S02.E03: Ghost Hunt

[MyAimIsTrue]

After Wozniak refuses to play ball with the FBI, Stahl turns up the heat on Harlee who lands in the middle of Wozniak's dangerous plan to free himself from the Feds by reeling in a bigger fish. Meanwhile, Internal Affairs Officer Verco applies pressure to each member of the crew to discover what really happened to Donnie Pomp.

[topanga]

Good episode, but I got distracted a few times by family members. So I missed a few plot points. 

• Who is (was) Linklater again? I know he had something to do with the heist, but I can't remember who he was or why he was trying to kill Tufo? 
• Who was the young kid Woz and Tufo were questioning, and what information were they trying to get from him?
• Stahl mentioned something about Harlee and Woz knowing how to get rid of a body. Was he hinting that he suspected Harlee killed Miguel? 

Cristina continues to be the worst. If you're stealing bottles of liquor, and they're inside your purse, take your money out before you go up to the counter. And why does she seem to trust everyone except her mother? I certainly don't know why she feels she can trust Stahl. 

I'm strangely intrigued by the IA guy. He's a pest, sure, but he's not creepy like Stahl. I hope he continues to be an honest guy.

And J. Lo is really beautiful. Even not being all glammed-up. I don't if she's had any work done on her face or if she gets Botox, but she is a stunning woman. 

[Irlandesa]

Topanga, a lot of your questions are my questions.

15 minutes ago, topanga said:

Stahl mentioned something about Harlee and Woz knowing how to get rid of a body. Was he hinting that he suspected Harlee killed Miguel? 

Yes.  I think that's what he was implying.  And I know Stahl (or "Stale" as the guy Woz had in the freezer called him) is creepy but damn I loved how he shot that guy in the end. 

17 minutes ago, topanga said:

I'm strangely intrigued by the IA guy. He's a pest, sure, but he's not creepy like Stahl. I hope he continues to be an honest guy.

I'm liking him too. 

So I thought this episode was kind of boring except for the beginning and the end.  First, as soon as I saw Woz's son, something told me he was going to be gay.  I don't know if we're ever going to see the moment where he learns that his father is bisexual but I admit, it intrigues me.  He mentioned his father was an asshole.  Did that include when he first came out?  For a show that does family moments so little, it's a family moment I want to see.

And the reason I loved that Stahl shot that guy is because I love when shows have characters with their own agendas and use their agency to achieve them.  Woz and Harlee spent all episode thinking they knew just the thing to get Stahl off their backs only for him to go "nope" in a big way. (It's the kind of thing that made me fall in love with Black Sails when I didn't think I would. Plot moved along nicely because people act in their own interests and even if they seem to share a similar goal, separate motives could lead to any plan falling apart. )

[HunterHunted]

3 hours ago, topanga said:

Good episode, but I got distracted a few times by family members. So I missed a few plot points. 

• Who is (was) Linklater again? I know he had something to do with the heist, but I can't remember who he was or why he was trying to kill Tufo? 
• Who was the young kid Woz and Tufo were questioning, and what information were they trying to get from him?
• Stahl mentioned something about Harlee and Woz knowing how to get rid of a body. Was he hinting that he suspected Harlee killed Miguel? 

Cristina continues to be the worst. If you're stealing bottles of liquor, and they're inside your purse, take your money out before you go up to the counter. And why does she seem to trust everyone except her mother? I certainly don't know why she feels she can trust Stahl. 

I'm strangely intrigued by the IA guy. He's a pest, sure, but he's not creepy like Stahl. I hope he continues to be an honest guy.

And J. Lo is really beautiful. Even not being all glammed-up. I don't if she's had any work done on her face or if she gets Botox, but she is a stunning woman. 

Linklater was the architect behind the heist. He knew all of the ins and outs. He recruited Donny to participate in the heist. Linklater was also a DEA agent and knew when the feds were transferring old bills to be destroyed I assume because they were taking seized DEA money to be destroyed too.

The kid was a runner that Linklater used to convey info to the various parties in the heist conspiracy because he didn't want any of the parties knowing too much and trying to cut him out.

I think Stahl might have been implying something about Miguel, but there is also Donny and the dispatcher's husband (what happened with his body?). I love how Stahl is so self-righteous about a partner that he constantly hung out to dry. He fucked her over constantly and they kind of sort of hated each other.

Harlee is worried that Cristina is making the same mistakes she did. Nope. Cristina is making way worse mistakes. She's super trusting of Miguel, Stahl, her thieving cousin, her garbage boyfriend who smoked pot in a NYC park at night, everyone but Harlee.

Woz has a gay son. Hmmmm.

Stahl is a lunatic. There is no way that someone like Linklater limited his criminality to the heist. There were probably other crimes the FBI could have charged him with. Also Linklater was connected to Donny who was probably connected to Julia Ayers. All members of the criminal conspiracy don't need to know every other member or all elements of the conspiracy. They just need to do their part to further the goals of the conspiracy. Keeping Linklater alive and capable of testifying only helps the FBI. So of course Stahl kills him.

[juliet73]

Stahl is a psychopath/sociopath and a creep! I love to hate him!! 

Harlee wears to much makeup. JLo is naturally pretty; she doesn't need all that to fight crime or the 4" heels. 

Way way way too much Christina. Ugh, she's awful!

No ADA Nava on this episode :(

[helenamonster]

I agree that Stahl is the worst but in the absolute best way possible. Warren Kole is killing it (quite literally, apparently!). Harlee and Woz were right, Linklater would have been a huge get for Stahl and the bureau, but I think Stahl just really gets off on having Harlee and Woz under his thumb. We've seen where his desire to control and dominate Harlee comes from, and I think he just hates Woz's type, the guy who uses his position of authority to benefit himself. It could definitely be argued that Stahl is doing the same thing, but he definitely sees himself as a shining beacon of justice, not a corrupt law enforcement official like everyone on his hitlist.

Cristina, however, is just the worst, no clarification. I don't necessarily need to see her digging into Miguel's disappearance, but I look forward to the day when she finds out that Harlee killed him and her whole world is shattered. Girl needs a wakeup call, like, yesterday.

So, who do we think leaked to the new IA guy (who I inexplicably love, even though he's only been on two episodes so far) about the freezer? Tess and Tufo had the most obvious motivations. There was no way Tess could give a clean sample with all the pills she's been popping, so I could see her trading that relatively innocuous information (they can always find a new meeting place, they give protection to a lot of people who would be willing to give them one). And Tufo could have traded it to get his brother out on parole. However, since they'e the two most obvious suspects, I'm guessing that it might be Espada, to protect Tess from having to pee in the cup. Loman's the only one who doesn't have a motive, as far as I can see. The only thing he wants to avoid is the IA guy furthering his investigation into Donnie's disappearance, and the IA guy definitely can't be persuaded to do that.

Part of me wonders if it will be Tess, since Drea has experience playing the (relatively harmless, in the grand scheme of things) rat. She's obviously good at that kind of storyline, but I don't know if I necessarily want to see her playing that again.

I like that they're giving more focus to the cops not named Harlee and Woz. Tufo's scene in the car with Harlee was great. The four secondary cops are all played by actors I really enjoy (here and elsewhere), so I hope we continue to see more of them. And less of Cristina.

I enjoyed last season fine enough, but this season has really been firing on all cylinders, and I'm glad it's gotten renewed for a third. They really seem to have a long-term plan for where they want the show to go, and even though there are a lot of twists and turns each week, there is a definite sense of a slow build, getting all the pieces in the right places, etc. Network shows usually don't allow for this sort of storytelling anymore, which is a shame because I really enjoy it. 

[topanga]

9 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

Linklater was the architect behind the heist. He knew all of the ins and outs. He recruited Donny to participate in the heist. Linklater was also a DEA agent and knew when the feds were transferring old bills to be destroyed I assume because they were taking seized DEA money to be destroyed too.

The kid was a runner that Linklater used to convey info to the various parties in the heist conspiracy because he didn't want any of the parties knowing too much and trying to cut him out.

I think Stahl might have been implying something about Miguel, but there is also Donny and the dispatcher's husband (what happened with his body?). I love how Stahl is so self-righteous about a partner that he constantly hung out to dry. He fucked her over constantly and they kind of sort of hated each other.

Harlee is worried that Cristina is making the same mistakes she did. Nope. Cristina is making way worse mistakes. She's super trusting of Miguel, Stahl, her thieving cousin, her garbage boyfriend who smoked pot in a NYC park at night, everyone but Harlee.

Woz has a gay son. Hmmmm.

Stahl is a lunatic. There is no way that someone like Linklater limited his criminality to the heist. There were probably other crimes the FBI could have charged him with. Also Linklater was connected to Donny who was probably connected to Julia Ayers. All members of the criminal conspiracy don't need to know every other member or all elements of the conspiracy. They just need to do their part to further the goals of the conspiracy. Keeping Linklater alive and capable of testifying only helps the FBI. So of course Stahl kills him.

Thanks for the explanations. So was Linklater planning to kill of Woz's crew one by one, or is it because the runner guy described himself like Tufo?

[HunterHunted]

I wonder if anyone is leaking info to the new IA guy. The crew is ridiculously indiscrete. They're hinting that it was Tess because of her dirty urine sample, but everyone knows she has an injury. Doctors routinely overprescribe opioids. They are legal. She's probably fine except for her taking her shooting test when on meds. Opioid prescription is an actual public health crisis. Unless the IA guy was going into the state prescription drug monitoring database, he wouldn't have known that Tess' pills were diverted and obtained illegally.

I think Linklater was planning on killing the runner who described himself like Tufo. The runner presumably knows all of the parties to the conspiracy even if he doesn't know all of their roles.

[saber5055]

I agree Stahl was a dumbass for killing Linklater when that guy was full of information that, as Harlee said, would make Stahl's career. Stahl has to be insane, he cares more about bringing Harlee/Woz/Anna Gunn down than anything else. The scene where Woz is on the couch holding his dog was the most touching and real scene ever in any show. Anyone who has a dog knows what I'm saying. Meanwhile, I hate Christina. Everything about her. Only Harlee sees anything redeeming in that brat.

This episode made me love Tufo. And yeah, what's the big deal about Tess being on prescribed pain killers? It's not like she's on meth or something. Or is she?

[mtlchick]

Quote

The scene where Woz is on the couch holding his dog was the most touching and real scene ever in any show. Anyone who has a dog knows what I'm saying.

He could be the biggest bastard of all TIME and yet I may have teared up at that moment since I would do anything for my minions. 

Decent episode.  Stahl is so insane is almost awesome (loses points for the monotone) but the less I need to see of Cristina, the better. 

[eliza]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

what's the big deal about Tess being on prescribed pain killers? It's not like she's on meth or something. Or is she

Probably because they will want to know why she takes them ? and she's trying to hide that she was shot.

Edited March 20, 2017 by eliza

[saber5055]

Tess could say she tripped while putting her gun away in her house, or got stupid and forgot to unload when she was cleaning her gun and shot herself. She was embarrassed so didn't tell anyone and got some pain meds w/o seeing a doctor so she would save face. I guess that's not a good thing for a cop, but admitting you shot yourself isn't a good thing, either. But not grounds for getting canned. But what do I know. I can't remember how Donnie Pomp died. Can anyone refresh my poor memory? And it boggles me that Cristina is fine with lying to her mother and sneaking around behind her back. So why doesn't she just freaking ASK Harlee about Miquel trying to get full custody of her? I'd love to see THAT scene. As much as a snot Cristina is, I'm surprised she doesn't throw that in her mom's face.

[eliza]

5 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

. But not grounds for getting canned. But what do I know. I can't remember how Donnie Pomp died. Can anyone refresh my poor memory?

Loman killed him in self defense.

Edited March 20, 2017 by eliza

[HunterHunted]

1 hour ago, eliza said:

Probably because they will want to know why she takes them ? and she's trying to hide that she was shot.

I don't think her pain meds prove anything. Pain meds are so over prescribed. Sixty percent of American households have leftover opiates. Just noting that Tess has a shoulder injury (aka being shot in the shoulder) is probable cause to suggest absolutely nothing. There is a very decent likelihood that the meds could be leftover from an earlier procedure with her, her kids, her husband. Yeah, it's not her prescription for this injury, but so many people keep old medication and take it as needed that Tess doing it doesn't help IA to flip her. Even if Tess has no valid prescription for the drugs, diversion at this level is so commonplace that they'd send her to police assistance (therapy and treatment) and continue to test her urine.

IA has no right to access her health records. They need to provide probable cause that Tess was involved with something criminal in order to check to see I'd she has bullet wound.

It's really only been in the past couple of years or so that healthcare professionals began attempting a unified concerted approach to prescribing opiates--prescribing smaller amounts for shorter durations and prescribing naloxone alongside.

[saber5055]

Thanks HunterHunted, that's some of the best info ever posted anywhere. In the same theme of using meds prescribed for someone else, I once cured my bronchitis with veterinary amoxicillan. Plus, don't they have to test urine for specific drugs? They can't just run a test for "everything" as far as I know.

[PepSinger]

I hate Cristina. She shows absolutely no appreciation for the woman who raised her for 16 years. Why in the hell would she trust all of these other people EXCEPT her mother? ESPECIALLY since she knows the man abused her mother! UGH.

This episode proved that Stahl doesn't give a damn about his job. He just wants to punish Harlee and Woz. I'll admit, I was shocked when he killed Linklater, though.

I loved the focus on Tufo. More from him, please.

[hookedontv]

Ugh Cristina. The writers aren't even making her a rebellious teen-they are writing her as a completely stupid teen. Like PepSinger said, she trusts strangers over everyone else, even after seeing pics of Harlee beat up. I have started to FF thru when Cristina is on. She just slows down the storyline and frustrates me. 

Woz on the couch with the stray dog that he adopted-love love love. They are kind of 2 lost souls who found each other at exactly the right time. 

[helenamonster]

The Tess thing is complicated for a few reasons. For starters, she obviously doesn't want anyone to know she got shot. That's why she never went to the hospital or saw a proper doctor about her injury (something tells me her arm is never going to completely heal, with that Civil War-level "treatment" she got). It is the law in the US that if a patient shows up at the hospital with a GSW, the hospital has to report it to the police, even if it's a member of the police who is coming in with it. The police have to investigate, and there starts the paper trail. She could make up some story about accidentally shooting herself, but that's pretty easy to disprove (also, would the NYPD let a detective dumb enough to shoot herself back on the force?), and then it leads into an investigation of why she lied and what she's covering up. That's why she's been trying to hide her injury as much as possible, and when it's obvious something's wrong, she tries to downplay it as something else.

I agree that the opioids could easily be handwaved as being left over from a previous surgery that she or someone in her family had. I've been casually prescribed Vicodin for pretty minor oral surgeries. Part of me wonders if New York City is a little more strict about these things, though; I had my appendix taken out in a Bronx hospital and they refused to give me anything stronger than ibuprofen for managing my pain at home. We do know that Tess was not prescribed opioids for her GSW because she never saw a real doctor about it, and can't afford to because of the aforementioned paper trail. I'm not familiar with NYPD codes of conduct, but wouldn't she possibly have to disclose that she was on opioids to her superiors, as they could interfere with her ability to safely perform her job? And since she can't provide a valid, recent prescription for them, she would be nervous about having to give a sample.

Anyway, I've clearly thought about this way too much. They left it open-ended, so I suppose we'll get an answer as to whether or not she even gave a sample next week.

Also, I too loved the scene with Woz and the dog. That was the stray he took home last season, and I enjoyed the callback.

[saber5055]

Tess is the only team member I don't like. I feel she's unstable and sort of freakizoid. When the IA guy asked Lohman if he knew why Woz wanted him on the team, I was hoping Lohman would have said Woz needed another "token black guy." Maybe that would have shut the IA guy up for a little while. I do want to see more of Tufo and Lohman. Especially Tufo, he became very interesting this episode. Meanwhile, I love Harlee's hair. JLo needs to wear it like that all the time, and Tess should take a look and get her hair cut the same way, and get rid of her scraggly extensions. *shallow*

[eliza]

On 20/03/2017 at 4:30 PM, juliet73 said:

Harlee wears to much makeup. JLo is naturally pretty; she doesn't need all that to fight crime or the 4" heels. 

 

really? that's what I thought for season 1 it was often too much, but this season her make-up has been much more natural, and when she's in bed waking up she actually look like she did unlike last season (You can tell they have a different make-up artist for her)

[mochamajesty]

On ‎3‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 11:45 AM, helenamonster said:

. I'm not familiar with NYPD codes of conduct, but wouldn't she possibly have to disclose that she was on opioids to her superiors, as they could interfere with her ability to safely perform her job? And since she can't provide a valid, recent prescription for them, she would be nervous about having to give a sample.

 

When I worked in HR, you were given a form before the test where you could disclose any medications.  If you lied on the form, you could be terminated for that.

If you popped positive and did not disclose the meds, you could be  terminated.  If you did disclose the meds, you were asked for a valid (non-expired) prescription.  If you did not provide one, you were terminated. Also, meds should be taken as directed.  If you were to take two at night, and it is noon and you have a high amount in your system, well... you could be terminated for that as well.

Also, unless this is a drug free workplace and they perform random drug tests on ALL cops (and I assume they do) then they would need reasonable suspicion to test her.  Odd behavior witnessed by management, unexplained absences, etc.

Also, as cops, they may be unionized.  Which means  that all drug testing policies are determined by their union contract. And Tess could call her rep if she had an issue.