S04.E012: The Knock

[CooperTV]

Quote

The team responds to the report of a severed hand that has washed up on the beach. Tim attempts to prove his isn't a control freak to Lucy and invites her on a double date.

 

[nittany cougar]

The dinner thing with Tim and Lucy was stupid.  We are supposed to believe that they don't know how to act on a date. I realize that this is supposed to be a variation of "everyone knows they like each other, except them."  It still doesn't work for me because, when they are alone together, they never really show that they like each other as more than partners.

I thought Ashley should have gotten up at dinner and told Tim to go fuck himself.  It did not ring true to me that she would just sit there like a passive idiot.  I also thought it was dumb that Tim asked the lawyer out on a date with Lucy.  How did Tim know that the guy is not married or in a relationship?  It's not like they are buddies.

Nyla's happy pregnancy demeanor cracked me up. Mekia Cox was fantastic.  She her real-life pregnancy on Twitter yesterday, and thanked the producers for incorporating it into the show.

Another great thing was no Jenna Dewan in this episode. Nolan had way more chemistry in that two minute scene with that guest actress than he's ever had with her.

Edited January 24, 2022 by nittany cougar

[paigow]

I was waiting for Ashley and Rookie D.A. to bail and hook up in the parking lot...

Opening title card change up... light hearted music without annoying vocals... Good Move Showrunners!

Nolan will find out what life was like for Chief Boden during early seasons of Chicago Fire - when his job was in weekly jeopardy because he was always aggravating somebody higher up the food chain... 

[CooperTV]

Nolan is the most boring character of all boring characters ever.

Nyla on hormones is so cute, and I liked everyone's reaction to her being randomly cheerful.

Angela is annoying (because the actress is not very good, I think), and I mostly don't care about her and Wesley's family drama.

Tim and Lucy on a double date was incredibly awkward (by design, of course). Ashley being upset first with Tim's dog, then with Tim being basically a homebody outside of work (and only challenged to do stuff via Lucy teasing him), then him trying to organize his environment in unpredictable circumstances (the restaurant) is not looking good for their future relationship. On the other hand, Lucy and the lawyer seem to be hitting it off, since he isn't threatened by Lucy and Tim being so "couple-y".

[KeithJ]

The whole story with the Italian detective didn’t make any sense.  He calls LAPD and says he’s coming to pursue an international criminal and they just take him at his word?  They even had a carry permit waiting for him!  Not a single phone call back to Italy before he arrived to verify his story?

[preeya]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

Nolan will find out what life was like for Chief Boden during early seasons of Chicago Fire - when his job was in weekly jeopardy because he was always aggravating somebody higher up the food chain... 

Yeah, he better watch out. Mr. Walsh (90210) will constantly be up his butt. However, that said, he (Nolan) will be the catalyst in uncovering much corruption in the LAPD ranks.

Edited January 24, 2022 by preeya

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, KeithJ said:

They even had a carry permit waiting for him!

Which doesn't explain how he got from the aeroport to the station with the gun on his hip.

But EuroCop's being the actual bad-guy was obvious early.

14 minutes ago, preeya said:

he (Nolan) will be the catalyst in uncovering much corruption in the LAPD ranks.

The star's gotta be a hero...

I must say Chen in the morgue had a very unusual stance when holding her pistol. It looked like a Weaver grip/stance but with the strong arm bent at the elbow! It strikes me as the ideal stance for having the recoil smash the weapon back into your own face.

Will Lucy/Lawyer be allowed to flourish? Or will that be considered a threat to Chenford?

[milkyaqua]

4 hours ago, nittany cougar said:

I thought Ashley should have gotten up at dinner and told Tim to go fuck himself.  It did not ring true to me that she would just sit there like a passive idiot.  I also thought it was dumb that Tim asked the lawyer out on a date with Lucy.  How did Tim know that the guy is not married or in a relationship?  It's not like they are buddies.

I've only read the recap of this but it's been obvious TPTB are playing with the audience as you have a segment of the audience that's Chenford all the way and has no interest in these characters dating other people.  Then there's the other segment who find Chenford beyond annoying and are fine with them dating other people.  Whether or not the show let's them explore those relationships, we'll see.  I have a feeling TPTB are going to gauge how well these relationships go based on audience reaction.

I did see the last 15 minutes or so of this so I was able to figure out what was going on because this show isn't that complicated.  I loved Nyla's hormonal cheerfulness and Grey giving her the side eye.  Could care less about Angela and Wesley and their child's future education though I did like Wesley questioning her use of the murder board to chart their child's life.  Of course Nolan would get ahead of himself, not read the room and piss some higher up off.  But of course he's going to change the world for the better you guys!

[edhopper]

The Italian cop was too obvious. They should have made him an honest cop in the end.

The Union Prex is used to reps who are in it for the perks. Nolan isn worried about keeping the office if he can't affect change.

[paigow]

Nolan wants Social Workers / Counselors on call... Maybe there is someone in NYC that will come back to run the program AND hook up with Bradford again...

[Snazzy Daisy]

Why does Angela/Wesley’s storyline have to revolve around Jack? It’s F boring. Viewers aren’t not invested in “invisible” baby. Give me Lila and Nyla.

I used to like Lucy, more than Angela. Now I find both characters suffocating. If I were Ashley, I will directly ask Tim if he has secret crush on Lucy etc. and to stop being a jerk. 😣

No Bailey, yay!!!

[paigow]

21 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Why does Angela / Wesley’s  storyline have to revolve around Jack? 

The La Fiera revenge tour closed off their options. Angela cannot get exciting cases of her own that overshadow Nolan. Suspended Wesley cannot get defendant of the week. Not much left...

Edited January 25, 2022 by paigow

[Taochi]

I felt the tone of the whole episode was so different and off-putting. It just felt wrong and not in keeping with the rest of the episodes. It was twilight for me the whole time. And I don't want to get started on the actual storyline. Very weak. But mostly I was shocked how a good show could feel so wrong in an instance. 

[Brian Cronin]

It's not normal to not sit next to your date at a four-seater, right?

[paigow]

On 1/24/2022 at 10:14 AM, preeya said:

Yeah, he better watch out. Mr. Walsh (90210) will constantly be up his butt.

Nolan should take down Jason Priestly at The Peach Pit for dealing meth and paying off cops...

[juliet73]

On 1/24/2022 at 6:48 AM, nittany cougar said:

Another great thing was no Jenna Dewan in this episode. Nolan had way more chemistry in that two minute scene with that guest actress than he's ever had with her.

He had more chemistry with the detached arm knocking on the table than he ever did with Jenna Dewan.

I agree with other comments about the Bradford/Chen double date.  It was totally lame and for neither one of them to realize how awkward it was for their dates, made if even more painful to watch.  Ashley and Bradford have nothing in common and as much as I love Bradford as a cop, he seems like a total douche for a boyfriend. 

I knew that Italian cop was going to be trouble as soon as he explained his case.  I like Grey out in the field, but this was a waste, IMO.

I'm over Nolan being the union rep.  I'm over Lopez and Wesley and their baby drama. 

Nyla being over the top cheerful and the other cops reacting to it was the best part of the episode! 

 

[bros402]

I thought it was gonna be that Italian cop was trying to kill the guy because the guy killed his partner

[CooperTV]

1 hour ago, juliet73 said:

Ashley and Bradford have nothing in common and as much as I love Bradford as a cop, he seems like a total douche for a boyfriend. 

To be fair, Ashley kinda brought it onto herself. Her friend invited her and Tim because she had won the tickets to the restaurant, and Tim didn't want to go in the first place (he hates beach + he hates fancy restaurants + he hates pretentiousness). Then her friend and her SO bailed, so Tim asked his friend to come with. Said friend likes beach and fancy restaurants and doesn't get upset when Tim call BS on all the above. Ashley, on the other hand, didn't even participate in any conversations but still got upset Tim hates new things and left in a huff.

I mean, Tim at least apologized. Unlike Ashley herself, who seems to think healthy relationships consist of making your partner do what only you personally find enjoyable and complaining about their dog, their work friends, etc, etc.

[Netfoot]

11 hours ago, Brian Cronin said:

It's not normal to not sit next to your date at a four-seater, right?

They sat in a circle. (Or a square, if you prefer - seeing as there were only four of them, it's the same thing.)

Bradford sat next to his date Ashley, and Chen sat next to her date DA-Guy. This is not unusual.

The men sat opposite one another and the women likewise. So, the guys each had the ladies one on each side, and ditto the gals. Again, not strange.

Other than each person sitting directly opposite their date (not entirely weird), I'm not sure what arrangement you are suggesting they should have used.

 

[shapeshifter]

14 hours ago, Brian Cronin said:

It's not normal to not sit next to your date at a four-seater, right?

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

They sat in a circle. (Or a square, if you prefer - seeing as there were only four of them, it's the same thing.)

Bradford sat next to his date Ashley, and Chen sat next to her date DA-Guy. This is not unusual.

The men sat opposite one another and the women likewise. So, the guys each had the ladies one on each side, and ditto the gals. Again, not strange.

Other than each person sitting directly opposite their date (not entirely weird), I'm not sure what arrangement you are suggesting they should have used.

Wait. What?
(Sorry. Sleep deprived new grandma typing here.)
It was a round table?
The way the camera blocked the scene, I (apparently like @Brian Cronin) thought it was more of a booth set up.
But if it was a round table, that makes more sense.
I guess the camera guy and video editor were directed to put Chen and Bradford together in the scene.

Which means we were are supposed to see it like:

6 hours ago, CooperTV said:

To be fair, Ashley kinda brought it onto herself. Her friend invited her and Tim because she had won the tickets to the restaurant, and Tim didn't want to go in the first place (he hates beach + he hates fancy restaurants + he hates pretentiousness). Then her friend and her SO bailed, so Tim asked his friend to come with. Said friend likes beach and fancy restaurants and doesn't get upset when Tim call BS on all the above. Ashley, on the other hand, didn't even participate in any conversations but still got upset Tim hates new things and left in a huff.

I mean, Tim at least apologized. Unlike Ashley herself, who seems to think healthy relationships consist of making your partner do what only you personally find enjoyable and complaining about their dog, their work friends, etc, etc.

but then at the end they had the not-Chen&Bradford couples all but kiss and make up.🤷‍♀️

[CooperTV]

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

t was a round table?
The way the camera blocked the scene, I (apparently like @Brian Cronin) thought it was more of a booth set up.
But if it was a round table, that makes more sense.

I copied the links for those as a point of reference about the table configuration, lol:

[paigow]

All this detective work would have found the Italian fugitive faster...

[Netfoot]

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

It was a round table?

It was a rectangular table with two each on the long sides. 

Nobody sits between Tim & Ashley and nobody sits between Chen & DAguy. So, each guy had a gal to his left and right, and each gal had a guy to her left and right.

I don't actually see anything weird or awkward about this seating arrangement. 

[CooperTV]

2 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

I don't actually see anything weird or awkward about this seating arrangement. 

 

Except for the fact Tim is sitting half-turned, away from his girlfriend, facing his friend Lucy. Lucy is sitting facing her date.

[shapeshifter]

Thanks for the screen shots, @CooperTV!
Just one more question: Given that Lucy and Bradford's date were already acquainted, would it be more typical for the women to sit next to each other across from their dates? 
(I gave birth to 3 humans 30-40 years ago, but I know zilch about dating then or now.)
 

Edited January 26, 2022 by shapeshifter

[Netfoot]

1 minute ago, CooperTV said:

Tim is sitting half-turned, away from his girlfriend, facing his friend Lucy. Lucy is sitting facing her date.

Yes, but in this scene, Lucy was running her mouth in high gear. Not entirely unrealistic that Bradford would turn slightly to face the person who was doing all the talking. Unless he has an extra eye in his ear.

Given the rectangular table, there are only two ways I could see to seat two couples. 

1) Couples sit together on the same side of the table, with the female member of the couple on the left of the male.

2) Couples sit facing each other across the table, with a male and a female on each side. (As we saw.)

If the table had been square or circular, then couples could elect to sit facing each other, alternating male/female around the table.

In Cinemaland, there is another factor to consider: Even with a circular table, the diners will be required to squash up together so as to leave a window for the camera crew to come in for closeups.

If the two couples are old, familiar friends and comfortable in each other's company (not what we saw here), then who sits where would hardly arise at all. 

[orza]

7 hours ago, CooperTV said:

To be fair, Ashley kinda brought it onto herself. Her friend invited her and Tim because she had won the tickets to the restaurant, and Tim didn't want to go in the first place (he hates beach + he hates fancy restaurants + he hates pretentiousness). Then her friend and her SO bailed, so Tim asked his friend to come with. Said friend likes beach and fancy restaurants and doesn't get upset when Tim call BS on all the above. Ashley, on the other hand, didn't even participate in any conversations but still got upset Tim hates new things and left in a huff.

I mean, Tim at least apologized. Unlike Ashley herself, who seems to think healthy relationships consist of making your partner do what only you personally find enjoyable and complaining about their dog, their work friends, etc, etc.

No, Ashley did not bring anything on herself. Women are not responsible for the bad behavior of men, men are responsible for their own behavior. This sounds an awful lot like the kind of victim blaming abusive men engage in ("You made me do it!"). While Tim has not been shown to be abusive, he is pretty consistently shown to be a jerk and an asshole both on or off duty. Supposedly, Tim is a very good cop, however, we only see him being a very average cop, not a good one.

Tim is an adult. If dinner at a swanky restaurant on the beach was something he was not a interested in he should have politely declined. Once he accepted the invitation he had an obligation to be pleasant and not spoil it for Ashley and the others. Instead, Tim and Lucy were insufferably rude to their dates, carrying on like two self-absorbed teenagers and behaving inappropriately for the venue and company they were in. Ashley and lawyer guy were doing their best to be mature adults and deal with a bad situation gracefully.

[nittany cougar]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Thanks for the screen shots, @CooperTV!
Just one more question: Given that Lucy and Bradford's date were already acquainted, would it be more typical for the women to sit next to each other across from their dates? 
(I gave birth to 3 humans 30-40 years ago, but I know zilch about dating then or now.)
 

My husband and I go out to dinner with other couples frequently, and we always sit next to each other across from the other couple. 

Tim and Lucy sitting next to each other was a staging choice for the show, so they could look and act like a couple.  The bottom line is TIm and Lucy both acted like asshats, what with ignoring their dates and throwing around cop lingo.  This show is really stupid sometimes.  The writers need to get a clue where the storyline is going and stop with these ship bait scenes.

Edited January 26, 2022 by nittany cougar

[CooperTV]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

In Cinemaland, there is another factor to consider: Even with a circular table, the diners will be required to squash up together so as to leave a window for the camera crew to come in for closeups.

My point being that the sitting arrangements were entirely deliberate by the filming crew to showcase how Lucy and Tim are comfortable with each other and in their own bubble.

I think at the end we're presented with yet another bit of visual storytelling. When Tim apologies, he and Ashley stand two metres apart, indicating they have issues that ultimately lead them to break-up. But Lucy and the Lawyer Guy Whatever His Name Is are standing very close together, which means good things for the couple.

[Netfoot]

Apropos of nothing, I'm glad it wasn't me who was forced to sit through such a grandiloquent meal of completely stupid, pretentious dishes. I hate when I have to stop at a fast food joint on the way home from dinner!

If I were Tim, I'd drop Ashley like a hot turd.

[bros402]

also, is it just me or did the hand part of the episode feel like something they had come up with for a Halloween episode but forgot to put in?

[paigow]

12 minutes ago, bros402 said:

also, is it just me or did the hand part of the episode feel like something they had come up with for a Halloween episode but forgot to put in?

Setting up Nolan for a Walking Dead episode after sleazy CEO improves the process...

[madmax]

Finally got around to watching this today.  Coulda skipped it.  Wasn't very interesting.  In some ways, dumb.

On 1/25/2022 at 11:41 PM, juliet73 said:

I knew that Italian cop was going to be trouble as soon as he explained his case.  I like Grey out in the field, but this was a waste, IMO.

Oh, just once, how about reversing the trope?  NOT have the visiting cop be a bad guy?

On 1/26/2022 at 11:33 AM, nittany cougar said:

My husband and I go out to dinner with other couples frequently, and we always sit next to each other across from the other couple. 

Every time we've gone out to dinner with another couple, we sit on the same side, across from the other couple.  Male across from male, female across from female.  That was a ridiculous set-up, almost as ridiculous as the food that was served.  The only reason was to show Tim and Lucy as total assholes to their dates.

[Avabelle]

The Tim/Lucy stuff was too on the nose. Either put them together or leave it but I’ve no interest in Sitting through a load of guest stars who are there purely to highlight how meant to be they are

Also they were rude to both their dates. All they did was talk to each other and laugh over in jokes as well as answer questions meant for the other to highlight how well they know each other.