‘Shoot the Messenger’: Sam Charles Unravels as Secrets Come to Light

For the majority of Shoot the Messenger‘s first season, attorney general Sam Charles’ journey has taken him from a politician fighting police corruption to a victim of blacklmail backed into a corner. After Friday’s shocking new episode, he is now a murderer.

The hour picked up right where it left off with Daisy (Elyse Levesque) asking Sam (Ari Cohen) about his relationship with shooting victim Khaalid Suleman. Sam brushes off her question at first, but she presses him by asking if the relationship was sexual in nature.

Chloe (Hannah Anderson) is shocked by her sister’s actions and kicks her out of the office. Outside, she confronts her sister and Daisy reveals what she knows about Sam’s involvement in the murder, as Simon (Lucas Bryant) is seen stealing documents from the offices.

Meanwhile, a passerby finds Hassan’s dead body and screams, signaling police detective Kevin Lutz (Lyric Bent), his partner Jordan Ortiz (Edie Inksetter) and Hassan’s girlfriend Xannan (Shadia Ali) of what happened. Kevin looks up at the cliff where Hassan fell and sees a man, who viewers know as Sam’s chief of staff Phil Hardcastle (Maurice Dean Winter) walking away from the cliff.

Chloe returns to Sam’s office and apologizes for her sister’s ambush, sharing with her boss and boyfriend that Daisy has a drug problem so her claims are far from believable. Sam, however, confesses to Chloe that he did know Khaalid. He reveals they met at a party and they “made out”, and Sam then reveals that he is bisexual. However, he assures Chloe he had nothing to do with the boy’s murder.

Daisy and Simon digest the events of the interview as Kevin arrives to tell Daisy about Hassan’s death. With Hassan out of the picture, there is no video evidence of Sam’s affair with Khaalid.

Simon arrives at Mary’s (Alex Kingston) office to find her in a meeting with the legal team and the owner of the newspaper, who is reprimanding them for pursuing Sam’s story, as his lawyer is threatening to sue them.

At his office, Sam receives a message from Phil, who lets him know that the story about his affair with Khaalid leaked in a local tabloid. Sam calls businessman Eric Lawson (Al Sapeinza) and blames him for the leak, as Hassan worked for him. The pair agree to meet to discuss next steps, as the police listen in on the conversation using a wire tap.

Later, Mary, Daisy and Simon show the owner of the Gazette their investigation, he agrees that if they can find evidence of Sam’s involvement in the murder, then he’ll back up the story when it comes out.

Eric and Sam meet at a restaurant, in the storage room to avoid anyone who might be listening. Eric denies motivating Hassan to blackmail the attorney general, but he does tell Sam he’ll have to do him a favor in order to secure his silence, as he holds the only copy of Hassan’s video.

Later, Simon shares the files he stole from Sam’s office with Daisy and they find a photo of Hassan’s old supervisor at his job with Lawson. The former police office had been accused of running a drug operation but had retired early to avoid prosecution. Their brainstorming into how this fits the investigation is interrupted after Sam Charles announces a press conference.

At the conference, Sam announces he will green light Eric Lawson’s plan for a super prison for the city. As he walks away, a reporter asks his about Khaalid, but he does not confirm the relationship. Daisy and Simon figure out Sam was blackmailed into approving the project because Lawson has the video. In a shocking twist, Kevin and Ortiz arrest Phil at the attorney general offices for murder.

At The Gazette, Mary and the team celebrate being done with the Sam Charles story, but the joy is interrupted after she served with an injunction preventing them from publishing.

The final blow comes at the end of the episode as Sam Charles meets with Lawson’s henchman, the corrupt cop Daisy and Simon were talking about. He tells Sam he won’t give him Hassan’s video until he puts an end to his police corruption commission. Enraged at the possibility of further blackmail, Sam grabs a metal bar and beats the man to death.

The episode ends as a blood-covered Sam grabs the phone and ivies away from the scene, leaving the dead body exposed.

The Shoot the Messenger season finale airs Friday, April 20 at 12 a.m. ET/11 p.m. CT on WGN America.