Dark Blue – Despite the recession, the heroin trade is still popping

Which would actually be good news, if there weren’t so many barriers to entry in that market, such as the turf war that Dean and the gang consciously walk right into. This episode was like a civics lesson, too. Propping up the bad guy who is better for you (or not as bad for the world) in their battle against the bad guy with the grand plans for expansion, or domination. It’s like backing Iraq in its war with Iran, or Afghanistan as it battled the USSR. I wonder why they’re so well-armed now….

Again, a tad too fast and furious, particularly the rapid adjustments that the back-up unit constantly needs to make on the fly. Snatching the leader’s girlfriend, or raiding a stash house on a whim? Forgetting about the feasibility of such things, would the police really do something that reckless?

Okay; same old, same old. So, what was new this week? Ty’s sister popped up to ask for money. If he’s struggling financially (which he apparently is) would this really be the first time that all that drug money tempted him? And, no offense, but are we supposed to buy the choir-boy act? He sold his motorcycle? I’m thinking Ty dipped into some of that free-flowing cash, and it will come back to haunt him later on.

I’m really doubting Jaimie’s suitability for this undercover unit. While I imagine it isn’t necessary to be as totally crazy as Carter and Dean, she just doesn’t seem to have what it takes. Her screen time is really starting to drag for me; even Ty’s questioning of what’s best for him in life beats Jaimie’s waverings any day of the week.

I’m not sure I got exactly what the whole undercover set-up was this time around. Dean used an informant to gain access to the Venice Kings, but why was the informant still around to potentially endanger Dean’s life? Traditionally, wouldn’t he have either been sent back in, alone, or removed from the equation so that Dean could be free to work? I couldn’t understand why it was necessary to turn things so high risk.

All in all, another great episode, with some solid character development for Ty. Carter’s still a big question mark, and I’d love it if every episode gave us a little more of who he is, but the who, what, where, and why of the unit continually being played out before us is awesome, nonetheless.

I will say again, though, that Dark Blue would benefit from some long operations. The speed at which they move now robs us of a lot of what could be really interesting about the work that an undercover unit in LA would be doing. Plus, we’d get to see a really cool evolution, from identification of a target all the way through to an arrest, with comprehensive stops along the way.

As things stand now, we join an episode essentially already in progress, with the undercover cop firmly in place, yet still a tiny bit away from locking down whatever angle they need to. From there, it’s wham bam to the finish, with a clock ticking right over their shoulders.

There’s no harm in giving these characters, and their stories, their due. It would only serve to make a really incredible show even better.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Sep 03, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT