[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Found Season 2 Episode 15 “Missing While Seeking Asylum.”]
Good news: Something finally happens between Lacey (Gabrielle Walsh) and Zeke (Arlen Escarpeta) in the latest episode of Found. Bad news: Trent (Brett Dalton) just got a major shock when it comes to his new love interest, Heather (Danielle Savre).
Just as Lacey’s moving out of Zeke’s, where she’s been staying since she was rescued from Sir (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), he stops her and pulls her in for a kiss. Meanwhile, Trent goes to see Sir in prison to let him know that his attempt to tarnish his family’s legacy by digging up a cold case of his father’s — M&A solved it and reunited multiple families — failed. Sir sends him off with a note to read to Gabi (Shanola Hampton), and on Trent’s way out, he bumps into Sir’s new lawyer: Heather.
Trent tells Gabi that Heather lobbied to be the one to defend him (but doesn’t read her Sir’s note). Gabi knows it’s a brilliant move: From a juror’s point of view, if Heather can forgive Sir (his brother supposedly shot her), why can’t they? She also knows that Sir will use Heather to get to Trent.
Below, Walsh and Escarpeta unpack that sweet moment, the shocking ending, and more.
It feels like we’ve been waiting for this kiss for a while, or at least something to happen between your characters. What were your reactions to the script?
Gabrielle Walsh: I was like, oh my God, finally! I’m like, they know how to build some tension here.
Arlen Escarpeta: I think they earned it. They earned it for sure.
Mark Hill/NBC
Yeah, because what I like about it is, it’s like that cliché stop the other person from leaving, grab the arm, pull in for a kiss. But it’s also so sweet, and it just seems like it works for them, right?
Escarpeta: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I think it definitely works for Zeke and Lacey, and I think both Gabrielle and I had many conversations of when and if or how it would happen for Zeke and Lacey, what it would be. And I think we both hoped it would be something like you said, something special.
Walsh: Yeah, I think there’s been this connection that is very precious between the two of them. And you see that with how Zeke has helped Lacey heal through being taken again from having her whole world turns upside down. And so when this kiss came about, we knew that it was going to happen, but it was like, oh crap, it’s here, but there’s all this stuff in between that’s sort of like, what does this mean for this connection? It’s never going to be as simple as it seems.
That was my next question: What does that mean?
Escarpeta: I’ll say this: Pandora’s box is open. What comes next is usually what happens in a lot of relationships, figuring out what does this mean? Is there a title? What steps can we make? And then there’s the details of Zeke still being agoraphobic. How would that work for them? What does this mean for the rest of the team, who knows, who doesn’t know? There’s a lot to unpack there.
It also comes as Lacey was taking a step forward, moving out of Zeke’s, living on her own again. But how does she feel about doing that? Because that’s a huge adjustment for her again, and she’s had to go through a lot of huge adjustments.
Walsh: Yeah, no, it’s scary. It’s terrifying for her, especially because there has been this attraction that’s there and sometimes you deny it within yourself because Zeke’s Lacey’s friend, that’s her best friend and the closest person that she is to right now at M&A. I mean she loves Gabi. Gabi’s her sister, but she’s going on this journey of finding herself and how she exists outside of her. So to make the step to move out to see, okay, well maybe there is something here that I need to figure out or don’t want to cross those boundaries or should I cross those boundaries? What is this and what does this mean? I think it’s all pretty daunting for her. And so making that decision to like, okay, I need to just go because I don’t know what to do with all of this. And then when the kiss happens, it’s like, where do we go from here?
She’s on her own again. She’s also planning to go to law school. She’s studying. What’s coming up there?
Walsh: She’s coming into her power. I think we got to see a glimpse of that when Gabi had to kind of lean back and be out of the picture for a little bit for only the beginning of the episode and then Gabi comes in, she’s our superhero, but Lacey got to find that within herself with the rest of the team, not just when Gabi’s down personally, but just her possibly being out of the picture. So she’s digging into her studies, but she’s deeply connected with her family and with the fate of M&A, what’s going on is still with Sir and somebody else being out there. I think her tension is on solving these cases, finding these people, and keeping her family safe.
Speaking of Sir, it’s actually because of Sir that Zeke took steps out of his house earlier this season. How does he feel about that?
Escarpeta: I think he’s indifferent and I think when you think about Sir, from a character’s perspective, I think we’re all slightly indifferent except for maybe Lacey’s character and maybe even Margaret. But when it comes to Sir, he’s almost like a necessary evil. He did get Zeke to step outside, even though he kind of roped him into it and manipulated him, but he showed him something that you can do this. How much power does Zeke give to Sir for that? He’ll have to figure that out, right? Because a lot of that truly is that was Zeke grounded himself in his own passion, strength, and anger and everything else. So if Zeke can hopefully do that on his own with the help of Lacey and the rest of the team, there’s no telling how soon he can maybe even make that step on his own and maybe be braver than what Sir showed him that he could be.
Heather is representing Sir. How do your characters feel about that, especially Lacey, given that history?
Walsh: Lacey is pissed! Lacey’s definitely upset about Heather representing her, and I think that’s bringing, again, something more out of her to figure out that part that’s her strength, the legal aspect, what she’s digging into to be able to make sure this guy pays for what he has done. And it’s confusing to say the least.
Mark Hill / NBC
Escarpeta: I think what’s going to be interesting, I think for the team, and I think specifically for you, Gabrielle with Lacey, how do you not make it personal? And I can’t wait to see how you play that to not make it personal, get the job done, or does Lacey’s personal feelings and past interactions with Sir, does that push her over edge in a good way or a bad way? I don’t know. We’ll see.
Walsh: I know that when I read about Heather representing Sir, I was like, wait, how soon is Lacey going to graduate law school? We have to have a case and me being a prosecutor or something, like, let’s go.
Found, Thursdays, 10/9c, NBC