McCall (Edward Woodward) deals with the now-public reveal that Yvette (Melissa Sue Anderson) is his daughter and that whoever abducted and abused Manon (Anne Heywood) is going to use her to destroy McCall, his son Scott (William Zabka) and Control (Robert Lansing).

The second part of The Mystery of Manon was written by Coleman Luck and debuted on 24 February, 1988.

While McCall doesn’t necessarily believe that Manon is who she claims she is; she doesn’t remember all the details that McCall would expect her to regarding their relationship. He is going to have to play her and Arthur Trent’s (Lawrence Dane) game if he is going to free Scott and Control when they are captured by Trent.

It seems Trent is an old villain from McCall’s past who was able to buy Manon after she was broken in a Russian prison, one that it’s implied Control set her up for. But there may be a layer of lies running on both sides of the game here.

In fact, McCall isn’t completely honest with Control at the story’s end, because he may not have believed Manon was who she said she was but he was able to ensure that she got away.

This was a solid two-parter, and though Yvette didn’t have much to do this time around, and she heads back to Canada when the story is over, it’s interesting to see that the series has established its own continuity even though it also has to embrace its episodic nature.

No Place Like Home was written by Robert Eisele and sees Mickey (Keith Szarabajka) back in the fold. First airing on 16 March, 1988 the episode also features Michael Rooker (!), Ed Lauter (appearing as a completely different character from his first appearance) and Michael Lerner.

The Whitaker family has hit hard times. Patriarch, Bill (Rooker) has been laid off from his job, his family has been evicted from their apartment, and their van, which would have served as a place to stay until they could get back on their feet, has been stolen.

Young Billy Whitaker (Matthew Stamm) knows the family is in trouble and calls that number in the newspaper. It’s not McCall’s usual case, but when the family is given temporary refuge in an apartment run by a crooked slumlord, Amar (Lerner), McCall and Mickey have a way to help the family even as Bill works on getting back on his feet with a variety of jobs.

And I love how they take Amar down!

It’s great to see Mickey back, and he also serves as a bit of an everyman in this episode, voicing a lot of thoughts people have about the homeless and the crime that seems to spring up around them. McCall rebuffs each complaint with facts and compassion, and by story’s end Mickey comes around with a better understanding of the dilemma that is still plaguing too much of the world.

And can you believe we’re coming up on the end of season three of The Equalizer? More cases next time.