S02.E04: Maya

[AnimeMania]

The MPU searches for a homeless female teen that disappeared after running away from home and living in Philly’s Gayborhood. Kemi is hit especially hard as the team races to find and rescue the missing teen.  Jason and Nikki spar over his continued investigation into the car bombing.

Premiere Date: March 26, 2024   FOX   9pm

Kenneth Wyse as Hot Canary

Clara Alexandrova as Maya

JayR Tinaco as Skit

Olivia Ducayen

[jabRI]

I hate these contrived roadblocks/issues. Nicki's boss can certainly tell her in no uncertain terms she can't have her ex on the team, and cant' bring a hacker in the building.  

[Brown44]

Is it me or has Nikki taken a back seat these 1st few episodes? And what happened to Hemingway?

[jabRI]

I think they are trying to change up the dynamics, see what works. I prefer the chemistry of them being more work focused as opposed to last season's family drama.  Now If I could only remember what the car bombing was all about.

[Snazzy Daisy]

This episode has proven that if you give Adeola Role a compelling material to work with, she can definitely deliver. Kemi doesn’t need to be quirky to be interesting. Stop giving her the crappy stuff like egg/sage/past lives etc. 😣

[possibilities]

I somehow didn't know this show existed until this week. So this was the first episode I watched. 

I don't know what any of the character or plot backstories are about, so have no opinion there.

 

But I did like how the "gayborhood" and runaway teen story was handled. It's copaganda (no way do those cases get that much focus or effort IRL), but I'll take it. 

I also liked that Maya almost saved herself, and maybe woulud have if the cops hadn't showed up when they did. They didn't try to make her ONLY a victim. They showed she was loved, they showed she was strong and resourceful. I have a chronic complaint about "misery porn" where characters are tormented and made to seem hopeless and pathetic in order to prop up and make the rescuers look more heroic, and also because some writers think the only want to generate sympathy is to make people helpless. Pfeh! 

I liked that this story didn't do that.

I also thought it was a painful but amazing beat when they sent Maya back to her terrible parents. Sometimes the system does shit like that. I would have hoped there would be a better option for her, but in reality, what would that be? A foster home (they are in short supply and often absolutely terrible), emancipation???... if a relative existed who was a better option than her parents, she would probably have tried to go to them, so it's unlikely that person exists, either. So, realistically, most of the time, kids have to tough it out with their terrible parents.

It was nice they gave her someone she could call at least for a reality check and to feel cared about. I wish the cops actually were a safe haven like that IRL. It terrifies me that a teenager might watch this show and trust police who don't deserve it, and wind up more crushed and abused, though. I wish that the world would get a inspired to make the cops really be that, reliably, IRL.

 

 

[secnarf]

I enjoyed this episode, I thought it was one of the better ones the show has had.

It is weird though how Nikki seems to take a backseat in the show this season, and I could do without the drama of her boss, but the A plot was good.