S01.E07: November Surprise

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Dex goes undercover after she is hired by a local politician to dig up dirt on his political opponent. Meanwhile, Grey and Liz’s romance continues, and Dex celebrates Friendsgiving with the group.

Airing Wednesday, November 20, 2019.

 

[phalange]

I like that other PI, Carol. I was hoping she’d stick around. It’s good that Dex did the right thing, and I think she would’ve done so even without her talk with Carol. The brother who sold out his own sister is a total asshole, wow. Obviously the politician who wanted the info is too, but it takes a special kind of awful to do that to your own family. 

I definitely feel like something is up with Liz, though I can’t say what. Her asking for a job at the bar was a little weird. She’s not wrong about Grey and Dex, though. 

Another two week break? You’re gonna leave me hanging after that promo? 

[shapeshifter]

2 minutes ago, phalange said:

I like that other PI, Carol. I was hoping she’d stick around. 

Yes, please. That's Kimberly Hebert Gregory. I hope they bring her back in a significant way. Like she and Dex can have a PI agency. Probably too much to ask, though.
  

7 minutes ago, phalange said:

The brother who sold out his own sister is a total asshole, wow.

I didn't see it that way. I like to think he figured it was going to happen, he couldn't stop it, but he could at least make some money off of it to allow them to maybe relocate somewhere where Portland politics wasn't big news.

[SimoneS]

The triangle has arrived. It isn't too bad. I am ignoring Grey's new girlfriend because she is obviously just there to make Dex jealous and she probably has a secret past or something.

I thought Miles was funny and sweet with Ansel. I like Miles with Dex, but if she isn't sure or if she has a thing for Grey, it is better he find out now before he gets more involved with her.

I liked the other PI and the case of the week wasn't bad.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

14 minutes ago, SimoneS said:

The triangle has arrived. It isn't too bad. I am ignoring Grey's new girlfriend because she is obviously just there to make Dex jealous and she probably has a secret past or something.

Well, she did face a drug charge in France....

It's way too awkward paying a salary to the woman you are sleeping with. She is putting Grey in an unenviable situation. 

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Well, she did face a drug charge in France.

I wonder if they are going with the old plot of her being a plant to get dirt on Grey (often in exchange for leniency with the plant’s own charges, but also for money or debt forgiveness or to earn higher rank), and when Grey (or more likely Dex) finds out, she will tearfully tell him “It started out as a job, but then I fell in love with you.”  This happened on Nash Bridges, The Closer, and probably at least a dozen other shows.
Let’s just hope they don’t drag out the plot arc (whatever it is) out beyond its expiration date.  

Regardless of where they are going WRT the love train plots, you are so right with:

3 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

It's way too awkward paying a salary to the woman you are sleeping with. She is putting Grey in an unenviable situation. 

If she was a plant, this is a sexual harassment law suit waiting to happen. Does Grey have any parole stipulations going on?

That said, I forget the lines/metaphor he used to convince her of the sincerity of his affection, but it was very charming. 
 

I also forget the familiar song they played a few bars of at the end, but it was fitting, and I loved it. It was a nice fix for those of us missing the mixtape of the car. 

Edited November 21, 2019 by shapeshifter

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Hiring a girl who you just met and are sleeping with is a TERRIBLE idea. That's just a lawsuit waiting to happen after their inevitable breakup.

Carol! I loved her on Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.

I got a creepily overprotective vibe from Emma's brother so it was an unexpected twist that he was the one to sell the story about Dan's secret kid.

I thought it was a bit much that Grey made a snotty remark to Dex about how she was inviting anyone (aka Hoffman) to Thanksgiving (read: without telling Grey ahead of time) when he invited Liz without telling Dex beforehand.

[kazza]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

If she was a plant, this is a sexual harassment law suit waiting to happen. Does Grey have any parole stipulations going on?

That said, I forget the lines/metaphor he used to convince her of the sincerity of his affection, but it was very charming. 

If she was a plant, I'd love it if Grey knew and was playing her. Given his background, he should be a pretty savvy and cautious judge of character, and so the suddenness of him falling for a random stranger seems inconsistent without a deeper story. One-night stand? Sure. Professing sincerity of his affection after a few hookups? Questionable. 

Case of the week was just ok, but as usual, I was more invested in the interaction of the leads. Carol was awesome. I don't know the books, but it would be great if there was a group of semi-sketchy PIs who appear occasionally in Dex's universe. 

[possibilities]

he show has gotten more angsty since they abandoned the mixtape. It doesn't necessarily have to be a show with car chases and musical stunts, but I miss the humor that ran through the various confrontations. It used to alternate between campy/hell yeah adventures and serious moments, and it's gotten flatter, more like a vanilla PI procedural.

[Lady Calypso]

Ah...I knew that they'd have this dreaded love triangle, and they certainly introduced it as a for sure thing to happen in the last episode with Liz, but this episode cemented the fact that they ARE going to be going there this season. Having Liz be paranoid about Dex/Grey, and having Grey and Dex both state to their partners many times that they're "just friends" just is foreshadowing. Man, I was hoping that they MIGHT avoid the trope, even for a couple of seasons (if the show lasts that long). I would have much preferred them stay friends.

Alas, it's clear that one of them will end up falling in love with the other. It seems like Grey will like Dex first. Meh. 

I like Liz, but yeah, she's a bit shady to me. Understandable, since Grey is also shady, but I think she might be more trouble in Grey's life than an actual help. Or she'll die tragically due to Grey's past or Dex's PI job, I haven't decided which.

Case of the week was extremely predictable. I've seen that story play out dozens of times. I did like Carol, though. She was fun and I like seeing more PIs show up. Who knew there were so many PIs in Portland!

[sempervivum]

I do like the snappy dialogue on this show, but there are so many holes in the plot lines. 

Why did Dex even accept the job if she's so horrified at the possibility of an innocent party getting hurt by the revelation of some scandal? Has she paid any attention to politics-or human nature, for that matter-for the last 20 years? She ends up forcing out someone who she apparently would like to have seen elected. The other candidate seemed like a tool, so congrats, Dex.

The 15 year old kid is going to be devastated somehow by the unmasking of his paternity? I didn't catch it if the baby mama had lied to him about his father, but in this day and age, why would the gay dad be shocking?

I took exception to the idea that a gay man couldn't claim to be 'real' or true to his nature (or whatever ) unless he recognized and acknowledged his orientation from the beginning. All the nasty husband's hysteria about how the campaign jingle didn't fit any more! The vast majority of the electorate is straight, so how much would the 'purity' of his gayness matter in terms of politics to them? I would think it would make him more relatable.

I'm surprised Dex can even manage to put a turkey on the table: has she actually managed to earn ANY money this season?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I wish they would keep Dex and Grey as platonic best friends, partly because I am not here for jealousy or love triangles/rectangles and partly because it IS possible for men and women to be just friends. We rarely get M/F friendships on tv or in movies where they just stay friends. 

One of my best friends from college is a guy and we spent most of our twenties telling every girlfriend he had that we were JUST friends, we had never dated/hooked up/been romantically or sexually interested in each other, etc. Honestly, it got annoying to try to reassure a new girl every few months that I was not a threat to her relationship with him. Yes, we hang out a lot and yes, we know each other’s families and yes, we talk about you and yes, you’re going to have to accept all of that if you’re going to keep dating him but no, I do not want to steal your boyfriend. 

Unfortunately, I think the show is going in the Dex + Grey = twu wuv direction. 

[chaifan]

I thought this was a weird episode.  First, who just shows up to thanksgiving dinner with a date without asking the host/hostess?  That's just rude.  Second, why did Ansel text Dex the I'm In Danger word?  He obviously wasn't being denied access to his phone.  Why didn't he just call her and say, hey, there's these two strange people here wanting to talk to you, or text her that?  The campaign manager was being super bitchy and pushy, but she wasn't threatening Ansel in any way.  What was the point of the code word in that situation? 

I agree with the post above that in this day there's really no scandal attached to finding out you have a kid you didn't know about, or that the kid (who is 15) would be traumatized/life ruined by finding out who his dad is in that type of situation.  I really thought Dex was going in a totally different direction when she said "I have a plan".  I thought Carol had dirt on the other candidate - maybe some type of insurance policy to make sure she got paid - and handed it over to Dex, so Dex would pull a "if you go public about the kid, we're going public about X", now let's all run a clean campaign and move forward".  I was really disappointed that the plan was to roll over and bow out of the race.  That was rather lame. 

[SimoneS]

If Dex and Grey are the true love/endgame couple, I rather that they just put them together or leave Miles out of their "will they, won't they" drama. Right now Miles isn't in love with Dex and he is still trying to figure out what he wants from a relationship with her. She seems open to being him beyond just sex since she agreed to let him meet Ansel. I rather Dex not break Miles' heart. He gets his own stories so he easily can meet someone else and have his own romance while still having a major role in Dex's stories. I did miss the captain in this episode. Camryn Manheim is always a treat. 

Spoiler

I wonder if the "flip the script" comment from the preview is that Dex and Grey's girlfriend get drunk at the casino and end up in bed together. Now that would totally change the dynamic.

Edited November 21, 2019 by SimoneS

[joanne3482]

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

I really thought Dex was going in a totally different direction when she said "I have a plan".  I thought Carol had dirt on the other candidate - maybe some type of insurance policy to make sure she got paid - and handed it over to Dex, so Dex would pull a "if you go public about the kid, we're going public about X", now let's all run a clean campaign and move forward".  I was really disappointed that the plan was to roll over and bow out of the race.  That was rather lame. 

I completely agree. I thought it would be something that actually salvaged his campaign. Maybe they'd get the kid and go public with the kid and break the themselves. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

3 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I took exception to the idea that a gay man couldn't claim to be 'real' or true to his nature (or whatever ) unless he recognized and acknowledged his orientation from the beginning. All the nasty husband's hysteria about how the campaign jingle didn't fit any more! The vast majority of the electorate is straight, so how much would the 'purity' of his gayness matter in terms of politics to them? I would think it would make him more relatable.

He was a college professor who got a student pregnant. That's the real problem.

3 hours ago, sempervivum said:

The 15 year old kid is going to be devastated somehow by the unmasking of his paternity? I didn't catch it if the baby mama had lied to him about his father, but in this day and age, why would the gay dad be shocking?

She told everyone, including her HS boyfriend, that the boyfriend was the father.  The boyfriend dumped them soon after the birth.  So, the boy thinks he was rejected by his true father.  I don't think the gay dad part is the part that would be most disturbing.  It doesn't cast his mother in a very good light.

[hula-la]

1 minute ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

He was a college professor who got a student pregnant. That's the real problem.

Thank you! I was wondering why everyone glossed over the fact that he slept with a student (though I thought it was a High School student, so I was even more horrified that the focus was on his sexual orientation, not the fact that he slept with a student).

[ItCouldBeWorse]

4 hours ago, chaifan said:

Second, why did Ansel text Dex the I'm In Danger word?  He obviously wasn't being denied access to his phone.  Why didn't he just call her and say, hey, there's these two strange people here wanting to talk to you, or text her that?  The campaign manager was being super bitchy and pushy, but she wasn't threatening Ansel in any way.  What was the point of the code word in that situation? 

Yeah, I suppose he realized he let in someone he shouldn't have?  Which does bring up the question if he can safely judge who to let in.  I presumed the campaign manager said she was Dex's boss, but anyone could say that and Dex has some unsavory acquaintances, as we have seen.

1 hour ago, hula-la said:

Thank you! I was wondering why everyone glossed over the fact that he slept with a student (though I thought it was a High School student, so I was even more horrified that the focus was on his sexual orientation, not the fact that he slept with a student).

The candidate, while a college professor, overcompensating for being a closeted gay man, slept with a popular student who was infatuated with him, and impregnated her. The college professor who Dex visited (who sent him the letter) knew of the student.  I think he said that she dropped out her junior year of college.   From that information, Dex figured out that she must have been pregnant.  The student never told the candidate.

Edited November 21, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse

[paigow]

Obviously, Artie & Carol had a fling back in the day......

[mommalib]

Everybody talking about a triangle and I feel like I still don't really know Hoffman. Meanwhile Grey has a background and a built in history with Dex. He already has an advantage and the brotha is already handicapped. He already feels like the third wheel in this so called triangle and Michael Ealy is too good for that.

[paigow]

Just realized that Liz was the junior DA on Law & Order Chicago....also did anyone else think she put on a bigger bra in the bathroom? She looked a cup size larger in the last shot.... are water bras still a thing? Maybe she took the opportunity to top up....

[tennisgurl]

I thought the whole case of the week was an odd one, and that Dexs plan to fix things was a lame one. I was hoping that they could find a way to turn things around for the candidate, not just roll over, or it would end with him meeting his son, not just "well thats that then, I guess the jerk guy wins." which is a rather crappy way to end things, and also pretty abrupt. 

So did the brother sell them out to just get ahead of the story and help get them some money now that its all coming out no matter what, or did he just take the money and run? If it was just a money, what an asshole. 

Anyway, the main reason I like the show is the interaction between the main characters, and its clear that the love triangle is really starting up now. Grey getting crappy about Dex bringing Hoffman was a crappy thing to say, but it was also crappy for her to throw out that Grey was a felon for no reason, it seems like both of them are jealous, which is always a bad look. I feel like Liz is a bit sketchy still. That story about her ex having a mental break and accusing her of drug trafficking seems to be awfully specific, and her getting a job right away at the bar the guy she is starting to date now seems like a disaster waiting to happen for both of them. 

Another break? Come one network, how are you supposed to give this show a chance to build an audience if you keep doing this?! And how are we supposed to keep waiting like this so often?

Edited November 21, 2019 by tennisgurl

[paigow]

Jacob: Mom. Why am I so smart if Chief Wiggum is smarter than Dad???

Emma: Genetic fluke for the hundredth time. Eat your dinner....

 

10 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I'm surprised Dex can even manage to put a turkey on the table: has she actually managed to earn ANY money this season?

She made 5k. Only the 45k was returned.

[joanne3482]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Another break? Come one network, how are you supposed to give this show a chance to build an audience if you keep doing this?! And how are we supposed to keep waiting like this so often?

I'm okay with this break because I presume ABC figured people would be travelling for Thanksgiving and not at home to watch. The other one was odd. 

[saber5055]

3 hours ago, SimoneS said:

She seems open to being him beyond just sex since she agreed to let him meet Ansel.

Everyone who sits at the bar at Bad Alibi gets to meet Ansel.

[Cranberry]

While helping uncover the former student, Liz actively encouraged Grey to Google-stalk her and find out if her story about why she relocated to Portland is true. If she's a plant, either she's the worst one ever or she's horribly cocky. Here's that convo:

"So, you found it?"
"Found what?"
"How I wound up in Portland. How my ex had a psychotic break on vacation in France, said I used him as a drug mule. Heroin, he said. Police detained me. The State Department had to get me out in the end. I was trapped for two months. Lost my job. I lost everything. Had to leave Seattle and just start over."
"I don't know if you're messing with me or not."
"Well, you're the super-sleuth."

Even if that's a complete lie and she's just messing with Grey, she's still given him reason to research her past (knowing he has a close PI friend who's good at digging up dirt). If it's true, I noted that she doesn't say what happened to the crazy ex, which means there's always a chance he could show up and mess things up for Dex and crew.

[cleo]

Yeah the gf is weird. 

This was the first ep I didn't like. Also yes, Smulders in this ep came off like the PI was trying to be this grunge, blue collar detective but really wasn't. 

I agree the triangle is boring and Ealy is guven less than Jake. I also am surprised they're planning on (apparently)  burning through it so quickly.

I give new shows I like a lot of leeway, but I'm really hoping the writing improves. The cases are so predictable.

[grawlix]

1 hour ago, Cranberry said:

Even if that's a complete lie and she's just messing with Grey, she's still given him reason to research her past (knowing he has a close PI friend who's good at digging up dirt). If it's true, I noted that she doesn't say what happened to the crazy ex, which means there's always a chance he could show up and mess things up for Dex and crew.

I think it is definitely in the showrunner's plan for the ex-boyfriend to appear.  Either to finish the Liz story line with her dying/leaving or to forge a friendship between Liz and Dex.

[SimoneS]

After thinking about it for a bit, I think Liz, Grey's girlfriend is probably on the run from her past. It will catch up with her just as she and Dex become good friends. Dex, Grey, and Miles will protect her, and she will end up having to leave Portland.

[Mecca]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

he show has gotten more angsty since they abandoned the mixtape. It doesn't necessarily have to be a show with car chases and musical stunts, but I miss the humor that ran through the various confrontations. It used to alternate between campy/hell yeah adventures and serious moments, and it's gotten flatter, more like a vanilla PI procedural.

I came here to say basically the same thing.  As we have gotten further into the season, this show has taken a real shift in tone from where it was in the first few episodes.  We went from Dex being a bit of a hard ass, slightly anti-social grey character to Dex the detective with a heart of gold, taking the high road and reuniting families.  I may just jump ship.

[MisterGlass]

I had similar feelings about this to the rest of you - not the best episode.

Liz's behavior was just so odd in this episode.  Grey not picking up on that seems wrong.

I'm also not fond of the current passive aggressive sniping between Dex and Grey.

[Dowel Jones]

9 hours ago, paigow said:

She made 5k. Only the 45k was returned.

And that, to me, was sheer dumbness in the pursuit of high mindedness.  Dex did what her client wanted, odious as it was.  The fact that the other candidate got the info anyway doesn't drag Dex down into that tar pit, or at least not as far down.  She's going to come up against this moral dilemma again and again.  That's the nature of private investigations.  $45,000 would give her a good cushion against future problems.  She should have deposited the check immediately so she would have it all the way.

Another thing - that campaign manager was beyond stupid.  Talking big in the campaign center about rewriting a proposition so no one would understand it?  Gloating about how she was going to ruin people's lives to get her candidate elected?  Has this woman never heard of a hot mic?  Or a disaffected campaign staffer?  Likely she'll crash and burn somewhere along the way anyway, once she's in Salem.

[SamBeckett]

It’s a sign of the times, I guess. A lot of people are already complaining about the potential “third wheel” aspect of this show. Which I get. But I wonder why the writers want to head in that direction. Yeah, I know the show is based on a comic book. But unless you have something new and different to say about relationships, why not just focus on the characters solving crimes. Remember The Rockford Files? Rockford was broke, and not well-respected by the cops. But he worked with them. There was no love interest between Rockford and the detectives, but the stories were always pretty good without that manufactured intrigue of will they-won’t they. Moonlighting failed BIG time because of that.

[AnimeMania]

12 hours ago, cleo said:

I give new shows I like a lot of leeway, but I'm really hoping the writing improves. The cases are so predictable.

Not to me, everything that I thought would happen didn't even come close.

I didn't think Dex would let the horrible rotten politician win over the decent one.

I thought the nice politician would be happy to see his kid, seemed like he really didn't care about him. His husband was worst, since he seemed to only cared about the political race and not about his husband or the kid.

Not sure if the girl's brother took the money and ran or did he help his sister out.

The college girl slept with a professor, gets pregnant, doesn't let the professor know, had to drop out of college, tried to get her old boyfriend to accept the kid but it didn't work, and she never really landed on her feet again. Everything about that situation has a sad vibe.

Dex should have taken the rest of the money and tried to find out dirt about the horrible rotten politician, she had already heard quite a bit and that intern could probably given her tons.

The professor sleeping with his student didn't seem that big of scandal, since she was pretty old when it happened. Students should take a little responsibility, especially if the teacher wasn't applying any pressure for it to happen.

The college girl didn't seem to want the kid to ever meet his father. She could have at least asked the kid.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

51 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

The professor sleeping with his student didn't seem that big of scandal, since she was pretty old when it happened. Students should take a little responsibility, especially if the teacher wasn't applying any pressure for it to happen.

It's unethical for a professor to sleep with his student because the professor is in a position of power. That's why it's against the rules at many universities.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

His husband was worst, since he seemed to only cared about the political race and not about his husband or the kid.

That is what we were shown, but I imagine that the husband initially reacted like that just because he was in the mode of being all-in WRT supporting his partner's political ambitions, but that after a bit he came around, because the politician/husband/father-of-kid did the "right" thing in sacrificing his campaign to protect the kid.

IRL, this could have worked out differently without so many sacrifices but still with consideration for the kid.
  

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

Dex should have taken the rest of the money and tried to find out dirt about the horrible rotten politician, she had already heard quite a bit and that intern could probably given her tons.

It's always an eyeroll moment for me whenever on TV a character turns down money on principle. You give an excellent example of why this is generally never the best choice.

Of course, if a villain offered me money with no strings attached, I would buy a house and/or a car and/or chocolate, depending upon the sum.

[Dowel Jones]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Of course, if a villain offered me money with no strings attached, I would buy a house and/or a car and/or chocolate, depending upon the sum.

Maybe even a car stereo.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Dowel Jones said:

Maybe even a car stereo.

Or a new starter  / spark plugs....

[Perfect Xero]

Emma was pretty darn high and mighty about the boyfriend that she tried to trick into raising her kid after she cheated on him with her college professor not deserving to be a father.

[MissLucas]

Well, that was a depressing episode because  a) the plot was depressing and b) the love triangle is about to launch. It's the worst trope ever and when has it ever left the audience happy? Yet, shows keep resurrecting that narrative zombie over and over again.

Dex really did not come out of this looking good. But I liked Carol, and Hoffman bonding with Ansel over Dex's mastery of cooking (or lack thereof) was pretty sweet. 

An episode script without magic mixtape AND without Cosgrove and Tookie should never make it out of the writers room.

Edited November 25, 2019 by MissLucas

[paigow]

Hoffman is the 3rd best cook...Grey is the best boss....Ansel is the "Decider".....

13 hours ago, MissLucas said:

the love triangle is about to launch.

[Beezella]

On 11/21/2019 at 3:47 AM, shapeshifter said:

I also forget the familiar song they played a few bars of at the end, but it was fitting, and I loved it. It was a nice fix for those of us missing the mixtape of the car. 

The song is Bring it On Home to Me, Siri says this versions is by The Animals. Originally Sam Cook. Love it!

[snarktini]

On 11/21/2019 at 8:31 AM, sempervivum said:

I took exception to the idea that a gay man couldn't claim to be 'real' or true to his nature (or whatever ) unless he recognized and acknowledged his orientation from the beginning. All the nasty husband's hysteria about how the campaign jingle didn't fit any more! The vast majority of the electorate is straight, so how much would the 'purity' of his gayness matter in terms of politics to them? I would think it would make him more relatable.

That really bothered me. It was poor writing. If anything, it gives him a more powerful story. He knows what it's like to have been closeted and not be able to "be true" to who he is. And now he has found that, and wants it for everyone.

On 11/21/2019 at 8:36 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

One of my best friends from college is a guy and we spent most of our twenties telling every girlfriend he had that we were JUST friends, we had never dated/hooked up/been romantically or sexually interested in each other, etc. Honestly, it got annoying to try to reassure a new girl every few months that I was not a threat to her relationship with him. Yes, we hang out a lot and yes, we know each other’s families and yes, we talk about you and yes, you’re going to have to accept all of that if you’re going to keep dating him but no, I do not want to steal your boyfriend. 

One of my best friends is also my ex-bf. We were roommates for years, after we broke up. (We never were serious enough to live together.) It was actually really functional and fairly healthy for us, but his dates/gfs were very suspicious and many didn't stick around because of me. Now he's married and I'm partnered up and we double date sometimes. 🙂

On 11/21/2019 at 9:12 AM, chaifan said:

I agree with the post above that in this day there's really no scandal attached to finding out you have a kid you didn't know about, or that the kid (who is 15) would be traumatized/life ruined by finding out who his dad is in that type of situation.  I really thought Dex was going in a totally different direction when she said "I have a plan". 

On the first point, this really took me out of the story. (Ask my BF who was probably annoyed that I kept pausing the show to say "Wait, what? How will his life be DESTROYED?") Yeah, it would suck for the kid and the mom for awhile. But this is local politics, not a national candidate. It would pass.

And I still have a hard time believing "I have a plan" meant "quit". I was thinking they'd record the other team admitting to the extortion and go public with that or something. (p.s. takes a lot of chutzpah to tell someone your big plan that they should drop out.) 

On 11/21/2019 at 10:09 PM, Dowel Jones said:

She's going to come up against this moral dilemma again and again.  That's the nature of private investigations.  $45,000 would give her a good cushion against future problems.  

100% this. It was blood money for sure, but the cat was out of the bag (not by her hand) and that money would inoculate her against a lot of future problems and enable her to do more good.

[possibilities]

Wasn't the scandal that he'd had an affair with a student?

That isn't something he didn't know about himself. It's something he did that was wrong and that he hid and hoped no one would find out about.

[sempervivum]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

Wasn't the scandal that he'd had an affair with a student?

I don't think we were told whether the particular school/university had a policy prohibiting student/faculty dating, so absent that, what was the scandal here? It didn't appear that there would have been a huge age difference, and she would have been more than legal age, so again, what's the scandal? 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, sempervivum said:

I don't think we were told whether the particular school/university had a policy prohibiting student/faculty dating, so absent that, what was the scandal here? It didn't appear that there would have been a huge age difference, and she would have been more than legal age, so again, what's the scandal? 

Because even if it's not an official rule, it's still a potential abuse of power. He was in a position of authority. She was a student in his class. That's akin to an employee dating their direct supervisor. There's too much potential for the person in power to abuse that power which is why it's not a good look even if the company/university doesn't have a written policy about it.

[Perfect Xero]

The whole political plot and the reactions to it were weird.

No one is bothered that a teacher had sex with a student, but are that a gay man had sex with an adult woman 15 years ago before he was out?

The politician, who won Dex over by being such a good person, isn't particularly bothered that he has a 15 year old child that he's never met and is more concerned with the impact it'll have on his campaign?

Emma is really clear that it's been just her, her brother, and her kid for 15 years, the brother refers to things as "our house" and "our family" but then he sells them out (as per Dex) for ... state level politics money? I mean, I could use $50,000 or whatever they were offering, but it isn't exactly retire to a private island and ditch the family you apparently co-own a home with money. This dude put in 15 years helping his sister and nephew when he didn't have to, and he just turned for a not particularly life changing amount of cash? Granted, the more logical conclusion would be that Dex told them the story was coming out no matter what and their only choice was to tell the truth, so they sold the story themselves to get out ahead of it, but that's not the conclusion that Dex reached.

Of course, Emma, her brother, and her kid seem like they're supposed to be a parallel to Dex, Grey, and Ansel, so it's probably just supposed to be foreshadowing some dubious decision Grey makes in a future episode, or maybe that Dex is going to assume the worst about Grey.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 11/22/2019 at 1:09 AM, Dowel Jones said:

And that, to me, was sheer dumbness in the pursuit of high mindedness.  Dex did what her client wanted, odious as it was.  The fact that the other candidate got the info anyway doesn't drag Dex down into that tar pit, or at least not as far down.  She's going to come up against this moral dilemma again and again.  That's the nature of private investigations.  $45,000 would give her a good cushion against future problems.  She should have deposited the check immediately so she would have it all the way.

I really hope they don't make that an ongoing thing, since it would remind me too much of the thing about Burn Notice that always bugged me, when Michael would always take cases out of the goodness of his heart from clients with no money. But in this case the client had money. Cash the cheque Dex and use it to pay your bills next time you have to have to take a case from a single mom or someone getting screwed over by their boss.

On 11/22/2019 at 8:55 AM, AnimeMania said:

His husband was worst, since he seemed to only cared about the political race and not about his husband or the kid.

I kind of bought that. I mean they pretty much spelled it out that the other candidate was a giant shitbag. Dropping out of the race would be handing him the election which could make things bad for a lot of people.

[sinkwriter]

I think the big issue for the 15-year-old kid is that his life would never be his own again. In this day and age, he would never escape being in the news, being hounded, and being known as the kid whose real dad is a gay politician who once had an affair with his student.  They always say, be careful what you put out there online. The media certainly wouldn't be willing to leave him alone, and even after it died down in immediate news, it would be forever viewable as info on the internet. The kid's 15. That would be pretty damn awful, and I had no problem with Dex trying to find a way to protect his identity.

I did, however, think the resolution to the issue was lame. What's to stop the sleazy brother from further trying to capitalize on it with a news network or some other outlet? Just because the politician decides to step down and the other side of the aisle promised not to say anything, doesn't mean it will never get out. It could all be for nothing.

Also, I think the husband's freakout about them being "off message" was ridiculous. What's more on message for "Be you, be true" than being able to say, "When I was in the closet, I did all sorts of foolish, over-the-top, over-the-line things in order to hide who I was. It was all out of fear, and no one should ever have to feel that way about themselves. It's a horrible headspace to be in. But now I can stand proudly and I'm no longer tied to that fear because I'm finally honest about who I am and can truly be myself."

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, sinkwriter said:

I think the big issue for the 15-year-old kid is that his life would never be his own again. In this day and age, he would never escape being in the news, being hounded, and being known as the kid whose real dad is a gay politician who once had an affair with his student.  They always say, be careful what you put out there online. The media certainly wouldn't be willing to leave him alone, and even after it died down in immediate news, it would be forever viewable as info on the internet. The kid's 15. That would be pretty damn awful, and I had no problem with Dex trying to find a way to protect his identity.

I don’t have a problem with Dex protecting him but it was only a state senate race. It might get some attention but outside of Portland very few people would care. The story just isn’t salacious enough to draw the national media. It might not even be that big of a story in Portland. Where I live most people don’t pay much attention to state senate races. 

On 11/27/2019 at 6:43 PM, Perfect Xero said:

No one is bothered that a teacher had sex with a student, but are that a gay man had sex with an adult woman 15 years ago before he was out?

I really didn’t like that they went out of their way to establish that the student was all over the professor. Either it’s an issue or it’s not but who initiated the relationship is irrelevant to whether or not it was inappropriate.