S03.E12: Brave Heart

[WendyCR72]

Airing on May 2, 2021:

Quote

After rushing his son, Henry, to the hospital following his collapse, Nolan is reunited with his ex-wife, Sarah, and they must come together to help their son. Detective Lopez discovers “La Fiera” is in the same hospital and wants to find out exactly why.

 

[shapeshifter]

Emily Deschanel looks terrific -- much better than at the end of her series. But then, in comparison, NF looked like her grandpa, LOL.

When Wesley used geek speak to trash talk the bad guy, it was supposed to be funny, right? It didn't quite work.

Even though I'm sure a lot of viewers will not be able to get past the self-centeredness of Henry's fiancée bemoaning the possibility of marrying an invalid, IRL she would have had to reckon with that possibility, albeit not with those words in the waiting room with his parents. So, not the best writing, but since Henry had limited lines and screen presence, I guess that was the only way to sandwich it in.

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Emily Deschanel looks terrific -- much better than at the end of her series. But then, in comparison, NF looked like her grandpa, LOL.

The only thing I wasn't digging was Emily's almost blonde hair. IMO, her natural darker hair suits her; the lighter hue seemed to wash her out, a bit. But yeah, she lost a lot of her baby weight that she seemed to still have at the end of Bones. Nathan Fillion is only 5.5 years older than Emily Deschanel. He was born in March 1971; she was born in October 1976. (And their prior screen partners had a similar gap, as Stana Katic was born in 1978 and David Boreanaz was born in 1969. So both the Castle/Bones pairings had about a 7-year age difference, so I don't think Fillion looked so bad next to Deschanel.) I do think Fillion has gotten a bit too thin. But as he is 50 now, maybe he doesn't want to gain too much weight as it is harder to lose as we age and his character is supposed to be younger.

The whole parking garage shoot-up reminded me of an '80s cop show, where only a few get offed or barely hit. Same deal here.

Figured the result for Henry would be what it was. This isn't a cable/Netflix show, after all.

[Sweet Tooth]

Wow! Emily looked fantastic. And I love that her pattern of speech was so markedly different than what she used on Bones. 

I'm glad they ended on a high note, because DAMN! I did not expect that. They really played up how adorable Diego was. I really liked him.

I love the Lopez/Wesley relationship. It's so grounded.

And what a twist on the Tim situation. I was sure we were headed for some horrible times, but instead Tim reduced the dude to tears in like under a minute. He really is a master of looking at someone and knowing exactly what they need. I love what they've done with him. And the sports bar on Sunset thing was hilarious.

I think next week's episode is the one I saw that was about to be filmed. Nice houses, etc. 

I always see these film notices on the gates of these houses that there will be loud bangs, etc., because they need to notify the neighbors not to call the (real) police when they hear gunfire.

I also like that they injected a bit of reality where they couldn't just record everything the whole time, like we usually see.

[paigow]

Does it take longer to taser one guy and shoot the other than just shooting both of them?

Old Madrigal: Kill La Fiera

Minion: OK boss. You mean the kid?

Old Madrigal: [facepalm] [stop breathing]

[Raja]

I have been reacting to Detective Lopez in the field these past few episodes the way some react when a canine character gets hurt.

For a show which had a least a grounding in LAPD culture the "officer under fire send back up" just rang false after years of being conditioned to "officer needs help" in lessor situations when everybody including West and Chin rushes in

[eel21788]

8 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

 Nathan Fillion is only 5.5 years older than Emily Deschanel. He was born in March 1971; she was born in October 1976. (And their prior screen partners had a similar gap, as Stana Katic was born in 1978 and David Boreanaz was born in 1969. So both the Castle/Bones pairings had about a 7-year age difference,

You're making me feel so ollllllllld!

[Netfoot]

It was inevitable that Fillion & Deschanel would disagree about the best option for their boy. Just surprised how quickly they dropped the disagreement. Is she an on-going regular now? Or was this a one-episode appearance on her part?

How is it that young Nolan is wearing a robe that opens down the front? In my experience, medical technology has reached the point where they can routinely do organ transplants, but they still can't design a robe that isn't uncomfortable, butt-exposing and generally mortifyingly embarassing.

Who knew the moment she appeared, that Mule Girl would do a runner from behind that curtain?

If the lasagne was already in the oven, why was Wossname stirring a pan full of red sauce? I'm no chef, but isn't the sauce prepared and layered into the dish before it goes in to bake?

Wesley is going all bad-ass on the crooks, and I'm thinking "Wuss...!" No wonder the crook laughed in his face.

Bradford and the ex-cop was a bit hammy. The man-hug was hard to swallow, under the circumstances. I thought for a moment, when I first saw him guarding the drug guy, that perhaps his entire fall from grace was a set-up so he could infiltrate the gang under cover. But no.

Shallow: If young Nolan's GF saw her butt in those trousers, she would never wear them again. Just sayin'.

9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Emily Deschanel looks terrific -- much better than at the end of her series. But then, in comparison, NF looked like her grandpa, LOL.

Disagree about the grandpa, but toats agree about Emily. I thought they looked well-matched as an ex/former couple. If she sticks around, we'll get a chance to see how the chemistry works. (OK so far...)

8 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

The only thing I wasn't digging was Emily's almost blonde hair. IMO, her natural darker hair suits her; the lighter hue seemed to wash her out, a bit.

While her natural hair does suit her, I thought the colour choice was better than adding grey streaks to her natural shade. She is the older woman here, not the hot MILF!

8 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

I do think Fillion has gotten a bit too thin. But as he is 50 now, maybe he doesn't want to gain too much weight as it is harder to lose as we age and his character is supposed to be younger.

Besides, as a rookie cop, he would have to be pretty fit to be allowed in, and his physical appearance fits that well.

5 hours ago, Sweet Tooth said:

I also like that they injected a bit of reality where they couldn't just record everything the whole time, like we usually see.

Frankly, that the cops can record 80% of your private conversations without a warrant, makes a complete mockery of the protection that needing a warrant is supposed to offer. What a farce. Please someone tell me that this isn't a real thing? Not even in totalitarian America?

1 hour ago, paigow said:

Does it take longer to taser one guy and shoot the other than just shooting both of them?

I wonder why he chose not to taser them both? Doesn't a tazer work twice in a row? Or just shoot them both? And why, when guys are firing Uzis on full auto at your pregnant colleague, go for a body-shot and hope they don't have body-armor and not shoot them in the head?

[shapeshifter]

27 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

And why, when guys are firing Uzis on full auto at your pregnant colleague, go for a body-shot and hope they don't have body-armor and not shoot them in the head?

Training is to go for the center mass, but, yeah. 

[HurricaneVal]

I think it was the sweater that made Fillion go full Grandpa.

[shapeshifter]

18 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

I think it was the sweater that made Fillion go full Grandpa.

Hee! Maybe so. 
But I was shallowly comparing Emily’s excellent plastic surgery to NF’s “rugged good looks.” 😉

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

But I was shallowly comparing Emily’s excellent plastic surgery to NF’s “rugged good looks.” 😉

However, rugged good looks did nothing to improve the ugly cry.

[paigow]

La Fiera will have to deal with multiple enemies when the old man dies... no way all the other cartels are going to sit around with SOCAL up for grabs...

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, eel21788 said:

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

But I was shallowly comparing Emily’s excellent plastic surgery to NF’s “rugged good looks.” 😉

However, rugged good looks did nothing to improve the ugly cry.

Exactly. "Rugged good looks" and looking 10 years older than you are are not mutually exclusive.
At least they backed up the camera for the ugly cry. 
I thought the problem with the cry was that NF is too cheerful by nature.
I was actually trying to look closely to see if he was covering up a laugh and that was why the camera backed up.
I can imagine NF kidding around with the Henry actor a few minutes before. 
They should have stuck with Nolan being the Pollyanna of the parental unit, IMO.

[Driad]

After the surgery, did the doctor say that Henry "will be fine"?  As I understand it, doctors are taught not to say that, because it can lead to unrealistic expectations in the patient and family.  After a serious surgery like that, all sorts of difficulties might arise.

[chaifan]

I felt the whole Henry heart surgery plot line was 100% unnecessary.  You could completely edit it out of the episode and everything else would stand well on its own.  As everything with Henry was tied up all neatly in a bow by the end of the episode (as we all knew it would), it was drama for drama's sake only.  ugh.  boring. 

Everything else, I liked.  I liked the whole La Fiera story, her relationship with Lopez, Lopez trying to warn her, etc.  I even liked Wesley this episode, but I also felt his whole attempt at tough guy talk with La Fiera's guy was cringey.  Loved the back and forth between Lopez & Wesley on the baby names! 

 

 

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

After the surgery, did the doctor say that Henry "will be fine"?  As I understand it, doctors are taught not to say that, because it can lead to unrealistic expectations in the patient and family.  After a serious surgery like that, all sorts of difficulties might arise.

Yeah, that was a mistake. She could say that the surgical procedure had gone fine, but it is way too soon to say everything is going to be fine from here on out. He hadn't even been extubated yet. There is still a lot of time for complications to arise.

6 minutes ago, chaifan said:

I felt the whole Henry heart surgery plot line was 100% unnecessary.  You could completely edit it out of the episode and everything else would stand well on its own.  As everything with Henry was tied up all neatly in a bow by the end of the episode (as we all knew it would), it was drama for drama's sake only.  ugh.  boring. 

I'm not convinced the situation is over and done with. I thought I saw too many hints of problems presenting themselves down the road. 

[MrWhyt]

9 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Frankly, that the cops can record 80% of your private conversations without a warrant, makes a complete mockery of the protection that needing a warrant is supposed to offer. What a farce. Please someone tell me that this isn't a real thing? Not even in totalitarian America?

 

They specifically mentioned that they got a warrant when they were talking about the 2minute/30 second rule

[Thomas Crown]

The back end of season 3 has been really strong IMO.  Another great episode last night.

Bring on season 4.  

 

[WendyCR72]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

But I was shallowly comparing Emily’s excellent plastic surgery to NF’s “rugged good looks.”

I don't think Emily had plastic surgery. The hair color was different, but I noticed, around Emily's eyes, she has the fine laugh lines.  NOT putting that down; it's refreshing. She looked great, and since she could move her face and emote, I assume she's still natural.

She is also a notorious vegan [very passionate], so maybe that's a factor, too.

[paigow]

Bradford has to take the Detective exam.. he can be partners with Lopez when she returns from mat leave.

[Netfoot]

10 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

They specifically mentioned that they got a warrant when they were talking about the 2minute/30 second rule

Ok, missed that.

[shapeshifter]

58 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

11 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

They specifically mentioned that they got a warrant when they were talking about the 2minute/30 second rule

Ok, missed that.

I missed that too. I thought the timer was because they didn’t have the warrant [yet].

[Clanstarling]

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

Does it take longer to taser one guy and shoot the other than just shooting both of them?

I thought they did it that way so he didn't shoot anyone in the back. Plus, he had the opportunity to taser him to take him out, and then the other guy turned his gun on him.

19 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

I think it was the sweater that made Fillion go full Grandpa.

I loved the sweater, then again I'm of the age to be a grandma. 😄

16 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Exactly. "Rugged good looks" and looking 10 years older than you are are not mutually exclusive.
At least they backed up the camera for the ugly cry. 
I thought the problem with the cry was that NF is too cheerful by nature.
I was actually trying to look closely to see if he was covering up a laugh and that was why the camera backed up.
I can imagine NF kidding around with the Henry actor a few minutes before. 
They should have stuck with Nolan being the Pollyanna of the parental unit, IMO.

In my opinion, I don't care how positive you are among other people, when you're alone and your kid's life is threatened, crying is going to happen. At least that's been my experience (though I'm not the Pollyanna, I'm the steadfast steady one).

11 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

I don't think Emily had plastic surgery. The hair color was different, but I noticed, around Emily's eyes, she has the fine laugh lines.  NOT putting that down; it's refreshing. She looked great, and since she could move her face and emote, I assume she's still natural.

I didn't see anything that looked like plastic surgery either. She just looked good to me.

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I missed that too. I thought the timer was because they didn’t have the warrant [yet].

My understanding was that the timer was used when they didn't hear anything criminal. When they did, they were able to keep going.

[eel21788]

17 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

They specifically mentioned that they got a warrant when they were talking about the 2minute/30 second rule

Is that a real thing? I sounds utterly stupid to grant someone 30 seconds of privacy every two minutes. Shouldn't a warrant to listen be all or none?

[Orbert]

I thought the point of Nolan's "ugly cry" was that he's always so cheerful and positive when others are around, but he's just holding it in until he gets an opportunity to let it out.  He told Sarah (Bones) that he'd be right behind her, he just wanted a few more minutes of fresh air.  Then once she was gone, he broke down.  Sarah is the one who pointed out earlier that he's always so annoyingly optimistic.

Yeah, Wesley trying to tough-talk the cartel dude was pretty laughable.  But damn if he didn't give it his all.

I still don't care about Tamara.  We already have so many characters in this show; do the secondary characters really need their own sidekicks?

[Raja]

2 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Is that a real thing? I sounds utterly stupid to grant someone 30 seconds of privacy every two minutes. Shouldn't a warrant to listen be all or none?

I remember it being a plot point on The Wire. If no pertinent talk happened  in the time limit then the officer logged it and turned off the tape

You would think that bad guys lawyers would have told them to small talk first just like during WWII coded messages had bunk at the beginning and end to confuse codebreakers.

[paigow]

25 minutes ago, Raja said:

You would think that bad guys lawyers would have told them to small talk first just like during WWII coded messages had bunk at the beginning and end to confuse codebreakers.

La Fiera: Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra

Old Madrigal: Temba, his arms wide

Lopez: WTF??!!

[Bulldog]

It was nice that Tim convinced Billy Riggins to get treatment at the end.  I don't remember, but did Tim at least try to get him help before he turned him in.  I know Tim's view on drug use because of his ex, but seems a true friend would have gone the other route.  Billy Riggins (I know that is not his name here, but that is who the actor will always be to me) was right.  Losing your job, pension, wife, family and facing possible jail time is a very deep hole to dig out of.  I did like their exchange at the end where Tim asked where he could throw a bachelorette party and Billy mentioned the same sports bar Tim had previously considered. 

[bros402]

So, uhhh, with Henry - he knew he had a serious heart condition but he never got it looked at? Well, he's like 18 or 19 or 20, right? Why weren't his parents having him get a checkup with a cardiologist every once in a while? Since that sounds like a condition that needs to be checked every once in a while! I have a mild irregular heartbeat and my cardiac electrophysiologist sees me every 6-12 months, you think Henry would get checked at least every year (Although maybe every 2 years if he was looking good).

[Orbert]

Good point.  Both John and Sarah knew about Henry's condition obviously, but I think they both said something like "We thought that was all behind us".  No, if the guy had five heart surgeries before his first birthday, this is something you keep an eye on, forever.  You don't wait until he's 20 and collapses at home and go "Oh yeah, that's right; he has a heart condition!"

It was maybe meant to catch us, the viewers, off guard, but it shouldn't have caught John and Sarah off guard.

[SnarkySheep]

On 5/3/2021 at 6:15 PM, eel21788 said:

On 5/3/2021 at 6:06 PM, chaifan said:

I felt the whole Henry heart surgery plot line was 100% unnecessary.  You could completely edit it out of the episode and everything else would stand well on its own.  As everything with Henry was tied up all neatly in a bow by the end of the episode (as we all knew it would), it was drama for drama's sake only.  ugh.  boring. 

I'm not convinced the situation is over and done with. I thought I saw too many hints of problems presenting themselves down the road. 

 

Same. The fact that Henry mentioned giving up his job for the months of recovery ahead means he will both need care and most likely a place to live for a while. That might mean living with his father next season.

Also, I noted they had made a point of mentioning that Sarah now lives in Arizona. That's still a distance from LA, of course, but way closer than from Pennsylvania.

[Ceindreadh]

On 5/5/2021 at 6:48 AM, bros402 said:

So, uhhh, with Henry - he knew he had a serious heart condition but he never got it looked at? Well, he's like 18 or 19 or 20, right? Why weren't his parents having him get a checkup with a cardiologist every once in a while? Since that sounds like a condition that needs to be checked every once in a while! I have a mild irregular heartbeat and my cardiac electrophysiologist sees me every 6-12 months, you think Henry would get checked at least every year (Although maybe every 2 years if he was looking good).

Meh, I can handwave that with the assumption that things could have deteriorated since his last checkup.  And if he'd been having regular checkups without anything coming up, then maybe he just assumed that everything was always going to be okay.

 

What bugged me about the storyline was that while they were given the options of either a risky surgery with a 20% mortality rate today and no more surgery required or a safe surgery today and the risky surgery in 5 years time.  Nobody thought to ask whether waiting 5 years to do the risky surgery would increase or decrease the possible mortality rate.  I would have thought that knowing whether you'd have a better or worse chance of survival in 5 years would be an important factor in the decision making process. 

[bros402]

5 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

Meh, I can handwave that with the assumption that things could have deteriorated since his last checkup.  And if he'd been having regular checkups without anything coming up, then maybe he just assumed that everything was always going to be okay.

 

What bugged me about the storyline was that while they were given the options of either a risky surgery with a 20% mortality rate today and no more surgery required or a safe surgery today and the risky surgery in 5 years time.  Nobody thought to ask whether waiting 5 years to do the risky surgery would increase or decrease the possible mortality rate.  I would have thought that knowing whether you'd have a better or worse chance of survival in 5 years would be an important factor in the decision making process. 

Yeah but still, you think someone with a condition like that would know the warning signs to watch out for and not just brush them off.

That also bugged me, you think someone would've asked the chance of survival with the surgeries.

[Mountainair]

I’m just now discovering this show and this episode resonated with me in regards to Henry. 
Glad I didn’t watch this when it first aired as we had just discovered my 10 year old had a congenital heart defect and were going through cardiology appointments and multiple surgeries at the time. 
In season two or previously in this season (I’ve been bingeing) the officers were giving blood and Nathan’s character mentioned his son had TOF so I just knew it was going to come up again. 
I thought most of the dr. Scenes were pretty good. Ok. But yes, Henry should have been seeing a cardiologist at least once a year. My son is almost 12 now and we are almost a year out from his most recent surgery. We see cardiology twice a year and I take his blood pressure several times a week. 
Just please don’t tell me this story line ends up going south. My mama heart might not be able to watch. 
TOF usually results in open heart surgery at birth if discovered at birth which is not what my son has. And we were only presented with the option of a temporary fix because his condition is so rare. They could never do open heart to fix his condition. 
Sorry for the late response and mini diatribe but I do really like this show and am glad a friend introduced me to it.