S01.E02: Dancers in the Dark

[chitowngirl]

As Morgan and the detectives adjust to her new role as a consultant, they investigate the attempted murder of a tap dancer and discover things are not quite as they seem; Ava learns more about her father.

[AnimeMania]

[ams1001]

If she had stuff from Ava's dad, why did she never show them to her until now?  Did she never share anything about him when she was little? (Also, a box in the garage seems like not the best place to store something like that...)

[CeeBeeGee]

I was a little concerned about how quickly they pulled out from that alley into the street--shouldn't you be going more slowly in case there's traffic?

Nice to see the detective warming up to her a bit. I was surprised when the boss swung by with news, that she didn't shut the door to talk privately but of course they had to have the daughter overhear.

The joy the two kids displayed at the reappearance of the car was adorable. And honestly, a rare instance on TV of how not having a car seriously impacts the lives of the working class.

[ams1001]

Well, now we know how old her car actually is. 1970?!

[SouthernChick]

I really like this show. 

[agathapenny]

I continue to really like this show. I'm in for the season.

[dancingdreamer]

I find this hour goes very fast. I really  like Morgan, and detective Karadec is coming  around. I have to say, Morgan's  baby is beautiful.  I also loved the older children being  so pleased,  their car was back. 

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, SouthernChick said:

I really like this show. 

 

2 hours ago, agathapenny said:

I continue to really like this show. I'm in for the season.

Same. I really like the breezy humor and how they balance that with the more emotional moments. 

I love Morgan's kids, they're really funny and sweet (I laughed at her son being like, "Don't eat that" about the breakfast food and her responding with, "Wasn't planning to."). If I didn't know better, I'd swear they actually were her real life kids, that's how good the casting is. I love that they share so many of her personality traits/quirks. And I'm sympathetic to her oldest daughter's struggle to reconcile all this news about her dad - that ending, with the news about the car being found, and Morgan's reaction to that, actually got to me a bit. I'm genuinely intrigued to see where that whole mystery goes. 

Also, the baby is adorable. I loved her reactions when Morgan was trying to decide what outfit to wear to work that day :D. 

Really interesting case this episode. I liked the twist regarding the victim, and the scene at the club, when they discover their intended target, was genuinely heartbreaking. Some good acting among everyone in that moment as they made that discovery. I had a feeling the whole thing with some of the team being asked to work on another case would somehow play a role here, so I liked seeing how they were able to connect those dots as the case went on. 

2 hours ago, CeeBeeGee said:

The joy the two kids displayed at the reappearance of the car was adorable. And honestly, a rare instance on TV of how not having a car seriously impacts the lives of the working class.

Yeah, I really appreciated her "Nobody here rides public transit?" reaction when she drew the bus route on the map. That was a good detail to include. I'm glad Mrogan's got her car back, but I hope the public transit aspect continues to be a thing in some way on this show. I liked the bit at the beginning where she was tlaking to one of the other passengers on the bus about the woman he was seeing. 

[Irlandesa]

I still don't have much use for Kardac, but I like the rest of the show, and I loved seeing Garrett Dillahunt pop up.

The nightclub scene was truly heartbreaking, and I wish he had survived.  I like my victims people I don't know or care about.  (That's awful but it's the way the procedurals work for me.)

I'm impressed by how Morgan managed to get the police to pay her ex to "babysit." 

 

[agathapenny]

26 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

 

Same. I really like the breezy humor and how they balance that with the more emotional moments. 

I love Morgan's kids, they're really funny and sweet... If I didn't know better, I'd swear they actually were her real life kids, that's how good the casting is.

Yes, the casting of the kids is on point. They're both great.

26 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Really interesting case this episode. I liked the twist regarding the victim, and the scene at the club, when they discover their intended target, was genuinely heartbreaking.

I appreciate the amount of effort they're putting in making the cases interesting in and of themselves so far. I want to be intrigued.

And I'm really interested in the case of the missing ex.

I also really appreciate that they haven't just made Morgan's cop partner an antagonistic jerk. I find him interesting, and wouldn't mind seeing more of the two junior detectives either. 

This show is just really solid from top to bottom. Like any show, especially of this type, there are knit picks about it not being realistic, but the thing is — I don't care. I like the characters and I'm entertained. I'm not expecting or wanting a documentary on police work.

[AnimeMania]

I am not seeing why Griff couldn't just borrow a car each night the way Roland did? Can he not drive, does he not have access to the shop late at night, or did he not want to leave the car unattended while he did the robberies. I am not sure why Griff thought Roland had to die, since Roland was just as guilty for the robberies as Griff.

One flaw in the story, since Roland borrowed the cars at night and brought them back, the robberies should have occurred late at night when the jewelry stores were closed, but I think they happened during the day.

Damien didn't look old enough to drive, let alone be a harden criminal needing a second chance in an auto repair shop.

Once they found the phone, it should have been child's play for the police to learn who it belonged to.

Edited September 25 by AnimeMania

[EtheltoTillie]

I really like the scenes with the kids.  The little brother was so proud of his sister's A in artwork.  I like where they are leading with the search for missing husband. 

I thought she might have caught on sooner to how the fellow car guy was involved, but they had to link it to the jewelry heist case.  Which was just some odd coincidence.  So I was down on that plot. 

I'm still in with this show, though.

[Raja]

8 hours ago, agathapenny said:

 

This show is just really solid from top to bottom. Like any show, especially of this type, there are knit picks about it not being realistic, but the thing is — I don't care. I like the characters and I'm entertained. I'm not expecting or wanting a documentary on police work.

I generally like more real when you can do it. With the closed offices in the pilot I was thinking HQ, like 1PP in New York shows but then we get a Dragnet era police station here with the Hill Street Blues intensity going on below the detective squads. But that's okay it's working.

 

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I still don't have much use for Kardac, but I like the rest of the show, and I loved seeing Garrett Dillahunt pop up.

Judging by the network promo he might show up again.

11 hours ago, CeeBeeGee said:

The joy the two kids displayed at the reappearance of the car was adorable. And honestly, a rare instance on TV of how not having a car seriously impacts the lives of the working class.

The age of the car suggest it has more back story attached to it. You would only expect it to be in the hands of the car club types whose hobby is to keep such old technology running.

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I am not seeing why Griff couldn't just borrow a car each night the way Roland did? Can he not drive, does he not have access to the shop late at night, or did he not want to leave the car unattended while he did the robberies. I am not sure why Griff thought Roland had to die, since Roland was just as guilty for the robberies as Griff.

One flaw in the story, since Roland borrowed the cars at night and brought them back, the robberies should have occurred late at night when the jewelry stores were closed, but I think they happened during the day.

Damien didn't look old enough to drive, let alone be a harden criminal needing a second chance in an auto repair shop.

Once they found the phone, it should have been child's play for the police to learn who it belonged to.

I guess for the story Griff had to fear Roland pleading out and turning into a state's witness with a deal.

I figure Damien came out of the juvenile justice system. The garage being a take on Homeboy Industries which has being doing this work since 1988.

The phones and stuff like the paycheck makes me think what might have   come from the original show

[shapeshifter]

Overall, much better. I'm in.
And I f'love French subtitles, so will catch the original too when I have time.

 

12 hours ago, ams1001 said:

If she had stuff from Ava's dad, why did she never show them to her until now?  Did she never share anything about him when she was little? (Also, a box in the garage seems like not the best place to store something like that...)

Ditto, ditto and ditto.
Been there. Done that differently.
But I guess by the time Ava was old enough to be verbal, the odds of finding her father were zilch (especially to Hi-Poten[cy] Mom), so maybe Morgan didn't want to get Ava's hopes up or something? Do we know about Morgan's family background? Often each generation wants to spare the next one from their own disappointments.

 

11 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Well, now we know how old her car actually is. 1970?!

I should've guessed the carburetor bit wasn't a mistake, but still doesn't explain:

On 9/18/2024 at 9:30 AM, ams1001 said:

A car that old would probably be more expensive on maintenance than getting a newer car.

(post from first episode).

The kids' actions and dialog seem more realistic than a lot in the past on cop shows — perhaps a reflection on the effects of the pandemic lockdowns and WFH culture? Except there should be a bit of screaming meemies when they're tired — probably eventually; this is only the second episode.

 

[tvfanatic13]

Love this show. But I also loved So Help Me Todd and we know how that panned out.... I am actually bummed that it is not on next week.

[iMonrey]

This was cute, and an improvement over the pilot. They seem to have dialed down the angsty teen daughter a bit. And possibly eliminated the neighbor. My only nitpick is Morgan's wardrobe. It's a little over the top, police-work wise. I don't expect her to wear suits, I understand this is supposed to be part of her character. But she really sticks out like a sore thumb. I expect someone to mistake her for a hooker at some point.

3 minutes ago, tvfanatic13 said:

Love this show. But I also loved So Help Me Todd and we know how that panned out.... I am actually bummed that it is not on next week.

And I made the same comparison. But I think So Help Me Todd was a little bit more clever and tightly written than this show.

[Raja]

18 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

My only nitpick is Morgan's wardrobe. It's a little over the top, police-work wise. I don't expect her to wear suits, I understand this is supposed to be part of her character. But she really sticks out like a sore thumb. I expect someone to mistake her for a hooker at some point.

I flashed back to New York Undercover where the Hip Hop detectives showed up in similar situations to interview the family of victims.

My nit was the street cops and the robbery Lieutenant knew her as The Cleaning Lady by sight. I guess the entire division was briefed to expect her as she lifted the crime scene tape to let Morgan in.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

My only nitpick is Morgan's wardrobe. It's a little over the top, police-work wise. I don't expect her to wear suits, I understand this is supposed to be part of her character. But she really sticks out like a sore thumb. I expect someone to mistake her for a hooker at some point.

Even the jeans and top she was wearing in the last hospital scene would be better; at least somewhat more professional than a tiny, tight skirt; and more practical, too, if she's crouching down and moving around looking at crime scenes.

[Featherhat]

I'm definitely still in with this. I liked the fact that the first victim wasn't dead and the twist. That scene in the night club was heart breaking as everyone has said. 

Morgan is definitely the glue holding this whole thing together, which isn't surprising. Her partner is okay, I'm glad he's actually trying hard to work with her and support her though the darker moments of the job but the character is pretty flat right now, although there's plenty of time for that to change. 

I still like the Chief but I think that's mostly Judy Reyes. Garrett Dillahunt! Nice surprise to see him and IMDb tells me he's in more so that's good. I guess they needed someone to snark about the "cleaning lady" now that most of homicide is at least semi on board with her. I did like how he was petulantly muttering about her messing up his stuff, I saw a bit of Burt Chance peaking through in his performance which was funny. The other detectives are fine but again have made no real impression. I did not recognise Javicia Leslie until I saw her name in the credits.

Her kids were much better this week, it was sweet how supportive they were of her and each other. I'm not the biggest fan of these on going family angst mysteries that are such a staple of these shows but I'm willing to see where it goes. Ludo was again okay. I liked them much better in stable co parenting mode (hey he's being paid to "babysit" his kids so he's happy) rather than snipping but I guess it won't always stay that way. Henry was fine in the pilot but I didn't miss him.

With her wardrobe it's clearly deliberate that she's wearing completely inappropriate outfits but I wonder if it's more that Morgan knows it's completely inappropriate and does it *because* of that rather than it just being a quirk of who she is? 

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, Featherhat said:

With her wardrobe it's clearly deliberate that she's wearing completely inappropriate outfits but I wonder if it's more that Morgan knows it's completely inappropriate and does it *because* of that rather than it just being a quirk of who she is? 

I also wonder if some of that is her way of trying to make it easier to talk to suspects and victims - if she doesn't look like a stereotypical detective, maybe they'll let their guard down a little more and be more willing to talk. Kind of similar to the way she got the guy's friends to open up and agree to talk to detectives, by explaining how doing so would benefit them and make it easier to focus on the actual suspect(s). 

I appreciated them making a point of putting gloves on at the crime scene, too. Something a lot of crime shows tend to forget to include. 

[iMonrey]

4 hours ago, Featherhat said:

With her wardrobe it's clearly deliberate that she's wearing completely inappropriate outfits but I wonder if it's more that Morgan knows it's completely inappropriate and does it *because* of that rather than it just being a quirk of who she is? 

No, I don't think she's had time to go out and shop for work-specific hookerwear. I think that's just how she normally dresses and doesn't think anything of it. The show just wants her to stick out because they think it's funny. And, I mean, I get it. I don't hate it. But some of it (like the fluffy blue jacket) is just a little too much.

[shapeshifter]

I really like Elsbeth’s quirky wardrobe, and  I still enjoy seeing the quirky flirty wardrobe from The Nanny, but something about Morgan’s seems genuinely off. 
So kudos if that’s what they were going for.

Off to Google the French version’s wardrobe…

[Chit Chat]

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

I really like Elsbeth’s quirky wardrobe, and  I still enjoy seeing the quirky flirty wardrobe from The Nanny, but something about Morgan’s seems genuinely off. 

I think they're trying too hard to make sure that she stands out like a sore thumb for now.  The outfits aren't appropriate for what will be required of the job, i.e. climbing onto roofs and into trunks......

I like the show, but they seem to be imitating Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich.  There's a lot of similarities there.  I don't need a carbon copy of that character.  

Overall, it's a decent show, so I'll stick with it.  

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I really like Elsbeth’s quirky wardrobe, and  I still enjoy seeing the quirky flirty wardrobe from The Nanny, but something about Morgan’s seems genuinely off. 
So kudos if that’s what they were going for.

Off to Google the French version’s wardrobe…

From the Wikipedia article for the French HPI Haut Potentiel Intellectuel:

Quote

 Morgane dresses and acts inappropriately for her new job, 

Here are Morgane, Fran, Elspeth, and Morgan in outfits with animal print motifs:

   

 

I guess Morgane's clothes, like Morgan's, just don't "match" for me.

Edited September 26 by shapeshifter

[possibilities]

I wish Judy Reyes had more to do. 

[Chaser]

The google line made me LOL

The wardrobe is completely ridiculous. I want it to become a running joke for Adam. His dead pan delivery would kill it. 

I like the mystery of the missing Dad but they are kind of ignoring the fact that he should/could be dead right? 

[Raja]

12 minutes ago, Chaser said:

I like the mystery of the missing Dad but they are kind of ignoring the fact that he should/could be dead right? 

I don't think so but on a 15 year cold missing persons case the family now have evidence that they were not abandoned and foul play being involved does give some piece of mind.

[possibilities]

If she filed a missing person's report, you'd think the discovery of the car would carry some weight. Was there no effort to notify the owner of the vehicle that their car was impounded? Wouldn't she receive that notice, since it seems they were living together? Wouldn't there be some kind of cross-referencing between missing persons and vehicles abandoned in parking lots and never claimed?

I'm handwaving it for tv convenience, but it seemed like a really easy thing to discover sooner.

Edited September 26 by possibilities

[Raja]

7 minutes ago, possibilities said:

If she filed a missing person's report, you;d think the discovery of the car would carry some weight. Was there no effort to notify the owner of the vehiocle that their car was impounded? wouldn't she receive that notice, since it seems they were living together? 

I'm handwaving it for tv convenience, but it seemed like a really easy thing to discover sooner.

It seems that unless the show has "missing persons" in its name most TV cops dismiss missing persons and the cases are just an unworked folder in a drawer until a body is found.

[UnknownK]

57 minutes ago, Chaser said:

The google line made me LOL

The wardrobe is completely ridiculous. I want it to become a running joke for Adam. His dead pan delivery would kill it. 

I like the mystery of the missing Dad but they are kind of ignoring the fact that he should/could be dead right? 

Didn't she try on something a little more professional looking and the baby puked up on it, so she went with the mini skirt?

[Chit Chat]

14 minutes ago, UnknownK said:

Didn't she try on something a little more professional looking and the baby puked up on it, so she went with the mini skirt?

She traded a short skirt for an even shorter skirt!  

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

I wish Judy Reyes had more to do.

She just pretty much stands there with that look of "how the eff did we miss that clue?"  I'm hoping they'll make better use of her character and won't keep making the investigators look inept.  Morgan's "abilities" are a little over the top, along with her wardrobe.  :) 

[CeeBeeGee]

Oh! One more note--if she wears such big curlers, how come her hair has barely any wave in it?

[shapeshifter]

37 minutes ago, UnknownK said:

Didn't she try on something a little more professional looking and the baby puked up on it, so she went with the mini skirt?

I don't have screencaps handy, but I recall thinking the outfit the baby puked on was terrible, and the fresh outfit was tolerable.

 

25 minutes ago, CeeBeeGee said:

Oh! One more note--if she wears such big curlers, how come her hair has barely any wave in it?

I missed her having curlers in her hair, but in the 60s I wore big curlers to straighten my hair. Girls born a few years earlier — before big curlers were available — used empty soup cans.

[CeeBeeGee]

18 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I missed her having curlers in her hair, but in the 60s I wore big curlers to straighten my hair. Girls born a few years earlier — before big curlers were available — used empty soup cans.

You know what, I have heard of that. Interesting.

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, Raja said:

The age of the car suggest it has more back story attached to it. You would only expect it to be in the hands of the car club types whose hobby is to keep such old technology running.

I'm from the Northeast but in California there are a lot of classic cars around because there's a big car culture there plus their weather, which is in many ways easier on old cars. So there are more people into them and who have them than some other places. But I would also like to think there's an interesting back story to hers. There's probably an interesting back story to a lot of things about her!

I think she's an interesting character with varied interests. They want to give her interests that aren't run of the mill, and some of those don't seem to fit other aspects of her. I love classic cars and my husband and I have owned them and we're not really die hard hobbyists or even close. It does pay to know people in the car repair biz though, and my husband once worked in automotive service management so he knew where to go to get a good price on work. So maybe she has some kind of history with that business or just knows people that are in it.

As to the concern over how expensive classic old cars are to keep on the road, it's a mixed bag and there are pros and cons. Actually, an Olds Vista Cruiser Wagon like that wouldn't be that expensive - not even as expensive as a new car, maybe half that (in the $15-20,000 range depending on condition), and insurance would be low too. Secondly, older cars are a lot more simple than new cars so there are fewer things that can go wrong with them and more of those things that can are relatively inexpensive to fix. But a repair to a carburetor or a transmission would still be expensive and likely a lot more expensive than on a new car if parts and extensive labor are needed. So it might even itself out. 

22 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Well, now we know how old her car actually is. 1970?!

I think it was described as a 1970 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon. I wish they had allowed us to see more of it - maybe in later episodes.

I have a relationship with that car (at least the 1969 vintage) because it was the car I got driven in a lot when I was in day camp to outdoor events and the bowling alley. I loved sitting in the seats way in the back near the tailgate that faced backwards, LOL!

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

No, I don't think she's had time to go out and shop for work-specific hookerwear. I think that's just how she normally dresses and doesn't think anything of it. The show just wants her to stick out because they think it's funny. And, I mean, I get it. I don't hate it. But some of it (like the fluffy blue jacket) is just a little too much.

I agree. I also think they want to make her a "character". Very intelligent people like that often are. She may actually get less OTT as time goes on.

At times like this I remember the line from "Big Bang Theory" where the dean says "The University prefers to call it quirky" (presumably as opposed to eccentric or strange).

[Featherhat]

8 hours ago, iMonrey said:

No, I don't think she's had time to go out and shop for work-specific hookerwear. I think that's just how she normally dresses and doesn't think anything of it. The show just wants her to stick out because they think it's funny. And, I mean, I get it. I don't hate it. But some of it (like the fluffy blue jacket) is just a little too much.

I agree she didn't have time to go out and shop, I was more thinking she may have deliberately picked the most inappropriate things she already has in her wardrobe to make a point. But I guess it's probably just a "that's who she is" thing. 

 

3 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

She traded a short skirt for an even shorter skirt!  

She just pretty much stands there with that look of "how the eff did we miss that clue?"  I'm hoping they'll make better use of her character and won't keep making the investigators look inept.  Morgan's "abilities" are a little over the top, along with her wardrobe.  :) 

Her abilities are definitely a little over the top but I'm kind of handwaving that right now because it's in line with most other "quirky genius consultant" shows. However I do hope that the police get more to do than google things or wait around until Morgan spots a clue. Shows like Castle and The Mentalist were quite good at showing the secondary characters were good detectives in their own right so I hope they build a similar thing here.  

[txhorns79]

I know the show requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, but for someone who knows so much about so many topics, it's so odd to me that Morgan knows so little about basic police procedure.  For example, last week she didn't realize the problem concerning admissibility that came with stealing that letter from the safe in the dead lawyer's office.  This week she was about to handle evidence without wearing gloves.  These are basic things that could be gleaned from watching any cop show.  I don't expect Morgan to be an expert, but it just struck me that it feels like these are things her character would already know.     

[Raja]

18 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

These are basic things that could be gleaned from watching any cop show. 

People on TV don't watch TV. 😉

On the other hand she said that much of her knowledge came from watching documentaries. I guess true crime is a niche  for those of us who want CSI without an ex stripper backstory attached.

[chaifan]

They need to give Morgan a one-liner like "Oh, I never watch cop shows, can't stand them."  And that will explain the lack of general knowledge as to evidence, police procedure, etc.  And it would make sense because she had a bad experience with the cops with her missing ex.

As far as the missing ex goes, it seems like they just didn't take her missing person report seriously.  They just assumed the guy took off after finding out his girlfriend was pregnant, and didn't look much further, and no one looked in the impound lot or gave that division the ex's name/car info to look out for.  As the girlfriend, she wouldn't be notified of a car in the impound lot, unless her name was on the title.

Morgan's outfit in the last scene (the hospital) was a perfectly normal outfit - jeans, seemingly normal top.  Who knows what shoes she was wearing...  I just don't think the wardrobe choices add anything to the character. 

And just for the record, I also thought they went OTT with Elsbeth's wardrobe in that show.  Most times if she just took off 1-2 items it would have been quirky vs. insane (but rich) woman who can't dress herself.

I like that Morgan has explanations for why she knows such weird stuff.  Watches documentaries, took her kids to the wild west park, etc.  That makes her more tolerable to me. 

So far, I'm still liking it.  Good cast, but I agree they need to give the Chief more screen time. 

[Featherhat]

38 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I know the show requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, but for someone who knows so much about so many topics, it's so odd to me that Morgan knows so little about basic police procedure.  For example, last week she didn't realize the problem concerning admissibility that came with stealing that letter from the safe in the dead lawyer's office.  This week she was about to handle evidence without wearing gloves.  These are basic things that could be gleaned from watching any cop show.  I don't expect Morgan to be an expert, but it just struck me that it feels like these are things her character would already know.     

I saw the "hey, Morgan, gloves!" thing as 1) showing that Karadec is competent and has something to offer in areas Morgan either doesn't know or doesn't care about (procedure) and maybe a nod to the many, many shows there even police characters will pick up or in some cases even lick evidence without gloves. Lets see if it continues.  

[iMonrey]

12 hours ago, possibilities said:

I'm handwaving it for tv convenience, but it seemed like a really easy thing to discover sooner.

Yeah, the problem with the missing dad story is that she's supposed to be this super genius who can solve all these crimes, but at the same time she was apparently unable to find out what happened to her kid's father. Even to the extent that she never knew his car had been found. I mean, how hard did she look?

1 hour ago, txhorns79 said:

I know the show requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, but for someone who knows so much about so many topics, it's so odd to me that Morgan knows so little about basic police procedure.

That's another problem. Like I said about the pilot, the show is kind of clunky. It revolves around a gimmick that doesn't make sense a lot of the time. If you have to do this much hand-waving, it's not being very well written. Either that or the premise just kind of doesn't work very well.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

They just assumed the guy took off after finding out his girlfriend was pregnant,

Actually, they already had a baby when he disappeared — which can also be a reason a guy doesn't come back.

 

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

she wouldn't be notified of a car in the impound lot, unless her name was on the title.

And it seems they weren't married either, which might have contributed to the lack of follow up?

[UnknownK]

5 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I know the show requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, but for someone who knows so much about so many topics, it's so odd to me that Morgan knows so little about basic police procedure.  For example, last week she didn't realize the problem concerning admissibility that came with stealing that letter from the safe in the dead lawyer's office.  This week she was about to handle evidence without wearing gloves.  These are basic things that could be gleaned from watching any cop show.  I don't expect Morgan to be an expert, but it just struck me that it feels like these are things her character would already know.     

She has ADD about figuring things out, not so much about putting bad guys away. Watching most cop shows would probably give you bad ideas of what is allowed.

[Featherhat]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Actually, they already had a baby when he disappeared — which can also be a reason a guy doesn't come back.

Yeah, even the Captain who knows and likes Morgan and is inclined to be sympathetic to her outright says "going to the store for milk and never coming back is a cliché for a reason." 

I can imagine the police took one look at Morgan and her 16 years younger self overwhelmed with worry, screaming baby with her and just when "yep, baby Daddy ran away, don't blame him!"

[possibilities]

I guess I was thinking that if she and the boyfriend/dad of kids lived together (which it seemed they did), that when the notice about the car being impounded arrived in the mailbox, she would open it along with all the other missing partner's mail, and that would be how she'd discover the car had been found. It wouldn't take the police to cross-reference, and it wouldn't need to be addressed to her specifically.

[txhorns79]

3 hours ago, Featherhat said:

I can imagine the police took one look at Morgan and her 16 years younger self overwhelmed with worry, screaming baby with her and just when "yep, baby Daddy ran away, don't blame him!"

I don't know.  I feel like finding his car abandoned should have at least raised some kind of red flag for the investigator.  After all, if he was just breaking things off with his girlfriend, why would he abandon his car?   

[Annber03]

I've watched a lot of true crime shows, and there are some police who just...do not put much, if any, effort into missing person cases. Or they do as much as they can, but the trail goes cold or they hit a wall with whatever little evidence they do have, and there's not much more they can do beyond that without a body or other evidence a crime was committed. The general refrain I hear on a lot of true crime shows is that if someone's an adult, they are allowed to just up and leave if they so wish, so I could perhaps see the police thinking along those lines here.

But yeah. That's what I'm thinking here - either the police didn't put in much of a search effort back in the day or they could only go so far with what they had and the case just went cold as a result. 

Or, maybe we'll find out somebody actively put a stop to the investigation for some reason, to keep the cops from getting too close. 

(Tehre's also the fact that we are talking about the LAPD here, and they don't exactly have the most sterling record when it comes to how they do things in the real world. I don't know that they'll touch on that aspect all that deeply on a fictional crime show, mind, but if this were a real life case that the LAPD was sitting on for years, I wouldn't be all that surprised to find out they hadn't done much with it.) 

Edited September 26 by Annber03

[Raja]

37 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

(Tehre's also the fact that we are talking about the LAPD here, and they don't exactly have the most sterling record when it comes to how they do things in the real world. I don't know that they'll touch on that aspect all that deeply on a fictional crime show, mind, but if this were a real life case that the LAPD was sitting on for years, I wouldn't be all that surprised to find out they hadn't done much with it.) 

I do believe the missing father storyline comes directly from the French original. So far the LAPD stuff isn't Southland or even the first season of The Rookie but generic US police station

[possibilities]

He would still be liable for child support, even if he wanted to skip out on his girlfriend.