S08.E11: AMBER

[Danielg342]

From The Futon Critic:

Quote

20-Squad races to find a missing child who was abducted from her front yard. Also, Hicks is faced with a difficult decision concerning Gamble

 

[Danielg342]

So the show promotes Gamble to the main cast only to start a storyline where she'll potentially miss time because of an investigation that will only resolve once we know the show's fate for S9.

Well...I guess it makes sense.

I still feel Annie Illonzeh is getting the short end of the stick here. The show has crafted a storyline that leaves the character and the actress little to actually do...she's just a spectator in her own story.

I get it...the show wanted her and her family to be some kind of albatross, but I think making them a detriment was the wrong move.

They should have been allies. Maybe reluctant ones, but they should have been allies.

The narrative potential would have been far more substantial with Devin Gamble having her family as quasi criminal informants. It could have been a nice redemption storyline for not just Gamble but also her family as well.

Plus, more importantly, it would have given Gamble something tangible to do.

Of course, it's not like the show is any good when it actually does give its female characters something to do, because, in those cases, the women acted in the wrong.

Zoe Powell's instincts may have led 20-Squad to the child's abductor, but she also got them into legal trouble and she was horrible in her fight against the owner of the farm, where only luck saved her.

I could further complain that the show glossed over the fact that Powell entering the one perp's house without a warrant is a serious violation and should have benched Powell for the episode, but that kind of mistake is not unique to the program.

Neither was Powell's situation unique to the other women who did things in the episode.

The Deputy Chief was oozing villain vibes and was clearly painted as a vindictive, opportunistic bureaucrat who was merely couching protocol to hide the fact she's merely engaging in a personal vendetta against Hicks.

Then there was Annie...who played all her beats well but later regretted playing any of them and sounded like that usual submissive housewife she usually comes across when she deals with Deacon, who seemed so incensed that Annie would dare do her own job in this situation.

(Oh, and remind me how Annie taking a case Deacon is working on is somehow not a conflict of interest and a violation of procedure and protocol? For an episode that was so much about procedure and protocol, that's a massive oversight, and all for what? A stupid "moment" at the end for Deacon and Annie?)

Lastly...the child as the centre of the case.

I won't spare a lot of ink (pixels?) ranting about how horrible Hollywood is with child cases, because Hollywood writers and producers are always too chicken to do anything with child abduction cases except to have quick resolutions with the child rescued and unharmed in the end.

Yeah...I get it...there are probably too many people in the audience who would be too unsettled with any kind of story that puts a child in harm's way, so Hollywood almost has to write its child abduction stories the way they do.

Still, it wouldn't hurt Hollywood to mix up the story every now and then, including embracing the dark side of these stories when they're appropriate.

Like in this episode.

It was already a pretty heavy episode with a bit of a dour tone cast upon it with Gamble's investigation hanging over it's head. We also had a pretty big subplot with Tan struggling to come to grips with a case of a missing child he couldn't solve.

So why not throw a curve in this episode? There are a few reasons why this would have worked.

One, this show is too "sunny", where the good guys can do no wrong and the villains never get away with their actions. While in early episodes it was great to establish this tone, we're far enough along in the series that its tone won't get compromised by having different kinds of episodes every now and then.

Two, having the team screw up would add more dimensions and more stakes to the Deputy Chief's upcoming storyline about evaluating the team. If the show is going to commit to a "team faces adversity" storyline, then really lean into it, don't make it a footnote with a one-dimensional villain.

Three, as much as I felt Powell was weirdly too emotionally invested in this little girl's case, if the team failed to save the girl, then it would have tied in much better with Tan's own grief about his unsolved case. Powell- and we, the audience- would have a better sense of what Tan is going through when we see a similar situation play out ourselves, instead of it being some kind of abstract concept.

Further to this point, ever since Powell has been introduced they've tried to make her some kind of maverick and they flirt with giving her trouble because of it...but they never really make her feel the consequences of her actions. If the team couldn't save the girl because Powell broke protocol by invading the perp's house, then Powell's flaw really does become one.

No Miko in this episode, so the casting "musical chairs" continues. Though I really don't think he missed much of an episode tonight.

[Snazzy Daisy]

Annoying Annie is back! UGH. 😒

The COTW feels shallow — good premise but without depths. Gracie’s mom should’ve learned a lesson by now not to take her eyes off her daughter ever again.

Love the pool stunt by Tan. With “reckless” Jim Street gone, OTT stunt becomes a rare occasion.

The SWAT writers ruined Chris Alonso’s character by turning her into a whiny b!tch. But they seem to love Powell — she’s rarely MIA, she’s making bad calls without consequences and she gets to play hero various times because she has good instincts. 🙄

Now the writers are turning Gamble into a disgruntled person. Her latest storyline is a load of bollocks. Gamble keeps paying the price as she cannot choose her family.

Rocker will be back next week in “Deep Cover”. Yay!!! 😘

[sweetandsour]

I couldn't believe it when they said anything in front of Annie after she gave them the Heisman as hard as she could for her client!!!

They all stepped out in the hall and Hicks, Merrin Dungey, and Deacon were openly talking about "we'll keep watching him, he'll lead us to the girl" in front of his defense attorney!!!  What!  Why.  Very weird writing.  Even if Annie wasn't the public defender - just regular Annie, Deacon's wife - why would you talk about how you're going to keep going after a suspect in front of her like, yeah she belongs in this conversation, she should hear this.

Miko is going to come back from Vegas after getting drunkenly married to Annie's sister.  No, not really.  Deacon is right - Nicole will dump him the second it suits her.  Maybe after she releases this book she's writing and uses him to promote her self-published work on social media.