"Welcome to Your Life" is the first episode of season one of the 2020 Hulu original series The Hardy Boys.
Premise[]
Official episode premise for "Welcome to Your Life" from Hulu:
After a devastating tragedy, Frank and Joe Hardy, together with their father Fenton, move to the small town of Bridgeport to spend the summer with their Aunt Trudy. Their simple summer plans quickly come to an end when they discover their dad has taken on a secret investigation and Joe’s life is threatened. Realizing that their Dad may be onto something, the boys take it upon themselves to start an investigation of their own.
Plot summary[]
Frank and Joe are home arguing over the video game when their mother, Laura, asks Frank to back up her car, allowing for Joe to play the game, much to his older brother’s dismay.
A group of sailors set sail on the Astghik. Their ship gets caught on what appears to be the remains of an airplane wreckage. The captain tasks Ern with cutting them loose. In doing so, he discovers a metal box and retrieves it from the wreckage. A mysterious symbol is engraved on top of the steel box. Captain Carter refrains from opening it and tells his crew to get back to work. Once alone, he radios into the Tall Man to inform him that he "found it." Unbeknownst to the captain, Ern is listening in from just outside.
Captain Carter drops anchor and meets with the Tall Man, who opens the steel box to reveal a gold Egyptian idol inside, which seems to give off low levels of radiation. The Tall Man claimed that he would pay Captain Carter for his services, but instead he kills the captain as well as his crew. Ern is the only survivor as he manages to jump into the water and escape as the Astghik goes up in flames.
Frank and Laura practice his pitch for the upcoming game in the front yard. She explains how everyone has a tell and how it can be used to his benefit.
Laura wakes Joe up from his sleep with a thin paint brush. Elsewhere, Fenton gets dressed for work. Downstairs, Frank overhears his mother on the phone. She claims that she was talking to Marnie, but Frank reminds her that everyone has a tell, including her. Keeping the tradition alive, Laura then draws a heart on a sheet of paper and gifts it to Frank for good luck. She assures him that she'll make it to his game later that evening.
Fenton exits the house in plain clothes rather than his police uniform, leaving Frank and Laura to question what he’s up to. He simply replies that they should be giving her the gold shield for her investigative skills before asking to take the car and kissing her goodbye.
Joe rides through the park on his way to summer school. A group of bullies refer to him as "Farty" and tell him to pass the ball. Instead, Joe kicks the ball away and flees on his skateboard.
Fenton and Sam are working undercover at a construction site. They are investigating a corrupt city inspector named Aucoin. Sam monitors from the car while Fenton poses as an electrician to get a better look at the inspector inside a trailer. Fenton takes several photos from outside the trailer. Sam warns him that there’s a bogey headed his way, forcing Fenton to retreat and head back to the car where Sam awaits. Sam asks if he saw the handoff between the city inspector and his client. Fenton realizes they did the handoff right in front of him and goes to arrest Aucoin for bribery. Fenton recalls Aucoin entering the trailer with a blue thermos and yet he exited with a green one, filled with cash no less.
As Frank prepares for his game, his girlfriend, Emma, and her best friend, Sandra arrive. Emma tells him that he’s going to do great and that they’ll celebrate afterward.
Laura is on her way to Frank’s game when she notices that she’s being followed. She instructs the man in the vehicle to go ahead of her but he instead charges towards her.
Frank’s game is nearing its end and neither his mom nor dad have arrived, which has not gone unnoticed as he repeatedly looks up into the stands. Sandra mistakes Frank’s concern for his mother as affection for Emma and says that it’s cute that he keeps looking at her.
Fenton calls Laura and leaves a message on her phone telling her that he won’t be able to make Frank’s game. Sam then approaches Fenton and tells him that Laura was involved in a wreck.
Joe joins Emma and Sandra in the stands for the final pitch of the game, which Frank manages to win after striking out the rival team. Joe joins him on the field and asks if he's seen Mom or Dad. Just then, Fenton arrives and drives them to the scene of the incident, where their mother was involved in a fatal crash that resulted in her death.
Laura’s mother, Gloria, speaks at her funeral. She tells those in attendance how Laura was a fighter and how if she was there, she’d still be fighting for those she loved the most. After the burial, Gloria thanks Fenton for allowing her to speak and tells him that he can ask her for anything. Meanwhile, Frank stands over her casket and throws his baseball glove into the grave.
Emma has never been to a funeral before and doesn’t know what she can do to comfort Frank, so she simply leaves to get him some water. Gloria arrives and embraces her grandson, who remarks that this entire ordeal doesn’t feel real. Gloria gifts Frank with a music box that belonged to his mother. Frank discovers a secret compartment, and Gloria tells him that there’s more than one secret in that box.
Frank joins Joe inside and tells him that everybody is leaving. Joe is happy to see them leave, stating that they only came for the show. He then lashes out at Frank, blaming him for their mother’s death. Hidden near the table, Frank discovers a box with their dad’s items from work, as well as photos from their mother’s accident. Fenton enters and tells them that they’re moving to his home town of Bridgeport for the summer. Frank and Joe are against the move and ask their father about the files he has of their mother’s accident, however, he refuses to have another word on the matter and tells them to pack their belongings in the morning. Joe then looks to Frank for answers. Frank claims to not know anything, which angers Joe as he knows he’s being lied to.
Frank says goodbye to Emma
Joe and Fenton wait in the car as Frank says goodbye to Emma. He tells her that he’s only going to be gone for the summer and kisses her goodbye. Sandra assures Emma that she’ll be fine. Frank then gets in the car and leaves with his brother and father.
Frank and Joe arrive with their father at their Aunt Trudy’s. She welcomes Joe with a hug and tells them that there are two rooms up for grab and the boys race inside to stake their claim. Frank takes Aunt Trudy’s old room while Joe takes their dad’s old room.
Trudy asks Fenton how he’s holding up. He replies that the boys are mad at him. Trudy explains that she wasn't asking about them.
Joe and Frank ride their bikes to the store
Trudy sends Frank and Joe into town to grab a few items from Wilt's Deli. There, they meet Biff. She asks Joe where he’s from. He replies “not here.” Frank asks Wilt for two tubs of ice cream while Joe looks for peaches. Biff follows him and introduces herself. Joe inquires about her unusual name. She explains that one her first day of kindergarten, she couldn’t say her name right. She said “Elizabiff.” And the name just stuck. She then proceeds to block his path and tells him that she’ll leave him alone if he buys her a gumball.
While Frank waits for Wilt to ring up his order, he meets Callie Shaw, who already knows of him through his grandmother, Gloria. Wilt then realizes that he’s Laura’s kid and gives his condolences. Callie’s boyfriend, Chet, introduces himself, as well as Phil, the self proclaimed reigning champion of Legion of March. Frank questions if everyone is normally this friendly. Wilt then returns and tells Frank that the ice cream and peaches are on the house. Lastly, he offers Frank a part-time job at the deli as he could use some help around the store.
Frank, Joe, Fenton, and Trudy are having dinner when Gloria shows up unexpectedly with cherry pie. She’s come to tell them that she had scheduled a “welcome to Bridgeport” barbecue at her place tomorrow night. With Frank and Joe having lived in the city all those years, Gloria wants to show them around town. Gloria then recalls when Laura first brought Fenton home, with who she was quite unimpressed. On Frank’s behalf, Gloria has begun to make some arrangements to pad out his resume as she hopes to convince him to attend Rosegrave Preparatory Academy. As for Joe, Gloria would like to teach him to ride horses.
The following night, the Hardys arrive at Gloria’s for the “welcome to Bridgeport” barbecue. Gloria introduces Frank and Joe to the entire party. Fenton reunites with Ezra Colig, who is now chief of police and deputy Jesse Hooper, both of whom offer their condolences for Laura.
Chet and Callie at Gloria's party
Frank and Joe join Callie, Chet, Biff, and Phil as they discuss the fishing boat that went down a couple weeks ago. Cops think it was a gas fire. Chet asks if their dad showed them any of his tricks given that he’s a detective. Frank knows how to dust for prints whereas Joe is an expert lock pick.
Gloria interrupts and takes Frank and Joe to meet their grandfather, or at least a painting of him anyways. George Estabrook made the discovery that made everything possible for their family. Joe asks about the mounted head on the wall. Gloria explains that it’s the beast that got their Uncle Harry. Joe then opens the door and unintentionally lets Peppermint out — Gloria’s dog.
Frank and Joe go searching the woods for Peppermint, with Callie and Chet in tow. Joe finds himself captured by Ern, who Chet recognizes and attempts to calm down. Ern holds Joe at knifepoint and tells Frank to bring Gloria to him. Frank does as instructed and takes Gloria to Ern, who informs her that he was on her fishing boat — The Astghik. He explains that her boat was set on fire after two men got onboard and killed the entire crew. As he tells Gloria this, Joe stomps on his foot, allowing for him to break free and for Gloria’s servant, Stefan, to intervene, though Ern does manage to escape. Gloria assures them that she will look into the Astghik and the circumstances surrounding it.
Frank, Joe, and Fenton return home. Joe assures everyone that he’s fine. Fenton promises his sons that he’ll look into the Ern situation with Ezra and Jesse.
The next day, Frank and Joe go into the attic and look through their mother’s belongings. Joe wonders what she was thinking just before the accident and says that he can’t believe they’re never going to see her again. Frank then finds an old family video of them with their mother while their father records. They suddenly hear a loud thud and spot a hole in the floor leading to the garage, where their father is speaking with Kanika Khan. She explains that her nephew, Rupert, who is in charge of most of their company’s interests, started acting strange before disappearing three weeks ago. Phone records show that he called Laura three times on the day she died. Mrs. Khan believes that Laura picked back up journalism and Rupert was her source for whatever she was investigating, which ultimately resulted in her death. After Rupert checked out of the hotel in Bridgeport, he disappeared again. So, Mrs. Khan is willing to hire Fenton to find Rupert. From the attic, Frank and Joe declare that they’re going to find their mother’s killer.
Appearances[]
Cast and characters[]
Starring[]
- Rohan Campbell as Frank Hardy
- Alexander Elliot as Joe Hardy
- James Tupper as Fenton Hardy
- Keana Lyn Bastidas as Callie Shaw
- Linda Thorson as Gloria Estabrook
- Bea Santos as Aunt Trudy
- Adam Swain as Chet Morton
- Atticus Mitchell as J.B. Cox (credit only)
- Riley O'Donnell as Biff Hooper
- Laara Sadiq as Kanika Khan
Co-starring[]
- Janet Porter as Laura Hardy
- Jennifer Hsiung as Jesse Hooper
- Bill Lake as Ezra Collig
- Philip Williams as Wilt
- Ric Garcia as Stefan
- Stephen R. Hart as The Tall Man
- Alexandra Beaton as Emma, Frank's girlfriend back in Dixon City
- Charlotte Lai as Sandra, Emma's friend
- Jim Codrington as Sam Peterson
- Cristian Perri as Phil Cohen
- Sean Dolan as Ern Cullmore, survivor of the Astghik
- Tyler Murree as Aucoin, city inspector
- Scott Edgecombe as Bill Cullmore
- Victor Ertmanis as Ben Carter, captain of the Astghik
- Thomas Kane as Fisherman #1
- Goran Stjepanovic as Fisherman #2
- Jordan Kronis as Cory, school bully
- Tara Paterson as Shawna Mayer, Ern's girlfriend
- Nadine Hyatt as Police Officer
Other characters[]
- Marnie (mentioned), Laura claimed to be on the phone with her
- Tomlinson, rival baseball team player
- George Estabrook, Gloria's father
- Harry Estabrook, Frank and Joe's uncle, Laura's brother
- Peppermint, Gloria's dog
- Rupert Khan (mentioned), Kanika's nephew, and Kanika would like Fenton to find him
Locations and organizations[]
- Bridgeport
- Dixon City
- Dixon City Tigers, high school baseball team
- Dixon City Police Department
Other[]
- Astghik, fishing boat owned by Gloria Estabrook
- Unnamed ship that rendezvoused with the Astghik
- Gold idol, an object uncovered at sea by crew aboard the Astghik
Quotes[]
- Laura to Frank: Everybody's got a tell, and once you spot it, you've got them.
- Gloria at Laura's funeral: The hardest thing a parent can do in this world is to bury their child. Even though distance kept us apart for far too long, I knew my daughter still had so much she wanted to do. When Laura believed in something, she stood her ground. She was a fighter. And I know if she were here now, she'd still be fighting... for those people she loved the most.
- Gloria to Frank: Nobody understands, do they? What it's like to lose someone like this. No goodbyes. No preparation. Just...One minute they're there, and then the next minute they're...
- Joe to Fenton: Bridgeport's got a weird way of welcoming people.
- Biff to Joe: First day of kindergarten, I couldn't say my name right. I said "Elizabiff." It just stuck.
Gallery[]
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| The Hardy Boys (2020 TV series) | |
|---|---|
| Characters | Frank Hardy • Joe Hardy • Aunt Trudy • Fenton Hardy • Laura Hardy • Callie Shaw • Biff Hooper • Chet Morton • Phil Cohen • Gloria Estabrook • The Tall Man • Kanika Khan • JB Cox • Emma • Rupert Khan • Stacy Baker • Officer Jesse Hooper • Paul McFarlane • George Estabrook • Ahmed Khan • Sergei Nabokov • Anya Kowalski • Stefan • Sam Peterson • Nigel • Ern Cullmore • Shawna Mayer • Police Chief Ezra Collig |
| Season 1 | 01 Welcome to Your Life • 02 Where the Light Can't Find You • 03 Of Freedom and Pleasure • 04 Secrets and Lies • 05 The Drop • 06 In Plain Sight • 07 A Figure in Hiding • 08 What Happened in Bridgeport • 09 The Key • 10 The Secret Room • 11 No Getting Out • 12 Eye to Eye • 13 While the Clock Ticked |
| Locations | Bridgeport • Bridgeport Police Department • Bridgeport Public School • Wilt's Deli • Estabrook home • Hardy home • Rosegrave Preparatory Academy • Dixon City |
| Misc | Image gallery |