'Forever' Recap: 'Hitler on the Half-Shell'

Last night's episode of Forever was a deeply personal and poignant one in Henry and Abe's relationship plus a plot deeply rooted in American history.

For the first time since the series began, they are delving into Abe's past and who his biological parents were. I was thankful that Henry didn't feel betrayed that Abe wanted to learn about them and his real last name. Too often on shows involving adoption in any form, the writers make the adoptive parent(s) angry or hurt when the grown child wants info on their biological parents.

When Henry finds the imprint of the swastika on the man's skull and finds the statue he thought was fake was the murder weapon, I got a chill down my spine.

In addition, the framed art that Jo pointed out had been removed from the frames reminded me of the 2014 hit movie The Monuments Men starring George Clooney, Matt Damon and others, which was loosely based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Robert M. Edsel. It detailed how, in 1943, sections of Allied forces worked to protect priceless works of art stolen or hidden by the Nazis and return them to their original owners.

Jo and her partner learn that Karl's father was part of a Nazi task force charged with stealing priceless works of art. The father later fled to America, changed his name, but took hundreds of pieces of stolen art with him, which he left his now murdered son.

Jo and Henry tell Eric, Karl's son, that the collection was stolen and everything his father told him was a lie. Eric, of course, doesn't believe them. I knew immediately that he must be lying, but couldn't be sure yet. He just looked kind of off to me.

We then learn through a flashback that Henry's father owned a shipping company that did very well, but was active in the slave trade, for which Henry is mortified. Gruffudd's shocked expression was priceless and further showed me his extraordinary acting skill. I actually felt his sheer horror at the discovery.

When Jo and Henry trace Karl's watch, they find that he returned an original work of Claude Monet to its original owner and that it had been stolen by the Nazis. The man also tells them that Karl wanted to return all of the art to their rightful owners. After so many years, the notion of such priceless works of art thought to be lost forever and this man wanting to restore what the Nazis so savagely stole brought tears to my eyes. Hitler wasn't satisfied with just killing millions of Jews, he wanted to eradicate pieces of heritage that could never be replaced.

Jo and her partner track down another suspect, who stole another painting from Karl, because it rightfully belonged to his family. He denies killing Karl and says he was on the phone screaming at someone in German. Henry and Jo make another incredible art discovery of a painting Henry says was thought to have been destroyed.

Then, we see "Adam" going to see Abe at his shop. I immediately got INCREDIBLY FRIGHTENED!!!. Would "Adam" hurt Abe as s sign to Henry??? Henry would be inconsolable!!! "Adam" brings Abe a silver platter for him to authenticate and notes the number on his arm must mean he was in Auschwitz. The tension could be cut with a knife.

The next scene gave me yet another chill. Jo and Henry traced Karl's phone records and learn he kept most of the collection in a bank vault, where the bank manager, Julian, was helping him try to locate the pieces' true owners. The sheer volume of the art in that vault was overwhelming. I'm sure such a room did exist in real life and it made my breath catch in my throat.

Henry realizes too late that Julian handled a Rembrandt, after conducting chemical tests on a frame, and when he and Jo returned to the vault, all the art was gone! Gruffudd displayed yet another grandly emotion expression that made his feelings jump from the screen, IMO.

Henry realizes that "Adam" came to see Abe after inspecting the platter. He then meets with "Adam." He tells "Adam" to stay away from Abe. "Adam" then tells Henry that he knew Karl's father during the the war. "Adam" tells Henry that he wasn't a Nazi and would never hurt Abe. "Adam" then explains and we see that the Nazis learned of his immortality and tortured him to try to gain his secret so Hitler could become immortal.

This chilled me to my core. I know immortality is impossible and I know the ruthlessness of Hitler knew no bounds, but this still was very disturbing. Though, I did question why "Adam" just didn't kill himself so he would disappear like Henry does when he's killed. I don't know if that was a faux pas in the episode or if "Adam's" immortality doesn't work like Henry's.

"Adam" wants Henry to watch for a dagger the Nazis stole from his family. Henry doesn't want to help, but since he's a good man he can't refuse. Jo and her partner find more stolen art and a dead, bloody, tortured Julian. I'm not faint of heart, but I will say this episode is a tad too bloody for my liking.

In a flashback, we see Henry's father, on his deathbed, give him his pocket watch. How Henry respectfully closed his father's eyes after he passed was touching, IMO.

Through his usual unorthodox deductive methods, Henry realizes Eric, Karl's son, killed him. He denies killing Julian, which is proven through DNA. Henry then realizes that "Adam" killed Julian. Gruffudd's shocked expression was perfect!

We see "Adam" go see Abe again. I was terrified that he would hurt or kill him, but he just disappeared with the platter, leaving a book from the Nazis for Abe. It was the lost record of everyone imprisoned in Auschwitz, including Abe's biological parents. I started to cry. Abe tells Henry the man, who he didn't know was "Adam," gave it to him then disappeared. Henry tells Abe the man was "Adam" and that he wanted to "make amends."

Abe then tells Henry that the gesture shows that "Adam" was also a victim. I don't know how much I believe that, but we'll see.

I cried even more when Abe went to the Holocaust Museum to ask if they had any possessions of his biological parents. He gave his real last name, but kept the name Abraham, which Henry named him.

In conclusion, this episode was an emotionally charged one, both for me and for its plot, and I don't remember crying so much at a TV episode in recent memory.