Prodigal Son’s Tom Payne reveals that Nicolas Endicott’s murder will be a secret

Fox’s Prodigal Son’s Season 1 ended with a bloody twist that shocked viewers

The FOX drama Prodigal Son wrapped its stellar first season in April, ending on a shocking note that left fans wondering how the cliffhanger was going to be resolved in season 2. Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) was faced with the horrifying realization that his sister, Ainsley Whitly (Halston Sage), had take the first step toward following their serial killer father’s path. The Whitly family had been tormented by Nicholas Endicott (Dermot Mulroney) and just when it seemed like his kind of evil would prevail, Ainsley took matters into her own hands and killed him.

With one Whitly behind bars already, fans wondered if Ainsley would see her promising career as a television journalist disintegrate because of her crime. Now, it seems as though Tom Payne has revealed that the Whitlys may be keeping Endicott’s death a secret when Season 2 begins. When he talked to TV Insider about Prodigal Son’s Top TV Fan Favorite win, he indicated that only three people knew the secret.

"And then, of course, there’s only a few people—three—that know exactly what happened [to Dermot Mulroney’s Nicholas Endicott]. That’s a whole big secret to keep as well."

How will Prodigal Son keep such a big secret?

It certainly sounds like Nicolas Endicott will be missing when Season 2 resumes, and no one, save the three involved, will know the truth. If that’s the case, someone must have disposed of the body. There’s little doubt that chore would fall to Malcolm, considering his sister wouldn’t be in the right frame of mind to take care of such a mundane detail.

With only Ainsley and Malcolm in the room with Endicott, there is one person missing who will know about the secret, possibly the matriarch of the Whitly family, Jessica (Bellamy Young). As evidenced in Season 1, she’s quite good at keeping secrets, and if her children filled her in on the details of Endicott’s gruesome death, of course she would want to cover it up to protect her daughter.

But how long can Endictott’s death remain a mystery? With Malcolm working as a consultant for the police station, he’ll be dodging lies left and right if there is an investigation into Endicott’s disappearance.

With the promo trailer indicating that the series will delve into Ainsley’s memories and nightmares, perhaps she won’t be as strong as Malcolm is when it comes to dealing with the past, and Endicott’s death will be too big of a secret for her to keep. Unless, of course, she gets some advice from her father (Michael Sheen), who will, undoubtedly, tell her to conceal the crime.

Either way, it will be a while before we get anywhere close to learning answers. Though Prodigal Son is on FOX’s 2020-2021 line-up, it hasn’t resumed filming yet.  Payne said the series is supposed to start filming within the next three months which could put off the Season 2 debut until the start of next year.

How do you think Nicolas Endicott’s death will be hidden? Share your thoughts in the comments below.