S02.E23: Born Into Bad News

[WendyCR72]

In the Season 2 finale, Cdr. Perry asks Voight and the team to rescue his cop-nephew from a corrupt squad of officers that robs drug dealers. In other events, Lindsay struggles to maintain her sobriety; and a woman from Olinsky's past contacts him.

[Chas411]

The episode aired yesterday in Canada for some reason. I'll put it in spoiler tags until tomorrow.

Predictable yet heartbreaking ending for Erin. Sophia Bush is acting her socks off in this role. Erin is such an understated character that I never imagined she'd unravel so quickly. Watching Bunny take advantage is awful and although I'm fully expecting Erin to go back to Intelligence by the premiere it's going to be long summer waiting to see that storyline resolved. I hate how it was left with her still in such a dark place.

I'm assuming Burgess will fill Erin's spot in Intelligence while she's gone. I don't know or really care about her Intelligence career. I also hated Ruzek's proposal and felt it came out of nowhere. I do enjoy them together when they actually get screentime but I feel like he's kind of flighty and I'm still waiting for that relationship to hit a bump.

Happy to see Atwater back in Intelligence. Now if they'd give him a storyline it'd be even better.

So the men are buying a gym.. I wonder if that's going to be the new communal hang out for the cast of Med, Fire and PD now along with Molly's obviously.

]Olinsky having a secret random daughter is a horrible development in my opinion and a storyline similar was already done on Fire just a weeks ago. It was equally random.

The guy playing the main bad guy was awesome. Who is he? I don't think i've ever seen him before.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Chas411

[Xantar]

I must have missed something. Why is Burgess back on patrol again? I don't really care one way or another since I like the actress and her storylines are generally not annoying. It just came out of left field for me. I also don't really care about Ruzek's proposal to her, but it also doesn't bother me. They're likable enough, but I find Erin and Olinsky far more interesting.

 

Except when Olinsky is dealing with an unknown daughter plotline. Seriously? I know Elias Koteas will act the hell out of it, but I just don't care.

 

Erin's spiral is heartbreaking and sadly predictable. She has no self-esteem right now, so she doesn't have it in her to pull away from her mother. And Voight recognized that there's nothing he can do about it.

[sheetmoss]

I must have missed something. Why is Burgess back on patrol again? I don't really care one way or another since I like the actress and her storylines are generally not annoying. It just came out of left field for me. I also don't really care about Ruzek's proposal to her, but it also doesn't bother me. They're likable enough, but I find Erin and Olinsky far more interesting.

Atwater saved Erin, so he regained his old position in intelligence,

Edited May 21, 2015 by sheetmoss

[LittleIggy]

Special snowflake Erin can drown in her pity party for all I care. I hated that the Commander got killed because that actor played Bunny Colvin on "The Wire." Hamsterdam!

I knew Voight would be handing Antonio a bag full of cash for that gym. Is it near Molly's? ;-)

Edited May 21, 2015 by LittleIggy

[Samantha84]

Watching Erin go through these dark days has been rough but goodness Sophia Bush slayed and did it just and made it so, painfully, real/realistic.

Wonderful, post finale, insightful interview w. Sophia Bush re: Erin. What she said about Erin and Bunny? WoW and yep! 

In this place where she's consumed with this self-loathing, there's nobody that makes Lindsay feel worse about herself than her mom.

 

When I envision Bunny being a physical personification of a razorblade for Lindsay and her just going to town on her heart, that’s what makes it all make sense to me.

 

 

 

Burgess being in Intelligence was temporary as the investigation into the prisoner's suicide was bring investigated. 

[Mars477]

How is Lindsay a "special snowflake" anyways?  She's a reasonably competent female in the shape of Sophia Bush, but she's not egregiously sexy/kickass and she's treated too much as just one of the boys to really qualify.  She's also not always right and she's allowed to fail (and fail hard), which are characteristics of balanced characters, not "special snowflakes".

[scarynikki12]

I like Burgess and Ruzek individually but have always found their relationship to be so shallow.  I find her relationships with Roman and Atwater, and his with the rest of Intelligence, to be far better developed and interesting.  As a result, I felt nothing when they got engaged.  Not a single emotion outside of wanting to get back to everyone else.  If this is a relationship that I'm supposed to be rooting for then I need there to be development starting next season.  I want to be happy for the characters during these big life events but I can't with them.  I hope that my feelings will have changed if they do end up getting married.

 

I did understand Burgess' disappointment at getting bumped back to patrol but I've always felt that she's a better fit there anyway so I was happy to see it.

 

I liked the subplot of Dawson and the guys keeping that gym open and I think it has great potential for the smaller character moments this show has done so well. 

 

I really felt for Erin.  Bush has done a great job of showing Erin letting her grief completely take over and become self destruction.  I think her assessment of the character's mentality is spot on.  Bunny would rather be Erin's friend than her parent.  She sees Erin's grief and encourages her to give into it.  She serves her drinks, she calls the old hook up, and she takes a framed photo of Erin and Nadia by the precinct.  At no point does she ever show actual concern for Erin or make an effort to get her help because Bunny is smart enough to know that she has no power over an emotionally healthy Erin.  Erin being in such a bad place makes Bunny happy, especially since it lets her feel superior to Voigt.  I'm really interested to see what Bunny will do when Erin starts putting herself back together.  I feel like she's going to do something crazy in her attempts to keep Erin in this bad place and I think it's going to be great television.

[Happy Harpy]

They really used all of Hank's shades of grey in this season finale, for the best. No one but someone with his reputation could have tackled the asshole in the bar. I'm usually all for good guys and heroes but I do love Voight. 

 

Voight and Erin is definitely my favorite relationship. Loved when they played bad cop/bad cop routine. The last scene at the bar was so heartbreaking. Bunny and Voight make great foes.

Kudos to Markie Post, she's excellent in the role of the human equivalent of a toilet brush. Great cast, and I 100% buy her as Sophia Bush's mother (if she had Erin as a teenager). 

 

Nevertheless, I still do not like that Nadia was killed in order to make Erin spiral.

 

Tell me that the gym means we're going to see more Antonio? Pretty please? 

Edit: does it mean regular shirtless-ness, too?

 

Loved the Ruzek/Burgess proposal, yeah! I, for one, am glad that they didn't go for a big romantic cliché gesture. It fit them, I think. Of course, I'd have liked to see  a scene or two foreshadowing that, but there were other things to promote, I guess. I'm sure they will have bumps in the road, but if their relationship escape the faux-angst and other artificial drama, never forgetting that those two people were friends and respected each other before they fell in love, I'll be a very happy camper. 

 

I don't know what to think about Olinsky's daughter. Teenager with an attitude = me not like. Plus, the child in jail thingy was already done with Hank's son. OTOH, at least Olinsky will have a storyline next season.

Edit: Maybe he and Hank will commiserate about their daughters...OK, this I would like to see.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Happy Harpy

[LittleIggy]

Special snowflakes get to quit to become a member of a special task force (Feds?) then get to quit that after 2 weeks and get their old job back. Just like she'll get her job back next season.

[betsyboo]

The guy playing the main bad guy was awesome. Who is he? I don't think i've ever seen him before.

His name is Jeremy Davidson. I recognized him from last summer's Royal Pains, where he played a mob guy in town for several episodes. A cursory review of IMDB states he was also a regular on Army Wives.  He's def a member of HITG - SVU, L&O original flavor, NYPD Blue, Ally McBeal, TGW, POI etc.

 

Did we discuss last week that Landon is played by John Belushi's son? Some of his mannerisms are telling.

 

I'm heartbroken for Erin. She might as well have been wearing a sandwich board: "I am going to follow my mother's path because I don't deserve anything else." Oh that Bunny is evil. A little redemption arc for Voight, yes? I watch CF too, but have already forgotten that storyline and have to struggle to remember to hate him.

 

I'm over Ruzek and Burgess. Now she DEF can't go back to Intelligence, yes, because they're openly engaged???

 

Unrelated, I need a follow up to Platt's relationship with that little girl who looked like Quvenzhané Wallis.

[Samantha84]

Special snowflakes get to quit to become a member of a special task force (Feds?)

 

Moving up in the ranks is not a bad thing; not at all. Actually it was a compliment to her and her skills and work ethic. 

 

Just like she'll get her job back next season.

 

Sophia Bush isn't leaving the show, so yes, Lindsay will be back in Intelligence. The point, in my opinion, is how her healing gets her in a place to be back there. 

[Xantar]

They really used all of Hank's shades of grey in this season finale, for the best. No one but someone with his reputation could have tackled the asshole in the bar. I'm usually all for good guys and heroes but I do love Voight. 

 

Hank is fascinating to me because in the real world he'd be a horrible cop and I would never want him on the police force. Anybody who did that much torture would inevitably end up torturing somebody who didn't deserve it and had nothing to give him. And police corruption is still corruption even if he thinks it's for a good cause like keeping a gym open. 

 

But all the same, on this show I can't help rooting for Voight anyway. It's not even because the show makes him awesome and kickass because he isn't really. He seems to be aware that he's treading a very fine line, and there's just enough principle there to separate him from the criminals.

 

Special snowflakes get to quit to become a member of a special task force (Feds?) then get to quit that after 2 weeks and get their old job back. Just like she'll get her job back next season.

 

I don't see anything special snowflake about that. She left her job to join another one and it didn't work out. She asked Voight if her job on Intelligence was still open, and it was. So she came back. Nobody broke any rules, and it's not an unheard of occurrence in real life. And while you're right that she'll get her job back next season, I don't see anything really untoward about that either. It's not like she egregiously broke the law or got somebody innocent killed. She'll take a leave of absence and then she'll come back. It happens.

 

It's interesting that you don't mention the one thing that is arguably special snowflake about her in this episode which is that Voight pulls strings in order to explain the presence of drugs in her urine test. So basically she's being allowed to skirt around an investigation into an officer-involved shooting. But then again, it's clear that Voight would do the same thing for anybody in the squad, not just Erin (in fact, he pulled some similar stuff to protect Antonio not too long ago).

[LittleIggy]

Special snowflakes get to quit to become a member of a special task force (Feds?)

Moving up in the ranks is not a bad thing; not at all. Actually it was a compliment to her and her skills and work ethic.

That quote is taken out of context. I didn't say moving up was bad. Read the whole quote-- she takes one job, stays at it for a couple of weeks, then quits and gets her old job back. That isn't realistic.
The reason Erin got her job back is that Burgess had conveniently turned it down.
You have your opinion about Erin. I have mine which hasn't changed.

[Samantha84]

The reason Erin got her job back is that Burgess had conveniently turned it down.

 

In my opinion . . . Lindsay would have gotten her job back whether Burgess stayed or not. 

[LittleIggy]

In my opinion . . . Lindsay would have gotten her job back whether Burgess stayed or not.

Well, yeah, because of her snowflake status!

[Mars477]

Well, yeah, because of her snowflake status!

Or, well, she's pretty good at her job and already has formed a tight knit rapport with the other members of the team.  Burgess is not qualified (I don't know if she can go an in-universe month without fucking up somehow as a patrol officer) and she has shown that she is in a relationship with a colleague that can directly hamper the unit's operational effectiveness, and bringing in an outsider would result in difficulties that can be avoided by slotting Erin back where she left.

 

Ruzek's the real snowflake: the prodigy recruited right out of the police academy who fits into an elite squad like a natural.  God I hate him.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Mars477

[Samantha84]

Well, yeah, because of her snowflake status!

 

You are free to repeatedly call that character that but I like to think b/c Lindsay is good at her job and is a valuable part of the Intelligence unit. 

[torqy]

Sophia Bush has knocked it outta the park portraying Erin's crash and burn. Markie Post is pretty good too as the Totally!Fucked!Up! mom (anyone else remember Markie as a cute young actress?)

 

Erin Lindsay herself must be worn out from dragging around all the angst, baggage and drama. Reminds me of a former coworker whom we gave call letters KDRM becuz she broadcast All Drama All The Time.

[betsyboo]

....... call letters KDRM becuz she broadcast All Drama All The Time.

Am adopting immediately!

[Samantha84]

Sophia Bush named MVP for the finale by EW.com

[Chas411]

That link isn't working for me. Could you please repost?

[Samantha84]

That link isn't working for me. Could you please repost?

Sure . . . MVP Performance: Sophia Bush

 

Anyone else think that Bunny's talk w. Lindsay was where she got the whole "born into bad news" from? I feel like Bunny would put her daughter down and make her feel worse about herself in order to get to do what she wants. Would normal, self confident, non-grieving Erin listen to her? Not really but vulnerable, grieving Erin would.  Just like Hank told Bunny, she's sick. She wants Erin in a bad place b/c it's easier to persuade her into doing what she wants. When Erin is thinking w. a clear head and in a better place? The best thing she can do is remove Bunny from her life altogether. Sure Hank told Bunny to stay away from Erin but I think Erin needs to be the one to tell her that and show her that. 

I thought that no matter what [drinking, drugs etc.] that Bunny truly loved her daughter but I don't believe she's capable of that kinda love and she's proven it during this arc. 

Edited May 27, 2015 by Samantha84