Forever Episode 1.15 The King of Columbus Circle

An old man drops dead on a park bench: Jo (Alana De La Garza) and Det. Hanson (Donnie Keshawarz) assume it's because he was undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer, as his wrist bracelet indicates. Henry (Ioan Gruffudd) spots an unusual scar on the man's abdomen and recognizes it as his own work from 50 years ago.

He flashes back to Romania, 1955: He and Abigail were taking their long-delayed honeymoon on the Orient Express (young Abe stayed with her parents). Before they could settle the issue of whether or not to have children of their own, Henry was summoned to attend to a young boy whose appendix had burst. Despite the limited equipment on hand, Henry saved his life and was told he'd just saved the heir to the throne of Urkesh. The King thanked Henry in person and gave him the ring his father had handed down to him.

A woman turns up at the lab, identifying herself as the dead man's widow and the dead man as Armen Arnov, the exiled King of Urkesh. Lt. Reece (Lorraine Toussaint) orders Jo and Hanson to handle the case delicately. She also wonders why Henry wanted to do an autopsy on a man who seems to have died of natural causes.

Abe (Judd Hirsch) is looking up every Weinraub in the city: Now that he knows his birth name, he's eager to connect with all his relatives and plot his family tree. Henry asks Abe if he regrets never having children and Abe tells him that he is his legacy, since Henry will live forever. Henry apologizes for keeping Abe away from his own relations, but Abe says he and Abigail were the only family he ever needed.

Henry returns the royal ring to the king's widow, who is astonished to see it. Henry tells her a half-truth: He "dabbles" in antiques. During their chat, he learns that Arnov was not receiving radiation therapy. He rushes back to the lab to find several men taking Arnov's body away. He manages to scan the body in the elevator and announces that not only was Arnov poisoned, everyone in the elevator now - including Lucas (Joel David Moore) - has been exposed to radiation as well.

Henry drags Jo to the Urkesh consulate to find traces of radiation. The head of the consulate isn't much help, but then they see him at a food truck outside: He'll talk, but only on American soil. He admits that the King gave him a giant diamond to expedite his visa so he could die on Urkesh soil.

The King's last meal was yak stew, eaten at Taste of Urkesh. Henry and Jo find the owner -- who bears scars of torture -- less than cooperative. Henry's Geiger counter goes off: This is where the King was poisoned! The owner admits he had no love for the King, but insists he didn't do it. He points them towards the King's dining companion, a beautiful young American with whom he had an argument.

They quickly determine that the woman was Lydia, who works at a club. She tells them Arnov claimed he was her father, but she didn't believe him when he told her he was a King, or that the diamonds he offered her were real. Jo has a new suspect when Lydia says Arnov warned her not to tell anyone the truth or else his wife would kill him.

Henry, Jo and Hanson go to talk to Arnov's widow. She swears she loved her husband and would never kill him. She then collapses: She's also been poisoned with radiation! Henry pumps her stomach on the spot and saves her life. Henry concludes that the killer wasn't after the Urkesh diamonds, but in ending the monarchy for good.

Henry spots ink stains at the Arnovs' and declares they're not looking for a fellow visa applicant, but for whoever fingerprinted the applicants at the consulate. And now Lydia is in danger since she stopped by the consulate and announced her relationship to the dead King. The head of the consulate won't ID the worker they want, but secretly slips Jo his name and photo.

They call Lydia to warn her, but the killer's already in her apartment. He starts to choke her, until he hears a baby cry. He's about to shoot the baby, but then Jo and Henry burst in. Jo shoots the killer, but not before he shoots Lydia. As she's being rushed to the hospital, she tells Henry she doesn't want her baby to grow up an orphan, like she did.

While Lydia recovers, Jo and Henry hold the baby and Henry flashes back to his honeymoon. Jo asks if he and Abigail ever wanted children and he tells her they did, but, "Fate had other plans."

At the hospital, Arnov's widow bonds with Lydia and her baby, telling the child that the ring he's playing with will someday be his.

Abe is thrilled to tell Henry what he's found in tracing his bloodline: They're related! They have a common ancestor in Henry's scandalous Uncle Dennis, who died in a duel. The two conclude they have the same cheekbones and admire themselves in the mirror.