S04.E02: Stakeout

[thewhiteowl]

The SWAT team acts as a domestic surveillance unit for the CIA to confirm whether an international crime lord has resurfaced in Los Angeles after being off-grid for years. Also, Tan’s mother, Chan Fei, is a victim of racial discrimination, and Hondo encounters his ex-girlfriend Nichelle, for the first time since their breakup.

[Danielg342]

Thank goodness for the PVR, because I didn't realize they'd start the season with two straight episodes.

Anyway, I won't write two reviews because my opinions for the two episodes are the same. The character stuff was great, albeit too short, and the cases were just bland.

Full credit goes to the show for its touching tribute to Breonna Taylor, George Lloyd et all, and the nuance it gave to the racism issue in episode one. Hondo Jr. may have a positive outlook, but Senior (who had the quip of the night when he told Darryl how he feels about the issue "depends on what time of day it is") is far too cynical, and while you want Junior to be right, you can't help but feel for Senior.

As for episode two, the storyline with Tan and his mother had a similar level of nuance, and Jay Harrington really brought out how much it kills Deacon to be away from his family. Shemar Moore also had his moment with Hondo's heart-wrenching admission to Nichelle.

Then there's Street...which I could only groan about. I think they've dragged out Chris+Street too long...maybe it's time to get away from that? Or just make Street+Molly a thing now. Oh, and while it's totally in character, if I never see Street threaten to go rogue again, I'll be happy. They've played that tune too much.

As for the cases, the only credit I'll give the show is the, um, novel way they handled policing within the pandemic, but that's about it. The, uh, novelty of that wore off very soon.

I'm also kind of groaning at the prospect of COVID-19 themed episodes. Not because I'm tired of the pandemic (which I am, anyway) but because I can see them coming from a mile away. You know someone's going to get infected. Someone's going to have to quarantine. Heck, the team may even have to quarantine, and it may even come at the hands of the criminals they're chasing. Bonus points if those criminals intend to do that.

Oh, and someone will break down because of the madness.

Yes, that may all be real nowadays (sadly), but very predictable. There will be a much higher bar for success for those plots than what I would hold for others, if only because there's, uh, no novelty to those plots.

(OK. Maybe I've made too many "novel" jokes in this review. Oh well)

The real story is that the premiere episodes follow the same trend as last season- the show, while still at a very high quality, has gotten into a formulaic rut. There's no "new series sheen" to give these episodes that air of specialness that they had before, which means this show is in dire need of something to spice it up.

Maybe COVID-19 will do that. I have my doubts but I'm open to anything.

One thing I might like to see is a season-long case. Not like the ones in S1 and S2 that "simply got away" but a longer form story where the team has to take its time to investigate and doesn't neatly wrap it up in a bow in a handful of episodes. Perhaps this is something that Piper Lynch can do because, well, it's her job. It would also give Amy Farrington something meaningful to do on the show.

Lastly, I'm just glad the show is back, and I hope all of you are handling the madness as best as you can. At least we now have stuff blowing up to tide us over until the end.

[Bulldog]

7 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

Perhaps this is something that Piper Lynch can do because, well, it's her job. It would also give Amy Farrington something meaningful to do on the show.

I notice she's no longer in the opening credits.  Is she leaving or just going to be recurring?  She was in the first episode, but not the second.  

[Danielg342]

58 minutes ago, Bulldog said:

I notice she's no longer in the opening credits.  Is she leaving or just going to be recurring?  She was in the first episode, but not the second.  

I noticed that too. I don't see any news report mentioning she left the series, and I doubt CBS is going to allow SWAT to proceed with only one woman as a series regular. A similar thing happened with David Lim in S1 and he stuck around, so we'll see.

[WinJet0819]

22 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

I noticed that too. I don't see any news report mentioning she left the series, and I doubt CBS is going to allow SWAT to proceed with only one woman as a series regular. A similar thing happened with David Lim in S1 and he stuck around, so we'll see.

In the opening episode, I saw Amy Farrington's name listed last for the guest starring credits. That's usually the tell-tale sign that the actor is leaving.

[WinJet0819]

On 11/11/2020 at 11:17 PM, Danielg342 said:

Then there's Street...which I could only groan about. I think they've dragged out Chris+Street too long...maybe it's time to get away from that? Or just make Street+Molly a thing now. Oh, and while it's totally in character, if I never see Street threaten to go rogue again, I'll be happy. They've played that tune too much.

I wanted to throw up. The Chris+Street thing is just forced, IMO. They're good being friends and teammates whilst having a platonic relationship. That's why I hated that kiss they had in Season 2 because it changed the whole dynamic. Now, even being friends is just awkward, and they're making it super-obvious that Chris is pining for Street. That's not the Chris character that we all know and love. The Chris character we all know and love is a kick-ass SWAT officer that can handle herself, and her love life is secondary. It would be a disservice to the character to have the only female team member get in a relationship with one of her teammates. I'm really rooting for Jim and Molly because their relationship drama can be kept off screen for the most part. Same with Tan and Bonny, as well as Deke and his wife Annie. So please, writers, stop trying to force it between them. If you want Chris to find love, have her find it the way all her other teammates are finding it, which is outside of work.

[Danielg342]

19 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:

I wanted to throw up. The Chris+Street thing is just forced, IMO. They're good being friends and teammates whilst having a platonic relationship. That's why I hated that kiss they had in Season 2 because it changed the whole dynamic. Now, even being friends is just awkward, and they're making it super-obvious that Chris is pining for Street. That's not the Chris character that we all know and love. The Chris character we all know and love is a kick-ass SWAT officer that can handle herself, and her love life is secondary. It would be a disservice to the character to have the only female team member get in a relationship with one of her teammates. I'm really rooting for Jim and Molly because their relationship drama can be kept off screen for the most part. Same with Tan and Bonny, as well as Deke and his wife Annie. So please, writers, stop trying to force it between them. If you want Chris to find love, have her find it the way all her other teammates are finding it, which is outside of work.

I think it's indicative of what the show itself is going through right now- it's really just spinning its wheels and not really going anywhere. I agree they're better suited as friends because they play off each other better that way, and I would rather have their relationship be the type where- if it makes sense- the romance comes simply from being friends. The awkward tension is just that, awkward. It's beyond time to resolve that and move on.

Part of me wonders if Chris was never intended to be a character, because she's the least developed of any of the characters. Aside from the "throuple", Chris has never had a storyline that went more than an episode or two, and more than a handful of scenes and dialogue at that. She's really just...there. I think Lina Esco does well in the role, but she's really being held back by the writers,

20 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:

In the opening episode, I saw Amy Farrington's name listed last for the guest starring credits. That's usually the tell-tale sign that the actor is leaving.

I saw that too. I guess we'll see. I don't see any news reports mentioning she's leaving and Farrington herself makes no mention of it on Twitter or Instagram. She could be just taking time off because of the pandemic, or she'll be back for Episode 04.03. Either that, or we're getting another female regular soon because I doubt CBS will want the show to continue with just one.

[SpyGuy]

Glad this show is back. 
Seriously though, Hondo deserves so much better than Nichelle, I don't know where they are going with this, but Nichelle does not strike me as some amazing person, I', on Hondo's side for this one.