S01.E12: Internal Affairs

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Following a mysterious and catastrophic incident in the precinct, Bright faces an internal affairs review as Gil and the team worry about his mental health.

Airing Monday, January 27, 2020.

 

[Lady Calypso]

Man, I really like the actor who played Dr. Coppenrath, but his character was fairly predictable. Plus, the actor definitely sold the shadiness, so it wasn't hard to see where it was heading. Of course Malcolm would be right about the deprogrammer. 

I am glad that it ended with Gil telling Malcolm that he was suspended for two weeks. Obviously, Malcolm needs the time away from the precinct, especially after almost electrocuting himself (and I believe that he would have; this is the guy who cut off some poor sap's hand and also smashed his own hand last episode). 

Jessica's moments were great. I really loved seeing her get involved with finding the guy who kidnapped the girl. 

Once again, did not miss Ainsley or Martin, which further proves that I'd rather just have Jessica and Malcolm around. 

[Dbolt]

22 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Man, I really like the actor who played Dr. Coppenrath, but his character was fairly predictable. Plus, the actor definitely sold the shadiness, so it wasn't hard to see where it was heading. Of course Malcolm would be right about the deprogrammer. 

I am glad that it ended with Gil telling Malcolm that he was suspended for two weeks. Obviously, Malcolm needs the time away from the precinct, especially after almost electrocuting himself (and I believe that he would have; this is the guy who cut off some poor sap's hand and also smashed his own hand last episode). 

Jessica's moments were great. I really loved seeing her get involved with finding the guy who kidnapped the girl. 

Once again, did not miss Ainsley or Martin, which further proves that I'd rather just have Jessica and Malcolm around. 

I am just the opposite when it comes to Martin. An episode without him seems like a time killer. I want to see more if Malcolm picking martins brain to solve cases unrelated (literally) to them. 

[CoyoteBlue]

"If Bright were a state, he'd be Florida."

I am looking forward to Malcolm addressing the "you were going to kill me" issue with Martin, but yeah, I like that they can take any chunk of the ensemble and make it work well. 

[nodorothyparker]

The seams really showed on this one when you remove the family dynamic as the main storyline.  I mean, I guess they had to somehow address Malcolm basically letting him get himself kidnapped last episode in a case he wasn't even supposed to be involved in, but still.  We were supposed to buy the same people who just last episode were proclaiming Malcolm "one of us" and racing to save him so casually throwing him into the woodchipper and not wonder about that?  There's a lot of hand waving and sure, let's go with that anytime the show focuses very much on the actual police department or police procedure that would allow anyone like Malcolm or Jessica? (seriously?) anywhere close to legitimate case work.  Maybe it's best not to do an entire episode on that that also includes a long if predictable fake out of the department IA psych also being a super secret deprogrammer committing crimes.  That they put dialogue in both Malcolm's and the good doctor's mouths about both being overeducated men too immersed in their work made it feel all the more like they knew they were subbing this interaction for the usual Malcom-Martin mind games and were hoping we wouldn't notice it was coming up short.  The dragging out all episode about what "the incident" actually was was laughable.

I'll admit to being a little surprised that Malcolm is accepting the whole "your dad was going to kill you" reveal at face value, even if I did like younger Malcolm's shrugging "but he didn't."  While we know Martin isn't likely to give him a straight answer about it either, it seems like that's a conversation he would be having with him and gauging his reactions before taking it as fact.

 

[rove4]

1 hour ago, CoyoteBlue said:

"If Bright were a state, he'd be Florida."

I'm not even sure what this means.  

 

2 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Once again, did not miss Ainsley or Martin, which further proves that I'd rather just have Jessica and Malcolm around. 

Ditto. 

[CoyoteBlue]

4 minutes ago, rove4 said:

I'm not even sure what this means.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Man

Florida is home to all the weirdest shit. 

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, nodorothyparker said:

I'll admit to being a little surprised that Malcolm is accepting the whole "your dad was going to kill you" reveal at face value, even if I did like younger Malcolm's shrugging "but he didn't."  While we know Martin isn't likely to give him a straight answer about it either, it seems like that's a conversation he would be having with him and gauging his reactions before taking it as fact.

I know it seems obvious to us that Martin probably WASN'T aiming to kill Malcolm and that Watkins was either lying or being lied to, but yeah, I'm not so sure why Malcolm was this ready to not just accept the story, but feel devastated enough over it. I guess it relates back to what Malcolm said, about being torn between the rational part of his brain and the child still within him. It's not that he wants to care this much for his serial killer father, but he can't help it. 

But yeah, you'd think that Malcolm would rather confront Martin first.

The case stuff WAS shoddy. I couldn't tell when the team decided to believe Malcolm about the deprogrammer stuff, but it seems to be after the electrocution attempt, but before the deprogrammer actually showed up to evaluate Malcolm. Are we to believe that they were all playing it up to the guy? It seems like they were playing it up, but probably still speaking based on truth. Because, had the guy NOT been the deprogrammer, Malcolm would have remained fired. So it was a LOT of luck, this time around.

[sempervivum]

Are there really still pay phone boxes on the street in NYC (and of course conveniently right outside the building Malcolm was in)? Did I miss why he didn't have a cell phone?

I'm sure it wasn't what the show writer had in mind, but I laughed when I saw all the li'l hollow-eyed Malcolms popping up in the room; it reminded me of some kind of primitive video game. 

[saber5055]

I pretty much wasn't paying attention to the plot or the case of the week or much of anything else due to me trying to make sure that was Daniel Sunjata. I recognized his lips, but man, the rest of him sure looked different than Franco Rivera.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Why would Malcolm be truthful about learning that his father had planned to kill him knowing that the conversation was being recorded and would be introduced into evidence at any eventual trial? Surely he could have made up a convincing "secret".

I'm  not sure if this part was made up for the benefit of the psychiatrist or not, but I didn't get Gil telling Malcolm that they couldn't investigate Andi's kidnapping on his word alone. Even if a witness appears somewhat disturbed, would a reported kidnapping just go ignored? Couldn't Gil send out officers to investigate? And on a different note, since Malcolm works for the police department,  wouldn't the electroshock machine be useless as evidence since Malcolm grabbed it without a warrant?

Edited January 29, 2020 by ItCouldBeWorse

[foxfreakinmulder]

I actually got kind of bored watching this one. I just didn't care for it that much.

[rove4]

21 hours ago, CoyoteBlue said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Man

Florida is home to all the weirdest shit. 

Ahh, got it, lol.  Thanks!

As for Martin trying to kill Malcolm, I believe it...or at least that Martin considered it even if he eventually decided against it (for the time being).  Malcolm was starting to snoop around into daddy's peculiar hobby and Martin was already having to chloroform him.  How long could that go on? Among his other bad qualities, Martin is a narcissist and ultimately no one's life means more to him than his own. 

Edited January 29, 2020 by rove4

[CoyoteBlue]

1 hour ago, rove4 said:

Malcolm was starting to snoop around into daddy's peculiar hobby and Martin was already having to chloroform him.  How long could that go on? 

I'm thinking the camping trip was a way for Martin to see if Malcolm could be brought on board since he couldn't keep him quiet. The family that slays together...

[nodorothyparker]

I'm inclined to think Martin very likely considered it, or at least mused about the possibility to John Watkins if young Malcolm wouldn't stop talking about what he had seen.  He may have even told Watkins that's what the camping trip was for.  But without more to go on, I'm not yet convinced that he would have followed through.  The question seems likely to be a sticking point for awhile along with what happened to the girl in the box.  Martin is indeed a narcissist, but many narcissists see their children as extensions of themselves as Martin clearly does Malcolm.  His identity is very wrapped up in being a "good father," a phrase he's repeated a couple of times over the course of the season as if he hasn't been absent most of Malcolm and Ainsley's lives because of his own actions.  He was fairly aggressive on that point with Gil and earlier with Jessica when she told him to leave Malcolm the hell alone.

I know I'm waaaay overthinking this, but when a child disappears or turns up dead under suspicious circumstances, the parents are always looked at first.  The last thing Martin would have wanted would have been the authorities poking around paying any attention to him at all.  Granted, he also obviously believes he's smarter than most people and might have been confident that he could have stayed ahead of the police, but look how quick he went to the drugged tea and murder route the night he was arrested just because a cop showed up at his door over what everyone assumed was a kid's prank phone call.

[AnimeMania]

I imagine Martin brought Malcolm on the camping trip to get Malcolm to kill the girl they brought. If Malcolm did it and enjoyed it, then they can do it together. If Malcolm did it and didn't enjoyed it, then Martin can use that to try to keep Malcolm quiet about what his father does. If Malcolm refused to kill the girl, then Malcolm might have become the latest victim of the Junk Yard Killer. Since Martin didn't do it himself, and if the Junk Yard Killer leaves enough evidence that he did it and that nobody in the family are not involved, the police will not suspect Martin and not look too hard at Martin's lifestyle, house, business and family.

[Trini]

I liked that this had a slightly different setup/format than usual.

Yes, please take a vacation, Malcolm! I wanted to see how Malcolm would interact with his new German nanny - LOL!

 

On 1/28/2020 at 12:46 PM, sempervivum said:

Are there really still pay phone boxes on the street in NYC (and of course conveniently right outside the building Malcolm was in)? Did I miss why he didn't have a cell phone?

There are; but that's an old one. Now I'm wondering if they actually found the one place in NYC that had one, or was it a prop they placed at that location? And yes, it was weird that he didn't make the call with his cell phone (and I don't think they gave an explanation).

[CoyoteBlue]

19 hours ago, Trini said:

Yes, please take a vacation, Malcolm! I wanted to see how Malcolm would interact with his new German nanny - LOL!

Judging by his white linen suit in the previews for next week, it looks like he took that vacation somewhere nice. It was amusing to see that he could be bought with a good hot toddy, however, despite his exasperation with his mom's interference.

[ahpny]

Quote

I'm not so sure why Malcolm was this ready to not just accept the story, but feel devastated enough over it. I guess it relates back to what Malcolm said, about being torn between the rational part of his brain and the child still within him. It's not that he wants to care this much for his serial killer father, but he can't help it. 

I read that as Malcolm always knowing, or strongly suspecting, this of his father, but suppressing those memories because they were just too painful to retain or accept. Having those memories confirmed (and forced to be faced) caused the cognitive crisis we saw. But who knows?

Whether the writers intended or not, the father considers and/or attempts to kill his son but pulls back and fails to follow through at the last moment has striking similarities to the biblical story of the binding of Isaac by Abraham (but of course Abraham was never a serial killer, or a killer of any kind). Nevertheless, in the bible, the aborted sacrifice of Isaac broke a bond between father and son and their relationship was never the same afterwards. I suspect here something similar will result, though the relationship between Malcolm and his father was never normal or in any sense "good." 

Gil's crack about "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" made perfect sense for someone his age to reference. It aired from 1984 to 1995. But it made far less sense for Malcolm, presumably about 30 years old, to have any knowledge of this show since much of it ran before he was born. A more credible response from Malcolm would have been puzzlement about what Gil was talking about. While most of us know certain notable TV shows that predate our own time, I don't think "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" makes the notability cut such that most younger people would know anything about it.

[saber5055]

7 hours ago, ahpny said:

I don't think "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" makes the notability cut such that most younger people would know anything about it.

Unless they have antenna tv. Lifestyle reruns are on for an hour or more every weekend. Yeah, I watch it!

[tennisgurl]

I gotta say, while we now know that the therapist was the bad guy, he wasnt really wrong about Malcolm in a lot of ways. He cant just keep finding coping mechanisms for his trauma and mental health issues, he needs to actually find a way to deal with them as much as its possible to do that. He was also right that he uses humor as a defense mechanism to cover up his very real issues, and that he does take risks that he really shouldn't be taking out of a desire to take control of his life and deal with his complicated feelings about his past. Not a good guy and wrong that Malcolm is such a mess that he cant be allowed to work with the cops, but not wrong about everything. 

I mean, Malcolm might not have actually given himself electroshock, but he did willingly do it at the cult, and he very much would have, he really needs to take some time off. A personal day...week...few weeks....maybe a month? I kind of suspected that something was off when everyone was talking about how crazy Malcolm is "the guy lost it...and I say that as a friend" which seemed rather out of character, even if he is being even more erratic than usual. The stuff with Malcolm and Gil was all really good, Gil helping Malcolm with his tie, their blow up (the really specific freak out about Malcolm getting "like this" seemed like something that he is probably sensitive about) and then them easily making up, it was really nice. 

Jessica helping in the case was fun, apparently there are deprogrammers on speed dial for every rich family in New York! "We had to drag my sister out of the Moonies back in the 80s!" 

So I guess Malcolm's next step is to confront Martin about possibly trying to kill him, which I hope he does soon because I dont buy that Martin really wanted to kill Malcolm. Even if his love is creepy and possessive and toxic, I do think that Martin loves his family in the way that he can.

[Regalbegal]

On 1/28/2020 at 5:56 AM, Lady Calypso said:

Once again, did not miss Ainsley or Martin, which further proves that I'd rather just have Jessica and Malcolm around. 

Michael Sheen is great, but I didn't really miss him either, I am fine with Martin popping in every once in a while rather than being in every episode.  Ainsley is still "meh" for me, but holding out hope she will have some greater purpose in the SL as the season progresses (the revelation about John last episode gave me hope). 

I sort of liked this episode more than the last one - even though it didn't quite have the same whackadoodle horror movie energy, it was tightly plotted and I think gave some real insight into where Malcom's (very messed up) head is at.  I may be dense, but it didn't dawn on me until quite late in the game that Simon was the killer. 

On 1/30/2020 at 7:00 AM, CoyoteBlue said:

Judging by his white linen suit in the previews for next week, it looks like he took that vacation somewhere nice.

It tickles me that Malcom's idea of vacation wear is a white linen suit.  

Edited January 31, 2020 by Regalbegal

[Sile]

On 1/29/2020 at 12:41 PM, Trini said:

I liked that this had a slightly different setup/format than usual.

Yes, please take a vacation, Malcolm! I wanted to see how Malcolm would interact with his new German nanny - LOL!

 

There are; but that's an old one. Now I'm wondering if they actually found the one place in NYC that had one, or was it a prop they placed at that location? And yes, it was weird that he didn't make the call with his cell phone (and I don't think they gave an explanation).

My thought is that they probably didn't allow cellphones in the "institute" during treatment.

I missed Michael Sheen.  He was my main reason for watching it in the beginning, but I am enjoying the other characters.  This is the episode that I think clinched the Gil love.  Damn, LDP has aged well!

[hookedontv]

On 1/31/2020 at 1:34 AM, tennisgurl said:

"We had to drag my sister out of the Moonies back in the 80s!" 

This line made me laugh out loud. Hard. Showing my age now...

[candall]

I've hung in there a long time, but I'm calling it quits.  Tooooo damn dark!  Visually, I mean.  I don't want to squint at the screen anymore, trying to figure out what the murky shadows are doing, especially when half of them are dream figures.

On 1/20/2020 at 8:04 PM, saoirse said:

Airing Monday, January 27, 2020.

 

I swear I've never seen a single frame as bright and shiny as this promo shot.  Sometimes the only thing I can recognize clearly in the entire hour is the cleft in that woman's chin.

Goodbye.