S02.E05: Tough Love

[WendyCR72]

To air on October 27, 2019:

As part of their second phase of training, the rookies are asked to develop their first confidential informants. Nolan soon discovers that no two informants are the same and struggles with his newest task. Chen’s mother complicates her home life when she comes to stay with her.

[preeya]

The girlfriend is not to be trusted, she's conning them.

[Bulldog]

37 minutes ago, preeya said:

The girlfriend is not to be trusted, she's conning them.

Did they completely gloss over the throwing a caustic substance on the ex-boyfriend part?  That would worry me much more than the arson. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, preeya said:

The girlfriend is not to be trusted, she's conning them.

59 minutes ago, Bulldog said:

Did they completely gloss over the throwing a caustic substance on the ex-boyfriend part?  That would worry me much more than the arson. 

Could the "caustic substance" be the fire accelerant?

The girlfriend seemed sincere to me, but now that you mention it, the pregnancy joke was tone deaf to Nolan's mood (which we know because it was in the script) and didn't seem to be a natural mood change from where she just was ("he stole something from me that I can never get back") and which could have been a manipulative way to change the subject.
Maybe the writers are borrowing a bit from the recently aired and totally awesome Why Women Kill.
And now that I've typed that, I'm wondering if they've decided Nolan having a son isn't something they can easily work into the script, so maybe she will be a sociopathic killer. 😞

[mxc90]

It seemed odd for Nolan and Nyla to just drive up to Bianca and tell her she will be their CI (so subtle). And they weren't careful if the dealer was watching her talk to them? Could have gotten her killed. And they Just left Bianca alone in the room. I thought she was going to steal the camera and try to pawn it.

Does Armstrong have a life? A few episodes back he was willing to sit all night in the hospital and now he couldn't sleep and checked out Abigail?

How did Armstrong know Abigail's last name or did he type in "Henry's girlfriend" in the search?

Obnoxious step mom fires innocent Hilda and she has dirt on her. Real smart!

Olivia pawns more stuff to buy a gun to shoot stuff? I might be on Obnoxious step mom's side!!!!!!!!

I wonder if Abigail has superpowers and sparked the electrical fire in Nolan's house!?

[AnimeMania]

Bad stepmom fires the housekeeper for stealing, realizes she wasn't stealing, doesn't apologize and doesn't hire her back. Then she gets her stepdaughter arrested. I wonder how the girl's dad feels about all this.

Next week Nolan stops a nuclear missile.

[BlakesMomma]

2 hours ago, Bulldog said:

Did they completely gloss over the throwing a caustic substance on the ex-boyfriend part?  That would worry me much more than the arson. 

Grace said "two years ago Abigail was charged with arson and use of a caustic substance against a former boyfriend". Doesn't say she threw a caustic substance on the boyfriend. Likely the caustic substance was the accelerant used in the arson.

3 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

Bad stepmom fires the housekeeper for stealing, realizes she wasn't stealing, doesn't apologize and doesn't hire her back. Then she gets her stepdaughter arrested. I wonder how the girl's dad feels about all this.

Next week Nolan stops a nuclear missile.

Bad Stepmom answered that: He feels how I tell him to feel. Bad Stepmom must be good at......something.

[femmefan1946]

If Abigail is 20.

And the arson conviction/charges were two years ago when she was 18.

And the videos were taken before that.

The ex-boyfriend should have been charged with distributing child pornography.

But maybe it was a very nice car.

The renovation seems to be pretty half-assed to me. If you're  taking down a wall, take down the whole wall not half of it leaving bits of ancient wallpaper still up.  Johnny Donnelly would have done a better job.

[Clanstarling]

10 hours ago, preeya said:

The girlfriend is not to be trusted, she's conning them.

It can certainly be read that way - and in most cases that's the way it will go. In this case, my take on it is that it's a lesson to Nolan not to take everything at face value, and that her story is in fact true. Could very well be wrong, but I hope not.

5 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

But maybe it was a very nice car.

I was hoping the punch line would be that it was some restored muscle car worth a lot of money - so she'd taken something irreplaceable from him as well.

7 hours ago, mxc90 said:

How did Armstrong know Abigail's last name or did he type in "Henry's girlfriend" in the search?

Yeah, that bugged a bit. I mean, I'm sure there's a way he could do it (flight manifests and all), but that seems way over the top.

Love the pawn shop owner and I hope we see her again - I loved her in Glee, where she was quite different, of course.

[preeya]

7 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

The renovation seems to be pretty half-assed to me. If you're  taking down a wall, take down the whole wall not half of it leaving bits of ancient wallpaper still up.  Johnny Donnelly would have done a better job.

He seems to be bumbling with this project. Wasn't he in "CONSTRUCTION" before becoming a cop?

Last week he couldn't hang a mirror correctly, this week an electrical fire, and the place look hideous.

Edited October 28, 2019 by preeya

[kili]

Quote

Could the "caustic substance" be the fire accelerant?

I have to think that it is a clue not to trust her.

If she just burnt his car, then describing it as arson would be terrible enough to frighten Nolan and be a red herring for the viewer until the real story is told. Why add in the "caustic substance"? 

Also, gasoline isn't usually classified as a caustic substance. 

There is definitely more to this story and there is probably some guy back in her home town with caustic burns all over his face.

She did flip pretty quickly from being upset about the revenge porn and the lack of Nolan's trust to being jokey about being pregnant. 

[Snapdragon]

9 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

If Abigail is 20.

And the arson conviction/charges were two years ago when she was 18.

And the videos were taken before that.

The ex-boyfriend should have been charged with distributing child pornography.

But maybe it was a very nice car.

The renovation seems to be pretty half-assed to me. If you're  taking down a wall, take down the whole wall not half of it leaving bits of ancient wallpaper still up.  Johnny Donnelly would have done a better job.

I noticed this too but figured it was due to the fact that TV shows/movies are usually terrible at realistic timelines.  Or Abigail is lying and completely nutso.  Either one seems completely possible.

[preeya]

12 minutes ago, Snapdragon said:

I noticed this too but figured it was due to the fact that TV shows/movies are usually terrible at realistic timelines.  Or Abigail is lying and completely nutso.  Either one seems completely possible.

I think both (lying & completely nutso). What person in their right mind would immediately, after being introduced to their significant others parent for the first time, would say I'm/we're pregnant. Then keep up the pregnancy ruse multiple times thereafter. 

I don't trust, I don't like her, I don't believe her bullshit arson story, and I hope they don't continue this arc ad infinitum.

[PBnJay]

1 hour ago, preeya said:

I don't trust, I don't like her, I don't believe her bullshit arson story, and I hope they don't continue this arc ad infinitum.

I agree with this. The pregnant joke wasn't too funny the first time. And why use it the first time, being engaged isn't that shocking is it? Maybe it was so we won't like her, which worked for me.

[femmefan1946]

Love the pawn shop owner and I hope we see her again - I loved her in Glee, where she was quite different, of course.

That's who it was! The gym teacher, Coach Beast.  I knew she looked familiar in an unfamiliar way.

And "Alice Sheldon" last week looked like a real person too.

And while we're at it-- Doctor Grace and her long loose Hollywood Hair™ while on duty in a hospital.  Tie it back, woman!

Interesting how quickly Nathan moved from matinee idol (Castle) to father of adult son to potential grandfather.  He must feel like every 35 year old actress in the business.

[TWP]

Whatever we know about Nolan's son's mysterious girlfriend/fiance,

Spoiler

it'll all be moot next week when the cast is nuked.  Maybe the girlfriend/fiance is a terrorist/perpetrator of the nuke.

Edited October 28, 2019 by TWP

[ketose]

16 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Bad stepmom fires the housekeeper for stealing, realizes she wasn't stealing, doesn't apologize and doesn't hire her back. Then she gets her stepdaughter arrested. I wonder how the girl's dad feels about all this.

Next week Nolan stops a nuclear missile.

Next week Nolan TALKS DOWN a nuke.

15 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

The renovation seems to be pretty half-assed to me. If you're  taking down a wall, take down the whole wall not half of it leaving bits of ancient wallpaper still up.  Johnny Donnelly would have done a better job.

If it's partially load bearing, he might not be taking it all down right away. Nolan had a contracting business, but he had multiple guys working for him. Doing this by himself means slow going. Also, this is a TV show and the never finished renovation project is kind of a trope.

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, ketose said:

Next week Nolan TALKS DOWN a nuke.

That didn't go well in Dark Star...

I didn't quite get the whole forged passport handover.  

You are our new CI. You will hand over the forgeries. If your client knows you are working for us, you are a dead man. So, we will stand here, in uniform, in the open doorway of this hangar. To make sure your client can see us by simply raising their eyes. If that doesn't completely throw you under the bus, we will jump out and make an arrest the instant you hand the forgeries over. That way, you have no chance of avoiding suspicion, and will certainly die.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

15 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Love the pawn shop owner and I hope we see her again - I loved her in Glee, where she was quite different, of course.

Why did she sell the step-daughter the gun?  Did the step-daughter even have a license?

[Clanstarling]

8 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Why did she sell the step-daughter the gun?  Did the step-daughter even have a license?

She's in business to do business, the step-daughter is the one who's been supplying her with bags, and she's a bit shady or she wouldn't have been a potential CI. That being said, I have no idea about the laws regarding purchasing guns in CA, so I don't know if it was shady or above board.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

17 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

She's in business to do business, the step-daughter is the one who's been supplying her with bags, and she's a bit shady or she wouldn't have been a potential CI. That being said, I have no idea about the laws regarding purchasing guns in CA, so I don't know if it was shady or above board.

CA has some of the strictest gun laws in the country,  and private sales must be through a registered dealer. Licenses are strictly regulated.  I understand that the CI was shady and would probably continue to sell questionable merchandise, but now that the police actually know who she is, she'd be crazy to sell a gun (as an unlicensed dealer) to an unlicensed purchaser. That's a felony on a much bigger scale than selling other stolen property, even if the CI immediately called the police.

Edited October 30, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse

[preeya]

40 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

CA has some of the strictest gun laws in the country,  and private sales must be through a registered dealer. Licenses are strictly regulated.  I understand that the CI was shady and would probably continue to sell questionable  merchandise, but now that the police actually know who she is, she'd be crazy to sell a gun (as an unlicensed dealer) to an unlicensed purchaser. That's a felony on a much bigger scale than selling other stolen property, even if the CI immediately called the police.

Flipping this around, how would the pawnshop "legally" take possession of the gun? The fact that she was in possession of the gun and was willing to pass it on illegally says she (the pawnshop person) was in possession of it illegally. OR are there different requirements for pawnshops?

[paigow]

On 10/27/2019 at 10:32 PM, preeya said:

The girlfriend is not to be trusted, she's conning them.

She is going to recruit Nolan as a LAPD mole....???

[ItCouldBeWorse]

4 hours ago, preeya said:

Flipping this around, how would the pawnshop "legally" take possession of the gun? The fact that she was in possession of the gun and was willing to pass it on illegally says she (the pawnshop person) was in possession of it illegally. OR are there different requirements for pawnshops?

I very much doubt it.  I could see her trying to ingratiate herself with the police, perhaps, by accepting pawned guns and immediately turning them over, but selling them seems like a huge risk.

[chaifan]

A rather boring episode.  I want more of the new detective - I think he has a shady side, but like the rapport with him and Nolan.  But how did he look up the son's girlfriend's record when he didn't even have her last name?

Nolan's son & girlfriend.  Yawn.  Don't care, send them back where they came from.  Not sure what the point of all that was.

Nyla - I like how her character is shaping up.  Not convinced she'll be around long, though.

The best part of the episode was the maid saying "do you want to know where she (the evil stepmom from hell) keeps her drugs?"  That was great.  Did anyone else think Lopez was going to get Wesley to represent the teen to get her trust fund back?

[AnimeMania]

26 minutes ago, chaifan said:

Did anyone else think Lopez was going to get Wesley to represent the teen to get her trust fund back?

Not sure if Lopez was aware of the situation.

[mojito]

Quote

What person in their right mind would immediately, after being introduced to their significant others parent for the first time, would say I'm/we're pregnant. 

Well, I'm just twisted. I thought it was humorous both times.

I liked Lauren Tom playing West's shrink. 

Glad West's pasty arms will get some much-needed sunshine.

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

Did anyone else think Lopez was going to get Wesley to represent the teen to get her trust fund back?

I did, though I thought the arresting cop would do it. (I've already forgotten which team did what).

[femmefan1946]

12 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I could see her trying to ingratiate herself with the police, perhaps, by accepting pawned guns and immediately turning them over, but selling them seems like a huge risk.

The way pawn works, she had to give the pawner money for the item pawned. He also gets a ticket saying what it was and how much money it's worth (to the pawn shop) and how long they will hold it.

If he comes back before the time runs out, he pays the original amount he got plus interest.

If he doesn't owenership transfers to the shop.

And most secondhand dealers are required to keep a record of those selling them (or pawning) any goods they take in. With names addresses, government picture ID, etc. This could be a municipal bylaw of course. But we had to do it when we had were stamp dealers.

If PawnLady has been buying guns, handing them over to the cops would be a significant expense to her business. And not even tax deductible.

It was nice to see a shady business like the pawn shop so well lit though. Even the shady photographer was not too dark, although every photo studio I've been in was brightly lit. It goes with the business.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

3 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

If PawnLady has been buying guns, handing them over to the cops would be a significant expense to her business. And not even tax deductible.

Agreed. but doing it occasionally might buy her some credit with the police.  It's also possible that the Police Department has a program to reimburse her for a gun she purchases in order to turn it over to the police.

[ShepardRahl]

Quote

"We got lucky. We found a judge who thinks a mother should be in their child's life whenever possible."

LOL Every judge thinks that. You would be much more hard pressed to find a judge that would say the same thing about the father.

This whole custody sub plot would be better if Nyla was a male cop trying to get shared custody of his daughter with his ex-wife. It would be more interesting and much more realistic considering how the courts are horribly biased against the father. But they decided to go the safe route with it.

Overall it was a decent episode.

[Clanstarling]

6 hours ago, ShepardRahl said:

LOL Every judge thinks that. You would be much more hard pressed to find a judge that would say the same thing about the father.

This whole custody sub plot would be better if Nyla was a male cop trying to get shared custody of his daughter with his ex-wife. It would be more interesting and much more realistic considering how the courts are horribly biased against the father. But they decided to go the safe route with it.

Overall it was a decent episode.

The bias is, indeed, typically against the favor. But in my family, the bias went totally in favor of the father (influential family) instead of the mother. Money talks.

[sinkwriter]

On 10/28/2019 at 7:49 AM, Clanstarling said:

How did Armstrong know Abigail's last name or did he type in "Henry's girlfriend" in the search?

Eh... this didn't concern me as much as other stuff. He knows Henry's likely got the same last name as his father, so he could easily look up Henry on social media and find a photo of him with his girlfriend, who would likely be tagged with her full name. (I did think he was overstepping by even doing the search, though.)

I was more annoyed by them making Nolan seem like he doesn't know what he's doing with the home renovation. He was in construction for years! I don't have an issue with the renovation taking a long time; that makes sense, given that he's working a lot. But don't change the character and force him to look incompetent in an attempt to force humor. Nolan can be funny and still be competent at what he does. That's one of the reasons I got really irritated with the show Nathan Fillion used to be on (Castle) - his character on that show was so fun and smart and funny in the beginning, but they turned him into a bumbling joke too many times in later seasons, just to force humor. It pissed me off. Don't do that to him here. He can be funny because he's learning on his new job and makes understandable mistakes, but don't make him a total idiot and don't change what you've already established for his character. The guy was in construction and knows what he's doing. We don't need to see fires started and wire shortages or things falling off the walls. That's clichéd. They can do better than that.

[SnarkySheep]

On 10/28/2019 at 6:24 PM, femmefan1946 said:

Love the pawn shop owner and I hope we see her again - I loved her in Glee, where she was quite different, of course.

That's who it was! The gym teacher, Coach Beast.  I knew she looked familiar in an unfamiliar way.

Dot-Marie Jones has also been on The Resident a couple times last season.

On 11/6/2019 at 2:13 PM, sinkwriter said:

I was more annoyed by them making Nolan seem like he doesn't know what he's doing with the home renovation. He was in construction for years! I don't have an issue with the renovation taking a long time; that makes sense, given that he's working a lot. But don't change the character and force him to look incompetent in an attempt to force humor. Nolan can be funny and still be competent at what he does.

YES!! If Nolan hadn't been at least semi-competent at construction, he would not have been able to have his own business for years. Hello, writers!

[Ceindreadh]

On 10/28/2019 at 6:59 AM, femmefan1946 said:

If Abigail is 20.

And the arson conviction/charges were two years ago when she was 18.

And the videos were taken before that.

The ex-boyfriend should have been charged with distributing child pornography.

But maybe it was a very nice car.

The renovation seems to be pretty half-assed to me. If you're  taking down a wall, take down the whole wall not half of it leaving bits of ancient wallpaper still up.  Johnny Donnelly would have done a better job.

Abigail could be 20 years and six months. Two years ago - assuming it was an even 24 months - she could have been 18 years and six months. 
That’s a six month - at least - window for her to have been a legal adult, taken the videos, and split up with her boyfriend. He’s still a sleaze bag though. 

[Mom x 3]

On 10/29/2019 at 1:46 PM, chaifan said:

Nolan's son & girlfriend.  Yawn.  Don't care, send them back where they came from.  Not sure what the point of all that was.

Nolan's kid is boring as sin.  They also missed an opportunity to have Molly Quinn play the girlfriend, provided they don't think she is too old.  I actually did like the girlfriend's story.  Revenge porn is a thing and it doesn't get prosecuted as much as it should, because so many people still harp on "she should have kept her legs closed."  I can see a young girl feeling powerless and wanting some of that power back and making a poor decision.  

I'm not an Ali Larter fan either, but she has way more chemistry with Nolan than Jess does, and this is coming from someone who LOVES Sarah Shahi.