Ep 1. Father Goes West

Mary Shannon, a US Marshal, has returned for the third season of In Plain Sight with a brand new episode - Father Goes West. In this episode, viewers are introduced to a new threat looming over Mary's head - her father's move to New Mexico, where Mary and her sister, Brandi, have worked hard to keep their problematic family a secret. Mary's estranged father, James Wiley Shannon, walked out on his family thirty years ago, and Mary sees his return as a huge problem.

The episode starts with Mary and Brandi attending a private session with their therapist, which shows how the sisters have different ways of processing their issues. Mary is still harboring anger and disappointment towards her father, while Brandi is more curious about their dad and why he decided to come back. She even starts playing detective, snooping around a restaurant where he used to go to and Mariachi music was being played.

As they start discussing their father, Jinx, their mother, shows up with a new hairstyle, and Mary immediately knows that it was her father who gave her mother the makeover. This angers Mary more because he chose to focus on their mother and ignored his daughters who had been suffering because of his disappearance.

Throughout the episode, Mary keeps an eye on her father while juggling her work as a marshal. In this episode, she is on the hunt for a dealer who's smuggling prescription drugs over the Mexican border into the US. The case takes an unexpected turn when Mary's father becomes involved, which only adds to Mary's frustration. She finds herself in a difficult position when her father's choices start affecting her work, and she struggles to keep him out of her work life.

James Wiley Shannon is a retired art forger who has a talent for creating fake paintings that can sell for millions. His connection to the art world is now known to Mary's entire team, which puts pressure on her and the US Marshals to keep their distance from him. But as the plot thickens, it becomes clear that James has more going on than Mary realized. James is under the impression that he has the inside track on art thefts in the area that he's brought with him to Sante Fe and he uses his connection with Mexican dealers to make his product unique.

As the episode progresses, Mary's father begins to come across as a lost and clingy man trying to reconnect with his family. But Mary is not the only one who is dealing with family issues. Her partner, Marshall, is also dealing with his pregnant wife moving to Texas, leaving him all alone, and he's still figuring out how to cope with it. Mary tries to give him some sisterly advice on how to manage his situation, which adds a touch of humanity to the show.

As the episode draws to a close, Mary's father becomes the reason she is able to apprehend the drug dealer. The drug kingpin is a well-known rich member of the community for whom James has painted a portrait and, in a sense, James acts as an unwitting informant. Mary is finally able to see her father as someone who can be useful rather than just as a burden.

Overall, Season 3 Episode 1 of In Plain Sight is a satisfying episode, providing viewers with a massive character development for Mary and her family. The show is set in Sante Fe, New Mexico, which makes for a beautiful backdrop and an absorbing locale. The episode provides a perfect balance of suspense and drama and brings hope of more exciting episodes throughout the season.