Forever Episode 1.08 The Ecstasy of the Agony

Maureen Delacroix (guest star Jane Seymour) is back! She's Abe's two-time ex-wife. She's also the object of his intense passion. Why do you think he married her? Twice! Henry worries Abe is setting himself up for a broken heart. Again!

Richard Gaines, a successful businessman and devoted husband, is found dead in an alley. He was the subject of a form of ritualized punishment. In other words, the guy liked to be whipped. Henry suggests that there is a fine line between pleasure and pain.

The victim's wife says he had a "domination therapist" named Iona Payne (guest star Hilarie Burton). Henry and Jo pay her a visit. Iona has the tools in her office that could have been used to choke Richard to death. She claims that he didn't die from asphyxiation. Henry agrees with Iona that Richard was electrocuted. Jo and Hanson find the cattle prod that may be the murder weapon.

Henry makes himself scarce after catching sight of Abe and Maureen dancing at home. He pays a visit to Iona to ask about erotic electrocution. He's treated to a firsthand sampling. While this is happening, Iona realizes that he has been hurt before. A flashback shows Henry returning home to his first wife, Nora, who thought he was dead after having fallen overboard on a ship. Iona offers to help him get past his past by doing what she does best.

Henry's impromptu therapy session is interrupted when Jo and Hanson show up to arrest Iona. He doesn't believe she's a killer even though she has a past where she's crossed more than a few lines. She had an affair with a patient back when she was a regular therapist named Molly.

During a search of Iona's place, Henry finds her appointment book. A former cop-turned-P.I. had Iona's place under surveillance. He says Richard's wife, Gwyneth, hired him. Henry knocks the guy out when he makes disparaging remarks about Iona. As for Gwyneth, she admits that she was also involved in dominatrix therapy. Iona was protecting her.

Iona is cleared as a suspect. She gives Henry a kiss upon her release. Someone observes this from across the street. This stranger attacks Henry with as cattle prod. Video surveillance cameras capture the incident. Jo recognizes the tattoo on the arm of the man who abducts Henry. It matches what she saw on one of Iona's clients.

The suspect's name is Cliff Wadlow. Iona realizes that Henry was targeted because the killer saw their kiss on the street. Wadlow was always on the receiving end of pain. Now he's inflicting it on Henry, who has been through intense agony before. Flashbacks show how Nora betrayed him because she didn't believe his story of being immortal.

Henry is in the middle of being electrocuted when the police storm in to save him. Jo notices the healed scar on his chest. Henry says the story behind it is for another time. Back home, Abe is relieved to hear that Henry is safe. He turns down Maureen's tempting offer to run away with her. Elsewhere, Henry decides to join his coworkers for a drink. As Billy Joel would say... It's better than drinking alone.