S05.E11: The Naked and The Dead

[WendyCR72]

Airing January 10, 2023:

Quote

The search for a missing boy leads the team into the middle of a dangerous drug war between two rival gangs.

 

[Brian Cronin]

It doesn't make any sense for Tim to not tell his sister that he is dating Lucy, right? 

Also, in terms of "not making any sense," how was Elijah ever dethroned in the first place? He never even went to jail!!!

[Zaffy]

Elijah is the pure evil? lmao!
He is just a villain caricature, Hannibal Lecter would easily have him for dinner with some Chianti.
 

[Msample]

The good news : no Rookie Feds crossover. 

The bad news: Elijah’s back ! Christ, I’d rather have the serial killer chick back, she at least had some good lines. Elijah as a villain is a about as scary as a basket of kittens .

[milkyaqua]

Yeah, as soon as the cops got the drug delivery tip, I knew we were in for more Elijah.  Why show?  Pretty much nobody likes this guy.

Of course we had more Bailey drama.

I have no interest in Tim and Lucy but at least it seems this epi Lucy wasn't acting like she was 12.

[EtheltoTillie]

A lot of story lines this week.  The landlord story line was funny, but I'm pretty sure that Nolan was not permitted to go in his police uniform on work time to try to collect rent.  He can't misuse the badge that way.  I think there were too many story lines, but I like the baseball coaching story and how Lucy coached the kids and how they kept the arrest of the fugitive dad on the downlow.  As usual too much shooting on the drug busts.  No one is ever prepared for an onslaught of attackers with machine guns.  The DV story was an interesting twist.

Edited January 11, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[Snazzy Daisy]

Hey, it’s Drew Fuller from Charmed and Army Wives!

And the hot priest is back!!! 😍

 

[Sandman]

Finally, something Bailey is not an expert at! That's all I have to say about the ridiculous tenant subplot. Its potential to induce rage migraines is too great for me to give it much attention.

Please, no more Elijah. He just makes me so tired. All these "supervillains" who are always five, ten, twenty steps ahead -- but only because our heroes seem to lack the sense the good Lord gave a lemon.

I think I actually liked the way Lucy handled the domestic violence situation. She was shown to be competent and compassionate in ways that she doesn't always get to be on this show.

I ... did not mind the doofy but essentially sunny-natured Uncle Sgt Tim & Lucy Coach Kids at Baseball plot. Bradford refusing on principle to make little kids feel bad about themselves? Sure! I'll take more of that. (Is it psychologically realistic? Probably not really, but who cares? Is "realistic" even a thing this show aspires to? Not that you'd notice.)

Edited January 11, 2023 by Sandman

[HurricaneVal]

58 minutes ago, Sandman said:

I ... did not mind the doofy but essentially sunny-natured Uncle Sgt Tim & Lucy Coach Kids at Baseball plot. Bradford refusing on principle to make little kids feel bad about themselves? Sure! I'll take more of that. (Is it psychologically realistic? Probably not really, but who cares? Is "realistic" even a thing this show aspires to? Not that you'd notice.)

I don't know about that.  For sure, we were originally introduced to Bradford as the stereotypical hardass riding Chen with no mercy as her training officer.  However, since then we've seen that Tim tailors his training style to the student.  I keep harking back to that other rookie with PTSD from her time in the military, and Tim was almost new age-y woo-woo with his approach to giving her the training she needed.  I could see Bradford being extra sensitive with coaching kids and caring about not stomping on their fragile self-confidence.  Tim certainly doesn't radiate a "Participation Trophies are great!" personality, so I don't think he's quite going to go that far, but he'll bend over backwards to make sure none of the kids feel bad about themselves.  Tim is like Shrek....he's got layers!

Sigh.  Bailey decided to sell her house.  So the whole wedding thing is going to happen.  Dammit.  If we're lucky that's just a precursor to her taking the money and running.  A girl can hope.... 

Hey, was anyone expecting when it turned out that the house was being used to shoot porn videos, that someone would recognize Bailey from her short history as a porn star?  I mean, with all the other careers she's had, and subjects she's an expert in, this was not outside the realm of possibility.

[ribboninthesky1]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

The landlord story line was funny, but I'm pretty sure that Nolan was not permitted to go in his police uniform on work time to try to collect rent.  He can't misuse the badge that way.

I was wondering about that.  

I have no real issues with Bailey.  Of the two, I find Nolan far more annoying.  

1 hour ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Hey, it’s Drew Fuller from Charmed and Army Wives!

Thank you for this.  I was racking my brain trying to remember where I knew the actor from. Never watched Army Wives, so Charmed.  Which was....a long damn time ago, my goodness. 

I thought it would have been more interesting to see Bradford struggling with how to manage the Little League team and learning to find balance on his own.  But then super-Chen wouldn't have been able to fly in and take charge!

The varying perspectives on the nature of evil was the best part of the episode for me.  There are no easy answers, and police definitely see the worst side of humanity (often within its ranks). 

[EtheltoTillie]

7 minutes ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

, so Charmed.  Which was....a long damn time ago, my goodness. 
 

No, still on every dang morning!  I never watched it first time around but I watch occasionally.  I haven't watched enough to have remembered that actor.

A Nolan/Bailey wedding can only mean one thing:  a kidnapping!

[edhopper]

Drug Lord's aren't that hard to catch once law enforcement identifies them. They move big shipments of drugs and have to launder loads of cash. Elijah should be in jail.

[Clanstarling]

I liked the Tim coaching kids sequence, but then I have experience with it (not official little league). My husband was begged to take over the coaches slot (literally the LAST parent on the list). The parents were a freaking pain and didn't get that all the team's stars had moved into the next higher league.

The drugs thing and Elijah was a yawner. I hate a endlessly recurring big bad who shouldn't be all that hard to get rid of.

The Bailey house story was amusing, but fairly unbelievable. Though this seems to point us in the direction of a wedding, I'm hoping that it just leads to drama about her not having a home to go to when they break up.

[eel21788]

20 hours ago, Sandman said:

That's all I have to say about the ridiculous tenant subplot.

When did she become a homeowner? Wasn't she squatting at Nolan's neighbor's house?

Admittedly, I haven't watched every episode, so maybe it was something I missed while taking a break from an episode or two. This is why I hate shows that you have to watch diligently every week in order to know what is going on. Give me back the cop shows of the '60s and '70s that were never turned into soap operas. The "crime of the week" was always much more detailed, too, since they didn't have all the personal life filler to have to work in around the main plot unless it was relevant to the crime at hand.

[christie]

One question, how did Lucy know the name of Kyra's boyfriend so that she could do a background search on him?

[Sandman]

On 1/11/2023 at 7:58 PM, HurricaneVal said:

However, since then we've seen that Tim tailors his training style to the student.  I keep harking back to that other rookie with PTSD from her time in the military, and Tim was almost new age-y woo-woo with his approach to giving her the training she needed.  I could see Bradford being extra sensitive with coaching kids and caring about not stomping on their fragile self-confidence.

True — I was thinking about this and realized I probably wasn’t giving the show enough credit for establishing this part of Tim. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Sandman

[bros402]

ugh, more Elijah. Can we have Annie Wersching back? Maybe her good identical twin who decides to become a cop and then reveal herself to be the Real Evil Twin?

[CoyoteBlue]

3 hours ago, bros402 said:

ugh, more Elijah. Can we have Annie Wersching back? Maybe her good identical twin who decides to become a cop and then reveal herself to be the Real Evil Twin?

Or even better, no Big Bad at all? I'd be perfectly happy with the 'Very LA' police procedural and fewer Big Bads intended to be soul-crushing.

On 1/11/2023 at 5:50 PM, Sandman said:

(Is it psychologically realistic? Probably not really, but who cares? Is "realistic" even a thing this show aspires to? Not that you'd notice.)

I thought Sis said it was in response to an abusive father that Tim's overcompensating about. So I can totally believe Tim being extra-gentle around kids playing while still being a hardass to the grown adults he's preparing for a very dangerous job.

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by CoyoteBlue

[shapeshifter]

Is it common for a serial partner abuser to send a gf into a shelter to secretly look for his ex (and kids), or was this more of a rare, ripped-from-the-headlines, kind of scenario?

[Zaffy]

On 1/12/2023 at 2:58 AM, HurricaneVal said:

So the whole wedding thing is going to happen.

It is a Nathan Fillion show.
NO weddings are safe to happen.

[Raja]

On 1/11/2023 at 5:10 PM, ribboninthesky1 said:

But then super-Chen wouldn't have been able to fly in and take charge!

For Super-Chen I was thinking of the moment when she decided that she wasn't going to shoot and waded into hand to hand combat without pulling one of those other weapons on her belt. Over on 9-1-1 I had said that their Sergeant needed to break from real life to give her a partner for the show. In this case our Sergeant rarely does Sergeant's stuff on patrol anyway, at least more than the senior partner on any cop show does until a Sergeant shows up.  Meanwhile while recently off probation officer rides alone on a force that almost always uses two officer cars.

On 1/11/2023 at 1:26 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

As usual too much shooting on the drug busts.  No one is ever prepared for an onslaught of attackers with machine guns

First the team sent seems real light for the situation, never with back up say controlling the perimeter so a civilian doesn't wander in  and then the pistoleros somehow always gain the advantage on TV

[Clanstarling]

9 hours ago, bros402 said:

ugh, more Elijah. Can we have Annie Wersching back? Maybe her good identical twin who decides to become a cop and then reveal herself to be the Real Evil Twin?

I don't have anything against Wersching, but I hated her recurring character even more than Elijah.

6 hours ago, CoyoteBlue said:

Or even better, no Big Bad at all? I'd be perfectly happy with the 'Very LA' police procedural and fewer Big Bads intended to be soul-crushing.

I thought Sis said it was in response to an abusive father that Tim's overcompensating about. So I can totally believe Tim being extra-gentle around kids playing while still being a hardass to the grown adults he's preparing for a very dangerous job.

 

Amen to the no Big Bad at all. It has ruined several shows for me.

I agree that Tim's extra gentleness makes sense given his childhood, having seen it in action in real life.

[Slider]

On 1/11/2023 at 5:50 PM, Sandman said:

(Is it psychologically realistic? Probably not really, but who cares? Is "realistic" even a thing this show aspires to? Not that you'd notice.)

No, this show never aspires to be realistic on the details.  For example, a Catholic priest that admitted to an adulterous affair that baptizes children without parents permission? That doesn't happen.  A parent/guardian has to consent, unless the child itself asks.  And no Catholic calls them "Communion wafers" - they are either "Communion" or "hosts" but not wafers.  The writer of that scene was most definitely not Catholic.  (I get it, Catholic priests are easier to show on TV because of the collars, and the drama that can be written from secret confessionals and celibacy, but at least try to get it right.  *Stepping off soap box now.)

[eel21788]

On 1/12/2023 at 4:49 PM, christie said:

One question, how did Lucy know the name of Kyra's boyfriend so that she could do a background search on him?

Didn't Chen say they had passed background checks to get into the seminar? If so, I'm sure that would have included a "who do you live with?" question.

[bros402]

On 1/13/2023 at 4:17 AM, CoyoteBlue said:

Or even better, no Big Bad at all? I'd be perfectly happy with the 'Very LA' police procedural and fewer Big Bads intended to be soul-crushing.

oh yeah, we don't need a big bad at all - but if we had to have one...

I could understand if they did some little arcs where they are trying to arrest a gang or find a fugitive or something - have it be in the A plot in one episode, then the C plot in another, and so on. We don't need Super Evil Bad Guy!111!, though

[zoie]

On 1/13/2023 at 5:14 AM, shapeshifter said:

Is it common for a serial partner abuser to send a gf into a shelter to secretly look for his ex (and kids), or was this more of a rare, ripped-from-the-headlines, kind of scenario?

I volunteered for a Women's Domestic Violence shelter during college during 2006-2007, and that does happen. Not all the time, but it does happen. 

The abuser will send in an friend, relative, or whoever posing as a DV victim into the shelter to look for his partner so the shelter has policies in place to counteract this. The show got it wrong with the GF asking for the ex-wife. A DV shelter would be on high alert if someone came in asking for a specific person. That's a major red flag. Personal info on any shelter residents is kept private. I only volunteered and worked with children in their technology room, but I was told of tactics abusers use to find and confront the DV shelter residents and other things to be aware of. I was shocked and disgusted by this tactic. It's just the lowest of the low.

This storyline reminded me of some things I learned while volunteering at the DV shelter and doing an internship at my state coalition against domestic violence in college. Nearly 20 years later things haven't really changed. The victim defending the abuser while police attempt to or cart him away is very accurate unfortunately.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, zoie said:

I volunteered for a Women's Domestic Violence shelter during college during 2006-2007, and that does happen. Not all the time, but it does happen. 

The abuser will send in an friend, relative, or whoever posing as a DV victim into the shelter to look for his partner so the shelter has policies in place to counteract this. The show got it wrong with the GF asking for the ex-wife. A DV shelter would be on high alert if someone came in asking for a specific person. That's a major red flag. Personal info on any shelter residents is kept private. I only volunteered and worked with children in their technology room, but I was told of tactics abusers use to find and confront the DV shelter residents and other things to be aware of. I was shocked and disgusted by this tactic. It's just the lowest of the low.

This storyline reminded me of some things I learned while volunteering at the DV shelter and doing an internship at my state coalition against domestic violence in college. Nearly 20 years later things haven't really changed. The victim defending the abuser while police attempt to or cart him away is very accurate unfortunately.

Thank you for your informative reply. 
Even though, as you explained, the abuser’s friend would be stealthier when infiltrating a domestic violence shelter to locate the victims, at least they made me and other viewers aware of the problem. 
Hrm…. 
Maybe they deliberately did not show the abuser’s gf being sneakier so as not to give ideas to any abusers who might be watching?  
IDK.

[Raja]

On 1/13/2023 at 1:17 AM, CoyoteBlue said:

Or even better, no Big Bad at all? I'd be perfectly happy with the 'Very LA' police procedural and fewer Big Bads intended to be soul-crushing.

Exactly a show about an older guy, with a few younger friends becoming cops and go on random patrols has no need for a big bad.  Even if a quarter of the cast were moved over to be new detectives rather than recast a new team of boots

[christie]

20 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Didn't Chen say they had passed background checks to get into the seminar? If so, I'm sure that would have included a "who do you live with?" question.

Yes, she did say that they ran background checks; it seemed like the participants weren't aware of this and only found out when Chen said it. I'd imagine that they'd check criminal records, outstanding warrants and fines. Maybe they ran the address and both Kyra's and the boyfriend's names were on the lease (would that information be available to the police?); otherwise, I can't imagine how Lucy would know his name. 

[eel21788]

22 minutes ago, christie said:

Yes, she did say that they ran background checks; it seemed like the participants weren't aware of this and only found out when Chen said it. I'd imagine that they'd check criminal records, outstanding warrants and fines. Maybe they ran the address and both Kyra's and the boyfriend's names were on the lease (would that information be available to the police?); otherwise, I can't imagine how Lucy would know his name. 

Going to one of the free "peoplesearch" websites would give you the names of everyone associated with the address even if it didn't involve signing a lease. Receiving mail there, having a phone registered there, having any of the utilities there in your name or using it on a credit card application would all come up as the name of someone affiliated with the address.

My father cosigned my mortgage back in 1990. Even though the mortgage is now paid off, he has been dead for 15 years, had never set foot in my house or anywhere in CO for that matter, if you plug my address into one of those searches, my dad will come up as an occupant of the house.

[shapeshifter]

On 1/15/2023 at 7:25 AM, zoie said:

I volunteered for a Women's Domestic Violence shelter during college during 2006-2007, and that does happen. Not all the time, but it does happen. 

The abuser will send in an friend, relative, or whoever posing as a DV victim into the shelter to look for his partner so the shelter has policies in place to counteract this. The show got it wrong with the GF asking for the ex-wife. A DV shelter would be on high alert if someone came in asking for a specific person. That's a major red flag. Personal info on any shelter residents is kept private. I only volunteered and worked with children in their technology room, but I was told of tactics abusers use to find and confront the DV shelter residents and other things to be aware of. I was shocked and disgusted by this tactic. It's just the lowest of the low.

This storyline reminded me of some things I learned while volunteering at the DV shelter and doing an internship at my state coalition against domestic violence in college. Nearly 20 years later things haven't really changed. The victim defending the abuser while police attempt to or cart him away is very accurate unfortunately.

A 1978 (45 years ago) episode of Quincy M.E. is airing on COZI TV: 3:14, “Accomplice to Murder” in which an abuser finds his wife at a shelter because her friend told him where she was staying. She goes back to him, he beats her again, and he finds her at the hospital after having called 20 hospitals asking for her.

[Sandman]

On 1/13/2023 at 4:17 AM, CoyoteBlue said:

I thought Sis said it was in response to an abusive father that Tim's overcompensating about.

Oh, that was definitely in there. It just felt a little over-simplified to me. But I still liked seeing Tim’s kindness emerge (even while rolling his eyes at Chen), don’t get me wrong.