S01.E03: Judgment Day

[WendyCR72]

Airing on February 21, 2021:

McCall tries to help an escaped prisoner who is wrongly accused of murder; McCall worries when her daughter, Delilah, stops hanging out with a close friend; Dante's search for McCall takes an unexpected turn.

With thanks to @paigow, as the database still did not have the summary up!

[Bulldog]

I thought this was the best episode yet.  

The daughter still irks.  Any chance there is a boarding school in her future? I like everyone else. 

[stonehaven]

this show is finding it's groove pretty nicely. I like it and QL continues to be dynamic.

[ShortyMac]

Just now, stonehaven said:

this show is finding it's groove pretty nicely. I like it and QL continues to be dynamic.

Same. Enjoying it. I wish Lorraine Toussaint had more to do, though.

[paigow]

Dirty judge... This new D.A. must be related to Stone or McCoy somehow...

Movie night with Det. Dante seems more likely now...

[Raja]

11 hours ago, paigow said:

Dirty judge... This new D.A. must be related to Stone or McCoy somehow...

Movie night with Det. Dante seems more likely now...

When the actual DA first was with Detective Dante I was thinking it was really New York, maybe another county but still the actual DA like Adam Schiff wouldn't be the one talking. I guess McCall has to do something in the next episode for Dante to go after her again?

 

I guess Harry the hacker is the money of the equalizing team. Melody has come off as flirty in all of her appearances but she bordered on asking Robyn to give the couple some privacy when Harry suggested all the cases be pro bono.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Raja

[Ms Blue Jay]

I could not follow this episode whatsoever.

I understand the episode in a basic sense.  But the description of the crime at the beginning, with the robberies, and the murder, and who took the fall and blah blah blah.  Oh my god.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[ebk57]

1 minute ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I could not follow this episode whatsoever.

Me either, yet I enjoyed it immensely.. The whole thing ended like an episode of Perry Mason (original) with the big courtroom confession.  I had no idea why, but I was entertained.

[mythoughtis]

Harry was correct.  They aren’t being paid.  His point was that because they weren’t getting paid, they got to decide when to stop helping even if the ‘client/victim of injustice’ didn’t want their help. 

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

49 minutes ago, Raja said:

I guess Harry the hacker is the money of the equalizing team. Melody has come off as flirty in all of her appearances but she bordered on asking Robyn to give the couple some privacy when Harry suggested all the cases be pro bono.

The whole Melody hitting on Harry every scene thing is so weird, LOL

[AnimeMania]

44 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I could not follow this episode whatsoever.

I understand the episode in a basic sense.  But the description of the crime at the beginning, with the robberies, and the murder, and who took the fall and blah blah blah.  Oh my god.

The judge (a prosecutor at the time) tells her son and his doctor friend over dinner some privileged details about how someone was currently doing burglaries. How the judge would know this information I do not know since the police would know this, but I don't know why the legal system side would know anything about this until the police caught and wanted to put someone on trial. The doctor exactly copies the burglar's M.O., killing a woman and blackmails the judge/prosecutor to make sure that he is not a suspect.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Thank you, I appreciate that, but what I said I had trouble with was the beginning, like the first 15 minutes.  I rewound that twice and It was soooo hard to follow.

All of the judges' machinations were only revealed at the end, right?  So someone coming into the episode is not going to know any of that stuff.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[AnimeMania]

15 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Thank you, I appreciate that, but what I said I had trouble with was the beginning, like the first 15 minutes.  I rewound that twice and It was soooo hard to follow.

A man escapes from prison because his ex-cellmate tells him that someone named preacher admits that he who the one that committed the robberies that the man was accused of. When the man reaches his ex-cellmate, he finds him dead.

[stonehaven]

I assumed that Melody and cyber-guy were married. They're not?

[Bulldog]

1 hour ago, stonehaven said:

I assumed that Melody and cyber-guy were married. They're not?

I think they are. 

[Netfoot]

Evil doctor was obviously the baddie from the moment he showed his face with the phone. A convoluted plot does not make for an unexpected villain at the conclusion of the show.

Dumb-ass kid calls the cops on his own father. Where have I heard that story recently?

[Chaos Theory]

This show still has its problems but it continues to improve with each episode.   I really like that it didn’t draw out the meeting between McCall and Dante.  I like their flirty “catch you later” vibe.   If anything about the show will bring me back at least for the short run it’s the “I don’t  like what you do but I kinda like why you do it” thing going on between them.  

[andromeda331]

I liked this episode. I liked how nervous the lawyer was when he was accusing the judge. It made sense. I like that DA came in to confirm everything. The son calling the cops on his dad was cold. I liked that McCall and Dante talked. That was really great. I do hope they give the aunt more to do. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

22 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

I liked this episode. I liked how nervous the lawyer was when he was accusing the judge. It made sense. I like that DA came in to confirm everything. The son calling the cops on his dad was cold. I liked that McCall and Dante talked. That was really great. I do hope they give the aunt more to do. 

The acting from the lawyer, the DA, and the falsely accused guy were really impressive for just short little scenes.  I appreciate that, that they just don't get any idiot actor to fill these roles.  

[Bulldog]

4 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Evil doctor was obviously the baddie from the moment he showed his face with the phone. A convoluted plot does not make for an unexpected villain at the conclusion of the show.

I think it was Roger Ebert who used to talk about how shows (or movies) wouldn't introduce characters if they were not going to come back to play a bigger role later.  The minute Robin first interacted with the doctor, it was obvious he would play some larger role in the story.   

[Netfoot]

2 minutes ago, Bulldog said:

I think it was Roger Ebert who used to talk about how shows (or movies) wouldn't introduce characters if they were not going to come back to play a bigger role later.

Exactly. They never pull the baddie out of thin air at the end. In the average TV episode, there are only a handful of characters, and you can usually rule out several of them. So, it wasn't going to be QL or her two cronies. Or Detective Dante. Obviously, the guy QL was working to help was innocent. That only leaves the lawyer, the DA and the judge. And the doctor who, like Chekhov's Pistol, was obviously introduced for a reason. I personally suspected the DA, until I found out the judge was the DA back in the day. And as soon as they brought up the prescription abuse angle, I knew what role Chekhov's Physician would play.

[AnimeMania]

After thinking about it it would be nearly impossible for the Judge to know who the man who broke out of prison was on his way to meet, the police didn't even have a clue. Then the fact that the Judge could coerce someone to kill this man before the escaped convict could reach him is also highly improbable. I doubt that the Judge would even be aware that the guy broke out of prison, especially since it happened at night.

[dwmarch]

I liked this episode but I'm not sure if it is a bug or a feature for how similar it is to Hawaii 5-0:

The heroes can do things the regular cops can't or won't do
The heroes grab the wrong suspect at first and roughly interrogate them
The heroes solve an unrelated case by stumbling into it
There is an Asian gal who is the team's sniper and eye candy
There is a giant computer that spits out clues as required
There is one cop you can trust, the rest of them not so much
The CIA is overly involved in domestic business and will need help from time to time

[paigow]

1 minute ago, AnimeMania said:

After thinking about it it would be nearly impossible for the Judge to know who the man who broke out of prison was on his way to meet, the police didn't even have a clue. Then the fact that the Judge could coerce someone to kill this man before the escaped convict could reach him is also highly improbable. I doubt that the Judge would even be aware that the guy broke out of prison, especially since it happened at night.

Guessing that Dr. McSleazy had his minion tailing the cellmate. The judge did not order the hit- McSleazy did - but enabled it.

[ML89]

As soon as they started on about the doctor victim who found out the real story and opiods, I said "The Fugitive," which it basically sort of was. I still will watch for the cast, though. I guess her motorcycle is the black Jaguar for this series.

[stonehaven]

Can I just say the one thing that still makes me smile about this a day later is QL jamming out to "The Humpty Dance". That needs to be a GIF...

[ShortyMac]

11 hours ago, Bulldog said:

I think they are. 

Robyn said, "I thought the best thing I did for you (Harry) was introduce you to your wife" in the pilot. They're married.

[Ms Blue Jay]

3 minutes ago, ShortyMac said:

Robyn said, "I thought the best thing I did for you (Harry) was introduce you to your wife" in the pilot. They're married.

LOL.  I had no idea.  Harry acts like completely blank towards her at all times.

[shantown]

I binge watched all three episodes of this today. As far as CBS procedurals go I'm not really into them, but I checked this out for Queen Latifah and I'll stay for her, especially because I haven't found much else to watch currently. I agree this was the best episode out of the three, but they have to stop with the cases who are motivated by wanting to help their kids. 2 out of 3 to start was a bit overload. I never saw the original series or the movie(s?) so I can't make comparisons there. I'm glad the cat-and-mouse game between QL and the detective is seemingly over and they'll be reluctant allies moving forward. Hopefully they don't shift to a "will-they-or-won't-they" dynamic now.

[GHScorpiosRule]

3 hours ago, stonehaven said:

Can I just say the one thing that still makes me smile about this a day later is QL jamming out to "The Humpty Dance". That needs to be a GIF...

Same here! I was jamming to it just like Queen was! Aaah, memories!

But BOO!!!! No Mike Logan Bishop!

But YAY! He returns next week! In a TUX!!!

Delilah still irks. I think it’s the lack of respect for Robyn. She treats her mother as if she’s her equal-No. she is your MOTHER.

And I couldn’t disagree more with Delilah’s thinking that friendships have an expiration date.

The end TOTALLY had a Classic Perry Mason feel, with the judge’s confession at the end.

But “Madam D.A.”? That isn’t how district attorneys are addressed. 🙄🙄🙄

 

[mythoughtis]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And I couldn’t disagree more with Delilah’s thinking that friendships have an expiration date.

There’s actually a famous phrase ‘some friendships are for life, some for a season, and some for a reason’.  So some friendships end when the things you have in common end.  That’s what Delilah meant.  It’s true in real life.  

Edited February 23, 2021 by mythoughtis

[Trini]

15 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

...   I really like that it didn’t draw out the meeting between McCall and Dante.  I like their flirty “catch you later” vibe.   If anything about the show will bring me back at least for the short run it’s the “I don’t  like what you do but I kinda like why you do it” thing going on between them.  

 

4 hours ago, shantown said:

...  I'm glad the cat-and-mouse game between QL and the detective is seemingly over and they'll be reluctant allies moving forward. Hopefully they don't shift to a "will-they-or-won't-they" dynamic now.

I'm liking the flirty vibe they have going on. I doubt it's going farther than that, though; if we're talking about in a romantic sense. It seems like it'll be a 'catch me if you can' deal. The 'will-they-won't-they' will be if they can trust each other and work together.

[andromeda331]

9 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

There’s actually a famous phrase ‘some friendships are for life, some for a season, and some for a reason’.  So some friendships end when the things you have in common end.  That’s what Delilah meant.  It’s true in real life.  

I liked her saying that. I did the same thing with my childhood best friend. We were best friends all through elementary school but in middle school it changed. She changed. She kind of went wild, we had nothing in common anymore and someone who lied all the time. I held onto it because we had been friends for so long and I kind of hoped she'd turn back into the person she used to be. I should have let it go.   

[tennisgurl]

Every episode seems to be improving on the last, even if the cases themselves are pretty predictable. I knew that the random asshole surgeon would be the bad guy, a Chekhov's Asshole if you will, and that something was up with the judge who was being suspicious and dismissive, but I really don't mind. I actually thought that DA might be sketchy as well, but she came through in the end, so I was happy to be surprised. The characters and the cases are fun so I don't really mind seeing things coming, I can enjoy the journey. Watching Robyn and company solve cases and bring down obvious bad guys is a fun way to spend some time.

The actors are all settling in nicely, and even the one off characters did a good job at standing out in small roles. I especially thought the guy playing the lawyer was great, I really liked how nervous he was when he was in court and was about to call the judge out. 

I really like the detective and I am glad that they had he and Robyn meet already. I enjoy the slightly flirty cat and mouse thing they have going on, QL has great chemistry with everyone so far. It seems like she is really enjoying this role, I could watch her rock out to the Humpty Hump dance all day long, it looked like she was having a blast. I even thought the daughter part was better, even if it was based around more teenage angst. At least she was angsty about something else. 

[perkie1968]

20 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Harry acts like completely blank towards her at all times.

But I think that's the way Adam Goldberg acts.  He was the same way in God Friended Me and Taken.  The girl who's playing his wife is doing all the heavy lifting here.  

On 2/21/2021 at 9:20 PM, Bulldog said:

The daughter still irks.  Any chance there is a boarding school in her future?

I HATE tv teenagers and how the parents do zero parenting.  I raised one child through his teens years to the upstanding young adult he is now, and am about to start the teen years on my second one.  I despise mouthy, attitudy teens on tv shows, and always want to reach into my tv and smack them.  When she got pissed at mom for something completely innocent and stormed off, and QL let her, I was all hell no,  that child would have had her butt parked in that car seat whether she wanted to or not.  Phew, didn't realize I felt that strongly about it!!!

[Ms Blue Jay]

I've seen Adam Goldberg in many projects dating back almost 30 years.  My opinion stands.

[blackwing]

On 2/22/2021 at 5:17 PM, stonehaven said:

Can I just say the one thing that still makes me smile about this a day later is QL jamming out to "The Humpty Dance". That needs to be a GIF...

Agreed, I absolutely loved this.   I rewound this scene many times.  I love everything about Latifah and I think she is great.  I thought this was a perfect episode.  It was a little predictable, as soon as we learned that the judge was the DA on the case back then, I knew she would turn out to be corrupt. 
 

The “Madam DA”, was she the actual DA and not just an ADA?  I think she is the actual DA, since she was not addressed as “ADA” and I thought Dante made some reference to her needing to get elected again.  She seemed kind of young to be the actual DA of NYC.

I wanted to see Robyn, the daughter, and Aunt Vi on the couch having popcorn and “M&M’s”.   I feel cheated that we didn’t get to see this.  The daughter is a typical teenager and doesn’t annoy me as much as she did initially.  She’s there to show that every family has little conflicts but they always come together in the end.  That’s why I needed that scene of them having movie night.

[Raja]

2 minutes ago, blackwing said:

 

The “Madam DA”, was she the actual DA and not just an ADA?  I think she is the actual DA, since she was not addressed as “ADA” and I thought Dante made some reference to her needing to get elected again.  She seemed kind of young to be the actual DA of NYC.

 

Law & Order Law school taught me that the NYPD feeds into multiple DA offices. New York County is just Manhattan island. The other boroughs while part of the same city have their own county setup. The opposite of most cities 

[paigow]

6 hours ago, Raja said:

Law & Order Law school taught me that the NYPD feeds into multiple DA offices. New York County is just Manhattan island. The other boroughs while part of the same city have their own county setup. The opposite of most cities 

Allowing the classic Ben Stone "full immunity in New York County" promise to flip a Brooklyn based Russian mobster...

[watch2much]

I'm still watching but don't know how long I'll go on.  they really dropped the ball by having the daughter.  it's just a distraction from the show's plot.  I do like the live in "aunt"? though.  wish she was involved with the covert stuff.  I still have a problem with Queen Latifah in the role....I want to dispel my disbelief and accept her as an ex-CIA operative but haven't been able to do so.  

[blackwing]

4 hours ago, watch2much said:

I'm still watching but don't know how long I'll go on.  they really dropped the ball by having the daughter.  it's just a distraction from the show's plot.  I do like the live in "aunt"? though.  wish she was involved with the covert stuff.  I still have a problem with Queen Latifah in the role....I want to dispel my disbelief and accept her as an ex-CIA operative but haven't been able to do so.  

The daughter is a pill but I think it's important to have her there to show that Robyn is a mom with everyday mom problems as well as being the Equalizer.  I think Latifah is a great actress.  I think almost any actress could be dropped into the operative role and do fine... but my favorite Latifah moments so far have been when she is interacting with her daughter and aunt.  The comments about the short sparkly dress, the looks exchanged by the three women during the Times Square singing, the Humpty Dance.  Latifah brings genuine warmth and humour when she's talking with her family.  She seems so very normal and relatable, which is very much in contrast with her equalizer role.

I've seen several people comment over the past few weeks that they don't buy Latifah as an ex-CIA operative, and I'm trying to understand why.  Is it because 1) she's Queen Latifah, who already has an established persona and it's hard to buy her in this kind of role or 2) she's large.  I really hope that her size doesn't have anything to do with it.  Not every CIA operative has the body of a 25 year old superhero.  I'm pretty sure there are overweight men who are policemen, firefighters, FBI, and CIA.  

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

I've seen several people comment over the past few weeks that they don't buy Latifah as an ex-CIA operative, and I'm trying to understand why.

Answering for myself alone: It is the beat-'em-up sequences. She isn't beating 'em up believably.

The fight sequences seem to be one instance after another, of a bad guy sticking his head out and holding it still so she can whack him with a rubber pipe. Or something like that. I put this down to budget. I think the fight scenes could be made realistic but probably at an increased cost. The so-fake scenes drag me out of my state of suspended disbelief into reality, and this spoils the show. Not to the point that I am giving up on it, but just enough to irk.

That's why I've said in the past that if they can't afford to choreograph the fight scenes better, they should eliminate most of them so as to have the money to make the remaining few better. Or do away with them altogether. Why not a scene where she goes into a room full of baddies and leaves us outside. There are a number of thumps and bangs, and she walks out with her shirt tail flying, dusting her hands together? Or a scene where they just have shadows on the wall do the fighting? Or just bite the bullet and pay more to have a better team choreograph the fights and make them more realistic? 

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

Is it because 1) ...
or 2)...

No, neither of those. Of course, I say again, I speak for myself only.

[ML89]

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

I've seen several people comment over the past few weeks that they don't buy Latifah as an ex-CIA operative, and I'm trying to understand why.  Is it because 1) she's Queen Latifah, who already has an established persona and it's hard to buy her in this kind of role or 2) she's large.  I really hope that her size doesn't have anything to do with it.  Not every CIA operative has the body of a 25 year old superhero.  I'm pretty sure there are overweight men who are policemen, firefighters, FBI, and CIA. 

One of the attractions of the original is that you didn’t expect McCall to be an ex agent who could take people out because he looked old and out of shape. Then he would do so...so I don’t have a problem.

[ShellsandCheese]

On 2/21/2021 at 11:55 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

The whole Melody hitting on Harry every scene thing is so weird, LOL

I can’t tell if you’re joking but the Harry and Melody are married on the show. Hence the flirting and whatnot. 
 

Also, considering it’s 2021 and every TV show is pushing diversity of everything - my initial thought with the teens was that their friendship turned romantic and then they had a falling out. And we were going to get some very special episode about Robyn dealing with her daughters sexuality. 

Edited February 25, 2021 by ShellsandCheese

[Johannah]

On 2/22/2021 at 1:00 PM, Bulldog said:

I think it was Roger Ebert who used to talk about how shows (or movies) wouldn't introduce characters if they were not going to come back to play a bigger role later.  The minute Robin first interacted with the doctor, it was obvious he would play some larger role in the story.   

Yes!  It kills me when someone watching a show says they knew who the killer was immediately and wondered why the cop or whomever didn't.  We are shown only characters that are important to the plot.  We have maybe two people to pick from in a 1 hour show.  The cop probably met a couple dozen new people in the course of the investigation and still couldn't be sure that any of were the criminal.  We know we'll be introduced to the criminal in the course of the show.  It's only fair.

And I totally buy Queen Latifa and everyone else in their roles.  Love this show.  It has become one of my favorites.

[CooperTV]

On 2/24/2021 at 11:45 PM, blackwing said:

Is it because 1) she's Queen Latifah, who already has an established persona and it's hard to buy her in this kind of role or 2) she's large.  I really hope that her size doesn't have anything to do with it. 

No, because this show relies on heavy editing of any given fighting scene Latifa's character is in, and the scene end up having million and one edit cut to make a fight look even remotely plausible. In the end, Queen Latifah is in the same boat as Liam Neeson in the Taken franchise: too old, too awkward and lack any physicality required to do action scenes, so enter obvious editing cheats. Ming-Na or Michelle Yeoh she is not.

[mtlchick]

On 2/22/2021 at 6:17 PM, stonehaven said:

Can I just say the one thing that still makes me smile about this a day later is QL jamming out to "The Humpty Dance". That needs to be a GIF...

I’m finally catching up to this episode and I was bopping along with her. That took me back. 
 

edit: found a gif. 

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by mtlchick