S02.E09: Breaking Point

[WendyCR72]

To air on December 1, 2019:

Nolan’s trust is tested when he tries to help the previous owner of his home reconnect with his family. Harper has finally earned an overnight visit with her daughter that is put into jeopardy when her past undercover life resurfaces again.

[mxc90]

What kind of dog chased the package thief? The bark didn't sound menacing.

I need to get my eyes checked. At first, I thought Malcolm was a girl. That body looked real cold, Malcolm must have been sitting in the tub for days.

Too bad nobody was there to advise Malcolm to get a new lawyer. Malcolm should have asked Wesley "why are you sweating/crumbling? I am the one getting grilled here. Not you! Get it together!"

The responding officer that noticed Nyla in the old picture must have a crush on her! 

Was Nyla running 2 or more undercover operations concurrently or did she leave one then jumped to another? How long was she away from her daughter?

36 episodes and no technical advisor? How was that show not cancelled? Did Sterling make sure he is the only one to get lessons and not the other actors?

Did the dopey stalker not see Jackson and Sterling were about to kiss and Sterling was obviously no threat to take her love interest? Lucky for Lopez she wasn't equally protective of the food and could have shot her.

I almost thought the show was going to reveal the cop show's hairdresser as the stalker in honor of Afton Williamson.

Poor actor didn't know if the stalker was a problem with all the cards, letters sent and break in!? Once she read the stalker thought she was "greatest" actor... she knew there was something very wrong with this person (the actor knows she can't act). 

Nolan never noticed the back door was opened? 

I guess turning the gun sideways means you are definitely from the street and the Ripper was fooled.

They crammed a lot of stories tonight: the murder/Malcolm, Howard/Nolan, Nyla undercover, Jackson/Sterling, Lopez/Wesley's problem,  the stalker, Nolan/Grace.

[gsnrocks92]

How does Grace have time to go out with Nolan when she appears to be the only doctor in LA?

[BlakesMomma]

17 minutes ago, gsnrocks92 said:

How does Grace have time to go out with Nolan when she appears to be the only doctor in LA?

Why do some people get so hung up on this? It's a TV show, with only one doctor in the cast.

Also, she's the head of ER. I would assume any police related matter would automatically be bumped up to her level.

[devilhalo]

What’s the point in having Grace and Nolan date? Why can’t this character be single for 2 mins? 
 

[paigow]

6 hours ago, devilhalo said:

What’s the point in having Grace and Nolan date? Why can’t this character be single for 2 mins? 
 

Then Nolan would become The Unicorn....

Edited December 2, 2019 by paigow

[preeya]

6 hours ago, paigow said:

Then Nolan would become The Unicorn....

....and they could hire Walton Goggins as a technical advisor.

[paigow]

Good thing that West dumped the hospital dude. Or did he??? West might have created his own stalker...

[Waterston Fan]

I'm just here for the comments. 😎

[morriss]

Mr Reese once told a guy holding a gun sideways, that you can't aim it and it will eject the shell casing right into your face.     lol

[break21]

They have wandered so far away from the premise of this show.   Next,  Nolan is going to turn CIA agent and start nailing down drug dealers in the Congo.

[chaifan]

14 hours ago, mxc90 said:

They crammed a lot of stories tonight: the murder/Malcolm, Howard/Nolan, Nyla undercover, Jackson/Sterling, Lopez/Wesley's problem,  the stalker, Nolan/Grace.

Yeah, this episode was all a string of subpar "B" plots.  They could have easily eliminated the whole weird guy in Nolan's house plot.  It was meaningless.  Can't Nolan have a "normal" life for just one week?  nah, that won't happen.  Actually, the entire episode could easily be eliminated and no one would notice. 

Also, is anyone else noticing that Nolan's house seems to be expanding from the inside out?  OK, he's removed a bunch of walls, but the gigantic space they keep showing is about the size of the entire house, yet he still has a bedroom, presumably a bathroom, etc. 

[The Ringo Kidd]

This episode gives the title “Mountie” a whole new meaning.

[paigow]

Cop: Did you kill your Mom?

Malcolm: You want answers????

[ketose]

Who thinks the guy with the broken brain actually killed his wife and just doesn't remember it?

Oh, they did that last season.

[Clanstarling]

I was expecting Nolan would discover the guy's family buried in the crawlspace.

[Netfoot]

15 hours ago, mxc90 said:

I guess turning the gun sideways means you are definitely from the street and the Ripper was fooled.

2 hours ago, morriss said:

Mr Reese once told a guy holding a gun sideways, that you can't aim it and it will eject the shell casing right into your face.     lol

11 minutes ago, ketose said:

Who thinks the guy with the broken brain actually killed his wife and just doesn't remember it?

When they heard that she had "dropped out o sight" five years earlier, I immediately assumed he'd killed her and hidden the body in the walls of the house.  Which being the reason he kept coming back there...

Edited December 2, 2019 by Netfoot

[Soobs]

I watched this episode with my husband who has never seen the show and during almost every scene he was like, "wait, that's so unbelievable, no way would that would ever happen!"

Welcome to the world of The Rookie! How many times has Nolan had an intruder? Seems like it happens every third episode! If Jackson and Sterling work out, boy will they have a unique "how we met" story. But actually maybe it's pretty normal in The Rookie universe.

I actually do like this show. It's a fun Sunday night escape. But I often wonder if the writers are self aware of the incredible plots, plot holes and cliches.

[ketose]

28 minutes ago, Soobs said:

I watched this episode with my husband who has never seen the show and during almost every scene he was like, "wait, that's so unbelievable, no way would that would ever happen!"

Welcome to the world of The Rookie! How many times has Nolan had an intruder? Seems like it happens every third episode! If Jackson and Sterling work out, boy will they have a unique "how we met" story. But actually maybe it's pretty normal in The Rookie universe.

I actually do like this show. It's a fun Sunday night escape. But I often wonder if the writers are self aware of the incredible plots, plot holes and cliches.

Well, they had a story about a TV cop show loaded with inaccuracies, so they have some level of awareness.

[rhys]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

When they heard that she had "dropped out o sight" five years earlier, I immediately assumed he'd killed her and hidden the body in the walls of the house.  Which being the reason he kept coming back there...

That would be a delicious twist! Plus Howard (?) has brain cancer so that could help explain his altered thinking.

Why was Nolan sleeping with his door open? Crikey that seems stupid.

[mxc90]

3 minutes ago, rhys said:

Why was Nolan sleeping with his door open? Crikey that seems stupid.

"Mr. Nice guy" Nolan is always thinking and willing to make the burglar's job as easy as possible.

[Netfoot]

23 minutes ago, rhys said:

Why was Nolan sleeping with his door open? Crikey that seems stupid.

More likely Wossname had a key from before, and let himself in.

[sinkwriter]

1 hour ago, Soobs said:

Welcome to the world of The Rookie! How many times has Nolan had an intruder?

I just wanted to shout at him, "Nolan! When are you going to learn to lock your patio door and close the curtains at night!" What's with him always leaving his glass doors wide open? He did that when he lived in his friend's house and it baffled me. It's like, yes, why not just walk right in, neighbors, strangers, anyone walking by... 😄

[sinkwriter]

On a separate note, I kept waiting for them to cut to Lopez, when Wesley was having his meltdown, but they never did. It drove me a little crazy - I wanted to say, can't you see the guy is struggling? Go help him! End the interview, or at least pull him out of there and get the kid a different lawyer.

Apparently I yell at the characters like they can hear me.  😉

Edited December 3, 2019 by sinkwriter

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I was expecting Nolan would discover the guy's family buried in the crawlspace.

Off-screen, I'm sure Nolan does find bones in a wall he takes out.
  

  

[chaifan]

40 minutes ago, sinkwriter said:

On a separate note, I kept waiting for them to cut to Lopez, when Wesley was having his meltdown, but they never did. It drove me a little crazy - I wanted to say, can't you see the guy is struggling? Go help him! End the interview, or at least pull him out of there and get the kid a different lawyer.

Apparently I yell at the characters like they can hear me.  😉

That's ok.  If the kid is convicted, he's been perfectly set up for an appeal/reversal based on ineffective assistance of counsel. 

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, chaifan said:

That's ok.  If the kid is convicted, he's been perfectly set up for an appeal/reversal based on ineffective assistance of counsel. 

Seriously. I guess the Rookie writers are too young to have watched L&O.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

That's ok.  If the kid is convicted, he's been perfectly set up for an appeal/reversal based on ineffective assistance of counsel. 

Yeah, Wesley should have spoken to Malcolm, discovered what had happened, and then insisted that the kid wasn't going to answer any questions.  Then since the kid's fingerprints were probably on the knife, mount a diminished capacity or similar defense later.  There was no benefit to the kid answering questions then unless he appeared insane.

Edited December 3, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse

[rhys]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

More likely Wossname had a key from before, and let himself in.

watch closely. The slider is part way open. Nuts

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

10 hours ago, chaifan said:

That's ok.  If the kid is convicted, he's been perfectly set up for an appeal/reversal based on ineffective assistance of counsel. 

Yeah, Wesley should have spoken to Malcolm, discovered what had happened, and then insisted that the kid wasn't going to answer any questions.  Then since the kid's fingerprints were probably on the knife, mount a diminished capacity or similar defense later.  There was no benefit to the kid answering questions then unless he appeared insane

Didn’t Wesley say not to answer any questions? Regardless, Wesley’s meltdown would be reason for “ineffective counsel.”
Also, shouldn’t a minor at least have a guardian present for any questioning, because otherwise they would have to throw out his confession?
I thought Chen was going to be commended for assuring the confession was not thrown out, but instead she was dissed. But I’ve had a couple of experiences like that in my non-police workplace. 
  
  
 

9 hours ago, rhys said:

watch closely. The slider is part way open. Nuts

The screen door was open?? Sheesh. And even if the sliding screen door’s latch was broken —which often happens because they are so flimsy— Handyman Nolan should have fixed it. Then, instead, we would see the screen sliced open as any proper stalker would do. 

Edited December 3, 2019 by shapeshifter

[Loandbehold]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Didn’t Wesley say not to answer any questions?

He said it a couple of times, but he didn't insist on speaking to his client before the interview began.

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Regardless, Wesley’s meltdown would be reason for “ineffective counsel.”

Reason to make the argument, but "ineffective assistance of counsel" is rarely sustained. Texas has the "sleeping lawyer" death penalty cases where, yes, the appointed attorney was actually sleeping during the trial (noted in court transcripts), yet this defense was denied. I remember a case from law school where a tax attorney had shown up in court on a civil case and the judge appointed him counsel in a death penalty case (he wasn't a criminal defense attorney and never tried any criminal case) w/ jury selection that day. Defense denied.

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I thought Chen was going to be commended for assuring the confession was not thrown out, but instead she was dissed.

That was bizarre. Especially if your show is supposed to be promoting police, in general, as good people trying to do right by everybody.

[bros402]

14 hours ago, Loandbehold said:

He said it a couple of times, but he didn't insist on speaking to his client before the interview began.

When he came in, he asked where the kid was - social worker lady said "I'm coming with you, I should be there etc" and Wesley said "No, you're on the other side, he is my client" or something liek that

[Raja]

On 12/2/2019 at 5:24 PM, shapeshifter said:

Seriously. I guess the Rookie writers are too young to have watched L&O.

To be fair do any TV cops get to see their cases thrown out by judges like Lenny Briscoe and the 27th precinct detectives did?

[Raja]

I just noticed that all the teams are now driving the same type police car when is season 1 they each had a different type car for instant identification of which pair we were about to see.

I guess the concept of the Night General has been dropped, or they just didn't want to film at night?

[sinkwriter]

14 hours ago, bros402 said:

When he came in, he asked where the kid was - social worker lady said "I'm coming with you, I should be there etc" and Wesley said "No, you're on the other side, he is my client" or something liek that

That's actually a part that made no sense to me. As a social worker, she IS on the kid's side. So I'm not sure why he said that to her. She should have been in there to advocate for the kid. Especially because she already knew him, right?

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, sinkwriter said:

That's actually a part that made no sense to me. As a social worker, she IS on the kid's side. So I'm not sure why he said that to her. She should have been in there to advocate for the kid. Especially because she already knew him, right?

The lines are:

Quote

[WESLEY, THE LAWYER] You can't come with me.

[RACHEL, THE SOCIAL WORKER] I'm his advocate.

[WESLEY] Rachel, you work for the county. I work for Malcolm. Sorry, but you're on the outside now. 

Even if this is the way it works, I'm pretty sure the minor can't be questioned without a parent or guardian present (based on my having watched The Closer, The Guardian, Law & Order, etc.). I guess Wesley was filling that role? But then he wasn't. 🤷‍♀️

[paigow]

There were no living relatives in L.A. so Malcolm was out of luck.

If we are using Law & Order....A hostage taker demanded to see a lawyer... Serena was on scene and met with him but never disclosed that she was a D.A. The guy confessed to other crimes thinking he was covered by attorney client privilege. He surrendered peacefully, but the confession was thrown out. Rachel as an employee of the state would be similarly conflicted.

[femmefan1946]

Was anyone else annoyed by Jackson's "Bollywood Kiss"?
I like that there are a lot of fast moving stories in each episode.

[bros402]

9 hours ago, sinkwriter said:

That's actually a part that made no sense to me. As a social worker, she IS on the kid's side. So I'm not sure why he said that to her. She should have been in there to advocate for the kid. Especially because she already knew him, right?

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

The lines are:

Even if this is the way it works, I'm pretty sure the minor can't be questioned without a parent or guardian present (based on my having watched The Closer, The Guardian, Law & Order, etc.). I guess Wesley was filling that role? But then he wasn't. 🤷‍♀️

Yup - now I am not a lawyer or a social worker, but from what I gathered was that Malcolm had no family left. Therefore, he was a ward of the state - which would most likely mean that the social worker would act in loco parentis - unless her office has some special situations for orphan wards suspected of crimes. 

Also, them going "Why'd you say that he should have a lawyer? Now he'll have time to come up with an explanation!" was just making me laugh - he was, what, 12 at the oldest? A 12 year old isn't going to come up with an explanation that would last under pressure.

[mojito]

Were any of you HGTV/DIY channel viewers, or reno enthusiasts surprised to see that Nolan had put in new drywall but hadn't yet pulled up the carpet? That seemed really strange to me. 

Loved Diaz making a beeline to catering and chowing down on that quality grub.

Are we the only ones who know that Jackson is gay? Can't recall if that's known by the other two rookies.

Harper, comb that child's hair!

[dshgr]

30 minutes ago, mojito said:

Were any of you HGTV/DIY channel viewers, or reno enthusiasts surprised to see that Nolan had put in new drywall but hadn't yet pulled up the carpet? That seemed really strange to me. 

If there are nice hardwood floors under the carpet, the carpet will protect them while you are working.  You can really do everything except the quarter round before you need to rip up the carpet.

(DH and I did a few flips in our younger years).

[Raja]

1 hour ago, mojito said:

Are we the only ones who know that Jackson is gay? Can't recall if that's known by the other two rookies.

They said that  they knew since almost the beginning at the police academy. when he came out to them in season 1.

According to my online friend from Southland with their out of the closet gay training officer lead character it had been no big deal inside the LAPD for decades now.

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, dshgr said:

If there are nice hardwood floors under the carpet, the carpet will protect them while you are working.  You can really do everything except the quarter round before you need to rip up the carpet.

(DH and I did a few flips in our younger years).

Though I haven't flipped a house, our old home - of a similar vintage as Nolan's, had lovely wood floors (once we refinished them) under hideous carpeting. They don't do that anymore, sadly.

Edited December 5, 2019 by Clanstarling

[sinkwriter]

19 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

Was anyone else annoyed by Jackson's "Bollywood Kiss"?

Yes! (LOL)  I was like, finally West is getting some action... and then they copped out. It's 2019 and it's still somehow kind of a weird rare thing to allow two men to kiss on regular network TV. How often is it shown, where it's not some coy almost-kiss, where it's truly on par with what straight characters get to do? I'm not sure.

Just the other night on Stumptown the lead female character kissed another female character, but the fact that they deem that allowable to show just feels like it's feeding a straight white male fantasy of women making out, rather than actual societal growth where people will no longer think twice if they see something outside of straight sexuality. I don't know... maybe I'm making too big a deal out of it, but I definitely rolled my eyes when West and the actor character got interrupted.

16 hours ago, bros402 said:

from what I gathered was that Malcolm had no family left. Therefore, he was a ward of the state - which would most likely mean that the social worker would act in loco parentis

That was my thought as well. Which is why I was confused that she got kicked out. There's no way in hell a 12-year-old should be getting interrogated without some parental figure or social worker advocating for them. I know Wesley was supposed to, but I imagine it's never just a lawyer in the room for the kid but also a parent or guardian so that they know what's going on?

[bros402]

7 hours ago, sinkwriter said:

That was my thought as well. Which is why I was confused that she got kicked out. There's no way in hell a 12-year-old should be getting interrogated without some parental figure or social worker advocating for them. I know Wesley was supposed to, but I imagine it's never just a lawyer in the room for the kid but also a parent or guardian so that they know what's going on?

Yeah, from what I know in my training as a teacher, if a kid says abuse is going on, you do not ask them questions, you just let them talk - because people with special training need to talk to the kid so the kid doesn't just say what the person in a position of power wants to hear (see: Satanic Panic). I imagine there are officers they specifically have who deal with juvenile crimes - it's a huge city, now if it were like a town of like 20k people, sure, they might not have anyone, but it is LA, they have to have people trained to interview kids who did serious crimes, and I doubt pretty much telling the kid what to say is the proper way to interrogate a kid. It's legal to do with an adult, but Malcolm was nowhere near adulthood.

[Avabelle]

Given Nyla works local patrol I can’t believe nobody has yet recognised her when she goes undercover as Kristal. That’s a gripe I have with a lot of cop shows. 
 

The plot with Nolan and the former of his house could have been removed entirely. There was no point to it.