Gabi Mosely and her team are dedicated to finding America’s missing and forgotten people. They’ll stop at nothing to solve these cases because for them, it’s personal – every member of the team has firsthand experience with a mysterious disappearance. But Gabi has a chilling secret of her own that could unravel everything… she’s got her childhood kidnapper locked up in the basement, helping her crack every case.
That’s the basic premise of FOUND, but it’s much more than that. The show’s premise, which originally freaked me out a bit, is actually really quite great. It’s about more than finding missing people. It’s about finding closure. It’s characters that you immediately become invested in. FOUND is unique and captivating.
It’s characters that you want to save. It’s characters that you want to know. The cast includes Shanola Hampton, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Kelli Williams, Brett Dalton, Gabrielle Walsh, Arlen Escarpeta and Karan Oberoi. They are all characters that you won’t want to miss.
FOUND is a nonstop lesson in seeing what is underneath and reminding you that you don’t know people’s stories. And yes, there is the whole Gabi kidnapping Sir part, which is definitely a big part of it. But right now, where we are, the first episode, it’s more about setting up the world and seeing that Gabi wants to make things right.
But one thing I am left battling within myself is wondering why Gabi has Sir in the basement versus turning him over to the police? Is this her way of dealing with the fact that she was kidnapped? Is this her revenge? Or does she keep him simply because she knows that he can help her find people. TBH, I am torn.
I am torn because from the moment this show begins, you can’t help but feel for Gabi and like Gabi.
Back in 2003, Gabi was kidnapped and held under lock and key. We see her being held when her kidnapper brings another child, who is obviously distraught and wants to be freed.
And then it’s modern day, where she and her team are finding and saving the forgotten. The missing people who don’t get the attention that they deserve. Gabi is fierce and will fight anyone to save those who need her. In any given year, more than 600,000 people are reported missing in the U.S. More than half that number are people of color that the country seems to forget about.
Gabi will not let the forgotten be forgotten. She uses every opportunity to show the issues and the problem. She brings attention to the people of color, and flat out tells the police that while they prioritize the blonde girls of the world, her and her team will find the rest.
In their office is a wall of the found. We quickly have a case, where Camilla has disappeared. Her foster brother comes to the crew to help find her. In the news, the only thing that anyone cares about is a missing senator’s daughter.
The police look at Gabi as a pain in the ass, but she doesn’t care. Trent, the office that works with the team, is kinda an asshole, but he does really like Gabi. He likes to play by the rules and doesn’t understand how Gabi and her team are finding people that they can’t. But he also doesn’t understand their passion for making sure people are found.
The thing is, each one of Gabi’s team has a personal connection to the cause. Some had been missing, some have people who are missing. It’s what has happened to them or those around them that make them never give up.
Cases mixed with flashbacks of Gabi’s past don’t draw you out of the show. They draw you into it. Gabi is trying to fix the present, but you see that there is something missing in her eyes.
While we go through solving the case, we learn more about the characters in the show. We find that Margaret’s son has been missing for 13 years. Zeke is an agoraphobe and can’t leave his basement. We know that Dhan was missing and he’s angry.
What we see when they are looking for Camilla, the senators daughter is found and she’s shown wearing Camilla’s sweatshirt. The team wants to talk to the senator’s daughter, but the police won’t let them near her. It’s a game of politics for the police.
Trent isn’t afraid to call his boss out and Gabi is definitely not going to let the police get away with this shit. Gabi again proves that she isn’t going to let people be forgotten and you can’t help but want to stand up and applaud her. Even as we see flashbacks to her kidnapping and what happened with sir you see her fierce as fuck and not going to back down.
When she gets the chance to take sir out, she does. She escapes her kidnapper with the little girl that he had taken.
Back in the present, Lacey is giving Gabi a pep talk and telling her to get over her pity party. You can’t help but love Lacey, because she’s definitely this fierce and strong woman who is trying to believe the best in people. It’s her pushing Gabi that leads them to not giving up.
When they finally do talk to the senators daughter, we find that Camilla was taken trying to save Sarah (the Senator’s daughter). We find out that the senators son has an addiction and Sarah was taken as a ransom kidnapping.
The team does find Camilla and honestly, again I cheered. The team is not willing to give up on her. The team explores every option and finds Camilla. Trent seems frustrated with their tactics, but I also think that he knows his frustration doesn’t matter. They aren’t going to give u.
What I did find interesting and most important was the last ten minutes. Seeing the teams reaction when they find Camilla and how there is that glimmer of hope. Seeing Camilla reunified with her brother.
There was seeing the Gabi and Bella being found. There was learning that Bella is Lacey and that’s the deep connection that Gabi and Lacey share. They were lost together. There is Margaret sitting in the train station every night looking for her sons face. There is Dhan and his coldness, and Gabi trying to help him understand. There’s Gabi trying to show Zeke and Dhan that they can help eachother. There is Lacey’s fear, even though she acts as thought she’s fearless. There is Zeke’s pain and his fear of going outside.
The complex layers of the show are what draws you in and holds on tight. You can’t hel but root for Gabi and her team. You WANT to help them.
And as for Gabi… her having Sir locked up in the basement? Right now, it didn’t seem to matter. I wish we hadn’t been told beforehand that she had him. I would have loved that ending and the WTF is he doing there moment.
Whatever happens, whatever it may be, well, I know that I will be watching. Found is television unlike we’ve ever seen that before and that’s a good thing. Complex characters, complex stories, and a world that you will be drawn into.
Found is television you won’t want to miss.