S03.E04: Sabotage

[WendyCR72]

With this title, I have the Beastie Boys song of the same name looping in my head! Airing on January 24, 2021.

Officer Jackson West’s relationship with his new training officer, Stanton, has escalated and he begins to work with Sergeant Grey to find a solution.

[Surrealist]

I was glad to see Nolan stand up to his mother. She's a narcissistic asshole.

[paigow]

West & Nolan will get booted from the program and become FBI rookies...

[Clanstarling]

I was very glad that Nolan set boundaries with his mother (well, a permanent one). His mom was a little over the top, but I know people (including myself) who have had similar experiences.

I like the way they're handling the racist cop thing, and including perspectives that explain how people of color might be okay, or at least don't go against, the systemic racism. Though I am hoping it will be resolved sooner rather than later.

They had to throw in a problem pregnancy - not crazy about that.

Nyla being flirtatious is everything. Love it.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

Nyla being flirtatious is everything. Love it.

[Interior: LAPD SUV]

Harper: Nolan, can you babysit tonight? Bring West if necessary. My ex is busy.

[eel21788]

2 minutes ago, paigow said:

[Interior: LAPD SUV]

Harper: Nolan, can you babysit tonight? Bring West if necessary. My ex is busy.

More like: "My ex will try to sue me for full custody again if he knows I'm going on a date."

[preeya]

3 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Nyla being flirtatious is everything. Love it.

They really changed her personality from when she first appeared.

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I like the way they're handling the racist cop thing, and including perspectives that explain how people of color might be okay, or at least don't go against, the systemic racism. Though I am hoping it will be resolved sooner rather than later.

The man is an asshole, and the sooner he's gone, the better. Unfortunately, this episode points to him becoming an on-going (possibly season-long) bad guy. Ugh! So I think we viewers will have to hold our noses and put up with him for a while longer.

The show seems to make clear that his behaviour is the exception rather than the rule. There have been bad cops on the show, and even some just-plain-asshole cops as well. (I mean, let's face it: Officer Smitty can be a bit of a bellend when he wants to.) But one rotten cop, no matter how nasty, does not systemic racism make. 

[I Want My MBTV]

Nolan's usually my least favorite part of the show but I felt for him tonight.  It's hard when you have to cut family members out of your life especially when  you don't have much family (I can't recall if Nolan has any siblings or any other relatives other than his son?) but with some people there is just no other option.  I am glad the storyline only lasted two episodes as I couldn't take his mom any longer than that.

One thing I wasn't sure about with West's TO is was that entire drug buy a set up for them to stumble upon and the one kid to smack talk, etc. to get West to leave the evidence and then the TO to write him up and essentially say because of Wiest's actions they won't be able to make a case?  That's how it felt to me but it wasn't clear.  I get why West left the evidence but it's too bad he did because now he is officially written up and I don't think that goes away.

 

[jabRI]

Yeah, the way it went down seemed shady to me, like a setup.  I missed a few minutes, I assume the suspect did not get beat up by shady TO?

[HurricaneVal]

Whoa....that redemption arc for Nolan's mom was certainly short lived!  The last episode sort of left the question open about her past: was she only manipulative in her love life (hawking the engagement ring) and family life (relationship with Nolan), or is she a manipulative scam artist in all aspects of her life, and how bad?  We certainly got our answer last night.  Either the part about her selling bad homeowner's insurance to Nolan's construction clients was new or I missed it in an earlier episode, but that is really nasty on her part.  Doing that sort of stuff really messes with his actual business reputation, and his bottom line.  So her budging in to Nolan's new life by not only selling the defective CBD oil to Nolan's co-workers using his "recommendation" but also selling the whole "business" to his boss's wife?  Without a single thought to the effect on Nolan?  So very, very beyond the pale.  But sounds like par for the course with her.  She had some really harsh things to say to him there at the end, which is also classic narcissist manipulator/abuser behavior.  I don't think we're done with her.  I hope they use her sparingly, a little goes a long ways.  I further hope if this show runs long enough that they don't try an "Anthony Dinozzo, Sr." whitewashing like they did on NCIS.  I like the actress just fine, but I don't think she has the star power or charm of Robert Wagner that would make it worth it for the producers to keep her around.  I hated that they turned Senior from the abusive, narcissistic con-artist to the genial, bumbling lothario with slightly questionable business deals and bad investments.

I completely think the whole drug deal in the alley was a total scam to trap West.  I thought that from the moment Bradford, Chen, and the bad cop's first partner pointedly turned off their bodycams that bodycams would come up later in the program.  So when the bad cop's bodycam went missing I was all 'J'accuse!!!!!" at the screen.  It was a "hit 'em first, hit 'em hard" classic Cobra Kai move.  I hope there's a way out of that for West. 

Can I just say Mrs. Sgt. Grey is badass?  And not just as a businesswoman?  I loved that slight moment of fear, then *BAM* pepper spray and the kick straight to the junk and the look of complete satisfaction as she completed the 911 call with "and an ambulance."

I also have to say that I think Alyssa Diaz doesn't get enough credit as an actress.  She had Lopez going from fearful devastation during her conversation with Wesley about the baby, to full-on confrontational assertiveness with her boss in a split second.  It was amazing to see.

[shapeshifter]

I guess Nolan’s mom takes out all her resentment on her son for men who have done her wrong. Or maybe no men mistreated her and she’s just a psychopath. 
I get the feeling that the writers need to brush up on Mental Illness 101. 
 

Lopez was out of line with her boss, IMO, and, after he handled it well, I was flabbergasted at her boasting to her baby daddy about how well she handled it. 
 

Actually, all the plots and characterizations were more cartoonish than usual this episode. 

[eel21788]

3 hours ago, I Want My MBTV said:

 (I can't recall if Nolan has any siblings or any other relatives other than his son?)

I'm pretty sure his only sibling is the half brother he suddenly discovered last season.

[Netfoot]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Actually, all the plots and characterizations were more cartoonish than usual this episode. 

That's been pretty much par for the course so far this season.

[chaifan]

Ugh, I really didn't like this episode.  Annoying on so many levels...

Nolan's mom - I hope this is the end of her.  I don't know what the point was in making her such a horrible person.  Why can't Nolan have a normal relationship with someone?

Can they please wrap up the Stanton is a racist bad cop plot line asap?  It's boring.  Stanton is so one-note, there's no nuance, nothing.  He just shows up on screen, does something racist, people react.  Yeah, I know there are people like him in real life, but I don't watch them for entertainment.   And it makes West sort of boring, too.  I think he deserves a better B plot than this. 

And can we ever ever ever have a normal pregnancy on a tv show?  Ever?  Of course there has to be a problem with Lopez's baby.  Of. Course. 

Overall, a disappointing episode.

 

[devilhalo]

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

Ugh, I really didn't like this episode.  Annoying on so many levels...

Nolan's mom - I hope this is the end of her.  I don't know what the point was in making her such a horrible person.  Why can't Nolan have a normal relationship with someone?

Can they please wrap up the Stanton is a racist bad cop plot line asap?  It's boring.  Stanton is so one-note, there's no nuance, nothing.  He just shows up on screen, does something racist, people react.  Yeah, I know there are people like him in real life, but I don't watch them for entertainment.   And it makes West sort of boring, too.  I think he deserves a better B plot than this. 

And can we ever ever ever have a normal pregnancy on a tv show?  Ever?  Of course there has to be a problem with Lopez's baby.  Of. Course. 

Overall, a disappointing episode.

 

Nolan has a normal relationship with his son and Ben. 
BTW what happened to his son? No mention at all. 

[paigow]

24 minutes ago, devilhalo said:

BTW what happened to his son? No mention at all. 

Waiting for season finale...when he marries crazy girlfriend that just got accepted into LAPD Forensics...

[paigow]

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

And can we ever ever ever have a normal pregnancy on a tv show?  Ever?  Of course there has to be a problem with Lopez's baby.

But this one is all on Wesley... He is a mutant after all...[or his brother, so confusing]

[jabRI]

If I were Lopez I'd be pretty annoyed that not only did Wes not tell about this before, like at home that morning, but then he has to come to her WORKPLACE to lay this literal bombshell.  Who does that ????

[Clanstarling]

12 minutes ago, jabRI said:

If I were Lopez I'd be pretty annoyed that not only did Wes not tell about this before, like at home that morning, but then he has to come to her WORKPLACE to lay this literal bombshell.  Who does that ????

Yeah, I thought that too. It's not like it couldn't wait until the evening. Even a positive DNA outcome doesn't guarantee the disease will manifest.  Is Lopez far enough along to get an amnio? When I had mine, you had to be 14 to 17 weeks along (technology may well have shortened that period, so I don't really know what's realistic these days.

Edited January 26, 2021 by Clanstarling

[bros402]

8 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Yeah, I thought that too. It's not like it couldn't wait until the evening. Even a positive DNA outcome doesn't guarantee the disease will manifest.  Is Lopez far enough along to get an amnio? When I had mine, you had to be 14 to 17 weeks along (technology may well have shortened that period, so I don't really know what's realistic these days.

According to the Mayo Clinic, it's don between 15-20 weeks, as doing it before 15 weeks is dangerous for the pregnancy:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/amniocentesis/about/pac-20392914#:~:text=Genetic amniocentesis is usually done,from a prenatal screening test.

It looks like something called a first trimester screening can be done for Fragile X, though

[paigow]

On 1/25/2021 at 3:49 PM, jabRI said:

Yeah, the way it went down seemed shady to me, like a setup.  I missed a few minutes, I assume the suspect did not get beat up by shady TO?

His former partner arranged everything including the convenient drop site for the "evidence" and the trash talking "perp".

[Gregg247]

Hiring Brandon Routh as the bad guy was a stroke of genius by the producers.  He's such a likeable guy on other shows (so good on "Legends of Tomorrow" as the Atom as well as Superman) that you keep hoping that he's "not really that bad" - but then he is.  He's flipping the switch from affable training officer to raging dickhead so quickly that it's keeping me on the edge of my seat.

Having said that, I'm looking forward to him getting caught soon, and the storyline wrapped up.  For me, the best part of this show is the relationships between the officers as they go through their day and the various cases they encounter (some funny, some serious).

[JenMcSnark]

6 hours ago, Gregg247 said:

Hiring Brandon Routh as the bad guy was a stroke of genius by the producers.  He's such a likeable guy on other shows (so good on "Legends of Tomorrow" as the Atom as well as Superman) that you keep hoping that he's "not really that bad" - but then he is.  He's flipping the switch from affable training officer to raging dickhead so quickly that it's keeping me on the edge of my seat.

Having said that, I'm looking forward to him getting caught soon, and the storyline wrapped up.  For me, the best part of this show is the relationships between the officers as they go through their day and the various cases they encounter (some funny, some serious).

I agree.  He has this charming quality to his voice and mannerisms but then he suddenly looks so crazy/frightening!  Very pleasantly surprised by his acting on this show.  I do find the storyline interesting and timely so I'm not against it at all.  But agree with your statements. 

[Sandman]

On 1/25/2021 at 12:37 PM, preeya said:

They really changed her personality from when she first appeared.

And I'm okay with that, since "Angry!" does not in itself constitute a personality.

Actually, I think the show has done a ... reasonable job of showing Nyla growing from a place of stress and fear, being unable to really relate to anyone else in a genuine way, to beginning to be able to trust herself and a few others, little by little. She still finds Nolan annoying, but she doesn't consider him a powder-loaded idiot filled with stupidity shrapnel who's liable to blow up in her face at any moment.

[paigow]

On 1/28/2021 at 10:47 AM, Gregg247 said:

Having said that, I'm looking forward to him getting caught soon, and the storyline wrapped up.

He just beat the trap, discredited West and cornered Grey. It took a long time to get Armstrong, Stanton is similar.

[bros402]

7 hours ago, Sandman said:

And I'm okay with that, since "Angry!" does not in itself constitute a personality.

Actually, I think the show has done a ... reasonable job of showing Nyla growing from a place of stress and fear, being unable to really relate to anyone else in a genuine way, to beginning to be able to trust herself and a few others, little by little. She still finds Nolan annoying, but she doesn't consider him a powder-loaded idiot filled with stupidity shrapnel who's liable to blow up in her face at any moment.

yeah, angry rule breaker (with some of her advice bordering on criminal) was not a good character to have in the long term

[Brian Cronin]

On 2/3/2021 at 6:19 PM, Sandman said:

And I'm okay with that, since "Angry!" does not in itself constitute a personality.

Actually, I think the show has done a ... reasonable job of showing Nyla growing from a place of stress and fear, being unable to really relate to anyone else in a genuine way, to beginning to be able to trust herself and a few others, little by little. She still finds Nolan annoying, but she doesn't consider him a powder-loaded idiot filled with stupidity shrapnel who's liable to blow up in her face at any moment.

Agreed, I think that's one of the best things about Nolan. He's such a nice guy that it would be hard for anyone to partner with him and NOT have some of that rub off on them and we're seeing that effect on Nyla. It's really fun to see. 

[EtheltoTillie]

Why is Nolan 46 years old?  I thought he was supposed to be 40. 
 

[EtheltoTillie]

Way to reveal that pregnancy, Lopez. Oops. But why couldn’t the sergeant have to,do her about the CI thing from the getgo?  So the detectives don’t work with partners?  Shouldn’t they trade information anyway?  

[Gregg247]

On 11/25/2022 at 6:40 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

Way to reveal that pregnancy, Lopez. Oops. But why couldn’t the sergeant have to,do her about the CI thing from the getgo?  So the detectives don’t work with partners?  Shouldn’t they trade information anyway?  

From what I understand from years of experience watching TV (including 40+ seasons of all the Law & order shows), whenever a detective leaves the precinct in order to break into movies, or get a job on HBO, he (or she) is immediately replaced by an equally telegenic detective partner within at least 4 episodes.  I'm sure it's exactly like that in real life, too.  I'm pretty sure that's in the Constitution. :) 

[Avabelle]

Did they drop the firefighter love interest  and Rachel without a mention? Or did I just miss a throwaway line about them?