S01.E07: Hunting Grounds

[WendyCR72]

Airing on May 2, 2021:

Quote

McCall races to find a woman kidnapped by a serial killer whose past crimes went undetected because the victims were from marginalized communities; trouble arises for McCall when her vigilante activity puts her on a district attorney's radar.

 

[wanderingstar]

That was really good! I liked seeing some movement in the dynamic between Robyn and Dante and getting more about Dante's life (the scene with his sons was cute)

I also loved Aunt Vi's subplot. When she told Dee "Why limit it!" I howled. Get it, Aunt Vi.

 

[AimingforYoko]

That was probably the best episode of the lot, but I wish the DA was going after Robyn because she flouts the law, rather than it's a political feather in her cap. There's a reasonable argument to be made against vigilantism.

[paigow]

Payday loan places already rip off their clients... now they stalk and kill them too...

[paigow]

55 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

There's a reasonable argument to be made against vigilantism.

Coming from this guy...

[Ms Blue Jay]

Wow what an episode!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I didn't really much care about the show before this one.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[possibilities]

I like Dante. That makes the conflict between him and Robyn more interesting than the usual cop-vigilante dynamic shown on TV shows. 

Aunt Vi is the best.

[Sweet Tooth]

1 minute ago, possibilities said:

I like Dante. That makes the conflict between him and Robyn more interesting than the usual cop-vigilante dynamic shown on TV shows. 

Aunt Vi is the best.

I was coming here to say the same thing.

There are usually only two ways things can go when you have a cop/rule follower versus someone who doesn't like to abide by them.

Either they remain adversaries, which is boring and monotonous, because you know that the rule-breaker usually wins the day, and they have to spend all of this time trying to avoid the rule-follower, before being called in and yelled at. Or they eventually get on the same side.

But this is an interesting twist, because they became allies, only for him not to become the kind of adversary where they're butting heads, but where he's seen her tactics, doesn't like them, and has vowed to take her down.

I like that they became friends and quite intimate with each other. He let her in. She saw his kids, etc. They had a great chemistry going. And then the minute I saw the way he looked at her as she handled the dad, I knew that partnership was totally over.

And again there was a twist, since I thought that when she went there to save him, they'd reconcile, but instead she made things worse. I thought Dante shot the bad guy and was dismayed to see who actually shot him, because I knew that would bury the relationship for good.

[andromeda331]

What a great episode! Dante and Robyn working together and then him ending it when he saw her methods. I liked that. Even though she saved his life in the end he didn't like that the bad guy ended up shot. 

It was nice to get more information about Dante and Robyn.

[Netfoot]

I'm glad everyone else loved this episode, because I certainly didn't.

I found the acting lack-lustre.

The plot to abrasively push McCall & Dante against each other was poorly crafted and clearly artificial. Rather than add something piquante to the on-going storyline, it has devolved into a situation where Dante will be called upon every week to assist when ever McCall needs a police contact, all the while mumbling impotently about how disapproving he is.

The family moments just didn't ring true, and even the efforts of Lorraine Toussaint weren't enough (too few and too far between) to make this episode enjoyable.

The attempt to spice things up by throwing in Jennifer Ferrin (the DA) as the ever on-going face of evil whiteness really struck home with all the force of a marshmallow. It's obvious that the character will be completely irrelevant to McCall's comings and goings. 

Once again I find myself wondering if I should just boot this from my line-up. There are only three episodes left, and from my perspective, I can't see how this could be renewed. But it has been, and I suppose the universal love that's heaped on this poorly executed reboot is the reason why.

Personally, the rationale for my lasted until this point, far less contemplate staying for the remainder of the season is thanks to a world-spanning virus that has locked me in my home and simultaneously reduced the choices available for theatrical entertainment. (Now, that's an endorsement they can be proud of!)

[DearEvette]

Good Episode.  I couldn't help but snort a little.  Because there is an author who writes police procedural novels where so many of her books have the serial killer with mommy issues.  So this plot was very recognizable.

I thought, right out the gate, it did a good job of delivering two different perspectives of public and police but not in a preachy way.

On the one hand you have the DA believing the existence of a black vigilante will 'undermine the public's confidence of the police.'  The perception being that the public as a whole has confidence in the police.  Not to mention the DA is exactly the sort of shady who would railroad the very type of people Robyn is trying to help.

But on the other hand in the very next scene we have a black woman, asking for help for a missing black girl (again a very under-served population when it comes to police help) saying flat out "In my neighborhood folks don't call the cops.  We just know it won't do any good."  Which of course pointedly contradicts the DA's perception that there is public confidence in the police.

The show has been, so far, very deliberate in who they've shown to seek out Robyn's help.  With the exception of that guy who got out of jail, the people that have sought out Robyn for help have all been primarily black women who are asking for help for things the police really would ignore or at least not give a great priority to.

And then there is Det. Dante.  I loved that they are showing his distaste for her methods regardless of the good result.  In reality as a cop who made it to detective in New York he would have been a front seat witness to questionable, non-sanctioned and even violent methods cops use on suspects. But I get that they are making him a principled man who doesn't have to condone that himself.  For him the ends don;t justify the means.  But he is also not a dumb man and he has to know that the DA is not all that clean in her methods either and in her case her results may not necessarily equal real justice but rather the sort of of justice that is comfortable for those people that have confidence in the police. So he could be jumping from the fire pan into the fire as he trades off one unpalatable reality for another.  The look in his eyes at the end tells me he knows this. m It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

[possibilities]

In a lot of ways, Dante is a more complex and interesting character than Robyn, because he's the one who is trying to figure out how to navigate a morally complex situation without losing his own values-- and he's truly a single parent, without a live in Aunt Vi, besides. 

[Sweet Tooth]

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

But he is also not a dumb man and he has to know that the DA is not all that clean in her methods either and in her case her results may not necessarily equal real justice but rather the sort of of justice that is comfortable for those people that have confidence in the police. So he could be jumping from the fire pan into the fire as he trades off one unpalatable reality for another.  The look in his eyes at the end tells me he knows this. m It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

I think this will be the very thing that brings them back together. Like "his side" isn't exactly scrubbed all nice and clean, either. That they're going to use the law in the same way Robyn uses her gun.

[paigow]

Aunt Vi is going to swipe right on Dante...awkward...

[Daff]

Anybody else feeling “Criminal Minds” vibes on this one?  Difficult to see her whack the first informant’s hyoid bone (adams apple) to get information, but other than that, exciting episode. 

[tennisgurl]

Didn't take us too long to get a serial killer, complete with murder basement and mommy issues, but I thought they did well with the case of the week, I really liked this episode. They did a whole lot to develop Dante and his relationship with Robyn this week, their dynamic has become really interesting. I have seen plenty of "vigilante/lawman" relationships, some of which are antagonistic, some start off antagonistic and then they become allies, or they are mostly on the same page from day one, but this is the first time I think I have seen a cop meeting a vigilante, they click and ally pretty quickly, but then the cop sees the vigilantes methods up and close and he ends the alliance. Not because of something personal that happened, just that it goes against his principles. Even now he still can see the good that she does, but he just cant approve her how she handles the bad guys, he's too by the book for vigilantism, even by association. 

I do hope that they can connect again, I really like Dante and his cute family and the amused mutual respect between him and Robyn, but I doubt that will happen any time soon. Maybe what pushes him to reconnect with her is if the DA starts going off book and using sketchy methods to catch her and shut down her operation, which he decides does too much good to be shut down. 

I love Aunt Vi. "I went to Berkley in the 70s, you kids didn't invent free love." 

[leighdear]

The writers just need to REALLY NOT get Robyn & Dante into a romance or physical relationship of any kind. 

No Chris Noth this week gives me a sad.  

I was SO hoping this site would give me the info on the argyle sweater QL was wearing in the last episode, but it just shows the leather jacket.  Girl likes some REALLY pricey duds!  I love this website.....

https://wornontv.net/the-equalizer/

[ribboninthesky1]

I was into this episode until the end.  Two things bothered me:

• I was okay with Robyn having a back-up plan if she couldn't talk serial killer down.  But to have Mel shoot to kill rather than disarm made zero sense.  
• The show has demonstrated multiple times how adept Robyn is at reading people.  That she didn't consider the ramifications of killing said serial killer in Dante's home and NOT by Dante's gun also made zero sense.  That's just not something he can explain away.    

I'm fine with Dante and Robyn being at odds, but the way the writers went about it was strange.  Don't completely undermine your lead character to get there.  It's one thing to skirt the law, but suddenly she's not clever enough to save Dante's life in a way that restores some level of trust from him?    

Edited May 4, 2021 by ribboninthesky1

[blackwing]

I enjoyed this episode because it really highlighted the lengths that Robyn is willing to go to in order to achieve her brand of equal justice.  I agree with the above comments that she could have found a way to close the case on the killer without resorting to killing him.  She's shown in the past that she is a skilled fighter so I don't buy that Mel had to kill him just because he was lunging at her.  One kick and she should have  been able to disarm him easily.

But I get that they want to pit Dante and Robyn against each other, egged on by the DA.  I'm convinced that the DA is shady and corrupt, just like that judge she was close to earlier in the season.  I also find it odd that they address her as "Madam DA" like it's an honorific (like Mr. President, Madam Secretary, etc).  Is that how DAs are normally addressed?  I think people would refer to their title when talking about them in the third person ("ADA Summers will be handling this case" etc) but do they really get called "Mr. DA" and "Madam DA" to their face instead of "Ms. Summers"?

I really liked the interactions between Robyn, Vi and Delilah.  Love seeing their family unit, the scene at the end with them all laughing and happy to be home and with each other was great.  I get that Robyn was concerned for Vi and don't understand why Mel was scoffing at her running a background check on the date.  There was a serial killer out there abducting and killing black women (even though the women seemed younger than Vi) so I don't blame Robyn for being protective.

On 5/3/2021 at 3:39 PM, paigow said:

Aunt Vi is going to swipe right on Dante...awkward...

I think it's more likely they are putting Robyn and Dante into the classic "will they or won't they" scenario.  Especially after Aunt Vi was out all night with the Captain.  I really hope they won't... I've seen this happen before ("Moonlighting" for one) and it makes the show worse.

 

[Netfoot]

54 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I get that they want to pit Dante and Robyn against each other, egged on by the DA.

Funny how Dante (and the DA) are absolutely fine with the fact that McCall operates with a sniper at her beck and call!

[Trini]

7 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Funny how Dante (and the DA) are absolutely fine with the fact that McCall operates with a sniper at her beck and call!

He didn't seem "absolutely fine" with that at all.

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Trini said:

He didn't seem "absolutely fine" with that at all.

I haven't heard him (or the DA) even mention the existence of a supporting sniper.....

[leighdear]

14 hours ago, Trini said:

He didn't seem "absolutely fine" with that at all.

I didn't think he actually realized the extent of the back-up resources Robyn has.  My take was that he thought she probably just had a few generic Law Enforcement friends, or maybe ex-Military buddies to call in if she needed some help.  I didn't think he envisioned the "Bat Cave" Mel & Harry work out of, or the scope of their technical gadgets and abilities as Robyn's "Team".  

I though her ability to bring a sniper into it rocked him back on his heels and made him reassess who she actually is .

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by leighdear

[paigow]

The likely cover story will be that McCall never entered the house. She shot the dude from across the street. 

[Sweet Tooth]

On 5/3/2021 at 9:05 AM, DearEvette said:

But he is also not a dumb man and he has to know that the DA is not all that clean in her methods either and in her case her results may not necessarily equal real justice but rather the sort of of justice that is comfortable for those people that have confidence in the police. So he could be jumping from the fire pan into the fire as he trades off one unpalatable reality for another.  The look in his eyes at the end tells me he knows this. m It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

I think this will be the very thing that brings them back together. Like "his side" isn't exactly scrubbed all nice and clean, either. That they're going to use the law in the same way Robyn uses her gun.

On 5/5/2021 at 2:54 PM, Trini said:

He didn't seem "absolutely fine" with that at all.

 

13 hours ago, leighdear said:

I didn't think he actually realized the extent of the back-up resources Robyn has.  My take was that he thought she probably just had a few generic Law Enforcement friends, or maybe ex-Military buddies to call in if she needed some help.  I didn't think he envisioned the "Bat Cave" Mel & Harry work out of, or the scope of their technical gadgets and abilities as Robyn's "Team".  

I though her ability to bring a sniper into it rocked him back on his heels and made him reassess who she actually is .

Agree with all of this. The sniper was definitely the straw that broke the camel's back for him and sent him running to the DA to take her down. He probably thought she colored outside the lines but would never go this far. 

Like, her going in with the lock pick was okay with him, because the ends justified the means, but a sniper? Yeah, he was not on board with that one little bit.

[Netfoot]

W'll have to see if the sniper ever gets mentioned in future episodes, or if any effort is made to identify/apprehend same.

[EtheltoTillie]

Did anyone else think the father killed the mother?  Why no further mention of that?  Can’t show up. Didn’t show up. Handcuffing him to the radiator so they could arrest him for murder. Oh, well. 

[andromeda331]

On 5/8/2021 at 5:10 AM, GussieK said:

Did anyone else think the father killed the mother?  Why no further mention of that?  Can’t show up. Didn’t show up. Handcuffing him to the radiator so they could arrest him for murder. Oh, well. 

I did think that and thought that's why he was handcuffed to the radiator but then they never came back to that or mentioned it again. Its an odd detail to drop.