S04.E15: Hit List

[WendyCR72]

Airing March 6, 2022:

Quote

Officer Harper puts Officer Aaron through “Plain Clothes Day,” but the exercise is interrupted by an unsuspected visitor. After two witnesses for an upcoming grand jury case are murdered, the team must track down the killers before it’s too late.

 

[shapeshifter]

Episode description:

Quote

Officer Harper puts Officer Aaron through Plain Clothes Day, but the exercise is interrupted by an unsuspected visitor; after two witnesses for an upcoming grand jury case are murdered, the team must track down the killers before it's too late.

It was a tightly written episode with the chase and stalking drama scenes not too long (except maybe the last one in the office building with the anti-climatic resolution), but I hate the reality show story within a story. Granted, I hate all reality shows. (Sorry.)

[Netfoot]

First, I think white pants, or any type of clothing, is either stupid, or a declaration of laziness. ("I don't plan to do anything, so these won't get stinky dirty at all!") But to wear white pants when you are painting?!?? You can't even keep the paint off your face!

Otherwise, episode wasn't bad, except the whole section with the murdered friend's dad. Aaron schtick is the wrongly-accused-of-murder thing. Without that, he has nothing. So periodically, they have to return to that theme, no matter how dull and uninteresting it is.

[milkyaqua]

Agree the Thorson reality show and always swinging back to his murder trial is lazy.  The reality show part is really stupid.  I don't care if he is doing this for his mother, he needs to stop and put his foot down.  I was hoping mr. producer would push Nyla and find out if she was bluffing...

As for Bailey and her painting in white, eh.  It's not like people don't do it but another aspect of Bailey that none of us care about.

I did like the major arc overall.  Even Lucy didn't get on my nerves.  I did like the scenes of Grey and Nolan talking especially about being older.

Leave it to Smitty to find a way to do the least amount of work possible and pawn it off on Nolan.

[zoey1996]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

But to wear white pants when you are painting?!?? You can't even keep the paint off your face!

House painters usually wear white as their uniform. But yes, Bailey not so much.

I initially liked Bailey, and was curious to see how she and Nolan would be together. Not anymore. Don't know what exactly it is, but I don't think it's a good pairing at all.

[HurricaneVal]

I agree, it was a good and tight episode.  But the reality TV plotline needs to be wrapped up quickly.

But.....sigh......I'm so tired of how Bailey just sort of pops up here and there.  She showed up at the hospital in uniform.....which I can excuse because if she wanted access to the restricted area where the cops were all waiting for news on Grey's condition, she'd quickly change into her uniform before leaving the house just so she would get waved through.  However, there was another scene, that implied she was on shift, I forget which scene, but she was medically evaluating someone at an incident.  So which is it?  Is she off duty, painting at home, or on shift responding to calls?  Fire department schedules don't work like that. 

This isn't the first time the writers have just randomly inserted Bailey-the-firefighter into the scene where it makes no logistical sense.  She's alternately a firefighter working a fire scene, then she's working as an EMT providing medical care, then she's driving around in a command vehicle running errands--sometimes all in the same episode.  Big city fire departments don't have duty schedules and assignments that shift around randomly like that.  And you don't just leave your shift to go run errands--even duty related errands--in a command vehicle.  You stay with your crew, in the duty vehicle you've been assigned to, be it an engine, ladder truck, rescue truck, tender, or medic unit when running errands.  That way if you get called out while buying hamburger buns for the shift meal, you can respond as a unit directly to the location of the call with a full crew.

[Snapdragon]

6 hours ago, Netfoot said:

 But to wear white pants when you are painting?!?? You can't even keep the paint off your face!

I'm guessing people wear white to paint because you can easily bleach your clothes once you're done (though on tv it has the added benefit of making paint splatters very visible).  When I started having kids, I read an article saying the best thing to do to keep your couch clean with little kids was to get a white fabric couch cover.  That way, when your kids dirtied it up (with food, crayon, dirt, whatever), you could just strip it from the couch and wash it with bleach.  Never got the couch cover but I did start using only white bath towels after that, so that I could bleach them whenever they started to get dingy.  

That being said, I don't understand why the character of Bailey is there.  She adds nothing to the show and it's weird how she always just pops up for no reason.  They should have given her another job that would have made her randomly appearing in scenes less intrusive.  Maybe the owner of a bar they all frequent?  

[shapeshifter]

I didn't even notice Bailey was wearing white while painting! LOL.
As a freelance portrait and landscape painter for 55+ years, I could paint with oils and not get a speck on me or my clothes.
But I had to keep telling myself to ignore the paint on Bailey's hand and face. 
At least it was made immediately clear that Bailey was just starting out. 
So I tried not to cringe at the paint on her, and just hoped it was non-toxic colors (the cheaper, beginner paints are, anyway). 
I was very relieved that it turned out she was not able to magically create a photorealistic portrait–—which is not entirely improbable if it turned out she had been sketching and drawing her whole life–—but I was relieved because we saw her painting did not in any way indicate that she was able to put the paint where it belonged. 
That would have bugged me after they showed it all over her hand and face.
And it was kind of affirming to my skill set that they used it as proof that Bailey was not good at everything. 
</end-my-2¢>

 

Edited March 7, 2022 by shapeshifter

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Snapdragon said:

That being said, I don't understand why the character of Bailey is there.

Because people can't leave Fillion alone. He can't just be the (no longer) rookie cop, and let us get on with the show. It's Where is his girlfriend? Why doesn't he have a girlfriend? He needs a girlfriend. So now? We get Bailey. It's like politics: You get what you deserve, because you get what you vote for.

[juliet73]

I'm really really really over Bailey!  

How Aaron's reality show even allowed to happen?  It's obviously interfering with his job.  Just like the officers, the cameraman and the other guy have no idea what kind of situation they are walking into so I would think it becomes a safety issue for everyone involved.  

I thought it was funny when Chen said "We like Wesley" and Bradford corrected her and said, "We accept Wesley because we fear Lopez."

 

[paigow]

33 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

I thought it was funny when Chen said "We like Wesley" and Bradford corrected her and said, "We accept Wesley because...."

• His mom has a private box for Rams home games
• His mom sits beside Jack Nicholson at Lakers games

[edhopper]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I didn't even notice Bailey was wearing white while painting! LOL.
As a freelance portrait and landscape painter for 55+ years, I could paint with oils and not get a speck on me or my clothes.
 

Better than me. As a commercial artist, sign painter and landscape artist for 45+ years, my clothes are mostly a mess. ; But Bailey took it to a whole other level. 

For the record, I paint in white painter pants. Very messy white painter pants.

Edited March 8, 2022 by edhopper

[HurricaneVal]

1 hour ago, juliet73 said:

1 hour ago, juliet73 said:

How Aaron's reality show even allowed to happen?  It's obviously interfering with his job.  Just like the officers, the cameraman and the other guy have no idea what kind of situation they are walking into so I would think it becomes a safety issue for everyone involved.  

I thought it was funny when Chen said "We like Wesley" and Bradford corrected her and said, "We accept Wesley because we fear Lopez."

 

Sorry for the weird quote, I have fumble fingers tonight.  I meant to split your post into two points.

 

Yes.  Aaron's reality show is a really dangerous game they're playing.  It needs to get shut down fast before someone gets hurt and Bailey has to come in and save the day by dramatically venting a pneumothorax with a Bic pen right before reattaching a limb using a hotel sewing kit.  

I still have no idea how it is that Aaron was allowed to continue the show, mom or no mom.  I thought he was already on thin rookie ice simply because of his notoriety, this show makes it ten times worse.  The dead rookie (how soon we forget) had to step back from his Hollywood romance because of his burgeoning notoriety and the dangers it presented on the job.  Aaron's reality show is much worse.

 

"We accept Wesley because we fear Lopez" was the best line of the episode.  I'm glad you brought it here, because I giggled, then promptly forgot it last night.

[Zaffy]

That was a non annoying episode (despite Bailey's efforts).
I really giggled with the portrait at the end. John - John!

Question for our American commentators here:  how often you  hear on the news that all the witnesses of a grand jury/court/whatever and a prosecutor and a witness cop were assassinated just before the trial? Just wondering how realistic this is, since I have seen this plot in so many cop shows. I guess as realistic as cops being kidnapped by the serial killers they are trying to catch..

Edited March 8, 2022 by Zaffy

[Raja]

11 minutes ago, Zaffy said:

That was a non annoying episode (despite Bailey's efforts).
I really giggled with the portrait at the end. John - John!

Question for our American commentators here:  how often you  hear on the news that all the witnesses of a grand jury/court/whatever and a prosecutor and a witness cop were assassinated just before the trial? Just wondering how realistic this is, since I have seen this plot in so many cop shows. I guess as realistic as cops being kidnapped by the serial killers they are trying to catch..

While a staple plot of cop shows I can't think of a case where witness protection failed. Be it be the US Marshals and their unit dedicated to it or local efforts. But then I don't watch true crime. The targeting of prosecutors is something we think only happens in Mexico as the US gangs, from the Mafia days are said to have rules against that sort of thing and when gangs of ethnicities other than Irish and Italian started becoming more prominent we started getting stories of police stations and prosecutors getting attacked in our fiction.

Since they lost their LAPD cultural advisor they keep tripping over my pet peeve. You are in Los Angeles County, you have Deputy DA's, not Assistant DAs. And when trying to save them, or Jada Pinkett in their office from the Tom Cruise/Vincent stand in there would be Sheriff's deputies all over the building  to alert for the fight while you are making the drive in from Mid-Wilshire.

[jabRI]

As everyone can see, the Bailey problem is there's no chemistry with Nolan.  She always looks bored and never smiles.  Get over yourself already

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

The targeting of prosecutors is something we think only happens in Mexico as the US gangs, from the Mafia days are said to have rules against that sort of thing

In mob movies set in Italy, judges seem to be the target more than prosecutors because jury trials rarely happen...

[Zaffy]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

Since they lost their LAPD cultural advisor they keep tripping over my pet peeve. You are in Los Angeles County, you have Deputy DA's, not Assistant DAs. And when trying to save them, or Jada Pinkett in their office from the Tom Cruise/Vincent stand in there would be Sheriff's deputies all over the building  to alert for the fight while you are making the drive in from Mid-Wilshire.

That was indeed so dumb. They kept calling them instead of calling the building's security. If there was any, since the not-so-capable assassin easily entered, not worrying at all if any camera will ever catch his face. 

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

 in Los Angeles County, you have Deputy DA's, not Assistant DAs.

Dick Wolf Rules!

[Snazzy Daisy]

OMG! I seriously thought they are going to get Chris killed so Lucy/Tim can be materialised. Thank god that didn’t happen.

I don’t care about Aaron and Bailey’s storylines. Jenna Dewan is soooooo overrated. Ugh.

[Raja]

I thought Sergeant Grey was gone so Bradford could move up to watch Commander pending Detective Harper's return to full duties

[Bulldog]

I wonder how much Tylenol and Icy Hot paid for their commercial within the show. 

Were we suppose to know the paralegal who gave the names of the witnesses?  I felt like I must have missed something.  They found the burnt piece of paper in the fireplace with his name conveniently still legible, then we cut to Lopez confronting him in the interrogation room.  It was presented as if we should have known who he was. 

Don't those reality shows have to get releases from people who appear on them.  Seems like Nyla would have had to sign off on appearing on the show.  And likely anybody else that was stopped during filming.  She could have easily shut it down by refusing to sign a release.  (I could be totally off here.  Just seems like I remember they used to have to do that on Cops, and the producers said that they were always surprised how willing people were to agree to have their arrest shown on air.). 

I thought Gray was cut on the face during the fight.  Didn't see any bandages later. 

 

[paigow]

2 minutes ago, Bulldog said:

I thought Gray was cut on the face during the fight.  Didn't see any bandages later. 

He was. There were stitches.

[NJRadioGuy]

On 3/8/2022 at 7:49 AM, Zaffy said:

Question for our American commentators here:  how often you  hear on the news that all the witnesses of a grand jury/court/whatever and a prosecutor and a witness cop were assassinated just before the trial?

According to a friend on the job just outside of NYC It certainly happens but it almost never makes the news since most of the cases are gang related crimes. And more often than not it's witness intimidation rather than killing, but yeah, whacking a witness certainly happens. Not often before a grand jury hearing, though. That's just a formality anyway. But before trial, yep.

Now if we're talking high-level mob stuff that's definitely a function of the US Marshalls.

[Netfoot]

12 hours ago, Bulldog said:

Don't those reality shows have to get releases from people who appear on them.

Can't they just blur/pixelate the face of anyone who does not consent?

12 hours ago, paigow said:

20 hours ago, Raja said:

I thought Sergeant Grey was gone so Bradford could move up to watch Commander pending Detective Harper's return to full duties

He was. There were stitches.

Yah. Hitwoman whips out silly little OTF automatic blade and slashed Grey viciously across the face. He gets a wound smaller than the average paper-cut.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Can't they just blur/pixelate the face of anyone who does not consent?

Yah. Hitwoman whips out silly little OTF automatic blade and slashed Grey viciously across the face. He gets a wound smaller than the average paper-cut.

Didn't he dodge/pull back? 
And was that a knife or bullet wound to his shoulder and/or chest?

[paigow]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

And was that a knife or bullet wound to his shoulder and/or chest?

Bullet

[SilverLake0315]

I don’t know what it is, but I’ve realized that making Lopez a detective has ruined the character for me. I used to love her. 

[Madding crowd]

I don’t like Lopez anymore and she acts like she’s Wesley’s boss rather than his wife. Bailey is kind of boring but I don’t think she is awful for Nolan. Mr. Madding Crowd is a police officer and often shakes his head about cop shows. Tonight it was about heavily pregnant Nyla riding in a police car during a chase, especially when shots were being fired. She would need to on desk duty because the baby could easily have been killed. Like everyone else I’m not loving the reality series storyline.

[bros402]

Okay, this episode was good. I was expecting the assassin's knife to be poisoned, since that is the exact thing this show would do.
 

However, I got distracted when the paralegal was being interviewed because I knew his face and voice from somewhere.

Then it hit me, I WENT TO SCHOOL WITH HIM. I knew he wanted to go into acting, but I didn't know he would actually succeed at it or be in something I watch (even if it was only for like 2 minutes?)!

[Beezella]

I didn't get my wish a few episodes back when I was hoping Bailey would be ditched as a girlfriend and from the show when it was revealed she was married! But this episode I did. I was hoping her painting of Nolan would be hilariously awful, and voila!

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Beezella said:

I didn't get my wish a few episodes back when I was hoping Bailey would be ditched as a girlfriend and from the show when it was revealed she was married! But this episode I did. I was hoping her painting of Nolan would be hilariously awful, and voila!

But Nolan actually likes it deep down... So she gets to stay...

[marketdoctor]

I didn't notice the white pants at first, but there is one other reason they wouldn't be stupid:  if they were old and/or didn't fit right.  I didn't look closely enough to notice if that would apply (I have noticed people on TV rarely seem to wear worn-out clothes.)

That could have been clarified with dialogue, but it's at least a possibility.

 

[shapeshifter]

Most likely whoever was doing the wardrobe pulling read what looked like "painters pants."

[mojito]

On 3/8/2022 at 11:13 PM, paigow said:

He was. There were stitches.

There was a red-pinkish line on his face and it was smooth. I wondered if that was some new kind of stitches. Looked like all she did was scrape the brown off him.

[sharkerbaby]

 

On 3/8/2022 at 11:10 PM, Bulldog said:

<snip>
Don't those reality shows have to get releases from people who appear on them.  Seems like Nyla would have had to sign off on appearing on the show.  And likely anybody else that was stopped during filming.  She could have easily shut it down by refusing to sign a release.  (I could be totally off here.  Just seems like I remember they used to have to do that on Cops, and the producers said that they were always surprised how willing people were to agree to have their arrest shown on air.). 
<snip>

 

Depends on the location being filmed.  In this case, technically, no they do not need to get a release.  It is a common misconception that a person can not be filmed unless they have given consent or have signed a release.  In the US, there is NO expectation of privacy when in public therefore anything that can be seen while on public property can be filmed and documented without recourse by those being filmed.  As a courtesy, news outlets and others sometimes blur people not germane to subject of the filming but it is by no means a necessity.  And by the way, this right to film or video record in any manner is a constitutional right and therefore can not be infringed upon.

[Raja]

7 minutes ago, sharkerbaby said:

 

Depends on the location being filmed.  In this case, technically, no they do not need to get a release.  It is a common misconception that a person can not be filmed unless they have given consent or have signed a release.  In the US, there is NO expectation of privacy when in public therefore anything that can be seen while on public property can be filmed and documented without recourse by those being filmed.  As a courtesy, news outlets and others sometimes blur people not germane to subject of the filming but it is by no means a necessity.  And by the way, this right to film or video record in any manner is a constitutional right and therefore can not be infringed upon.

I agree, I just saw an old episode of Adam-12 with its closer to reality focus where a news crew was following Officers Reed and Malloy  around. Why them was never stated but they could do not a thing about it. In that era it was newspaper pictures and not video . The  resumption of Law & Order and the Organized Crime spinoffs have both had the public's first instinct when a police officer shows up is to have everyone on the street pointing their camera at them. For Detective Harper everything she does on duty is open for anyone to record. Now  for the father getting arrested I guess hiding his identity would depend upon the state laws and fear of lawsuits

However it plays like the department made her sit for the interview

[sharkerbaby]

3 minutes ago, Raja said:

I agree, I just saw an old episode of Adam-12 with its closer to reality focus where a news crew was following Officers Reed and Malloy  around. Why them was never stated but they could do not a thing about it. In that era it was newspaper pictures and not video . The  resumption of Law & Order and the Organized Crime spinoffs have both had the public's first instinct when a police officer shows up is to have everyone on the street pointing their camera at them. For Detective Harper everything she does on duty is open for anyone to record. Now  for the father getting arrested I guess hiding his identity would depend upon the state laws and fear of lawsuits

However it plays like the department made her sit for the interview

Re: the bolded...  The right to privacy is most definitely given up if one is the subject of a law enforcement action.  Arrests and other police action is subject to public records and scrutiny, along with a constitutional right to redress our government which would be infinitely more difficult if we did not have the previously mentioned rights.  Other than in the case of minors who do enjoy some legal protections, adults are very much subject to being video recorded even during a police action of which they are the person of interest.  Just as importantly, the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution would come into play here with freedom of speech and perhaps press.  For a legal reference that is very similar to what was depicted here please see Best v. Berard, 776 F. Supp. 2d 752 (N.D. Ill. 2011), please note, this is a federal court which would supersede state laws.  For a very succinct overview here's a summary write up... Right of Publicity Claim Involving Reality TV Show Prohibited Under First Amendment 

Fear of lawsuits is outside my point but, as is illustrated in the above citing, the producers should have little concern of this maneuver BUT may very well have a concern regarding public opinion and would likely be viewed as being in bad taste. 

[femmefan1946]

On 3/7/2022 at 8:24 AM, Netfoot said:

 But to wear white pants when you are painting?!??

Professional painter's coveralls are traditionally white. The spatters are a sort of badge of honour.

Fortunately the PTB allowed the short girl to be bad at something finally.

I like Michael Trucco.

Edited May 28, 2022 by femmefan1946

[Avabelle]

Ok so I was burping the baby so might have missed something but why was Grey shooting someone such a big deal? They are in shoot outs with casualties literally every episode. Why was this so different?

Bailey continues to suck. 

[Raja]

1 hour ago, Avabelle said:

Ok so I was burping the baby so might have missed something but why was Grey shooting someone such a big deal? They are in shoot outs with casualties literally every episode. Why was this so different?

Bailey continues to suck. 

I can't remember the story specifics but that is your normal TV trope where your officer shots more rounds in 20 episodes that entire 10,000 officer departments do in a year.

Then you get to the very special episode where police use of violence becomes an issue and our hero showing signs of PTS.  As an older guy eligible to retire who normally resides at his watch commander's desk Sergeant Grey is thought of as having served his dues and past the unexpected violence just happens stage of his career.  That is for younger guys like Officer Nolan 😉 or field supervisors like Sergeant Bradford.

Edited September 8 by Raja