Invisible Son

Andre calls Boogie and tells him about the money. They assume that Eric has to come back eventually since he’ll be 18 soon. He also tells Boogie about the bruises on Sierra’s arm.

Andre decides to go see his mother, who is staying at his parents’ apartment. He recounts most of what he’s learned, though he leaves out Eric’s backpack and the fact that he broke into Mr. Whitaker’s desk. He just says that his files were open. He asks her what to do. She says that they shouldn’t do anything just yet, except perhaps get Sierra to tell the full truth about what’s happening.

She confesses to Andre that when she was 12 years old, Mrs. Whitaker came in an ambulance to the hospital with Luis, Eric, and Sierra. The doctor and nurse on duty called for a welfare check, but when Mr. Whitaker arrived, a lawyer appeared, which stopped social welfare from getting involved. Not long after, Sierra and Eric left for the last time, returning not long after to be adopted by the Whitakers. Before this all happened, Mrs. Whitaker had said that she didn’t plan on adopting Luis, Eric, and Sierra.

Andre decides to listen to his mom’s advice, at least until his dad gets support from the Black relief fund so that he can pay Mr. Whitaker back. He leaves soon after. He also calls Sierra, who reached out to all the boarding schools that Andre found brochures for. She thinks she found the school that Eric was supposed to have gone to, but Eric never went. He tells her about the backpack. Andre says that she should come to his house so that they can come up with a plan. Sobbing, she hangs up, and when he calls back, it goes to voicemail. He starts to worry that Eric is dead.

It’s June 2, and Andre hasn’t been able to talk with Sierra because she’s so busy protesting. Andre watches reports of the protests with his grandmother, seeing that there are anti-protesters fighting Black Lives Matter supporters. He sees a photo of Luis hugging a white man.

Grandma J comments that she hopes that Eric sees the news and decides to come home. Andre realizes that she saw Eric come back after he first went away. The news says that they’ve identified Luis from the photo, and the whole family is suddenly on the news, with Mr. Whitaker saying that he supports the Oregon Black relief fund.

Andre decides to go over to the Whitaker house, sneaking in since they are not home. He finds that many of the folders he’s gone through before are thinner or missing entirely. He texts Sierra to ask where Eric’s things are because they’re missing from his room. He also asks if she took her dad’s files. He goes out the window in Luis’s room to go home.

Later, Andre spots Luis on the roof. He calls out to him. When Luis doesn’t want to talk about Eric, Andre asks about what happened when they were kids, but Luis replies that it’s in the past. He goes on to say that Sierra is channeling her energy about Eric into the protest and that he just wants things to go back to normal. He thinks that every family is imperfect.

Luis explains that when they were 12, Mrs. Whitaker left her car running in the garage with Eric, Sierra, and Luis in it. He thinks it’s because she wanted to get Mr. Whitaker’s attention because she didn’t want to take care of the kids. She takes care of them now, though, and promised never to do that again.

Kate comes out and reveals that she found them all in the garage. She doesn’t think that Mrs. Whitaker was trying to make a statement to their dad. She remembers how her mom had put on a movie for her and said goodbye in a way that made Kate suspicious, even as a kid. It was Kate who opened the garage door and called an ambulance. The Whitakers had tried to cover it up by saying that the kids were napping when they got home and that Mrs. Whitaker didn’t want to wake them.

Kate also adds that she thinks Sierra is purposely trying to get in trouble at the protests because it will look bad for the family and might make Eric come back. They go with her when they can to protect her. Andre says that Eric isn’t coming back. Kate invites him inside.

Luis and Kate go down to the basement, but Andre spots Mr. Whitaker in his office through a crack in the door, with a ring light behind him hinting that he’s preparing for an interview. When it starts, Andre listens as Mr. Whitaker says that the city isn’t managing the protests well. He says that the protesters’ point has been made—that the rest of the world understands that Black lives matter—and that it’s time to stop putting people at risk of getting sick.

Andre feels anger well up inside of him. He thinks about how Black families have to constantly struggle to survive and how essential workers are most exposed to COVID-19. Mr. Whitaker is one of many who aren’t willing to recognize the struggles that marginalized communities face.

When the interview ends, Andre spots Mr. Whitaker getting on another video call, and he’s shocked to see him talking to Cowboy Jim. Jim explains to Mr. Whitaker that there’s a group of people who are going to pretend to be Black Lives Matters protesters and turn the protests violent. The goal is to make Black Lives Matter look like a terrorist group, and the attorney general won’t do anything to stop them on the president’s orders. Mr. Whitaker plans on letting this happen, hoping that it could trigger a recall vote on the governorship, leading to a special election. That way, he could run for governor. Mr. Whitaker agrees to give Jim an appointment if he continues to watch Andre.

Outside the Whitaker home, Andre is joined by Luis and Kate. Their mom calls Kate’s phone, and Kate puts it on speaker. Mrs. Whitaker says that they have to come home because of COVID-19 exposure. Kate says that she’s with Luis and that Sierra is still at the protest.

Andre explains what he saw in Mr. Whitaker’s office. Kate is skeptical at first, but Luis convinces her. Andre adds that this has been happening throughout history, the tactic of accusing leaders of civil rights organizations to get them out of power. They decide to warn the protest organizers.

Kate and Luis go to find Sierra, and Brian, via text, says that he’ll keep watch at home. Andre stays put, though he knows that Sierra will want to hear from him. He’s worried about his ankle monitor.