S02.E11: Shades of Gray

[AnimeMania]

While tracking the son of a prominent New Jersey cupcake chain founder, Colter gets thrust into the middle of a violent mafia war.

Premiere Date: March 2, 2025    CBS     8pm

Chris Lee as Randy

Amy Pietz as Ivy Hale

J.J. Soria as Vargas

Richard De Klerk as Pete

Reilly Dolman as Casey Hale

Michael Rady as Elliot

[LexieLily]

Two episodes in a row without Bobby. I hope that's not a continuing trait. 

Reenie's lawyer boyfriend and/or her new client are going to drag her into something shady, aren't they?

[ahrtee]

I have to admit, I was doing something else and forgot to watch until the last 20 minutes or so.  So....finally remembering (and finding my remote for the local channel) I turned it on...and non stop commercials.  Literally.  I finally went into the other room and listened for the commercials to stop, but every time there was a pause and I went back into see if the show was resuming--another commercial.

Was there actually any show?  There's only about 6 minutes left of the episode and still no show, so I just gave up and turned it off.  

Honestly, between the disappointing stories the last few eps and the disappearing amount of time the show is actually on, I'm thinking maybe I should just give it up.  

Edited March 3 by ahrtee

[PokerDot]

So Colter is 25 feet away from a guy and shoots him in the hand, which is extended and holding a gun, just like the Lone Ranger. Yet, when the guy is prone and 6 feet away and reaching for a knife, Colter shoots the guy dead.

Why?

[preeya]

2 hours ago, PokerDot said:

So Colter is 25 feet away from a guy and shoots him in the hand, which is extended and holding a gun, just like the Lone Ranger. Yet, when the guy is prone and 6 feet away and reaching for a knife, Colter shoots the guy dead.

Why?

It seems that they need multiple kills every episode.

This was a really poor episode.

2 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Reenie's lawyer boyfriend and/or her new client are going to drag her into something shady, aren't they?

Very likely, as he usually plays a bad guy. When I first saw him this episode I thought he'd be involved somehow.

On another thought. How did Renee and her "boyfriend" get to NJ so quickly?

[possibilities]

This is definitely a different show than it was before the hiatus. 

Urban vs rural. 

Night vs day.

No Bobby, very reduced roles for all 3 women who were on his team (and one is totally gone).

No more family backstory.

No shirtless Justin.

Much less sympathetic clients.

 

Edited Monday at 05:17 AM by possibilities

[surfgirl]

This shit blows. Do they even remember there was a story about Colters father? WTAF?!?

Edited Monday at 07:21 PM by surfgirl

[LexieLily]

 

1 hour ago, preeya said:

3 hours ago, PokerDot said:

So Colter is 25 feet away from a guy and shoots him in the hand, which is extended and holding a gun, just like the Lone Ranger. Yet, when the guy is prone and 6 feet away and reaching for a knife, Colter shoots the guy dead.

It seems that they need multiple kills every episode.

The way his body jerked I assumed he was somehow electrocuted when he hit the train tracks. But I'm not sure how that would have happened, exactly...

Edited Monday at 06:34 AM by LexieLily

[Dowel Jones]

What kind of a dumbass crime boss goes into a deserted train terminal with a bag full of cash and no backup?  And if this terminal is deserted, why are there lights on and high voltage electricity connected to the rail lines?  No liability there, nuh uh.

Laugh out loud moment when Colter shoots Casey in the hand in a darkened room.

[TheCathedral]

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

 

The way his body jerked I assumed he was somehow electrocuted when he hit the train tracks. But I'm not sure how that would have happened, exactly...

That's what I assumed, I wasn't really paying attention but it kinda looked like he committed suicide? I don't even remember Colter shooting him again, the first shot was awesome, I could be wrong but there's no way I'm watching that again.

I agree with you guys, it doesn't feel like the same show, it used to be great scenery, interesting plots and a really long GMC ad but now it's darker and forgettable, as much as I like Justin idk if I'm gonna stick around much longer.

It feels too violent for a CBS show, the tooth scene wasn't necessary at all imo, I don't mind violent tv shows I just don't like gratuitous violence. We're already getting unnecessary casualties in every episode, Colter would be famous IRL

So Colter will donate the 50 g's because he doesn't know if the money is clean? it sounds silly, he should keep the money and work a few pro bono cases if he cares that much.

[possibilities]

I think the death on the tracks was supposedly because the knife was conducting the live energy off the rail and into the guy's hand. But it doesn't make sense that it was live, since the station was supposedly abandoned.

I am not sure how much longer I will keep watching, either. 

[PokerDot]

9 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

What kind of a dumbass crime boss goes into a deserted train terminal with a bag full of cash and no backup? 

And holding a gun in her free hand, visible to whomever was receiving the money!

[PokerDot]

10 hours ago, LexieLily said:

The way his body jerked I assumed he was somehow electrocuted when he hit the train tracks. But I'm not sure how that would have happened, exactly...

You're right. There was electricity on the track, just as there was electricity in that lighted abandoned station.

It seems that this show can't decide who its target audience is. 

[Dowel Jones]

Any guesses what the two gangs were trading in?  Drugs?  Conflict diamonds?  Black market eggs?  OMG!

[Snazzy Daisy]

This episode needs Russell Shaw.

Reenie is back but there’s no Velma and still no Bobby. What’s the possibility of a MIA Bobby being part of incoming storyline?

Hey Reenie, I know he’s your boyfriend but you need to filter all requests coming from Elliot, moving forward. 👌🏻

This is the second time (in a week) I see Amy Pietz playing a mother in distress, worrying about her son. She’s also very intense in Hulu’s Paradise.

Geez, I wonder where Colter parks his Airstream in NYC… 🤔

[peeayebee]

14 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Any guesses what the two gangs were trading in?  Drugs?  Conflict diamonds?  Black market eggs?  OMG!

Eggs. For Ivy's bakeries.

I first thought the guy had committed suicide by putting his knife on the track. I thought he must have done it because he would rather die than give up any information. But that's stupid, and after reading posts here, I agree that Colter shot him, not necessarily fatally, and the guy's knife touched the rail, electrocuting him to death. Boy that's convoluted. 

I'm also in the camp that is suspicious of Reenie's boyfriend. I thought he was going to be involved in this rival gang case, and maybe he was. Anyway, given the actor, I'm sure he's a bad guy.

I agree that the tooth-pulling scene was gratuitous. They could have just punched him in the face if they wanted to send a threatening photo. There certainly is a lot more ugly violence in this show.

[ahrtee]

Sounds like I'm glad I missed this ep.  This forum can serve as a guide to "worth watching or not."  Thanks, everyone! 😊

[AnimeMania]

8 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I first thought the guy had committed suicide by putting his knife on the track. I thought he must have done it because he would rather die than give up any information. But that's stupid, and after reading posts here, I agree that Colter shot him, not necessarily fatally, and the guy's knife touched the rail, electrocuting him to death. Boy that's convoluted. 

Colter didn't shoot the guy a second time, his knife was laying on the third rail, which is electrified. When he grabbed the knife, he was electrocuted, Colter told him not to grab it.

[Linderhill]

Of course an episode takes place in New Jersey and it has to deal with the mob.  Sorry, New Jersey has a large population that is no way associated with the mob.  As a New Jersey native it gets to be a bit old after a while.  There is so much more to the state that Colter could have tracked someone thru.

[proserpina65]

On 3/2/2025 at 9:57 PM, PokerDot said:

Yet, when the guy is prone and 6 feet away and reaching for a knife, Colter shoots the guy dead.

Colter didn't shoot him again.  The guy accidentally electrocuted himself.

On 3/3/2025 at 1:34 AM, LexieLily said:

The way his body jerked I assumed he was somehow electrocuted when he hit the train tracks. But I'm not sure how that would have happened, exactly...

He touched the knife which had fallen on the electrified third rail.

On 3/4/2025 at 8:27 AM, peeayebee said:

I agree that the tooth-pulling scene was gratuitous. They could have just punched him in the face if they wanted to send a threatening photo.

They needed a body part to send to the mother.  At least it wasn't a finger.  I mean, teeth can be replaced.

I didn't mind this episode so much because at least I didn't figure it all out 10 minutes in.  Although I'd like it if they'd throw in at least an occasional ep where it's just a hiker lost in the woods or something natural rather than criminal.  Or maybe someone kidnapped in the Pine Barrens by the Jersey Devil?  (Oops, that was the X-Files.)

I didn't miss Velma at all.  For me she brings nothing to the show.  And while I do like Bobby's cousin, I hope Bobby is only gone for a few episodes.

Edited Thursday at 05:25 PM by proserpina65

[peeayebee]

55 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

They needed a body part to send to the mother.  At least it wasn't a finger.  I mean, teeth can be replaced.

I missed that. However, sending someone a tooth doesn't seem all that threatening or scary. Not that I'd want them to cut off his finger. I still think it would have been effective to punch the guy's face bloody and send the mom a pic.

Quote

I didn't miss Velma at all.  For me she brings nothing to the show.

I'm not a fan either. I liked Teddi because of Robin Weigert, but like you said, Velma doesn't bring much to the show. 

[possibilities]

Velma would bring more to the show if they wrote her anything to do.

I think I liked the show more as a tracking show rather than a detective show. Right now he really isn't doing anything different than any other investigator, by talking to people, looking for clues at crime scenes, and chasing people. He used to do some of that but also be looking in the wilderness, not in the same settings every other crime show uses.

And I agree it would be improved by having him actually not always be involved in criminal situations. I suppose they think that there are not that many ways to write a non-criminal story about someone who got lost on the woods. But I can think of a few different ways-- kid wanders off, hiker gets injured, campers get lost, person with dementia disappears.

There was also a suggestion that he would try to find a stolen car-- but he didn't take the case because there was another one involving a missing human. I think there are a lot of ways to change things up, but the show seems to be steeering hard into the "dark, corrupt, crimnal underworld" approach.

I don't think the crime stories are that varied, either. They all follow the same basic frame. So making some of them about crime and others about not-crime, I think would bring more variety, not less.

[ahrtee]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

Velma would bring more to the show if they wrote her anything to do.

I think I liked the show more as a tracking show rather than a detective show. Right now he really isn't doing anything different than any other investigator, by talking to people, looking for clues at crime scenes, and chasing people. He used to do some of that but also be looking in the wilderness, not in the same settings every other crime show uses.

And I agree it would be improved by having him actually not always be involved in criminal situations. I suppose they think that there are not that many ways to write a non-criminal story about someone who got lost on the woods. But I can think of a few different ways-- kid wanders off, hiker gets injured, campers get lost, person with dementia disappears.

There was also a suggestion that he would try to find a stolen car-- but he didn't take the case because there was another one involving a missing human. I think there are a lot of ways to change things up, but the show seems to be steeering hard into the "dark, corrupt, crimnal underworld" approach.

I don't think the crime stories are that varied, either. They all follow the same basic frame. So making some of them about crime and others about not-crime, I think would bring more variety, not less.

Probably the problem with non-crime stories is the reward angle.  How many people have $50,000 or so to find a loved one lost in the woods? Not to mention the time lag between them disappearing and the family advertising and finding Colter (apparently after search & rescue and other, more standard ways have given up).  

[possibilities]

I dunno-- how many people have the kind of money he's been offered to find anyone? Whether they were lost in the wilderness or abducted, people generally don't have the cash. That part has always seemed very contrived, to me.

 

[TheCathedral]

10 hours ago, possibilities said:

I think I liked the show more as a tracking show rather than a detective show. Right now he really isn't doing anything different than any other investigator, by talking to people, looking for clues at crime scenes, and chasing people. He used to do some of that but also be looking in the wilderness, not in the same settings every other crime show uses.

 

I agree wholeheartedly, the show is much better when he's actually using his tracking skills like he did in the episode with the biker gang. The most frustrating thing to me is that the show has potential to be really good but for some reason it's turning into just another detective show like you said. Some low stakes cases would be ideal but even the episodes with lost animals had some evil villains so Idk if we're ever getting light episodes. Colter solving every single case is also a problem imo, there's never any doubt that he's going to save the day, the only episode I remember Colter not finding the missing person alive was one of the early ones but he found the body and solved the mystery, that was a good episode!

On 3/4/2025 at 9:35 AM, ahrtee said:

Sounds like I'm glad I missed this ep.  This forum can serve as a guide to "worth watching or not."  Thanks, everyone! 😊

Sometimes I'm afraid of sounding like a jerk while criticizing the show lol I wanna love the show but it's getting harder and harder