Sweet Tooth

I liked that as well. And also that they gave him a bit of a backstory as to how he wound up where he is. We saw him in a moment of weakness, too. They definitely made him much more three-dimensional. Also, that Simone gave him full credit. The only thing that really bugged me was Laura constantly saying "real-a-tor." Girl, there's only one "a" in realtor.

I thought for sure I missed something, and there was another episode, as they showed the cast afterward all weepy, and Barrett Foa was there, so I thought for sure there was another episode where we saw him. It seems strange to not have him in the episode at all. ETA: The "man and wife" thing bugged the hell out of me. They don't say that anymore. I can't believe it's still used in some shows.

Wow! S.W.A.T. Resurrected! I saw the last posts and was so sad. Then I see this, and I had to look it up! Whenever there's a super-famous person as the head of an outside agency, you definitely see, "I'm the real bad buy" written all over it. And he was awful to boot... One more to go, but not the last one! Yeah. She's seeming more like "the little woman" all the time, but I was encouraged to hear she was at least going back to work.

I really believe that this was a mistake in the writing. They honestly tried to depict Hondo and Nichelle as nervous new parents, completely overreacting to Grandma just taking her grandbaby for a walk. The problem is, they had her going out without her phone, completely incommunicado. The fact that nobody mentioned the length of time she was gone or that she left without any way for people to get in touch with her, tells me that the writers hadn't even considered just how bananas that was. They could have had a much more innocuous situation, but instead they chose this. I firmly believe that the reason her behavior wasn't addressed, is because the writers were convinced this was normal behavior, and Hondo and Nichelle needed to calm down.

Street's story with his old friend was probably the most interesting part of this episode. On another note, I live in L.A. and always like to figure out where they filmed something. I saw a business in the background and thought it looked familiar. It's in the San Fernando Valley, far away from Beverly Hills. I guess Mom taking the baby out for a long walk was totally normal, and they were supposed to be seen as overreacting, which is interesting.

That would be amazing. He loved that painting.

I like how rather than "Vampire Cop" being a hinderance, they've turned it into an asset. Like, finally someone who's been famous talks about how they can't go undercover, and he's able to go in as himself. It's nice that the way they weave in his previous life with his current one, and how he's able to bring in his skills. I think the cast has really begun to gel. I wasn't sure at first, but the more the show goes on, the more comfortable they all seem together.

Okay, count me in as someone who loved it. A good old-fashioned whodunnit without any angst or drama. The whole cast obviously having a good time. No Elijah. It wasn't all just silliness. Poor Dim wound up in a dumpster. Also count me in as thinking that painting could totally be repaired.

Guuuuurl...yum. Totally agree. Like Street 2.0 without all that baggage, so he seems to learn his lessons a little quicker. Yeah, I think Luca might have a bit of a problem with the "no strings attached" part. That is one protective dude.

Wowowowowow. I thought the whole scene with Tan punching the wall was good...but this? Wow. And it seemed like both Hondo and Tan agreed that he probably needed to take the time off to get his head screwed on straight. If someone who, as Tan pointed out, always has it all together suddenly loses it like that, it shows this is more than just one bad night. It also showed a way for Nichelle to be more integral to the plot while going against Hondo at the same time, making a tough choice based on what she knew, rather than letting Hondo talk her out of her decision. At first I was mad, but in the end, once Hondo got a grasp on the severity of the situation, and with Tan agreeing with the decision, I understood. FYI, it's definitely Nichelle: I thought Street and Alfaro had buried the hatchet, so I was surprised that Street was still crap-talking about him, and once again we find out that Alfaro is actually a cool guy. I also like that Street went to Hondo, so he could go to Powell in humility, before he screwed things up with her. That showed a lot of maturity on his part. I could totally understand that he figured Hondo thought he'd failed at mentoring. Hondo showed what a strong leader he is by defusing the situation and immediately calming down Street.

Holy crap. Tan is no shrinking violet. I do like that he didn't let Bonnie blame their distance on his job. I was surprised with him immediately asking her to leave. She didn't even pack a bag. Dang. I'm also curious. Did the actress get another gig? Even so, I wish they'd come up with something besides her cheating on him. I think like with a lot of these cop/FB1 shows, that the significant other/family is supposed to be a grounding place for them to come home to after the stress of the job. That's what Nichelle is supposed to be, and her job is supposed to integrate her more into the cast. They're probably trying to figure out the balance with her. I'm hoping they find it.

Or if not with society at large, at least within the confines of his job. You know, with him wrestling about how he has to kill people and whether he's justified in doing it, etc. But I also agree that the line they'd be walking would be a tenuous one, in that if Deacon was constantly in a state of agitation about hard choices he has to make, it would get really, REALLY tiring. I think the Chris situation is a good example of how they handle his beliefs that may come into conflict with the world today, and understanding that times change. Rather than being rigid and almost playing judge and jury, as Annie did, he seeks a balance between his religious teachings, the realities of his job, and society as a whole. He didn't talk to Chris from on high, like Annie did, but from a human perspective, asking her to look inside herself. I think this is actually a better interpretation of a religious person that proves he walks the walk. I think the way they've handled it up until now is pretty good. An even slightly preachy, rigid Deacon, I believe, would be a disservice to the character and alienate him from the team. I do agree that at some point he had to make a choice between being overly rigid about his beliefs and the reality of the job he had to do, and putting his service to the job first, while maintaining his core beliefs and using them to better himself and those around him. I did like at the end how he took Nichelle's words to heart and realized his motivation for being so hard on Lila. I got the feeling that even though we didn't see it onscreen, he'd be apologizing to Lila and letting her off the hook. Both Annie and Deacon admitting they made mistakes shows a lovely maturity in their marriage and their respect for each other.

Okay, so I'm also not so hot on religion being shoved down my throat, either. However, there are two things that kept this from being too preachy. 1. Deacon doesn't proselytize. He's continued to say that this is what brings him peace. I've always said I don't mind if someone's religion comforts them, as long as they don't tell me I can't do/say something, because it goes against THEIR beliefs...or writing laws based on their religion. 2. I actually think his "angry young man" story is more in conjunction with a lot of people who turned to religion for comfort. Many alcoholics/addicts have done the same. It's quite common. Many people I know who grew up in super religious families usually turn away from it, kind of like what Nichelle talked about last episode, where she said religion was forced down her throat, so now she isn't too keen on it. The whole thing was presented as something that shaped Deacon. He doesn't judge people or think they're not as "good" as he is. He walks the walk, so at least he's not a hypocrite. However, I would also like to see other religions represented.

Okay, admission time. Earlier, you guys were talking about how you thought Cabrera and Powell were the same person, and I was confused, thinking about the previous woman who played the medic, and believing she's who you were referring to. I know. This proves I'm not too good with names. So, last episode Cabrera was featured prominently, and now it's Powell, and I suddenly realized after seeing the pony tail and hearing the much deeper voice, that indeed, I thought they were one person named Cabrera. So then I had to go back and figure out which one of them liked to go rogue, and at least I was right in thinking Powell fit that mold much more than the mild-mannered Cabrera I saw last episode. I'm in agreement with the people who think that Deac felt comfortable benching Street, because he knew Hondo would have his back. He did say, "As your sergeant..." which tells me, whether it's true in real life or not, that in this world, he had the authority to do it. Hicks even mentions Street's benching, which tells me Hondo must have known about it and didn't seem to mind. I just don't think Deac would ever overstretch his authority and believed he was allowed, under their guidelines, to do the benching. I did also like that the Street/Deac thing was straightened out by the end, and there wasn't this long, drawn-out tension between them. Ditto with Hondo and Nichelle (It is Nichelle, for sure. )

I really like how they did a close-up of the gun and made a big deal of him taking the safety off. Too often in movies and TV, guns are shown as no big deal. Like, blam-blam, bad guy dead, YAY! I also liked the bigger message, and that Hondo, though he's a S.W.A.T. officer who pretty much sees the gun as an extension of himself within his job, wasn't pressuring her to get a gun or getting excited that she wanted one.

All in all, I've been enjoying this season more than most. The character development, the little personal moments. This really could have been a long, drawn-out rivalry that escalated to ridiculous heights, but instead they had everyone act like adults. And yes, if they'd handled the rivalry like this from the beginning, it would have worked out better, but I'm glad they got everything right in the end. I was frustrated with Tan never cluing in to ask if he could get an autograph or phone call from Ben What-His-Name. Like, HELLO! You're friends with the woman's bodyguard. You just got finished saying Bonnie loves the Ben guy more than you. How he didn't, even in the end, when Sanchez asked what he was going to do for their anniversary, ask for the favor, made me want to scream at him. I was glad Sanchez clued in but was bummed that Tan didn't let Bonnie know what he had planned, so maybe she might change her mind about working. Funny that you guys were just talking about Bonnie, and even though she wasn't in the episode, she was a big part of it. Are we headed for a Tan/Bonnie divorce? I guess I have some more episodes to watch to find out.

Let me say, for the record, I don't care if this was the crappiest episode this series ever aired. I've seen too many series where the omnipotent bad guy crops up season after season, terrorizing the team, and they have to keep ramping it up and ramping it up, until all of the families of all of the people involved wind up being victims. In other words, the villain way outstays their welcome, until they become tiresome. Getting the lead and taking him down in one episode? YES! I think it was realistic so many people thought of him as a guy who helped people. I've watched some mafia documentaries where these kingpins in some really poor areas in brutal parts of the world, take time between the killings and their thriving drug trade to help build up the community. They give money freely, get them jobs and housing, etc., so when law enforcement comes to take him down, there's an uprising. And let me say again that even though Hondo had a minor backslide this episode where he let Saint get the better of him, he's come such a long way, and his character growth is impressive. I loved that last scene with the stuffed animal. It's nice to see the contrast between his job and then coming home, where he can shake it off.

Ditto. I was relieved when it wasn't the reason. No kidding. You know something will come to pass, and it most definitely won't be pretty.

Sorry to be way behind on this. Just playing catch-up. I actually really liked that they went against a lot of tropes. 1. Street's old nemesis, despite first impressions, turned out to be a good guy. Usually, Street would be proven right at some point, with him revealing to Hondo what really happened. 2. Nia didn't act like the jealous ex-lover, immediately turning on Hondo when she found out he was in a relationship. She really sold her contriteness and humility. I do have a feeling, though, that her PTSD from this incident will be revisited. I'd been thinking last episode that I was hoping Nichelle wouldn't be turned into the little lady who sits home and worries about her man. I decided to wait and see if they'd make her a more integral part of the team, while being a civilian. I thought this was an interesting path. Also loved Deac putting Hondo's head trip to rest.

He didn't know. He was literally Googling it. And it was Smitty's computer. He wrote his username and password on a post-it, which is at least totally accurate for the character. I'm so glad nobody bought Monica's story. I guess her being willing to get the crap beaten out of her shows an incredible level of self-preservation. And a whole lot of crazy. Watching Angela beat the crap out of Elijah was satisfying, as was watching the bodyguard take down his henchdude. I figured Celina's mom would be a big part of a future story.

That's something I hadn't thought of and actually makes a lot of sense.

Yes. At the beginning of the episode, Sam's dad joked about calling Callen, and Sam said he was out of town. I called Collins pretty early on, especially after it was stated that the gang didn't come off as especially smart.

That was my point. If Tim had looked her seriously in the eye and told her to back off and give him his radio, she totally would have done it. She made a game of it and in the end did give it back to him with an apology that he immediately shook off. I don't think the main point of her taking the radio was to get him to spill, but to have fun with him, because he's so hard on the rookies. That was literally her first response when she realized it was Tim's radio. If he'd seemed even remotely annoyed with her and was begging for his radio, I would have definitely seen her as annoying, but to me that's not how it played out.

Now that YOU mention it, probably. The major shift from supporting Wesley to completely rejecting his case and letting Elijah free, is really suspicious. Like, he might have taken the lawyer's threats to a deeper level. He knows what Wesley has gone through, and it seems he's only interested in saving his own neck. He will come to a crossroads where he either has to step up or completely abandon Wesley. I guess it all depends on whether he stays on the show or not. The switch happened so fast. It did have a "Nice little place you've got here" feel to it. I think he ran like a frightened little squirrel to the nearest exit the second the heat got turned up. Like I said, we'll see the measure of his character if he folds like a cheap card table or winds up defending Wesley in the end. I think Red-headed ex is in for a lot of pain. Her "I can handle him" attitude seems conceited to the point of stupidity. And what if nothing happens to her, but something happens to Wesley? Will she still be so cavalier? I realize Wesley cheating on her must sting, but certainly trying to get him killed is going beyond "the jilted ex." That would make her as sociopathic as Elijah, which is a distinct possibility after watching her brush off Wesley's warnings with a smirk. And yes, there will definitely be an ex/Angela showdown, and we all know who will win that one.

I have a different view of Chen and Tim's radio. If Tim, at any point, seriously asked for the radio back, she would have given it to him. At the end, he said he enjoyed the game, and so this proves that he wasn't upset that she took it. This seemed like a harmless prank. Wesley's boss, on the other hand, is a total slimeball for putting Wesley and his family in danger. His lack of loyalty to his own employee and him hinting that Wesley may not have a future there, make him a huge jerk. Also, I'm assuming the ex will either be in danger or dead soon. Something needs to wipe that smirk off her face. She's not doing this because she's being forced. She's willfully putting a dangerous man back out on the streets. Also, I'm calling a Nolan/Bailey elopement.