Guildford

I think Marina explained it in an interview.... It's a lot of work & study & Kim & Adam couldn't do it both at the same time and Atwater is all caught up in his housing project that's keeping him occupied. That makes more sense than the throw away 'nobody was interested' line in the show. I was just happy that they showed it was a lot of work... and you don't just get it sleeping with your boss.

For this episode I though both Kevin & Trudy should've been in it, rather than blink & you'd miss Kiana, & Torres... but I guess they needed the later to set up the next episode with him banging hi CI.

Hmmm.... I remember an interview with Gwen a while back that said someone becoming detective wasn't a very compelling story and I guess she was right. This wasn't in ballpark of the rest of this seasons episodes for tension, storytelling and action, and seemed to meander through most of it. It was jarring to see them lean heavily on... 'this is the strict procedure that's followed every single time'.... when those who've watched the show for the past 11 season know they rarely do things that way. And as for never leaving your partner on a pursuit.... umm have they watched this show before? It was a little too anvilly. I was half expecting to find out that the detective that hit on the Suarez while pregnant & doing her ride along turned out to be the Chief... it felt that contrived, so thankfully it didn't go there. Suarez needs to quit, she's going to get someone killed with her paranoia & attitude. She's jaded & danger to anyone who has the misfortune of being lumbered with her misery. I still don't know the point of her telling Kim every 10 seconds that Reid was checking up on them and wanted results. It didn't feel like it was because she wanted to see how Kim responded under that pressure & more about her own issues. However despite that... YAY for Burgess, I am happy for her, and I loved how she stood up for herself when she could've just done it the way the Sureaz wanted to do it. I did also love the shade that Kim was not going to compromise her morals to have something over her to get the promotion. We all know that the previous blondie barbie got hers under very 'dubious' circumstances. On the balance, really happy for Burgess, it's great to have a new detective, it was great to actually get some Burzek scenes after having none all season.... but the episode overall won't be one I'll be rushing to re-watch. The case was weak and the characters were just meh.

Loved that they bought in Kiana Cook & not in the usual tropey way by making her antagonistic & with a shit eating grin like the previous female. Women don't need to be brash, abrasive, bitchy & snotty to be strong. I enjoyed her and Torres working together, but I really hope they don't try & force anything more than a brother/sister or besties vibe with them. Because that's all I got from them working together. More like Burgess & Atwater than Deadstead. I enjoyed all the Kim flags... that she's already stepped up into the detective role & did it without trying to be in charge. Even though Ruzek & Atwater were in the background it wasn't as sledgehammery as it used to be with the centric format. I feel like with a few more tweaks the show will have finally ironed out the kinks of the format. Missed Trudy this week... but I guess after 4 weeks of Platt goodness it was time for a down week. The rain... man that was intense. What I loved about it was that it was relentless... so many shows try & do a rain episode & it rains once, everyone runs around perfectly dry 90% of the time... PD has really stepped up their game this season. Five straight episodes I've watched.... and that hasn't happened for quite at while.

I am happy either way, honestly I'd rather see Atwater get a bit more love than Voight, but I do like the current relationship between Voight & Chapman. I think her admission could be very interesting, particularly if Voight pushes back on it. Either way, I'm okay. However, FFS .... are Burzek ever going to be allowed to speak on screen again? There has been zero follow up since episode 3 last season. At least let them have one conversation .... please... it's getting weird.

I am loving this season. The fight scene was lit... I didn't expect the dude to take down both Kev & Dante... would've like to have seen them with a few more bruises on their faces in the following scene in the bullpen, but a minor gripe. Also seeing as most of the team went into Edgar's house at the end, it was a little distracting that non-one came running when Voight fired his weapon. On a shallow note, the 3 younger boys are looking mighty mighty fine this season. That aside, I enjoyed the case & also that Voight was a little more restrained. His grief for his wife was palpable even after all this time. I guess Marina was still on 'light duties' after her Mat leave but Kim kinda disappeared in the back half, although I think I prefer that than not seeing her at all & maybe that's a better way to manage the budget cuts? (Not sure how that works payment wise) .. and now Chapman will disappear for a couple of months (the actress recently gave birth to a little boy herself). I didn't mind the confession from Chapman, but what I want to see is Voight telling her that it's just not going to happen & the push & pull of that play out as long as it stays platonic. Having that between them could be interesting. A strong start to season 12, probably the best 4 episode run this show has put together for a long time.

😂 It was very abrupt. Guess they didn't want to waste too much time on that, but it was weird.

Hoy boy isn't season 12 a HUGE step up on previous seasons. It's about damn time Kevin got some love & someone who can actually help him, knows he's a cop & isn't going to cause him all sorts of moral grief... I loved how Val just dived in, why not have some fun & if it works it works, if not they've had some fun finding out. She seems able to call him on his shit & hopefully we don't get a repeat of his lying in his last foray into some sack action. (Then again... Gwen doesn't seem as hell-bent of keeping all the characters in a perpetual state of misery like Eid did.) I found Dianne interesting, the way she was all over the shop, remembering bits & pieces. Sometimes it's either they can't remember anything or can recall everything in minute detail so it was nice that they were a bit more back & forth, and it made the case more interesting because of it. When I first watched it & Kim mentioned the cop with the scar... I did think, oh boy we are going back to the every other cop in CPD besides IU are bad apples. Happy to find out it wasn't the case. I am enjoying the style of this season, the loud music is gone, the myopic-ness of the episodes is toned way down. Yes, Kevin was clearly the only one that got any character development, but that's okay as long as the others are used throughout the case, which they seem to be doing. Hope it lasts. My only quibble would be that while it was nice they were remembering Martel in the beginning, it would've been nice if someone had checked on Adam. Nice to see Kim back.... & 3 episodes in I can't say I've missed the blonde horror one iota.

Phew, what a ride. It was a great episode, & kept me invested the whole time. Paddy was just on a whole other level, I enjoyed his partnering with Kiana. It was a great choice & I loved seeing the dynamic of different people together. Seeing Trudy so much was a complete joy, her Mumma Bear kicked in & bubbled away underneath her Cop mode. "It's not good" ... the way Paddy played that scene. 🥹 The whole vibe this season is on point. It feels lighter, even though it's been two heavy episodes, the actors seem more up for it. They are centric without being myopic... it feels like TPTB finally looked at the feedback from the last few seasons to heart. Last season Paddy commented that both he & Marina had to go ask the writers if Burzek were still engaged because it was never mentioned after episode 3... this season Kim has been mentioned in both episodes. It doesn't take much.

I really enjoyed it, but that's probably two-fold. The first time I've watched since episode 3 last season, so I've missed Ruzek, Atwater et al. So it was good to see them back. secondly... She's GONE I missed Kim, imagine the banter between her & Emily over 'Ruzey'. It definitely felt like a re-set, a return to early season form. I think we need to accept that it is a procedural cop shop so there are only so many ways to skin the cat. Despite the darkness and dead bodies piling up it FELT lighter. I have hope. The opening sequence & seeing that whiteboard was enough to bring me joy. I can finally just sit back & enjoy it for what it is. And oh boy, that look on Adam's face at the end. Paddy is underrated as an actor. Can't wait to see what he brings next week.

Thank god that is over. What I find amusing is that so many 'fans' refused to see that her core relationship was always with Voight, & Upstead was bought in to be the antagonist (for want of a better word) to her relationship with Voight because she was the contination to the Erin/Voight relationship they never got to tell. They wanted their fanfic ending, nobody on this show has ever got a fanfic ending. 'But she deserved better, it was disrespectful'.... like Al, Antonio, & Erin before her.... and what about the disrespect to basically ignore the entire rest of the team for a whole season. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I wish Tracy well but I won't miss Hailey or her rabid fans.

Who are we kidding, the only way they won't get backlash is if her ex-husband comes back, explains that he was in a coma & didn't sign the divorce papers & they ride off to his cabin in the woods.

The myopic format is doing the show no favours. There is not flow, stories get started, then stopped, then started again, nobody knows when it is going to come around again so it has no flow. No family feel, humour or personal bonding between characters, everyone is siloed into their own story & nothing else. Trauma piled on, then forgotten, no resolution to stories. Cliffhangers that go nowhere. Way too much focus this past two seasons of one character stuck in the same spot. Every second week seems to be the same hamster wheel of misery for Upton, who they constantly keep in this woe is me my husband left me dragnet, whereas Kim, Adam, Kevin have trauma upon trauma & it's just ignored. I think teh case stories are strong enough & interesting but they need to include the whole team, that's when the show was at it's strongest. You can do centric led, where one character is pushed to the fore, but they are way too myopic. Not enough Humour, lightness or Trudy.

Isn't that all anyone has been? A prop for Upton... Jay was, Adam was in season 6, Kim's brutal kidnapping & shooting was a prop for Upton's meltdown. Now this character, who we've seen more of than the actual cast, is again just there to prop up the show's weakest character because she's always needed someone else as a crutch. Her final season might have been slightly more interesting if they had chose to explore her relationships with the team, like her role in the Roy saga that had Kim suffering extreme PTSD (eventually after we dealt with her melodrama), her emottional manipulation & abuse of Adam, her disdain for Atwater... but no, we get another version of her in a completely new character.

3 episodes to go....