S02.E08: Ashes To Ashes

[WendyCR72]

Airing on November 11, 2021:

Quote

A deadly bombing rocks the NYPD and leaves several suspects in the wind. Nova makes a major discovery.

 

[Xeliou66]

This was a satisfying conclusion to the Albanian mob storyline - I enjoyed this storyline, it was compelling from start to finish for the most part, and this was a good way to wrap it all up with the mobsters being brought to justice. The storyline moved at a nice pace and was solid each week.

I’m not surprised to find out Kilbride is definitely dirty and plans to try to manipulate Bell, and I’m guessing the stuff with the gang he’s involved with will be the shows next storyline.

This show is much better than SVU right now, maybe just because it’s something different but it’s more enjoyable. But I’m not looking forward to Wheatley’s return and the crossover with SVU in December, I have a feeling it will be a total shitshow, mainly because of how poor SVU is now.

[judyri]

So whatever happened to the undercover's not-son, why was he at the boxing gym,  as is he ok? i missed it if it was covered.

[SuzieQ]

That was a decent ending to the storyline and they wrapped it up really well! 

Question:  What is Flutura's tie to Albi and why did he go back for her? Are they a thing?  Maybe I missed something.

[judyri]

28 minutes ago, SuzieQ said:

What is Flutura's tie to Albi

Pretty sure they are married, or at least a couple, but Stabler's kept the secret of his being gay from her.

[SuzieQ]

13 minutes ago, judyri said:

Pretty sure they are married, or at least a couple, but Stabler's kept the secret of his being gay from her.

OK, now I'm really confused!  Isn't she married to the dark haired guy whose name escapes me at the moment?

[judyri]

4 minutes ago, SuzieQ said:

OK, now I'm really confused!  Isn't she married to the dark haired guy whose name escapes me at the moment?

Maybe you are right, and I'm confused!

[McKavity]

1 hour ago, SuzieQ said:

Question:  What is Flutura's tie to Albi and why did he go back for her? Are they a thing?  Maybe I missed something.

Flutura & Albi are married.  She was trafficked when she was younger and he ‘rescued’ her by marrying her.

[TV Diva Queen]

1 hour ago, SuzieQ said:

That was a decent ending to the storyline and they wrapped it up really well! 

Question:  What is Flutura's tie to Albi and why did he go back for her? Are they a thing?  Maybe I missed something.

Flutura and Albie are married - long ago, she was sex trafficed and Albie saved her., at the end on the boat, she said to him "you saved my life one time and now its time for me to save yours"  She said one time to Stabler, that her and Albie are not intimate anymore and then we learned that Ablie is gay. 

[SuzieQ]

31 minutes ago, TV Diva Queen said:

Flutura and Albie are married - long ago, she was sex trafficed and Albie saved her., at the end on the boat, she said to him "you saved my life one time and now its time for me to save yours"  She said one time to Stabler, that her and Albie are not intimate anymore and then we learned that Ablie is gay. 

1 hour ago, judyri said:

Pretty sure they are married, or at least a couple, but Stabler's kept the secret of his being gay from her.

37 minutes ago, McKavity said:

Flutura & Albi are married.  She was trafficked when she was younger and he ‘rescued’ her by marrying her.

Thank you all!!  I don't know why I thought she was married to the other guy. (Kosta is who I thought she was married to)

Edited November 12, 2021 by SuzieQ

[milkyaqua]

Nice wrap up and yes, it was a nice change of pace to see the bad guys taken into custody rather than all winding up dead in some shoot out.  Agnes is more dangerous than Kosta and Albi.  If she could have gotten her hands on Stabler instead of trying to shoot him...  Wonder how long Reggie will survive in his new digs?

It does look like they are ramping up the Kilbride thing for the next story.  It'll be interesting to see how Bell navigates that.  Does she bring in the task force on it or try and work it alone?

We knew they weren't totally done with Wheatley but yes, not looking forward to the SVU crossover.  I was aware that Barba was coming back but didn't peg him as working for Wheatley.

[illdoc]

3 hours ago, judyri said:

So whatever happened to the undercover's not-son, why was he at the boxing gym,  as is he ok? i missed it if it was covered.

I think he's dead. I seem to remember seeing a body on the ground covered with ashes as Stabler & Bell entered the gym. As to why he was there, he started to say "I just wanted to ..." before the bomb went off (who set the bomb?). Maybe he just wanted one last "good-bye" and thought Stabler was there? 

[StaceyNotStacie]

This was wrapped up pretty well. Was I the only one who expected Reggie to get gunned down at the gas station?

I wonder if Elliot will have some sort of PTSD or have issues readjusting to his old life.  That courtroom scene reminded me of how he left SVU years ago. 
 

Is this it until January other than the crossover they’re advertising for December?

[KittenPokerCheater]

3 hours ago, judyri said:

So whatever happened to the undercover's not-son, why was he at the boxing gym,  as is he ok? i missed it if it was covered.

I want too know that too- I know he's dead, obviously, but since he came out of the boxing joint/headquarters that was rigged to blow, surely he knew something was up?  It feels like a loose thread left by the writers.

I liked that Stabler kept Albi's secret to the end.  Good on him.

I feel so bad for Reggie- alive but in a cold place without his mother.

Agnes was awful, and I wonder if she will live to see trial.

[illdoc]

How did Agnes sneak the gun in? Yes, I know, she's in a wheelchair that doesn't go through the metal detector and isn't searched. But...she had to have a gun in order to plant it under her seat. Where did she get the gun? Was there some cop (or whoever procured the wheelchair) on the take that planted it for her? Was there a plan ("if you ever get caught, look like you need a wheelchair and I'll supply one with a gun under the seat")????? Did she know Stabler would be in the courtroom so that she could kill him? If she didn't, who did she plan to kill?

[milkyaqua]

Forgot to add.  Stabler getting rid of the beard after Belle expressed what a number of us felt, lol.

He's also obviously going to have some trouble letting his undercover identity go.  Compounded on top of his slightly less than stable family...

[Toonces464]

3 hours ago, Stacey1014 said:

This was wrapped up pretty well. Was I the only one who expected Reggie to get gunned down at the gas station?

When the black SUV pulled in at the end, I was expecting it to be Stabler checking up on him!

[TooMuchRealityTV]

Agnes really turned out to be the most gangster of the bunch. She chose the Albanian mob over her son; she tried to kill a cop in a courtroom. It's always the quiet ones.

Last week, I thought Reggie may get killed before this arc was over. Honestly, where we last see him I think he may kill himself. I do still feel bad for him. I don't think he's terribly bright, and the mob was all he knew.

I really hate that the show is continuing the Wheatly storyline and dragging SVU further into it. I'm hoping this is brief and not a multi-episode Wheatly arc.

[MarylandGirl]

6 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

Forgot to add.  Stabler getting rid of the beard after Belle expressed what a number of us felt, lol.

He's also obviously going to have some trouble letting his undercover identity go.  Compounded on top of his slightly less than stable family...

I cheered when he shaved the beard! I mean, normally I'm a beard fan (see: my husband), but that beard just looked silly.

I do wonder how he'll adapt to normal life again after being undercover.

[Snazzy Daisy]

How on earth did Agnes manage to obtain a gun before her court appearance? Is she that well connected, better than Kosta and Albi?

I hope Reggie will find happiness and love, wherever he is. I respect Eddie/Elliot for keeping Albi’s secret till the end.

The Albanian mob storyline is so much better than the Wheatleys. Not looking forward to next episode. 😣

[CrystalBlue]

A great ending to an exciting and interesting storyline.

Hello, Elliot Stabler, all nice and clean shaven again.

Bye bye Albanians.  Yes, Eddie's Not Son was shown lying dead on the ground after the explosion.

I think Elliot feels some guilt over his deception even though he was doing his job.  Nice that he kept Albi's secret.

All the best to Reggie.  Does he still not know Agnes ratted on him?

[TM101]

Really great story line and will miss it. This show has really grown on me.

I still don’t get the Reggie going into witness protection route maybe I missed something. The guy shot and killed a government officials wife and he gets let off? Even for testifying on the bigger fish not sure how realistic that is. When he went to pump gas for the second car at the end I thought it was going to end with him getting shot with basically “once you’re in the mob, you’re in good good” type thing.

How many more episodes are there? Hopefully this get renewed for a third season.

Edited November 13, 2021 by TM101

[Raja]

19 hours ago, illdoc said:

How did Agnes sneak the gun in? Yes, I know, she's in a wheelchair that doesn't go through the metal detector and isn't searched. But...she had to have a gun in order to plant it under her seat. Where did she get the gun? Was there some cop (or whoever procured the wheelchair) on the take that planted it for her? Was there a plan ("if you ever get caught, look like you need a wheelchair and I'll supply one with a gun under the seat")????? Did she know Stabler would be in the courtroom so that she could kill him? If she didn't, who did she plan to kill?

The last time that I saw that storyline play out a bent court deputy provided the weapon. At this point all I got is that the she always had the hide out gun and the Marshals missed it from jump on their way to WITSEC and then NYPD missed it after the arrest.

17 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

When the black SUV pulled in at the end, I was expecting it to be Stabler checking up on him!

In Plain Sight taught me that was never a question. I was thinking of Vic Mackey in The Shield and the somewhere cold punishment for murder was not enough.

 

22 hours ago, SuzieQ said:

OK, now I'm really confused!  Isn't she married to the dark haired guy whose name escapes me at the moment?

It seems like everybody in the KO was married to Kosta. With his Albi and  I am going on the run I need you to bomb and get into a gunfight with the NYPD, with what? Don't worry about I am good for paying you back from wherever I end up in my criminal protection program site.

[yankeefan]

I liked the episode and thought it provided a good ending to the season, but the timeline bothered me.  When the bomb goes off at the gym, it is pitch black outside.  But when Albi emerged from the tunnel, it is broad daylight.  The sun has been up for hours.  How long was he hiding down there? Why didn't make his escape immediately?  Similarly, when everyone boards the party boat, it's day time.  When the police arrive with Flutura it's pitch black outside.  How long did it take the police to get her there?  Did Elliot and Albi really stand there with guns drawn for several hours?  Nobody said, "let's all take a load off while we wait"?  Nobody's arm got tired?

Edited November 13, 2021 by yankeefan
Typo

[MarylandGirl]

1 hour ago, yankeefan said:

I liked the episode and thought it provided a good ending to the season, but the timeline bothered me.  When the bomb goes off at the gym, it is pitch black outside.  But when Albi emerged from the tunnel, it is broad daylight.  The sun has been up for hours.  How long was he hiding down there? Why didn't make his escape immediately?  Similarly, when everyone boards the party boat, it's day time.  When the police arrive with Flutura it's pitch black outside.  How long did it take the police to get her there?  Did Elliot and Albi really stand there with guns drawn for several hours?  Nobody said, "let's all take a load off while we wait"?  Nobody's arm got tired?

Maybe that's why Stabler does all those pushups, so he's able to hold a gun for hours and not get tired?

Agreed that the timing was confusing.

[wknt3]

4 hours ago, TM101 said:

I still don’t get the Reggie going into witness protection route maybe I missed something. The guy shot and killed a government officials wife and he gets let off? Even for testifying on the bigger fish not sure how realistic that is. When he went to pump gas for the second car at the end I thought it was going to end with him getting shot with basically “once you’re in the mob, you’re in good good” type thing.

It's pretty realistic and there are exactly those same debates among prosecutors. It's made for some pretty great episodes of the original series and it's one thing I'd wish they'd add to the series is some actual focus on the prosecutors and the cooperation and conflict between the feds and the locals. It would also make it feel more like part of the franchise. In this case the free pass is in exchange for providing the info needed to roll up an entire criminal organization including the people who actually ordered the hit and are probably still gunning for that public official. And has he seemed like quite a, let's just say pragmatic guy, I'm sure he wouldn't object too much to that. And Reggie still ended up getting punishment of a sort - I thought the whole point of that gas station scene was to point out that he ended up in menial job in West Bumble ending up as the kind of loser he always feared becoming. I wasn't worried about him getting whacked because I didn't hear "Don't Stop Believin'"...

[CrystalBlue]

5 hours ago, TM101 said:

Really great story line and will miss it. This show has really grown on me.

I still don’t get the Reggie going into witness protection route maybe I missed something. The guy shot and killed a government officials wife and he gets let off? Even for testifying on the bigger fish not sure how realistic that is. When he went to pump gas for the second car at the end I thought it was going to end with him getting shot with basically “once you’re in the mob, you’re in good good” type thing.

How many more episodes are there? Hopefully this get renewed for a third season.

It was either Reggie or the other guy Edmund Ross who was going to turn State's evidence to testify.  Ross is the one who was found in his jail cell hanged by a sheet.  Reggie is going to testify against all the Albanians who were arrested, Albi, Agnes, Flutura and the rest of them.  Reggie is in witness protection and the Albanian mob doesn't know where he is.  I agree with wknt3 about why he ended up in West Bumble although it sure looks like it'd be North Bumble!

Edited November 13, 2021 by CrystalBlue
Added thought after reading above post.

[The Wild Sow]

18 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

All the best to Reggie.  Does he still not know Agnes ratted on him?

When he tells her he's sorry he made her break Besa, she hisses at him, "I didn't!"  

Wonder where Reggie ended up?  Someplace cold...that still has gas station attendants?  That would be New Jersey, Oregon, or couple of counties in New York State or Massachusetts.  Jersey and New York (and Massachusetts?) are awfully close to where he started out (and didn't some of the Albanians actually live in New Jersey?)  So...Oregon!  One of the more mountain areas, that gets snow instead of rain.

Heh, cold states with snow have plenty of crime!  Maybe Reggie will turn up in a future season of Fargo!

[love2lovebadtv]

12 hours ago, The Wild Sow said:

When he tells her he's sorry he made her break Besa, she hisses at him, "I didn't!"  

Wonder where Reggie ended up?  Someplace cold...that still has gas station attendants?  That would be New Jersey, Oregon, or couple of counties in New York State or Massachusetts.  Jersey and New York (and Massachusetts?) are awfully close to where he started out (and didn't some of the Albanians actually live in New Jersey?)  So...Oregon!  One of the more mountain areas, that gets snow instead of rain.

Heh, cold states with snow have plenty of crime!  Maybe Reggie will turn up in a future season of Fargo!

When Agnes hissed at him last week, I felt scared for Reggie. 

Also wondering if we'll see Reggie again. 

On 11/12/2021 at 12:14 PM, milkyaqua said:

Nice wrap up and yes, it was a nice change of pace to see the bad guys taken into custody rather than all winding up dead in some shoot out.  Agnes is more dangerous than Kosta and Albi.  If she could have gotten her hands on Stabler instead of trying to shoot him...  Wonder how long Reggie will survive in his new digs?

It does look like they are ramping up the Kilbride thing for the next story.  It'll be interesting to see how Bell navigates that.  Does she bring in the task force on it or try and work it alone?

We knew they weren't totally done with Wheatley but yes, not looking forward to the SVU crossover.  I was aware that Barba was coming back but didn't peg him as working for Wheatley.

This was a fantastic ending. I loved this arc but the undercover part was going to get old because Stabler kept going to the station, going home, getting publicly involved in police matters smh. Also, I would have realistically preferred that he not reveal himself to the KO as a cop but I still enjoyed seeing each person's facial expression when they say him or heard his voice. 

And Barba is back on my screen (stopped watching SVU a few years ago)? But now he's working for the defense? I'll definitely tune in!

So funny how so many people watching are wondering / worrying about Reggie. That's the benefit of a multi-episode arc: getting to know the characters instead of seeing just one side of them. 

On 11/12/2021 at 12:40 PM, illdoc said:

I think he's dead. I seem to remember seeing a body on the ground covered with ashes as Stabler & Bell entered the gym. As to why he was there, he started to say "I just wanted to ..." before the bomb went off (who set the bomb?). Maybe he just wanted one last "good-bye" and thought Stabler was there? 

Seems like Eddie Wagner's son is dead. It's so weird that we never saw him put on a stretcher or saw anyone tend to him. And then he wasn't mentioned again. What on earth was he doing at the gym? He had already said goodbye to Stabler and since he knew Stabler was a cop, why would he go back to the gym? And wasn't he en route to the airport? Also, where's the cop who was escorting him? I have so many questions. Even though the story has been realistic, I still 

On 11/12/2021 at 12:50 PM, Stacey1014 said:

This was wrapped up pretty well. Was I the only one who expected Reggie to get gunned down at the gas station?

I wonder if Elliot will have some sort of PTSD or have issues readjusting to his old life.  That courtroom scene reminded me of how he left SVU years ago. 

I can definitely see Elliot having PTSD. He is still grieving Kathy and this undercover operation seemed to give him an escape. And it's hard to spend that much time with people and not form some kind of attachment at all. 

On 11/12/2021 at 5:55 PM, TooMuchRealityTV said:

Agnes really turned out to be the most gangster of the bunch. She chose the Albanian mob over her son; she tried to kill a cop in a courtroom. It's always the quiet ones.

Last week, I thought Reggie may get killed before this arc was over. Honestly, where we last see him I think he may kill himself. I do still feel bad for him. I don't think he's terribly bright, and the mob was all he knew.

I really hate that the show is continuing the Wheatly storyline and dragging SVU further into it. I'm hoping this is brief and not a multi-episode Wheatly arc.

Yep, Agnes was straight gangster!

After all I've seen Reggie do, I still feel kinda sorry for him. He wasn't very bright and still trying to prove himself at his age - how sad. It didn't even seem like Reggie liked a fancy life. He would have been fine with a normal job, wife, taking kids to soccer practice, etc. 

[Wizardpatch]

What was the point of killing Stabler's fake son? It didn't affect anything and it looked like Stabler didn't even grieve him for a second.

I also find it hard to believe that Kosta and Albi were only 5 minutes ahead of Stabler getting out of those tunnels when they had like an hour head start.

[judyri]

I felt like Reggie was more in some place like Montana or North Dakota.  New Jersey and Mass have too many options for him to fall back into a big city.

[CrystalBlue]

On 11/14/2021 at 3:55 PM, Wizardpatch said:

What was the point of killing Stabler's fake son? It didn't affect anything and it looked like Stabler didn't even grieve him for a second.

I also find it hard to believe that Kosta and Albi were only 5 minutes ahead of Stabler getting out of those tunnels when they had like an hour head start.

I got the impression that Kosta and Albi descended into the tunnels to lie low until it was safe to come out, but then Stabler ended up coming after them.  Maybe I'm wrong.

Did we ever find out who Stabler's fake son really was?  Was he really the real Eddie Wagner's son, a random Albanian, or attached to the K.O. as a spy or something?

Edited November 16, 2021 by CrystalBlue

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

On 11/14/2021 at 8:24 PM, judyri said:

I felt like Reggie was more in some place like Montana or North Dakota.  New Jersey and Mass have too many options for him to fall back into a big city.

I was thinking Alaska, but I don't know if Alaska has Self-Service or not. Eastern Oregon could be a possibility. Or maybe we're putting more work into this than the writers did.

[Tachi Rocinante]

On 11/19/2021 at 3:23 PM, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

I was thinking Alaska, but I don't know if Alaska has Self-Service or not. Eastern Oregon could be a possibility. Or maybe we're putting more work into this than the writers did.

Wasn't there a tall, long wooden fence in the distance?