S02.E12: Somewhere Over The Hudson

[WendyCR72]

Airing March 13, 2022:

Quote

McCall helps a mob accountant, Bert Singer, scour the city for a lost ledger of evidence he must provide to the FBI in exchange for entrance into the Federal Witness Protection Program. Also, Mel frets over how to tell her best friend, who comforted her for years about Harry’s death, that Harry never died at all.

 

[AnimeMania]

GUEST CAST:
Josh Cooke  (Bert Singer)
J.J. Wynder-Wilkins  (Jackie Fowler)
Louisa Krause  (Rae)
Bernard Bygott  (Wick)
Don DiPetta  (J.C. Romano)
Giorgio Panetta  (Vince)
Alphonso Walker, Jr.  (Floyd)
Jared P-Smith  (Lou)
Derek Russo  (Mateo)
Evelyn Howe  (Agent Hamilton)
Nathan Hinton  (Cecil)
Veralyn Jones  (Kat)
Christina Brucato  (Shira)
John Preator  (Brock)

[janeta]

That was…really sappy.

[Driad]

Anyone who didn't know Rae would go with Bert, please stand on your head and twiddle your toes.

IMO, the brawls would be more interesting with an occasional cartoon *BAM* or *POW*.

[possibilities]

I'm perfectly willing to see the FBI portrayed as apathetic, incompetent, corrupt... but you'd think that they would want to make the bust enough to have some kind of investment in at least checking the traffic cams like Robin did, to see if the guy was telling them the truth, and to see if they could retrieve the ledger themselves.

Also, you'd think RObin might expect the mob to be savvy enough to find Burt, so you wouldn't leave him in the car any more than you'd want him to leave the ledger. AAAAAnd you'd think she'd maybe notify Dante that she was going into a dangerous situation, so when the gang went after her at the ledger/Bert liaison, she wouldn't have to single handedly take out an entire crew.

But hey! This is an era when superhero shows are a dime a dozen, so this is basically the same thing now, I suppose.

[AnimeMania]

Haha, My favorite scene was when Robyn had to peel Bert off of the sidewalk after she Stopped, Dropped, and Rolled all over him. Everything else was fairly typical or else I am becoming psychic.

[zoey1996]

Loved D and Aunt Vi foiling the cheaters!

I was kind of meh on the Mel’s friend/Harry still lives situation, but I liked Harry’s intervening and Mel & her friend making up. 
I don’t care how far-fetched the main case was, I just love Queen L/Robyn being strong and capable.

Edited March 14, 2022 by zoey1996

[Good Queen Jane]

This was really an episode from the sixties, right down to the accountant keeping the real numbers in a large, leather bound book (the mob hasn't discovered computers?), true love conquering all, and a hardened juvie who only needed someone to show him the light.  But I liked it. It was a nice change of pace. However, once a season is enough.

Edited March 14, 2022 by Good Queen Jane

[marceline]

I really liked Dee in this episode. I like how she was able to spot the cheating. Delilah was showing how she's definitely her mother's daughter.

I've said before that I think Delilah is a lot more tolerable now that they've moved away from her PTSD story although I'm kind of sorry we won't get to see her interactions with Bishop or how she's apparently made peace with Robyn's job.

Also, did we ever revisit Aunt Vi's former girlfriend? I remember a scene where VI was going to meet up with her then...nothing. Or did I miss the fallout?

Between the Asian cop from last week and our wannabe mobsters and car thieves, I feel like the show is setting up a bench of characters that can pop back in in the future. I like it. 

13 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

I was kind of meh on the Mel’s friend/Harry still lives situation, but I liked Harry’s intervening and Mel & her friend making up. 

Yeah, the story was weird for me but I never get tired of how fiercely Harry loves Mel or more accurately, how fiercely Harry and Mel love each other.

 

[kwnyc]

1 hour ago, marceline said:

Between the Asian cop from last week and our wannabe mobsters and car thieves, I feel like the show is setting up a bench of characters that can pop back in in the future. I like it. 

Yes. I really hope this happens.

[milkyaqua]

I pretty much agree with the sentiments expressed thus far but I did still like the epi.

I liked that Delilah helped Aunt Vi figure out why she was constantly losing and she and Aunt Vi getting the best of them in the end.

And yes, who the heck keeps hard copies of records these days?  Wouldn't you at least have some secret thumb drive as well?  Wouldn't the bad guys be watching you and not just trusting that you're not keeping a copy of their records to possibly use against you?

I was glad the young car thief supposedly saw the error of his ways and survived but that was a stretch as well as the abused girlfriend of the dead car thief leader.  And yes, why on Earth would Robyn go into that situation without at least notifying Mel and Harry if not Detective Dante or the feds beforehand?

As for Mel's friend?  Meh.  I'm glad Harry was able to get her back to Mel even if she was trying to set Mel up with some cheater.

I can see Robyn having folks to call on when she needs something specific like Ray and Jackie (we've seen her do that before).

Edited March 14, 2022 by milkyaqua

[paigow]

50 minutes ago, milkyaqua said:

I can see Robyn having folks to call on when she needs something specific like Ray and Jackie (we've seen her do that before).

O.G. Robert McCall had a network of helpers that went beyond former CIA employees- so continuity is preserved....

[EtheltoTillie]

6 hours ago, marceline said:

 

I've said before that I think Delilah is a lot more tolerable now that they've moved away from her PTSD story although I'm kind of sorry we won't get to see her interactions with Bishop or how she's apparently made peace with Robyn's job.

 

I'm not a regular watcher . . . does Delilah now know about Robyn's history?  And how are they handling the departure of Chris Noth?  Is Bishop written out?

[Trini]

This episode didn't need a random love story with a character that felt soooo out of place; but ya know, every show is allowed a few off episodes. Other than that it was fine.

I've been liking the Dee/Vi bonding that has been happening, but I'd like to see some more plots with Robyn/Vi Robyn/Dee too.

I did like car thief character and Robyn, though.

And let me point out another nitpick/plot hole how did Car Theft Gang Leader even know that was THE ledger for that specific mob family(or whatever)?? And have their phone number?? Was all that info IN the ledger? Sloppy, Bert. Next time try QuickBooks. Thumb drives are easier to smuggle!

Neutral on Harry and Mel's subplot. But I guess it's good to see that they have lives outside of equalizing.

Fashion highlights: Robyn's sweater, and Aunt Vi's Bob Marley outfit.

I was going to complain about the lack of Dante, but it looks like they'll make up for it next week.

[Trini]

10 hours ago, marceline said:

Also, did we ever revisit Aunt Vi's former girlfriend? I remember a scene where VI was going to meet up with her then...nothing. Or did I miss the fallout?

Nope. Nothing yet.

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I'm not a regular watcher . . . does Delilah now know about Robyn's history?  And how are they handling the departure of Chris Noth?  Is Bishop written out?

I don't think she knows all her history; but Delilah does know about Robyn's side job as the Equalizer. Yes, Bishop has been written out. He hasn't appeared since Season 2, episode 8.

[possibilities]

I second the love of Vi's outfit. 

I'm thinking of Robyn's accumulating cast of side characters as Baker Street Irregulars. I don't know what they're planning, but I like that they manage to make the brief appearances strong enough that we'll remember them and want them back.

And I've in fact been watching shows from the 1960s lately, and it's sooo true that they are astoundingly sweet compared to the current fashion. That era has a reputation for being full of conflict, but the tv seems to be very sanitized and optimistic... or maybe that's just true of the shows I come across. And this episode did have that feel.

 

[andromeda331]

I liked Dee telling Aunt Vi that her friends were cheating and Aunt Vi ready to take them down. Go Vi and Dee! 

I laughed when Robyn suggested they do something together. Ah, Robyn your the one always running off to help people at random hours not Dee or Vi. It's a little harder for them to plan something around your schedule.

Its cheesy but I liked Bert and the woman getting together. They both loved plants. I'm glad the teen saw the light too. 

[kwnyc]

"Somewhere Over the Hudson" seemed to imply this was a Wizard of Oz-inspired episode. Who was supposed to be what character? Was the whiny accountant Dorothy? The teen car thief might have been the tin man (he grew a heart). The girl who had five minutes of dialogue before deciding to run off with a man she never met before was the Cowardly Lion? 

My favorite line of the night: when the kid delivers the "ledger" to the bad guys and they say: What's this supposed to be? And he answers: "A diversion!"

Was Robyn the scarecrow (smart) or Glinda, the Good Witch of the East??? ;-)

Edited March 15, 2022 by kwnyc

[Trini]

9 hours ago, kwnyc said:

"Somewhere Over the Hudson" seemed to imply this was a Wizard of Oz-inspired episode. Who was supposed to be what character? Was the whiny accountant Dorothy? The teen car thief might have been the tin man (he grew a heart). The girl who had five minutes of dialogue before deciding to run off with a man she never met before was the Cowardly Lion? 

Wow, I didn't even make the connection! I think the accountant was the Cowardly Lion, and yes, the car thief is Tin Man. I guess Robyn was Dorothy?

[blackwing]

I did not enjoy the whiny accountant, so if ever there was an episode in which we could have seen Robyn fail, I was hoping it would be this one. When he was seemingly shot and killed in the end, for a second I thought maybe he was making the "heroic sacrifice" to save the car gang's girlfriend, but of course he survived.  But of course he gets saved by the ledger of doom.

I couldn't have cared any less about Mel's butthurt friend.   Harry has now been exonerated and can live free, so why not just tell her the entire truth of why they had to pretend?  And yeah, she was going to fix Mel up with her proven cheater brother.

Although Harry is no longer wanted by the government, weren't there a lot of underworld characters that were looking to kill him?  I could have sworn he said last season that lots of people would want to know where he is.  Well, now he's above ground, using his own name, etc.  Where are all of these seedy characters who wanted him dead?

Best part of the episode by far was Delilah not wanting to play cards with Aunt Vi, then discovering that her friends were cheating, and calling them out without actually calling them out.  I do wish we had seen a scene of Vi dressing them down after she reveals that she knew they were cheating, but the ending scene was great.  I do wonder what game the three of them were playing... I've never played Spades without being in pairs, is there a solo version?  In the solo version you just make your own bid and rely on yourself?  Part of the great part about Spades is being able to anticipate your partner's moves and how well you work together.

Not really sure what the motivation of Vi's friends for cheating was.  It's not like they were playing for money.  Bragging rights?  Seems odd to cheat about something that isn't so meaningful, it seemed like they played just to spend time together.  They aren't very good friends if they resorted to deceiving Vi all this time.

[paigow]

13 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Although Harry is no longer wanted by the government, weren't there a lot of underworld characters that were looking to kill him?

Harry will be the client for the remainder of this season... McCall will eliminate organized crime cells from Albania to Zaire

[possibilities]

They were playing in pairs, weren't they? Vi and Dee played together as a team against the other couple. The couple cheating was via giving each other clues via the glassware. I don't know why they cheated, either, though. It seemed to really upset them to be stopped, so it wasn't just a prank where they'd laugh it off when discovered, either. Makes them seem more like sociopaths than friends. 

[blackwing]

15 hours ago, possibilities said:

They were playing in pairs, weren't they? Vi and Dee played together as a team against the other couple. The couple cheating was via giving each other clues via the glassware. I don't know why they cheated, either, though. It seemed to really upset them to be stopped, so it wasn't just a prank where they'd laugh it off when discovered, either. Makes them seem more like sociopaths than friends. 

Yes, I guess they did it to feel better about themselves?

I was wondering about the end, when Robyn dealt the cards and the three McCall women were playing.  It seemed like they were going to play Spades since they were talking about catching the cheaters, but I have never played Spades solo, without pairs.  Was curious as to exactly how it works... doesn't seem as fun if you aren't working with a partner.

[mojito]

On 3/16/2022 at 12:19 PM, blackwing said:

I could have sworn he said last season that lots of people would want to know where he is. 

I'm going with there were a lot of people who wanted to know where he was and who he was.

On 3/17/2022 at 10:24 AM, blackwing said:

I was wondering about the end, when Robyn dealt the cards and the three McCall women were playing.  It seemed like they were going to play Spades since they were talking about catching the cheaters, but I have never played Spades solo, without pairs.

They were going to play Go Fish. That game can get pretty cutthroat when people secretly team with each other and pass cards under the table. Especially if one person is cheating with both of the other players. I guess you had to play the game with my siblings to understand. Yeah, I'm going with Go Fish.

On 3/13/2022 at 8:05 PM, Driad said:

IMO, the brawls would be more interesting with an occasional cartoon *BAM* or *POW*.

I so agree with this. 

I liked this episode a lot. It was predictable, but still kinda fun. I got my scene of the middle-aged woman in the stretchy pants taking down 6 men in the blink of an eye, and that's why I watch the show. It don't get any better 'n that.