S01.E16: All Quiet on the Dextern Front

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Dex takes on a new case helping a mother who has lost custody of her children, which triggers parallels to her time in Afghanistan. After memories of Afghanistan reemerge, Dex spirals and must face the reasons behind Benny's death. Back at The Bad Alibi, Grey and Tookie coach Ansel on how to ask a girl out on a date.

Airing Wednesday, March 4, 2020.

 

[phalange]

The scenes with Grey and Dex in the motel were funny. The promo made it seem like something would happen between them, so of course nothing actually happened. One day, maybe, but not while Dex is still coming to terms with Benny's death. Grey and Tookie giving Ansel dating advice was funny, and yes, Tookie, your pick-up lines were terrible.

Dex did the right thing by threatening to report the officer who ordered her to torture that woman, and clearly there was some shady shit going on the night Benny died. 

And there's another two week break between episodes. Sigh. 

[AnimeMania]

Maybe next episode they will finally give me a timeline, I have no idea how Dex, Benny, Ansel and their parents lives intersected.

[LaMatadita]

33 minutes ago, phalange said:

The scenes with Grey and Dex in the motel were funny. The promo made it seem like something would happen between them, so of course nothing actually happened.

I don't know if I'd say nothing happened. They did finally have a moment, and it seemed like there was decent chemistry, at least. And Tookie did finally weasel some sort of admission out of Grey, so that's more than we had before. But yeah, I bet that promo team has a lot of fun figuring out how to screw with viewers, lol.

I think Dex is about to get dragged through the mud emotionally, but I hope she emerges with some closure and will finally be able to move on with her life. I think she's taken some great steps already with her business and with no longer using sex the way a lot of people use drugs and alcohol, but her words in this episode made it very clear that she still punishes herself and doesn't believe she deserves happiness, which was pretty heartbreaking.

Grey is wise to know that she's not ready to legitimately be with anyone yet and won't be ready unless she can accept that she deserves happiness.

Edited March 5, 2020 by LaMatadita

[ElectricBoogaloo]

9 minutes ago, LaMatadita said:

I don't know if I'd say nothing happened. They did finally have a moment, and it seemed like there was decent chemistry, at least. And Tookie did finally weasel some sort of admission out of Grey, so that's more than we had before.

I agree. We saw Grey admit that (1) he would like to be more than just friends with Dex but that (2) he doesn't want to go there while she's still chasing the ghost of Benny. Both of those things are pretty big. I'm glad that Grey sees Dex clearly, has no illusions about her mental state, loves her (baggage and all), but knows it's not right to pursue her while she's still messed up about Benny (I couldn't decide what description to use there: mourning, conflicted, guilt-ridden, regretful, second guessing, hung up on - messed up seemed to cover everything).

I'm with Grey - Tookie's pick up lines were terrible. Please don't teach sweet Ansel about garbage like that!

It was really sweet to see Ansel move back home because he finished everything on his list and because Grey told him that Dex needs him.

[mommalib]

So apparently this was never really a love triangle so where does Miles fall in all of this?

[AnimeMania]

6 hours ago, LaMatadita said:

I think Dex is about to get dragged through the mud emotionally, but I hope she emerges with some closure and will finally be able to move on with her life. I think she's taken some great steps already with her business and with no longer using sex the way a lot of people use drugs and alcohol, but her words in this episode made it very clear that she still punishes herself and doesn't believe she deserves happiness, which was pretty heartbreaking.

Now she is using alcohol the way a lot of people use sex and drugs.

[saber5055]

The case of the week held no interest for me and, lightning strike me, I couldn't even with Dex's flashback scenes, I just wasn't interested. I didn't see how that woman's husband HAD to be "the one and only" person who could have blown up that transport. If he were apprehended there would be no more explosions and the war would be over?

Like I said, I just couldn't get into that backstory. Too forced and bogus for me.

I was also irritated at how stupid the show runners think we are that Dex drives down a long lane, the only car, no houses, nothing in sight, and "surprises" Sue Ellen who is standing in a deserted pasture where it's dead silent, brushing a horse. "Oh, gosh, Dex, what a surprise, where did YOU come from?" Where I live, I can hear a car coming down the road when it's one mile away. Can't see it but I can hear it. It's no surprise when it shows up.

And what's up with shows always making horses whinny. Sue Ellen's horse whinnied ... why? Horses very rarely whinny, and then only because something important to the horse is happening. Dex driving down a deserted country lane would NOT make a horse whinny. It could care less.

However, it was nice to see the veteran PTSD guy back again, as I predicted/hoped. And the last two seconds of this episode made me perk up and actually care enough to watch next time. So see you guys then.

[AnimeMania]

2 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

However, it was nice to see the veteran PTSD guy back again, as I predicted/hoped. And the last two seconds of this episode made me perk up and actually care enough to watch next time. So see you guys then.

He is not my favorite person, giving up perfectly good parents and relatives for ones with tons and issues and problems.

[saber5055]

3 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

He is not my favorite person, giving up perfectly good parents and relatives for ones with tons and issues and problems.

Oh, thanks for reminding me he's a jerk. I had already forgotten his storyline (which I hated) and was dwelling on eye candy only. Okay, now I don't like him any more. Grey is still a hottie IMO though.

[sempervivum]

54 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

I was also irritated at how stupid the show runners think we are that Dex drives down a long lane, the only car, no houses, nothing in sight, and "surprises" Sue Ellen who is standing in a deserted pasture where it's dead silent, brushing a horse.

Wearing chic 'country gentlewoman' clothing with a cute hat, full makeup, and her hair down, shiny and blowing gently in the wind, yeah.

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Now she is using alcohol the way a lot of people use sex and drugs.

She sure can throw it back for a skinny bitch. She had at least 6, maybe 8 shot glasses of some hard liquor in the bar scene. And she and Grey cleaned out the mini bar in the hotel room, and then went to sleep with a big pile of tiny liquor bottles piled up in the middle of the bed.

[saber5055]

31 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

And she and Grey cleaned out the mini bar in the hotel room, and then went to sleep with a big pile of tiny liquor bottles piled up in the middle of the bed.

Do motel-room mini bars have a bill-zillion little liquor bottles? At however much they cost ($2, $5, $10 each?) their motel bill had to be sky high. I did get a kick out of how many times they said "Ukiah" though. Has to be an inside joke.

[LaMatadita]

5 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Now she is using alcohol the way a lot of people use sex and drugs.

I called her an alcoholic a couple of months ago and a few posters questioned it. There's no denying that she did that in this episode, and she's definitely done it before, but she's not drunk every day, and she also seems to be able to have a drink or two with clients or with Grey and just stop there without getting plastered. Her drinking could go either way as to whether she's an alcoholic, but overall, I think she's improving on all fronts, and it's nice to see a character pulling herself together instead of the breaking bad/falling apart arc that heroes often get.

6 hours ago, mommalib said:

So apparently this was never really a love triangle so where does Miles fall in all of this?

I was confused about that from the start. Even if they go back to Dex/Miles at some point, it's going to be nearly impossible for that to hold a candle to the long history of friendship and support that she has with Grey, and that's not even taking into account that Jake Johnson could have chemistry with a sock. It will always be a lopsided triangle, if indeed it still is a triangle.

[Bulldog]

I'm not really a fan of the military flashbacks.  I prefer this show when it is more light hearted.  It really needs to pick a lane and stay there.  Either it is a semi-comedic show about a PI with a messed up personal life who can be her own worst enemy or it is a gritty drama of a PI dealing with PTSD and increasingly becoming an alcoholic.  I know that they think they are making Dex multi-faceted by incorporating both, but the tonal differences are, IMO, very jarring. 

And I didn't like Axel moving back in with Dex.  Living independently was something he wanted very badly and fought hard to get.  He shouldn't have to give that up to serve as a crutch for Dex.  You can support someone without giving up your own ambitions and goals.  I was really hoping Dex would say that she appreciated the offer, but he was doing so well on his own that she wanted to see him continue to thrive.  I think that would be an important lesson to teach Axel.  But, no.  

[chaifan]

5 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

He is not my favorite person, giving up perfectly good parents and relatives for ones with tons and issues and problems.

In all fairness, we don't really know if he gave up his adoptive parents.  He was upset with them in the first episode they all were introduced, but not much has been said since then.  We know he's hanging around his new/old family now, but that doesn't necessarily mean he cut off his parents.  They simply don't serve a purpose for the plot line, so we're not seeing them.

Something does strike me as off about the guy, though.  I don't like his acting style.  I don't know if he's acting that he's acting (the character has something to hide) or if the actor just simply has a weird acting style.

[AnimeMania]

2 minutes ago, chaifan said:

In all fairness, we don't really know if he gave up his adoptive parents.  He was upset with them in the first episode they all were introduced, but not much has been said since then.  We know he's hanging around his new/old family now, but that doesn't necessarily mean he cut off his parents.  They simply don't serve a purpose for the plot line, so we're not seeing them.

His parents gave him nothing but love and support, they had no idea what happened had occurred with his birth mother, but he was treating them like they were equivalent to Somali Pirates.

[chaifan]

51 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

His parents gave him nothing but love and support, they had no idea what happened had occurred with his birth mother, but he was treating them like they were equivalent to Somali Pirates.

Wow.  That's reading a whole lot into the 2 minutes or so we saw all three of them on screen together.  It's perfectly fine if that's the backstory you want to create for these characters, but the writers certainly haven't put that out there - not the extremes you've stated.

[saber5055]

3 minutes ago, chaifan said:

Wow.  That's reading a whole lot into the 2 minutes or so we saw all three of them on screen together.  It's perfectly fine if that's the backstory you want to create for these characters, but the writers certainly haven't put that out there - not the extremes you've stated.

He was a total dick to his adoptive parents in his episode. We've seen nothing to show us he's changed his opinion of the two people who raised and loved him, and he kicked them to the curb because OMG! HE'S ADOPTED! The horror!

He's a jerky creep. Now he's going to jerk Dex around with all the It's A Secret stuff about Benny's death. (Just supposing, that's not a spoiler.)

2 hours ago, Bulldog said:

I was really hoping Dex would say that she appreciated the offer, but he was doing so well on his own that she wanted to see him continue to thrive.  I think that would be an important lesson to teach Axel.  But, no.  

Because Dex is pretty much all about herself if I think about it. Axel was the bigger person to come back to live with Dex. Dex was all, hey, cool, it's my way again. Yeay for me. And, oh yeah, thanks Axel, for giving up your dreams for me.

[chaifan]

2 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

He was a total dick to his adoptive parents in his episode. We've seen nothing to show us he's changed his opinion of the two people who raised and loved him, and he kicked them to the curb because OMG! HE'S ADOPTED! The horror!

He's a jerky creep. Now he's going to jerk Dex around with all the It's A Secret stuff about Benny's death. (Just supposing, that's not a spoiler.)

Yeah, he was a total dick to his parents for the approximately 2 minutes that scene lasted.  And since then?  Who knows?  That's all I'm saying.  The script since has been totally devoid of any reference to his parents.  They could have made up, he may have never spoken to them again, they could be totally supportive of his relationship with his bio family.  No one knows.  But now we have:  Kicked them to the curb!  Treated them like Somali Pirates!  (WTF?)  Gave up his parents!  Again, fine if that's the backstory you want to create, but it's not what the writers have given us.  Geez, it's just a tv show.  Carm down. 

Also, it wasn't just because he was adopted, but he found out he was essentially stolen from his birth mother.  I can't imagine anyone not freaking out about that just a little in real life. 

[mommalib]

5 hours ago, LaMatadita said:

I called her an alcoholic a couple of months ago and a few posters questioned it. There's no denying that she did that in this episode, and she's definitely done it before, but she's not drunk every day, and she also seems to be able to have a drink or two with clients or with Grey and just stop there without getting plastered. Her drinking could go either way as to whether she's an alcoholic, but overall, I think she's improving on all fronts, and it's nice to see a character pulling herself together instead of the breaking bad/falling apart arc that heroes often get.

I was confused about that from the start. Even if they go back to Dex/Miles at some point, it's going to be nearly impossible for that to hold a candle to the long history of friendship and support that she has with Grey, and that's not even taking into account that Jake Johnson could have chemistry with a sock. It will always be a lopsided triangle, if indeed it still is a triangle.

And it's not like Dex and Miles have the material to convince me he has a shot. If this is a triangle then I need more on her connection with Miles. Michael Ealy can chemistry with a sock too but he nees to be able to show it.

[auntiemel]

Ukiah is way out of the way of the most efficient way to drive from LA to Portland. if your car is as crappy as Dex's, why the hell are you taking the scenic route?

 

[MisterGlass]

I thought this episode was uneven but I genuinely laughed at the electric scooter chase.

[tennisgurl]

The military flashback stuff tends to be kind of hit or miss for me, as I think it gives good backstory for Dex and her issues, but as part of the actual plot, I usually just want to head back to the Portland stuff. Especially if it looks like its being implied that it was a cover up or something, which will lead to even MORE drama and a big convoluted government plot that really wont fit with the vibe this show is going for usually. 

The case of the week was pretty good, the scooter chase was the clear highlight. "This is just embarrassing for both of us!"

I was sure that something would happen between Grey and Dex at the hotel, kind of surprised that it didnt, even though they clearly had a moment. I am kind of torn on them, I really like their friendship and they seemed to have settled into a post sex friendship, but on the other, they really seem to get and accept each other, for all of their baggage and damage and flaws, and still just really like being around each other, so I cant say I am fully opposed to something more happening down the line. We would just have to see. 

Of course Sue Lynn would understand Dex not wanting to torture that women, Sue Lynn is certainly prickly and morally sketchy at times, but I cant imagine her approving of government sanctioned torture of civilians. 

[SunnyBeBe]

For me, last night’s episode was weird. I was thinking....this seems off...is it bad acting...bad directing...bad writing....or just too mixed up...IDK..The chaotic military scenes were just off to me. And when Grey confronted Dex about her trashed house, her pain seemed forced and too fake. Plus, that breakdown throwing things didn’t work for me. Just didn’t fit.  Then, Dex is driving down this road having more mental terrors, as she CLOSES her eyes multiple times!!! I hate it when drivers take their eyes off the road. 

I normally like this show, so, I was a little disappointed.  I’d like more of Dex looking for her parents. 

[Gothish520]

Excellent use of XTC's "Dear God". The music continues to be a highlight for me.

[auchic]

19 minutes ago, Gothish520 said:

Excellent use of XTC's "Dear God". The music continues to be a highlight for me.

And Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" during Dex's breakdown. Music was on point this ep.

[possibilities]

Why does anyone think torturing someone would make her more willing to help? Torture doesn't generate reliable information, because people will say anything to make it stop. It drives me crazy that the show is allowing the issue to be framed as "the prisoner being tortured vs the Americans being killed".

I get why Dex is traumatized, though. War is hell.

I can hear a car coming, but I might not know who it is until they get closer. And also, if I wasn't expecting them, I would probably ask what they were doing here. I agree that scene with Dex and SE and the horse was filmed for maximum cinematic effect, but SE's surprise at seeing Dex didn't particularly surprise me.

I was relieved that Lily said yes to Ansel's date invitation. It bothers me that he doesn't have any friends, though. He's a friendly guy, it's a little weird that he does nothing but hang out with Dex and Grey and Tookie.

Where does Miles end up? I suspect in the arms of his partner. I thought I saw more than professional banter between them.

[yourmomiseasy]

8 hours ago, Bulldog said:

And I didn't like Axel moving back in with Dex.  Living independently was something he wanted very badly and fought hard to get.  He shouldn't have to give that up to serve as a crutch for Dex.  You can support someone without giving up your own ambitions and goals.  I was really hoping Dex would say that she appreciated the offer, but he was doing so well on his own that she wanted to see him continue to thrive.  I think that would be an important lesson to teach Axel.  But, no.  

Wasn't it always his plan to move back in after he finished his list?  I thought that was talked about when he initially moved out.

4 hours ago, auntiemel said:

Ukiah is way out of the way of the most efficient way to drive from LA to Portland. if your car is as crappy as Dex's, why the hell are you taking the scenic route?

 

I usually just do LA to Sacramento or LA to SF and also usually just take the 5 because I'm in a hurry, but doesn't the 101 have more towns vs the farmland along the 5?  If I was worried about my car breaking down I might pick the route with more towns so I wasn't stranded without options.

3 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

For me, last night’s episode was weird. I was thinking....this seems off...is it bad acting...bad directing...bad writing....or just too mixed up...IDK..The chaotic military scenes were just off to me. And when Grey confronted Dex about her trashed house, her pain seemed forced and too fake. Plus, that breakdown throwing things didn’t work for me. Just didn’t fit.  Then, Dex is driving down this road having more mental terrors, as she CLOSES her eyes multiple times!!! I hate it when drivers take their eyes off the road. 

I normally like this show, so, I was a little disappointed.  I’d like more of Dex looking for her parents. 

I thought for sure she was going to crash.  It really bothered me that she did not pull over.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Why does anyone think torturing someone would make her more willing to help?

Jack Bauer

9 hours ago, Bulldog said:

Either it is a semi-comedic show about a PI with a messed up personal life who can be her own worst enemy or it is a gritty drama of a PI dealing with PTSD and increasingly becoming an alcoholic. 

Magnum P.I. [v1.0]

[ElectricBoogaloo]

15 hours ago, Bulldog said:

And I didn't like Axel moving back in with Dex.  Living independently was something he wanted very badly and fought hard to get.  He shouldn't have to give that up to serve as a crutch for Dex.  You can support someone without giving up your own ambitions and goals.  I was really hoping Dex would say that she appreciated the offer, but he was doing so well on his own that she wanted to see him continue to thrive.  I think that would be an important lesson to teach Axel.  But, no.  

 

12 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Axel was the bigger person to come back to live with Dex. Dex was all, hey, cool, it's my way again. Yeay for me. And, oh yeah, thanks Axel, for giving up your dreams for me.

FYI - his name is Ansel (as in Adams), not Axel (as in Foley).

[AnimeMania]

6 hours ago, yourmomiseasy said:

I usually just do LA to Sacramento or LA to SF and also usually just take the 5 because I'm in a hurry, but doesn't the 101 have more towns vs the farmland along the 5?  If I was worried about my car breaking down I might pick the route with more towns so I wasn't stranded without options.

They should have been driving back in 2 cars and one of those cars is a pristine, well maintained beast, so there shouldn't be any worries about being stranded. I would have been worried that Dex's car would break down on the side of the road and they would have to junk it, but since it is my favorite character on the show, I knew that wouldn't happen.

[VartanFan]

Quote

Why does anyone think torturing someone would make her more willing to help? Torture doesn't generate reliable information, because people will say anything to make it stop. It drives me crazy that the show is allowing the issue to be framed as "the prisoner being tortured vs the Americans being killed".

I suspect that we will find out this exact thing happened ...that they DID torture her, unbeknownst to Dex, and it didn't make a difference.  

[shapeshifter]

25 minutes ago, VartanFan said:

I suspect that we will find out this exact thing happened ...that they DID torture her, unbeknownst to Dex, and it didn't make a difference.  

I would appreciate that, but I’m not sure the writers are that deep. 

[paigow]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

FYI - his name is Ansel (as in Adams), not Axel (as in Foley).

Did anybody have auto-correct that came back as Axl?

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

18 hours ago, Bulldog said:

And I didn't like Axel moving back in with Dex.  Living independently was something he wanted very badly and fought hard to get.  He shouldn't have to give that up to serve as a crutch for Dex.  You can support someone without giving up your own ambitions and goals.  I was really hoping Dex would say that she appreciated the offer, but he was doing so well on his own that she wanted to see him continue to thrive.  I think that would be an important lesson to teach Axel.  But, no.  

Ansel wasn't actually living independently - he was living with Grey.  But he has been moving towards more independence and Dex seems to finally support that.  He is learning to drive, he is going on a date.  He is achieving the goals he set for himself.  And no one says that he has to move back in with Dex permanently.  She is going through a particularly rough time and I think it is fine for Ansel to move back in to support Dex the way she has supported him in the past.  While I think Dex will always be a little bit of a train wreck, she has been pulling things together lately and this last case has thrown her for a loop by bringing up all the Bennie stuff.  I think admitting what really happened to Sue Lyn was good step toward moving past the guilt and grief she feels. If she can deal with Bennie, she will be in a much better place.  And if Ansel wants to move out again at some time in the future, I choose to believe she would support that.

[saber5055]

17 minutes ago, paigow said:

Did anybody have auto-correct that came back as Axl?

Not auto correct, but my brain keeps changing Ansel to Axel and Sue Lynn to Sue Ellen. So far it's not messing with Dex or Grey. Or is it Gray?

i guess Ansel has friends since he's on/was on a soccer team. Isn't that where he met the girl he likes? It would be cool to see/meet some, but I guess only so much can be squeezed into 45 minutes.

[possibilities]

3 hours ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

I think admitting what really happened to Sue Lyn

Sue Lyn! I kept thinking her name was Sue Ellen, but I also knew that I was wrong. I wish my TV screen had little pop up nametags, because my brain is a mess.

I have mixed feelings about Ansel moving back in. But I come down on the side of: both he and his sister need support, and them taking care of each other is a story I can get behind. It doesn't have to mean he's not still being independent. He can move out later, or they can live together as 2 adults. As long as she's not over-controlling his life, he can still be an adult in the house. I'm waiting to see how she reacts if he brings Lily home for an overnight, and if he starts taking charge more of his time. If he does get a driver's license, and eventually a car, and starts hanging out with friends both at home and elsewhere, and continues to work and starts paying some of the bills, I think it would be AWESOME to see a mutually supportive relationship where at times Ansel is the less needy of the two of them.

I like that Dex takes her cases seriously. I don't really enjoy that she almost always runs first thing to Miles for him to help her. She needs to be more able to do her job without him. Even though she does eventually figure it out with or without him, their dynamic doesn't serve either character well, in my opinion.

Is Manheim just not available or something? Why did they cast her if they're not using her character????

 

 

[shapeshifter]

On 3/5/2020 at 4:44 PM, Bulldog said:

And I didn't like Axel moving back in with Dex.  Living independently was something he wanted very badly and fought hard to get.  He shouldn't have to give that up to serve as a crutch for Dex.  You can support someone without giving up your own ambitions and goals.  I was really hoping Dex would say that she appreciated the offer, but he was doing so well on his own that she wanted to see him continue to thrive.  I think that would be an important lesson to teach Axel.  But, no.

Ansel moving back with Dex felt to me like Grey made Ansel do it because Grey felt guilty for encouraging Ansel to move out without realizing how negatively it would impact Dex, which made it seem like Grey was manipulating Ansel (because as someone Ansel trusts, he could) and that Grey was also encouraging codependent behavior in Dex. I’m okay with this development if the show acknowledges the manipulation and codependence (although not my first choice of TV plot).

 

So the episode title references the classic war story, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” in which the author realized in WWI trenches that he and his enemies were both just kids with weapons trying to stay alive. It is a creative interpretation to have female “soldiers” in Afghanistan.

 

 

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

Manheim just not available or something?

IMDb shows she just did 2 movies. 

[paigow]

Every time a character says they are one thing but not another, they become Commissioner Gordon in The Dark Knight....

Grey: I am the man that Dex deserves, but not the man she needs right now.

Edited March 7, 2020 by paigow

[dargosmydaddy]

18 hours ago, possibilities said:

Is Manheim just not available or something? Why did they cast her if they're not using her character????

It used to be more of a cable series thing, but I've been noticing more on more on the network shows as well that, despite being "series regulars," some actors only seem to be contracted for a certain number of episodes, rather than all of them. Tookie didn't appear in a bunch of episodes in the beginning, Sue Lynn is frequently absent, and I think even Ansel has missed an episode or two earlier on.  I'm pretty sure Dex, Grey, and Hoffman are the only characters who have been in every episode so far.

[Dowel Jones]

I picked the IED explosion that killed Dex's boyfriend as soon as she had the first flashback to the interrogation.  By the way, folks, in case anyone has forgotten, "enhanced interrogation" is not torture.  The President said so. (/extreme sarcasm).  If she had reported the officer, it likely would not have gone anywhere.

I couldn't believe the amount of liquor Dex drank at any one setting.  She's a small framed woman, and a half quart of whiskey is going to lay her out nearly unconscious, but there she is, chattering away in the most lucid manner.

To me, there is a lot to be said for taking the scenic routes.  I would choose 101 over 5 every day and twice on Sundays.  Maybe the two of them got tired of the flatlands of the SJV and cut over north of Sacramento, which would bring them to Ukiah.

[chaifan]

On 3/7/2020 at 10:48 AM, dargosmydaddy said:

It used to be more of a cable series thing, but I've been noticing more on more on the network shows as well that, despite being "series regulars," some actors only seem to be contracted for a certain number of episodes, rather than all of them. Tookie didn't appear in a bunch of episodes in the beginning, Sue Lynn is frequently absent, and I think even Ansel has missed an episode or two earlier on.  I'm pretty sure Dex, Grey, and Hoffman are the only characters who have been in every episode so far.

The plots definitely don't call for Sue Lynn in each episode.  It would be weird if she kept just stopping by the bar, but that works for Tookie's character.  Same for Manneheim's Captain.  I would love to see more of her, but I don't want her shoehorned in just to give her screen time.  I like her scenes more when it's her and Dex, vs. her and Miles.  When you have this many "regulars" there's just no way to write coherent plots that would use everyone in every episode.

[Thomas Crown]

On 3/5/2020 at 10:10 PM, MisterGlass said:

I thought this episode was uneven but I genuinely laughed at the electric scooter chase.

Same here. There was something off in the pacing of the episode. It didn't flow naturally.  But the scooter scene was hilarious.  

Bonus points for me for the casting of Doc from the Love Boat as the old neighbour.  

[possibilities]

I wouldn't want to take an unreliable car on the highway, so I figure that's why Dex was driving the meandering route.

 

[Kiddvideo]

I liked Ansel moving back. He’d shown to himself and everyone else he was capable of being (mostly) independent and this was the next step forward: Helping care for someone you love. He’s always known Dex was there for him, and now it’s his turn to be there for her. Knowing someone needs you and making a commitment to help them is a helluva responsibility.

eta: I think it’s always flowed both ways, but Dex has her wall where she thinks asking for help shows weakness. The arrangement doesn’t have to be permanent, but Dex has hit a rougher spot than usual and needs the support. 

Edited March 9, 2020 by Kiddvideo

[MissLucas]

Ansel moving back was not a problem for me. He's through with his list, he gained some independence and it was clear that he couldn't stay forever with Grey. And his sister needs him - just like he needed her. Being there for her can also be seen as something an adult would chose to do. Looks like his moving out changed their dynamics and hopefully for the better.

I would have been okay with the military flashback-drama if they had just let it sit with Dex trying to come to terms with what happened and her supposed guilt and move on. But unfortunately that was not enough and there must be another mystery/conspiracy behind Benni's death. Just like Dex the writers are not willing to bury the poor guy.

At least Hoffman's partner was back. I always like seeing her but I'm afraid the character's about to become collateral damage in the GDH triangle of doom.

 

[Orbert]

Wasn't Ansel's original plan to move to a group home?  "For people like me" I believe were his words, obviously meaning those with Down syndrome, although I'm not sure if his condition has ever been explicitly stated on the show.

When he asked the girl out and we see that she has the same condition, I thought two things: (1) That's a cop-out. Only another person with Down would ever go out with him? and (2) No, that actually makes perfect sense. Maybe someone without the condition would, but the odds seem much higher if it were someone "like him".

[Elbow]

Does Ansel exist and have Down Syndrome in the comics? 

[LaMatadita]

On 3/9/2020 at 3:52 PM, MissLucas said:

I would have been okay with the military flashback-drama if they had just let it sit with Dex trying to come to terms with what happened and her supposed guilt and move on. But unfortunately that was not enough and there must be another mystery/conspiracy behind Benni's death.

I think what bothers me about this is that I feel like it's going to be an emotional and psychological cop out. Dex being able to come to terms with her guilt and realize that she deserves to love and be loved and move on with her life is not the same as Dex getting over her guilt because she finds out that it wasn't her fault so there was never anything to feel guilty about. Clearly I'm assuming that the twist will be that they actually did torture that woman unbeknownst to Dex and the attack happened anyway, so maybe there will be an additional twist and instead of letting go of her guilt, Dex will just transfer it onto the woman she refused to torture because she thinks should have reported her CO for asking her to do it.

The other possibility is that the attack was some kind of government conspiracy, and that would be a cop out no matter what. There's no saving it if they go that route.

[AnimeMania]

On 3/9/2020 at 6:52 PM, MissLucas said:

At least Hoffman's partner was back. I always like seeing her but I'm afraid the character's about to become collateral damage in the GDH triangle of doom.

Or the fourth side to a freaktangle.