Apple TV+ ‘City on Fire’ Episode 6 Review - Daddy Issues

William is alive. Phew.
(I was glad the episode opened with the immediate aftermath of the cliffhanger and didn’t leave me riddled with anxiety.)

Episode 6 of City on Fire, titled ‘Annus Horriblis,’ shows a miserable Nicky in his drunken stupor revealing to Charlie that he loved Sam and she loved him - until he broke her. Until his values and his mission broke her. I would’ve liked for the dialogue here to be a little more understandable, but the poetic stuff is good for insinuation at least.

Later, Mercer has gone to live with Regan as his life is now somewhat in danger after William’s apartment was destroyed in the last episode. Amory is not happy about it at all. It looks as if he is seeing all his plans fall apart.

Meanwhile, in the dead of the night, William stumbles upon and collapses on his estranged family’s lake house after pulling himself out of the lake he was pushed into. The next morning, Sam’s father is sadly told that he may need to decide whether or not to end Sam’s life as her condition in a coma doesn’t seem to be improving.

Elsewhere, the detectives are finally starting to make the connection between the shooting and basically everything else with dear Uncle Amory. But dear Uncle Amory is very rich, so the police will need to find every evidence they can - and they’re right on it.

Soon we’re treated to the bittersweet flashback of the incident which finally tore William away from his family. This scene is especially heartbreaking because William And Regan seemed to be so close after the death of their mother, but were driven apart after their father decided to marry another woman (again, this was also set up by dear Uncle Amory).

After the announcement, Regan is assaulted by one of Amory’s friends. Who, later, sits on the company’s board all thanks to Amory. But when William speaks up to their father about this, Regan doesn’t stand up for herself, leading to William leaving the family.

15 years later, in the present, William discovers a bunch of disturbing things from Amory’s cottage at the lake house. Amory has PI files on basically everyone, Regan actually got pregnant and gave birth after the assault, and Nicky is actually a Pyromaniac who was considered for some LH Project. We don’t know what that is yet, but we’re soon distracted by the sweet reunion between William, Regan, and Mercer.

The episode concludes with a stunning revelation: all the fireworks created by Sam's father have inexplicably vanished. When Detective Ali questions him about their whereabouts, Sam's father ominously reveals that they possess the destructive power to level an entire city block. And, as you may have already guessed, Nicky is the one who has them.

Regarding the overall episode, while the acting could have been slightly improved, Max Milner delivered an outstanding performance as the miserable, alcoholic, and often sociopathic Nicky. However, despite this minor flaw, the tension throughout the episode has finally reached the desired level, particularly in the climactic scene where Charlie urgently contacts 911 to report the bomb held by Nicky.

Furthermore, the flashback shedding light on the events that tore William apart from his family, as well as the tragic life of Regan, contributed significantly to their character development and added emotional depth to their intertwined stories. All in all, I am ready for the glorious fall of Amory.

Final Score- [8/10]