S01.E03: Don't Let It Happen Again

[Pop Tart]

Quote

Will and Faith’s investigation into a small-town murder has large implications when a connection is drawn to a decadeslong, covered-up cold case. Meanwhile, the death of a security guard perplexes Angie while she contemplates an unexpected dinner invitation from Ormewood, which may rehash some memories from their past.

Air date: 01.17.23

[Irlandesa]

I think this show is getting better and better as it goes on. I liked the second episode more than the first and I liked this episode more than the second.  I really hope this show succeeds. 

I appreciated that this episode built up the partnership between Will  and Faith and we got more hints about her background.  Her feelings about Lake Lanier all episode were cracking me up. 

I figured out that the ex-sheriff's son was involved but the new sheriff being the killer through me for a loop.  It was convenient but it was still a fun twist. 

Maybe it's because I haven't been paying close attention but I assumed the Angie/Olmewood hookup took place months ago instead of years ago.  Is this all coming up again because they're new partners? 

[AnimeMania]

This episode was originally episode 4, so things that seemed a little out of place in this episode, Will has a mystery date with some woman and Faith has a desk and chair in what I am assuming was Will's office.

The case, I am not so sure about, they could have explained what happened better. There was really no explanation about why the men shot the family, I guess men with guns just like to shoot things. There was no mention of who raised the baby and it seems the baby found out about it's parents through a DNA test due to some medical procedure? Everything was a little too vague.

It wouldn't surprise me if Faith has some neurodevelopmental condition like Dyslexia or Autism, which is why she was paired with Will in the first place, to learn how he is able to compensate.

[Court]

Her Aunt Louise raised her. The former sheriff found her aunt and didn't tell anyone there was a baby in the car. 

It sounded like the 4 men were drunk and didn't like where the family was parked so they shot them. That part was too vague for me as well. 

Otherwise I really like this episode. Why do networks show these out of order???

[Irlandesa]

13 hours ago, Court said:

It sounded like the 4 men were drunk and didn't like where the family was parked so they shot them. That part was too vague for me as well.

The ex-sheriff's son said the driver also ignored them when they tried to talk to him which made them mad.

It's as senseless as that.  Four drunk white men executed a family because they didn't feel a black man gave their non-authority-holding behinds the respect they felt they deserved. Daddy covered it up and gave the surviving family member to her aunt.

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Irlandesa

[rollacoaster]

@Irlandesasummed up the reason for the shooting perfectly. This is something that could have been ripped from the headlines today.

Such powerful acting this episode! 

I agreed with Faith, I was so hoping the new sheriff's body wouldn't be found, leaving the door open for her to have escaped. 

Wooooooo, the moxie on Olmwood's wife! I knew as soon as she sent the husband and kids away what was about to happen. 

I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, Mrs. Olmstead did what she thought was necessary to protect her marriage and family. And, honestly, it was a fairly gentle warning. Still devastating for Angie.

But, I wonder if she confronted her husband at all. 

On a lighter note, lizard people were also mentioned on the Night Court reboot, which came on earlier in the evening. 

[cardigirl]

Okay, so I had this mystery figured out the minute the sheriff said she was a baby when the station wagon  murders occurred, and then it was confirmed when she shot that guy in front of three other people.  So, too easy to solve. But I like the way the relationships are developing between the characters. I'm gonna watch for that, and maybe the mysteries will be less easily resolved.

I have not read the books that this show is based on. Not sure I want to. Could someone else speak to that? Are they good reads?

[possibilities]

I really hope the ratings are good. I love this show.

I finally noticed Will's accent. I didn't even realize he was trying to sound southern. Nothing about this show says Georgia, to me. 

I actually kind of wanted  her to shoot that scumbag on the bridge. I know it's wrong, I don't believe in the death penalty OR extrajudicial killing, but if anyone deserved it, it's that unrepentant piece of racist shit. He was still covering it up, not doing anything to make amends, didn't seem to actually feel any remorse. I get why she was consumed with the desire for revenge. It's worse because of the secrecy. She was given to her aunt, but nobody was talking about what happened. 

The boss is named Angela, right? I keep trying to learn everybody's name. I her and I liked the implication that she and the reporter were lovers, or maybe used to be. I hope they develop that more.

It was a cheap gag, but I enjoyed seeing Angie get a win with the candy bar over her partner's triplet parent approach.

Wait... Is there an Angela and an Angie? That can't be. Is the boss's name Amanda?

 

[AnimeMania]

13 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Is the boss's name Amanda?

Amanda

The more I thought about the story, the more improbable it seemed. How did the killer know the identity of the 2 men who shot the family and not the identity of the other two or know exactly how many there were. Why didn't the reporter know about the baby in the car, didn't she follow up with the family's next of kin or neighbors to see why the family were in town. Why would you assume that the 4 men in the photo are the same 4 men that shot the family, I would just assume that the owner of the truck was involved. The killer would have saved some time if they had just questioned the men about who was involved instead of shooting them from far away.

[izabella]

3 hours ago, rollacoaster said:

Wooooooo, the moxie on Olmwood's wife! I knew as soon as she sent the husband and kids away what was about to happen. 

I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, Mrs. Olmstead did what she thought was necessary to protect her marriage and family. And, honestly, it was a fairly gentle warning. Still devastating for Angie.

But, I wonder if she confronted her husband at all. 

It's always like this on tv shows and movies.  Wives go after the "other woman" when they really need to have it out with their cheating husbands.  They never want to confront the person in their own marriage, their own house.  I guess they don't want to rock the boat so they give him a pass and tell the woman to stay away, as if that will solve their cheating husband problem.  If it's not Angie, it will be someone else!

[izabella]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

It was a cheap gag, but I enjoyed seeing Angie get a win with the candy bar over her partner's triplet parent approach.

That was my favorite part!  I love Erika Christensen in this role.

[tennisgurl]

I am still really enjoying the show so far, I hope that its doing well in the ratings. This is the sort of show that can go on for awhile and be a reliable performer for a network if they let it grow an audience. Wont be a huge smash that gets a million awards and think pieces about it, but is consistently likable and steady in the ratings. The characters are all really interesting and I am really enjoying seeing their dynamics change, especially Will and Faith. 

The case of the week was pretty good, it all ended up being very tragic. I thought that the ditsy deputy would end up being involved at first, but as soon as we realized there was a baby in the car everything clicked. There is certainly some bits that were left not fully explained, but its things that we can guess about, like how Josie found who the killers were or what Josie's aunt thought about having her baby niece delivered to her by the father of her families killers. It might have been for the best if Josie's aunt never even told her the truth. Those asshole murderers would have gotten away with it but Josie would still be alive at least. The whole thing with the lake being haunted and Faith being creeped out by ghosts was funny at first then became sad, the town really was haunted but not by ghosts, but by this terrible injustice. 

That bit at the end with Oldstead's wife was a real ouch, even with what was really a pretty light reaction. I can guess that Oldsteads wife doesn't want to rock the boat too much with her marriage, going through a messy divorce with a bunch of young kids is rough, but I hope that she at least confronted him. She just sounded so tired and resigned when she told Angie to back off, does this happen a lot? I am still really not a fan of Oldstead, especially if he's regularly cheating on his perfectly nice seeming wife with a bunch of kids at home. 

[rollacoaster]

26 minutes ago, izabella said:

t's always like this on tv shows and movies.  Wives go after the "other woman" when they really need to have it out with their cheating husbands.  They never want to confront the person in their own marriage, their own house.  I guess they don't want to rock the boat so they give him a pass and tell the woman to stay away, as if that will solve their cheating husband problem.  If it's not Angie, it will be someone else!

Yup, and I hate it every time I see it. You are right, if it's not Angie, he will cheat with somebody else. And even though it's wrong on both parties involved in the cheating, I feel that more responsibility falls on the married person who took a vow to be faithful. 

[DEL901]

4 hours ago, cardigirl said:

I have not read the books that this show is based on. Not sure I want to. Could someone else speak to that? Are they good reads?

There are 11 or 12 Will Trent books so far and I love them.  But like with any adaptation, there are some differences that can be distracting for fans of the book, but nothing too major and nothing like with the series Bones which kept the protagonist’s name and profession and tossed out her personality, home location, employer, family, and every other character in the books.   I won’t say anymore as there is a books thread.  

[milkyaqua]

4 hours ago, cardigirl said:

Okay, so I had this mystery figured out the minute the sheriff said she was a baby when the station wagon  murders occurred, and then it was confirmed when she shot that guy in front of three other people

Me too.  I still liked the epi and the ending was sad but agree there had to be a better way to go about getting justice.  Though I guess she just felt more like going for revenge.  Also agree that the story wasn't as well drawn out as it could have been in that there were unanswered questions from finding out who did it to how the thing was investigated including the newspapers at the time.

And yes, the cheated spouse usually goes after the other woman but one would hope that Oldstead's wife would have called him out on his infidelity especially since as she said, cop's wives talk and that's due to their husbands talking so Oldstead should have some sort of clue.

[akg]

4 hours ago, cardigirl said:

Okay, so I had this mystery figured out the minute the sheriff said she was a baby when the station wagon  murders occurred, and then it was confirmed when she shot that guy in front of three other people.  So, too easy to solve

That and Faith not being able to remember the face of the one other person she's seen in town made me roll my eyes. But I like the characters enough to be forgiving.

They do need to stop making characters I like, have sympathy with, and bond with the Will and Faith the bad guys though. First, it was the dyslexic music guy and now it's the sheriff. I'm also a little uncomfortable with the fact that both characters were shown doing what they could to overcome something Will and Faith struggle with (dyslexia, racism) and then becoming a kidnapper/stalker and murderer. I'm really hoping the next episode breaks their streak (I know it's only been 2 mysteries so far but it's weird that this has happened in both). I don't want to spend the rest of the series wondering if the show making me sympathetic to a character is a sign that they need to be arrested.

[cardigirl]

1 hour ago, izabella said:

It's always like this on tv shows and movies.  Wives go after the "other woman" when they really need to have it out with their cheating husbands.  They never want to confront the person in their own marriage, their own house.  I guess they don't want to rock the boat so they give him a pass and tell the woman to stay away, as if that will solve their cheating husband problem.  If it's not Angie, it will be someone else!

It happens in real life too. I think many women choose to "blame" the other woman rather than their husband, whom they love. While they may rage at him, they're also afraid of losing their lives they've built with him, so it's easier to go after the other person involved in the affair. Although, this event in the show seems to say they were both not in their right minds when "it" happened, and therefore might afford the marriage the opportunity to survive the cheating, which rarely happens in real life. 

It's generally not wise to go after the other woman, because it often leads to the husband trying to protect them. 

[MDL]

I may be in the minority here, but does everyone have to be "damaged" in some way shape or form? In some ways, I guess that's more realistic then the other extreme,but so far this show does come across as very dark . That said, I probably will continue to watch, as it so far has been well done

Edited January 18, 2023 by MDL

[catrice2]

7 hours ago, DEL901 said:

There are 11 or 12 Will Trent books so far and I love them.  But like with any adaptation, there are some differences that can be distracting for fans of the book, but nothing too major and nothing like with the series Bones which kept the protagonist’s name and profession and tossed out her personality, home location, employer, family, and every other character in the books.   I won’t say anymore as there is a books thread.  

PM with  what you want to know.The books are good , the show is different.  The author said the show and book are to be treated as separate entities. there are a lot of things about the book that the show does better IMO, and a few in the opposite direction.  I like the show and honestly hope they do some things different than the book 

[twoods]

I’m impressed they dealt with such an intense episode this early in a new show. I was not expecting the crazy turn to the main murder case, and what a sad ending. I liked the sheriff so was hoping she would be a recurring character. It was nice seeing Will and Faith bond.

I’m hoping with the wife calling Angie out, they won’t go there with her sleeping with her married partner again.

[Trini]

The main mystery/case this episode was good; but this was just a little bit too depressing overall. I think I'm out. There are more characters that I don't like/care about than characters that I do care about.

As for Will's accent; I recognize that the actor is talking in a way that's not natural for him. To my northeast city ears, it doesn't sound "Southern". But neither does anyone else to me; but I'm probably not the best judge.

[Raja]

On 1/17/2023 at 9:29 PM, Court said:

Otherwise I really like this episode. Why do networks show these out of order???

With the quick network cancellation hook in SF genre shows it is normally to push the sexbot episode up early to hold the premier eyeballs.  With the normally unrealized tease that the sex content will be ongoing.

With an off and on relationship with the lead and thus not an every episode feature I think they wanted that one night stand with the APD partners and thus love triangle in the mix early.

[pasdetrois]

I appreciate the portrayal of Will's accent because it's Modern Southern. In many big southern cities like Atlanta one doesn't hear a lot of the traditional heavy southern accent in younger folks. (To me, Will is young.) That's due in part to folks moving in and out from all over the country. And I like that his accent is subtle, rather than the exaggerated cornpone we often get on TV.

I thought this episode was a bit chaotic. Not as smooth and integrated as the previous two.

[AnimeMania]

On 1/18/2023 at 12:29 AM, Court said:

Why do networks show these out of order???

I know why they did it for this show.

Spoiler

To get to the Next Episode faster: Faith, Angie, Trent and Ormewood work a case together, so Trent and Ormewood will probably be very competitive about who is the better lover and detective.

[jabRI]

My only leap of improbability was when the family was murdered, no one, no relative, docto, neighbor, friend said, 'what about the baby'?  It's not like the family's death was covered up entirely.

[akg]

14 minutes ago, jabRI said:

My only leap of improbability was when the family was murdered, no one, no relative, docto, neighbor, friend said, 'what about the baby'?  It's not like the family's death was covered up entirely.

The family was just passing through (I'm guessing they were from Arkansas since that's where Josie's aunt lived) so no one local would have known about the baby. Anyone who knew about Josie probably found out about the murders when the sheriff brought her home.

[Raja]

2 minutes ago, akg said:

The family was just passing through (I'm guessing they were from Arkansas since that's where Josie's aunt lived) so no one local would have known about the baby. Anyone who knew about Josie probably found out about the murders when the sheriff brought her home.

That's even worse. We aren't talking about an only local communications era. The hunt that would have happened for a missing child, after the notifications in Arkansas, even a non blond one would have been massive.

[akg]

25 minutes ago, Raja said:

The hunt that would have happened for a missing child, after the notifications in Arkansas, even a non blond one would have been massive.

From the perspective of Josie's family in Arkansas, she was never missing. She was traveling with her family and then she was being dropped off by the sheriff with news of the murders. There are definitely still open questions (how much did the sheriff explain to the aunt? Did the reporter we met do a deep dive on the family's background and assume Josie hadn't been with them? Or did she focus on the local angle?) but I don't think anyone would have been worried about Josie's location until after she was already at her aunt's.

[possibilities]

I think the sheriff covered up the existence of a baby. Nobody in the investigation knew about it until the present day people found that tape of children's songs in the car. The aunt who took the baby probably just assumed nobody ever found the murderer, or he didn't tell them it was a murder. He could have told them anything. And they didn't make a fuss because of any number of reasons. I don't think it's that much of a stretch.

[candall]

This is by far my favorite of the new shows.  (You want some people who brush off all their character flaws and plot holes, try Alert.)

 

I love the main character.  Having him constantly speaking into his little tape recorder is a good way to convey the thought-process of a natural introvert.   But I think his accent is silly--it's like he remembers he's supposed to have one and drawls out the next vowel he comes across.

 

My favorite part was last week when the three foster system survivor kids stood together--each of them kind of messed up, but feeling supported by people who knew them back in the bad old days.

 

ETA:  MORE BETTY!

Edited January 20, 2023 by candall
BETTY!

[akg]

Something I found interesting were Faith's comments on her mother (which I can't remember exactly). It sounded like, whatever her mother did, Faith knew it was wrong so she's at least not blaming Will for a false accusation.

[rollacoaster]

On 1/18/2023 at 10:54 PM, Trini said:

As for Will's accent; I recognize that the actor is talking in a way that's not natural for him. To my northeast city ears, it doesn't sound "Southern". But neither does anyone else to me; but I'm probably not the best judge.

Will's accent is TRIPPY. To my Texas born ear, it sounds absolutely unnatural. In the first episode, I kept trying to place it. I thought maybe he was a transplanted New Yorker? And sometimes I thought he sounded like he might be Cajun? Now, I've decided he sounded like he has a mouth full of pebbles.  

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, rollacoaster said:

Will's accent is TRIPPY. To my Texas born ear, it sounds absolutely unnatural. In the first episode, I kept trying to place it. I thought maybe he was a transplanted New Yorker? And sometimes I thought he sounded like he might be Cajun? Now, I've decided he sounded like he has a mouth full of pebbles.  

The actor grew up in New York. He decided he wanted to do an accent for this and apparently he said he chose to mimic Andre 3000 from Outkast, who is from Atlanta.

The biggest problem imo is that he slips in and out of it. It's distracting but hilarious lol.

[pasdetrois]

17 hours ago, rollacoaster said:

And sometimes I thought he sounded like he might be Cajun?

I'm from southwest Louisiana and I thought the same thing. Faint echos of how some people talk down there. Mixed with south Mississippi. But it's inconsistent and disappears entirely in some parts of the episodes.

Edited January 22, 2023 by pasdetrois

[DearEvette]

Another good episode.  I am enjoying this show so far quite a bit.

As much as I appreciate the comic relief of the B-plot with Angie and Ormewood and their triplets, I kinda wish the show had just stayed with the A plot alone.  It as a great plot with a nice twist but it felt rushed. 

Too bad GBI got called in because Josie might have gotten away with it.  But as it  her mistake was taunting with the toy car.  It was the one thing that pointed them to the older murders.  And well, it is totally a tv thing for a criminal to hold onto evidence that could come back and later incriminate you.  She was smart to insist on being the one to send the nail because that was the only piece of evidence that directly incriminated her. But dude, throw that shit in a dumpster don't keep it in your car!

I think Ormestead's wife is an idiot.  If he cheated once, he probably cheated more than once.  What is she gonna do?  Invite every woman to her house and warn them off?  Also what if Angie was the type of woman to ignore her and still sleep with him.  Then what?  I'd also be curious to how she found out he was cheating?  Sure 'cops wives talk' but unless one of them is a ride or die friend, the likelihood is not one of them is gonna talk to your face about your husband cheating.  They'd be more likely to gossip about it in your absence. 

I like how Faith and Will are evolving.  I like the touches of humor they are adding into their interactions.  Interesting about Faith's mother and Amanda.  It sounds like regardless of what she did, Amanda still holds her is some esteem or affection. 

Every person I've known from Atlanta, especially my black friends, 100% believe Lake Lanier is haunted.  So Faith's conviction felt right on the money.

[Trini]

On 1/21/2023 at 5:12 PM, peachmangosteen said:

The actor grew up in New York. He decided he wanted to do an accent for this and apparently he said he chose to mimic Andre 3000 from Outkast, who is from Atlanta.

I'm definitely hearing the New York in his accent (I'm also a New Yorker), which is probably why he's not coming across as 'Southern' to me.

[seacliffsal]

I agree with all of the great points and insights above.

However, my biggest take away from this episode?  It needed more Betty and Nico... Loved the scene of Will giving all of his instructions to Nico about what Betty likes.

[ribboninthesky1]

On 1/22/2023 at 9:54 PM, DearEvette said:

As much as I appreciate the comic relief of the B-plot with Angie and Ormewood and their triplets, I kinda wish the show had just stayed with the A plot alone.  It as a great plot with a nice twist but it felt rushed. 

Agreed.  I liked the sheriff and her bonding with Faith. I wasn't too surprised by the twist, but I was still hoping the sheriff might be a character that might pop up now and again in future episodes.

Once the twist was revealed, I was kinda hoping Josie got away with it.  White people (men especially) have been murdering black people with impunity in the US for a long time, so I'm perfectly fine with someone taking revenge for direct, physical harm.  I wish she would have left Faith handcuffed elsewhere, dispatched the final killer, and made her escape.  The show had no problem handwaving Mark-Paul's character shooting the man who kidnapped his daughter.  Not sure why this plot had to end as it did, even if it was true to the books.    

I like Angie well enough, but agree with her sponsor that her relationship with Will is codependent.  On the one hand, I appreciate that they have a shared past, know each other, and are actually friends.  On the other, not looking forward to a bunch of will they/won't they for the sake of drama.    

I'm kind of...eh on Will, mostly because he comes off rather immature in relation to and condescending to Faith at times.  I'm from Georgia, live in Atlanta, and I don't know what the hell kind of accent Rodriguez is going for.  Good thing he's handsome.         

[Anela]

I can't stand people who stay with a cheating spouse, and then blame one of the people they cheated with. 

[sharifa70]

On 1/23/2023 at 10:36 AM, seacliffsal said:

Loved the scene of Will giving all of his instructions to Nico about what Betty likes.

I try not to be, but I am totally That Guy when it comes to handing my dog (shih tzu) over to a pet sitter/dog walker, even down to the kiss before I let go of him. 

[CrystalBlue]

1 hour ago, sharifa70 said:

I try not to be, but I am totally That Guy when it comes to handing my dog (shih tzu) over to a pet sitter/dog walker, even down to the kiss before I let go of him. 

As a former professional pet sitter and dog walker, I can say that it's great to have instructions on Fido and Fluffy's routines, behaviors and their preferences.  Kissing goodbye is sweet!

[LuvMyShows]

 

On 1/20/2023 at 5:24 PM, akg said:

Something I found interesting were Faith's comments on her mother (which I can't remember exactly). It sounded like, whatever her mother did, Faith knew it was wrong so she's at least not blaming Will for a false accusation.

I just realized that Faith blaming Will for the professional downfall of her mother, all the while knowing in the back of her head that her mother is the real one who bears responsibility, but finding it easier to blame/confront Will, is a parallel to Ormewood's wife blaming the female cop (Angie) for the infidelity all the while knowing in the back of her head that her husband is the real one who bears responsibility, but finding it easier to blame/confront Angie.

[possibilities]

Faith got over it, though. We don't really see any evidence that Ormewood's wife did.

[peachmangosteen]

.