?
Initial attempts
Jimmy has a session with a therapist in jail who knows the truth. He prescribes him anti-depressants so as to not arouse any suspicion (as all inmates in his block are medically prescribed to something).
As he stands in queue to take his medicine, Larry arrives in line behind him. Jimmy tries to make small talk but the serial killer shows no interest. His next attempt comes during meal time but Larry still refuses to respond.
After a meeting with his dad, a prison guard lets Jimmy know that a mob guy named Vincent “The Chin” Gigante has been asking about him. It would him good if he introduced himself to the old timer.
Gigante meets with Jimmy and the two bond over their Italian heritage. The former mob boss lets Jimmy know that if he needs to do pleasant time, he needs to lay low and not mess up.
Television issues
After his meeting with Gigante, Jimmy heads to his cell and notices Larry in the adjacent one. He tries to ask him what people do for fun in the jail and he leads him to a small room with a television.
They sit down to watch a show when another inmate walks in and changes the channel. Larry tells him that they were watching something and he responds aggressively.
Jimmy takes the opportunity and changes the channel again. The inmate threatens him to switch it back and Jimmy responds by beating him into a pulp stating that he isn’t a remote control.
The guards take him to solitary confinement and keep him there for a day. However, his outburst pays off as the next day when he returns to the cell, Larry speaks to him about how they let Jimmy out after only a day.
Conversation starters
Larry asks Jimmy why he stuck up for him and he responds that he didn’t do it for anyone but himself. Jimmy then tries to introduce himself again and Larry finally returns the favour by shaking his hand.
Jimmy uses his observations of Larry in the past few days to talk about topics he likes. They start off with cars but are interrupted by the guard from before who finds out about Jimmy’s true identity and demands $10,000 to keep his mouth shut.
When this interruption passes, Jimmy enters Larry’s cell and notices the pictures on the wall. Larry finally starts opening up and tells Jimmy how his brother and him would travel around the country to reenact famous battles from the Civil War.
As the guards call for lights out, Larry asks Jimmy why he’s being nice to him. He responds by saying that in places like that torturous jail, everyone could use a friend to talk to and since they’re both in adjacent cells, it makes sense to get to know each other.
This marks the beginning of their so called friendship and opens the doors for Jimmy to coax out vital information from the serial killer about his victims as the series goes on.
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