S04.E03: In The Line Of Fire

[WendyCR72]

Airing October 10, 2021:

Quote

Nolan and Chen report to a structure fire and suspect that there is more to the situation than meets the eye. After witnessing a sniper shooting, the team searches for the shooter and discovers that the perpetrator has a connection to one of their own.

 

[paigow]

Because Nolan accidentally burned down a lot of houses that he was building, he knows when it is arson...

[Surrealist]

This show would be fantastic if it resolved solely around Bradford, Harper, and López. Their story arcs are the most interesting ones, imo.

I love it when Bradford chose Smitty as his ride partner to thumb his nose at Chen.

Harper played herself with the boyfriends.

Wesley is an idiot.

My reasonable prediction is that, at some point, Wesley will be killed and Angela's storyline will become about being a committed police detective who's now navigating life as a single mother too.

[preeya]

2 hours ago, Surrealist said:

This show would be fantastic if it resolved solely around Bradford, Harper, and López. Their story arcs are the most interesting ones, imo.

Yeah, but now we've got four arcs all running together:

Wesley and the sniper and the mobster, Harper and the rookie and the boyfriend(s), Nolan and the arson case/serial killer, Bradford & Chen riding together and closing in on the inevitable hookup.

[Surrealist]

1 hour ago, preeya said:

Yeah, but now we've got four arcs all running together:

Wesley and the sniper and the mobster, Harper and the rookie and the boyfriend(s), Nolan and the arson case/serial killer, Bradford & Chen riding together and closing in on the inevitable hookup.

True, However, they could always pull a West on another main character. LOL.

[CooperTV]

The running joke of everyone and their mother chastising Nilan and Chen about the burning building stunt was honestly golden.

Chen being jealous over Bradford picking anyone but her to be his aid was a bit on the nose. But Nolan rolling his eyes at her childish behaviour was great, not gonna lie.

Speaking of Nolan: he goes to babysit with his girlfriend, and she's fine with it? I'm guessing, Bailey either is a mysterious serial arsonist or she'll be back to her home planet mid-season finale. Oh, Nolan, you sure know how to pick'em.

[Raja]

Th Wesley storyline is weird in execution. They are acting like the guilty really don't have the right to an attorney.

[devilhalo]

I don’t know how Wesley can get out of this without the actor exiting the show? Either he goes to jail or he dies.

This is like the same Armstrong situation who became a crooked cop because the mob owned him.

Nolan once again has to be the hero. The grenade scene was ridiculous. Even Chen was pissed with him. 

Not buying Nolan and Bailey as a couple. The romantic scenes are awkward to watch. If she is the serial killer, it might be interesting. 

New Jackson is still the most interesting thing about season 4 so far. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by devilhalo

[shapeshifter]

Couldn't Wesley go to the FBI?

[CooperTV]

7 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Couldn't Wesley go to the FBI?

Maybe he did already, and what we have now is a misdirection! At least I hope so, or this is just a dumb latest Bond movie storytelling.

[cuppasun]

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Couldn't Wesley go to the FBI?

My thought exactly! Go to the FBI, tell them everything, verify level of threat, offer to help in return for going into Witsec. 

And I don't care what part of that might not be technically realistic. This is Teevee Kops 'n' Kriminals, and regardless of the occasional very special storyline that attempts to address something sorta-kinda real for a minute here and there, the show is not at all realistic. I mean, their ragtag off-book bunch went to another country and defeated the Worst Guys, until then untouchable for apparently years, all by their little selves. In this world, the FBI would fall all over themselves to get Wesley's help.

[devilhalo]

49 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Couldn't Wesley go to the FBI?

Assuming they don’t want to kill Wesley off in a shocking way (this show has already lost too many characters), am hoping there is more to the story. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by devilhalo

[shapeshifter]

52 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Couldn't Wesley go to the FBI?

38 minutes ago, cuppasun said:

My thought exactly! Go to the FBI, tell them everything, verify level of threat, offer to help in return for going into Witsec. 

8 minutes ago, devilhalo said:

Assuming they don’t want to kill Wesley off in a shocking way (this show has already lost too many characters)

I did think the overhead shot of Angela and Wesley curled up on the couch when the baby started crying was cute (in the previous episode?) and Witsec would only work if they wanted to get rid of both characters.
But, anything could work, because:

39 minutes ago, cuppasun said:

This is Teevee Kops 'n' Kriminals, and regardless of the occasional very special storyline that attempts to address something sorta-kinda real for a minute here and there, the show is not at all realistic. I mean, their ragtag off-book bunch went to another country and defeated the Worst Guys, until then untouchable for apparently years, all by their little selves. In this world, the FBI would fall all over themselves to get Wesley's help.

 

 

[paigow]

Nolan and Smitty ride together now? 

[HurricaneVal]

I admit it.  I totally cracked up when Bradford said Smitty was "apparently allergic to paper" to explain why he was doing his own paperwork when he had a sergeants aid who was supposed to do that for him.  That and Bradford having to pick up his own "battle bags" because of Smitty's tricky back.....  We should have had more vignettes of the Tim and Smitty day....like Tim having to pick up their lunch because Smitty couldn't raise his arms over his shoulders due to rotator cuff issues, or Tim having to drive because Smitty sensitive hands couldn't grip the steering wheel, or Tim having to handle radio communications because Smitty had a sore throat (due to the paper allergy), or Tim needing to work the on-board computer because Smitty's eyes watered with the backlit screen etc. etc. etc.

Tim Bradford is a complex character.  He's like a chameleon, changing who he is and how he deals with people.  Chen needs a hardass to be a better cop, so she gets a hardass.  That other boot, from last season, the returning soldier with PTSD, she needed to be handled softly so she gets a sensitive and understanding Tim.  Smitty has issues, and Tim coddled them out of....respect for years of service?   Captain Grey needs a tough coach for a sergeant, and Tim brings the orange slices.

Straight up, Tim Bradford is a people pleaser. 

[CooperTV]

45 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

Straight up, Tim Bradford is a people pleaser. 

I think he's such a good guy that even Nyla got soft towards him, like, in episode 5 of her first year, when she was at her worst.

[milkyaqua]

Heck, I'd almost forgot about Nolan tackling the guy with the grenade.  You know when Chen is annoyed with you it's got to be bad.

I don't know how I feel about Bailey but I did think it was funny that she and everyone else made sure to let Nolan and Chen know that running into a burning building was a bad idea.

Love Smitty and Tim.  I don't know how long that would have lasted but the little we got was gold.  I'm really not looking forward to the Bradford/Chen thing...just no.  One moment she can be reasonable and then another she's a big baby.

I hope Harper has at least settled on her love life for the moment.

As for Wesley, yes, why not go to the FBI?  Though it does seem like he's being watched/monitored pretty closely.  At some point Lopez has to figure it out based on who some of his current clientele is.  It almost seems inevitable that he'll probably wind-up dead at some point.

[Netfoot]

16 hours ago, Surrealist said:

My reasonable prediction is that, at some point, Wesley will be killed...

If I were Shawn Ashmore, I'd want to bail on this show as well.

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I mean, their ragtag off-book bunch went to another country and defeated the Worst Guys, until then untouchable for apparently years, all by their little selves. In this world, the FBI would fall all over themselves to get Wesley's help.

Or Wesley could go to the "ragtag off-book bunch" and just have them shoot down the bad guy and his henchmen in the street. 

2 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

I don't know how I feel about Bailey but I did think it was funny that she and everyone else made sure to let Nolan and Chen know that running into a burning building was a bad idea.

Used to be, running into a burning building to save someone's life was generally considered a good thing to do. Now, you get a stern letter from the International Association of Fire Fighters about not being a union member, and your own union warns you that you may lose your insurance cover.

 

[paigow]

Fanciest restaurant in L.A. is actually owned by a super-foodie gangster... head chef must have a massive coke / gambling debt. No money laundering going on here... 

[Surrealist]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

If I were Shawn Ashmore, I'd want to bail on this show as well.

Or Wesley could go to the "ragtag off-book bunch" and just have them shoot down the bad guy and his henchmen in the street. 

Used to be, running into a burning building to save someone's life was generally considered a good thing to do. Now, you get a stern letter from the International Association of Fire Fighters about not being a union member, and your own union warns you that you may lose your insurance cover.

 

Serious question (because I'm neither a cop nor a firefighter), but is it commonplace for a cop to be discussing details of an ongoing murder investigation with a firefighter?

[Brian Cronin]

Accepting Dewan as a firefighter takes a whoooooole lot of leapin' to do. What is she, 5'2"? 

[Surrealist]

23 minutes ago, Brian Cronin said:

Accepting Dewan as a firefighter takes a whoooooole lot of leapin' to do. What is she, 5'2"? 

This, too. She's so tiny!

[Snazzy Daisy]

Why would you bring your date to your colleague’s house to babysit her baby when she gets to go to a fancy restaurant with her man? Worst date ever! I will dump Nolan if I were Bailey! 🤦🏻‍♀️

[preeya]

2 minutes ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Why would you bring your date to your colleague’s house to babysit her baby when she gets to go to a fancy restaurant with her man? Worst date ever! I will dump Nolan if I were Bailey! 🤦🏻‍♀️

I don't think they are actually "dating" rather than just conveniently hooking up. Didn't she bang him right after the fire, then got dressed and left.

[Snazzy Daisy]

2 minutes ago, preeya said:

I don't think they are actually "dating" rather than just conveniently hooking up. Didn't she bang him right after the fire, then got dressed and left.

I remember in one scene (can’t remember from which episode) Nolan was asking Bailey “is it too early for date no. 3” or something. First date was the wedding plus one. Second date was when Bailey wore that ugly top.

[ribboninthesky1]

 

20 hours ago, Surrealist said:

This show would be fantastic if it resolved solely around Bradford, Harper, and López. Their story arcs are the most interesting ones, imo.

Same.  I wasn't keen on how the show fired the Jackson actor, but I also felt like they never knew what to do with the character.  So I wasn't quite sold on 5 minutes/poor man's Amanda Knox/sit 'cho azz down.  But Harper is my favorite, and their scenes together in this ep have changed my mind. 

9 hours ago, CooperTV said:

Maybe he did already, and what we have now is a misdirection! At least I hope so, or this is just a dumb latest Bond movie storytelling.

I am not looking forward to inevitable "why didn't you tell me what was going on" showdown between this two.  Because I feel like Angela would cut him a bit of slack if he told her what happened. I really hate the "don't communicate because...plot contrivance" trope. 

9 hours ago, cuppasun said:

This is Teevee Kops 'n' Kriminals, and regardless of the occasional very special storyline that attempts to address something sorta-kinda real for a minute here and there, the show is not at all realistic. 

Ha! Also, agreed.

7 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

I admit it.  I totally cracked up when Bradford said Smitty was "apparently allergic to paper" to explain why he was doing his own paperwork when he had a sergeants aid who was supposed to do that for him. 

I couldn't believe Bradford let him get away with that, but then I remembered he only chose him to spite Chen.

The first gopher seemed keen on the job until she sabotaged him? I don't know, that part was supposed to be funny, but I was mostly annoyed with Chen. 

[Msample]

The first season the writers had it easy - 3 rookies paired with 3 vets . 3 storylines max per episode. Now that the rookies have graduated and split off from their TOs,  they have a harder time since there are more pairings. Hence them forcing Chen/Bradford together . 
 

I like the Nyla/new boot storyline.

 Nice to see a Smitty sighting. So much for him being in on the La Fiera bust out.

[Zaffy]

And we have another Serial Killer. Writing team is that desperate.
I guess this show has left the 3-4 short stories per episode for good and has gone to the main arcs per season.
Problem is none of them is remotely interesting. Problem is also that this is not the show we signed for.

• I do not care about Wesley's story. His villain is annoyingly cliche. And stupid.
  Why or why to assassinate someone in down town LA using a sniper rifle? It was a rhetorical question, we all know it was more impressive this way.
• The Chen/ Bradford relationship comes straight from the glory days of any tv show about high school. Plus they have zero chemistry.
• Nolan constantly saving the day is well.. boring. I cannot stand of him anymore and I really liked Nolan of the first season.
• Nyla and the new Jackson is let's say the best story of the lot and the only connection to the show we loved,  but still the new guy is just a mini-Nolan. 

However it is the serial killer thing that is completely ruining it for me.
Maybe we could start a pool about who we think the serial killer will kidnap this time? Some from the main cast? Someone they would like to get rid of?
Will they go to prison and meet again the show's "Hannibal Lecter" lady for tips and hints? Maybe she is the mentor of the new one as well.
*yawns*
I  am hopping all these dull arcs to end till mid season and then miraculously (new writers) we'll get a better show till the end of the season. 
Lol. 

[milkyaqua]

6 hours ago, Brian Cronin said:

Accepting Dewan as a firefighter takes a whoooooole lot of leapin' to do. What is she, 5'2"? 

No more ridiculous than accepting Shalita Grant on NCIS: NO as federal agent.

[crowceilidh]

Quote

New Jackson is still the most interesting thing about season 4 so far. 

I'm with you - his dialogue was really great AND he delivered it really well and his backstory seems multi-faceted and interesting.  And Harper plays against him well.

I am so against Bradford/Chen, mostly because she acts like a hormonal teenager, I get secondhand embarrassment watching her.  I like slightly complex hardass Bradford one heckuva lot more than this renaissanc-y fantasy guy he's playing now.

[Surrealist]

1 hour ago, crowceilidh said:

I am so against Bradford/Chen, mostly because she acts like a hormonal teenager, I get secondhand embarrassment watching her. 

I don't understand how she's a cop. She acts like a dippy teenager. Her childishness rubs me the wrong way.

[CooperTV]

1 hour ago, Surrealist said:

I don't understand how she's a cop. She acts like a dippy teenager. Her childishness rubs me the wrong way.

She was fine in the first two seasons. Now? Everyone acts like they're teens in middle school. Even Nolan, Bradford and Harper. I'd say it's a bad fanfic level of writing now, with the same emotional gravitas and character consistency as any given CW show about tortured vampire lovers.

[paigow]

2 hours ago, Surrealist said:

I don't understand how she's a cop. She acts like a dippy teenager. Her childishness rubs me the wrong way.

Similarly, how is a lazy halfwit like Smitty still alive to do nothing but wait for his pension? He should be chained to a desk until retirement.

[preeya]

4 hours ago, paigow said:

Similarly, how is a lazy halfwit like Smitty still alive to do nothing but wait for his pension? He should be chained to a desk until retirement.

Or forced into immediate retirement. He's useless.

[Brian Cronin]

9 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

No more ridiculous than accepting Shalita Grant on NCIS: NO as federal agent.

Oh, sure, it's a common problem on TV series. The imagery here was just particularly funny here when she was yelling at them over how they didn't take the fire seriously enough and it was, like, "Well, this show doesn't take firefighting all that seriously if they're suggesting that this person could cut it as a firefighter."

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, Zaffy said:

I do not care about Wesley's story. His villain is annoyingly cliche. And stupid.

Is there an alternate universe in which this show started the new season with the same actor just playing a restaurateur who maybe knows Wesley and Nolan's rich friend? 
*sigh* Not in this universe.

[NJRadioGuy]

On 10/11/2021 at 5:41 AM, CooperTV said:

The running joke of everyone and their mother chastising Nilan and Chen about the burning building stunt was honestly golden.

The real crime that any real firefighter would have...roasted him for was kicking the door in and not at least partially closing it behind himself. Wanna watch a survivable fire grow to something not survivable in under a minute? Give it some oxygen by leaving a door open. If FFs are going in with a charged line then fine, but without water, giving it more oxygen is suicidal.

[paigow]

Harper learned that keeping your options open can lead to all of them closing. If Nolan had double booked he would end up in a three way...

[BetyBee]

On 10/12/2021 at 4:14 AM, paigow said:

Similarly, how is a lazy halfwit like Smitty still alive to do nothing but wait for his pension? He should be chained to a desk until retirement.

I have a great idea for the writers. Make Smitty the serial killer arsonist! No one ever suspects the lazy guy!

[madmax]

On 10/11/2021 at 1:02 PM, milkyaqua said:

As for Wesley, yes, why not go to the FBI?  Though it does seem like he's being watched/monitored pretty closely.  At some point Lopez has to figure it out based on who some of his current clientele is.  It almost seems inevitable that he'll probably wind-up dead at some point.

Why couldn't he just tell Lopez?  Unless they've gotten into their house to plant bugs, they have some privacy there.  Or use the old talk in the bathroom while the shower's running trope.

I'm agreeing that the serial killer thing is just ridiculous.  I wish they would have just stayed rookies for the whole show.  

 

[paigow]

On 10/10/2021 at 10:59 PM, Surrealist said:

Angela's storyline will become about being a committed police detective who's now navigating life as a single mother too.

Just like Harper...sort of....

Bradford & Lopez could end up together with Wesley out of the way....

[paigow]

13 hours ago, madmax said:

 I wish they would have just stayed rookies for the whole show.

Then Nolan would be Jack Bauer if each season is a day...

[bros402]

1. How hasn't Schmidty been retired on disability due to his bad back?

2. Uhhh, Wesley didn't do anything really blackmail worthy - at most, he owes the guy a favor.

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, bros402 said:

Wesley didn't do anything really blackmail worthy - at most, he owes the guy a favor.

I recall it being a clearly spoken business arrangement that if the Bad Guy helped Wesley rescue Diaz, then whenever the Bad Guy said to Jump, Wesley was supposed to ask how high.

But I can’t recall exactly how the Bad Guy helped? 

[paigow]

He found the GPS coordinates of the mountaintop house.

[Netfoot]

10 hours ago, paigow said:

He found the GPS coordinates of the mountaintop house.

So, a carefully crafted leak could get him wiped off the face of the earth by the baddies south of the border? Wesley should go on TV and publicly thank him for his help.

[bros402]

6 hours ago, Netfoot said:

So, a carefully crafted leak could get him wiped off the face of the earth by the baddies south of the border? Wesley should go on TV and publicly thank him for his help.

yup

or do a few jobs for him, all within the law (defending a sniper who murdered people is legal - everyone deserves effective counsel), then tell Angela, she tells vice or whoever, Wesley wears a wire, boom, crime man gets taken down, but Wesley is probably held hostage while he is taking care of the baby because of course that is the contingency plan the crime dude come up with and then they storm the building and Nolan probably shoots the crime dude (and of course, Angela tries to enter, but someone will probably hold her back)

[MrWhyt]

On 10/11/2021 at 6:12 PM, ribboninthesky1 said:

 

Same.  I wasn't keen on how the show fired the Jackson actor,

I haven't read anything about him being fired, just that he wasn't coming back.

[madmax]

17 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

I haven't read anything about him being fired, just that he wasn't coming back.

I thought I read he wasn't comfortable playing a police officer anymore and quit?

[MrWhyt]

10 hours ago, madmax said:

I thought I read he wasn't comfortable playing a police officer anymore and quit?

that is what i heard. he certainly wasn't fired.