Less case, more character. In general, I think I’d applaud this change of pace. But, re-visiting Jaimie’s past for the second time in a short first season? I’m just saying — it felt very recycled.
And, that being the major focus of this week’s episode of Dark Blue, there really wasn’t much else to sink my teeth into.
Although, if you thought that Billy (Channon Roe) felt recycled, here’s why: Roe’s been an extra in four of this season’s episodes. I guess he made his bones and finally got to the show?
Interesting development in Ty, though. Hiding out from Melissa, not going home to deal with any of the “let’s have a baby” activities. Extra duty down at the shipping yard, hanging around after boxing up the fake shipment, sleeping on the couch at work. He told Dean what was eating him, how he promised to give up the life once the family arrived — Dean’s response: “You shake on it?” — and admitted in the end that he wasn’t ready to have kids. Read: not ready to stop going under. That’s the Ty that I knew lurked within!
The one bit that I thought was huge was Carter stepping up and shielding Jaimie behind him as he dealt with her boyfriend and ADA, Scott (Noah Bean). You see, Carter’s a good cop and I think he’s more dedicated to the job than most. His problem is a people one, in that he can’t relate human to human. He’s never apologetic for what he asks of his officers.
Personally, I’m not sure I see any reason for his needing to be. Yes, he can throw caution to the wind because he doesn’t have anything at home to come back to at night, but he also understands that the job comes first. It’s typical that a TV police unit has the lone cop who’s blinded by the blue line, while all the rest weigh their priorities like the rest of us. Nothing new in that.
What is new here is that all four of these cops committed to a very dangerous, and very not-by-the-book unit. They’ve pre-determined that they place a premium on justice; they’re okay cutting corners. So, why is it that now, when he needs them to put their money where their mouths are, Carter needs to ask if this or that is okay with his team?
He doesn’t. And Carter should never apologize when he fails to do so. However, he knows people and he knows his team, and he should be accustomed to the fact that they come up short each and every time they’re asked to push it to the limit. Not because they’re failures, but because they’re human. None of us can live up to inhuman expectations, even if we placed them on our shoulders ourselves. What Carter does have to apologize for is forgetting that the rest of us fail. But, Carter? He’s a machine.
Why might that be? Ah … that we’ve yet to learn. Anything on that coming next week? I don’t know, but it’s the season finale, so you can bet I’ll be watching. You?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Sep 10, 2009 @ 09:30 EST5EDT
