Shots Fired - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

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[Meredith Quill]

Episode Synopsis:

When an African-American cop shoots and kills an unarmed white college student, a small town in North Carolina is turned upside-down. Before the town has a chance to cope with this tragedy, the neglected murder of an African-American teen is brought to light, opening wounds that threaten to tear the community apart.

[Primetimer]

Fox attempts to tackle America's police shooting problem, with mixed results.

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[Isle Of Why]

Well done but too upsetting and depressing for me. Which I predicted so not sure who I thought I was fooling.

[Silver Raven]

Man, Stephan James's character is an asshole.

Jill Hennessy killed it.

Stephen Moyer always plays Southerners.

Aquino's boyfriend having Ash served while she was on a case was a dick move.

"You know it didn't mean anything to him, didn't you?" "It didn't mean anything me, either."

I really liked it.

[mochamajesty]

Love Sanaa Lathan so I am in.

Does Sanaa's character have some sort of drug or alcohol problem?  What did she mean by "I will get help?".

Edited March 23, 2017 by mochamajesty

[Neurochick]

1 hour ago, mochamajesty said:

Love Sanaa Lathan so I am in.

Does Sanaa's character have some sort of drug or alcohol problem?  What did she mean by "I will get help?".

I don't think so.  I think it had something to do with the kid she shot and killed while on duty.

[Keepitmoving]

I'm in too, I'll try to tune in for anything Sanaa does. 

I kept expecting Stephen Moyer's  vampire teeth to show, I haven't seen him in anything since True Blood.

[AyeshaTheGreat]

I will continue watching.  I like Gina Prince-Bythewood and so many members of the cast.  Plus, I like that it will cover the whole sheriff department and not just this one case.  Even though I see this story play out in real life, I am willing to give this show a chance.

Right now, it is so many characters that I am not sure who anyone is besides Sanaa Lathan, Stephen James and Mack Wilds.  I know I saw Aisha Hinds make an appearance and many others whose names I don't know as well.

[badabingo]

I think the production of it all is lacking. It has a cheap networky feel to it. I think the material would have been much better handled on Netflix or premium cable. The actors are great, but some of the writing is hokey.

With that being said... I am in love. It is so important that this topic is being aired on a network (with seemingly no limitations to content). I like even further how they set it up as opposing cases of police brutality (or possible police brutality in the Campbell case). The Blythewoods are entering a complex narrative that blurs racial lines and political allegiances. I am intrigued and interested at what is to come.

[jhlipton]

6 hours ago, badabingo said:

The Blythewoods are entering a complex narrative that blurs racial lines and political allegiances. I am intrigued and interested at what is to come.

THIS is why I'll keep watching.

[formerlyfreedom]

A spot to discuss the episodes of the first season of Shots Fired; please see the forum proper for other topics besides the episodes.

[Finagler]

It was a little rough, but count me in.

[nichelle]

Just watched the first episode on Hulu. I'm in.

[Poohbear617]

I enjoyed the pilot as well, but I do have one complaint and that is the sex scenes.  I am not being prudish, I just found them unnecessary.  I wanted to watch because of the subject matter of police/racial inequalities etc...I like the idea of a13 week anthology tackling these issues and it is THAT part of the story I wanted to see but instead of professionalis investigating a case/ coverup I get 4 adults acting like horny teenagers and jumpi g into bed/or limo together. I just know that somewhere down the line we will have to stop the show for the lawyer and governor aide to stop and talk about their feelings.  Yuck. This important  issue has so much that needs to be said and presented it does not deserve to get lost in silly subplot melodrama. I'm gonna watch the next episode and hope it stays on track.

[Finagler]

^^Pooh- you know we can't watch TV without seeing people hooking up.  ;)

I'm with you, I fast forward through.  maybe I am a prude.

[roctavia]

Looks like Stephen Moyer and hopefully some of the other cast are going to live tweet tonight's episode.

[Raja]

I guess pops heard about New York ADA Ben Stone's son playing for the Cubs before becoming an Illinois State"s Attorney in Chicago and got jealous even if his other son is a sports star.

[possibilities]

I find myself not caring at all about Preston's daddy issues or Ashe's custody issues. I also think their hook ups with the governor's assistant and Preston's brother are boring distractions. Maybe they are trying to "develop their characters" but it's not working and feels tacked on. I think we aren't really learning anything relevant or interesting from these distractions, and could learn more from just watching them work the cases together.

[Drumpf1737]

Richard Dreyfuss' character revealing the prison model was chilling. 

I like that Pres was smart enough to play the sheriff so he and Ashe could investigate the black teen's murder as well.

Are we really not talking about Helen Hunt's face? I didn't recognize her initially!

[fib]

2 hours ago, Drumpf1737 said:

Are we really not talking about Helen Hunt's face? I didn't recognize her initially!

Eeps.  This.  I hope she is okay.  The change says "major illness" to me.  Its not an improvement, and goes beyond aging imho. 

Can we talk about their accents? Even the gov's goes in and out.  Its distracting.  

[roctavia]

20 hours ago, possibilities said:

I find myself not caring at all about Preston's daddy issues or Ashe's custody issues. I also think their hook ups with the governor's assistant and Preston's brother are boring distractions. Maybe they are trying to "develop their characters" but it's not working and feels tacked on. I think we aren't really learning anything relevant or interesting from these distractions, and could learn more from just watching them work the cases together.

I agree... I know they are trying to make a complete picture, but I want them to be working the case more, I want more information on what is going on in the town etc.

 

I did like the football stuff with the daughter calling out her dad for saying something racist, even if he had bullshit defense for it.

[Happytobehere]

On 3/30/2017 at 3:41 PM, fib said:

Eeps.  This.  I hope she is okay.  The change says "major illness" to me.  Its not an improvement, and goes beyond aging imho. 

Can we talk about their accents? Even the gov's goes in and out.  Its distracting.  

I'm more distracted by the massive amount of plastic surgery Helen Hunt has had.  It does her no favors.

[fib]

5 hours ago, Happytobehere said:

I'm more distracted by the massive amount of plastic surgery Helen Hunt has had.  It does her no favors.

Oh is that what it is?  That sort of makes me feel better.  God.  Hollywood must be a truly terrible place to be a woman over 45. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Sanaa Lathan and Mack Wilds discuss Shots Fired on Build:

[badabingo]

I like how this episode covered how politics mix with human emotion and complicates things. With Penn Moder seeking out the white mom and the current governor backing Joey's mom, what should be about their loss is now a political swamp. Well done.

[topanga]

Yeah, don't need sex scenes.

The cast is great so far. I will keep watching. Jill Hennessy! Helen Hunt! --I didn't know they were on the show.

[mochamajesty]

While we are on the subject of faces - Jill Hennessy is only 48 and she looks like she's in her 50s.

[Neurochick]

Ugh, I can't stand Ashe's baby daddy, Javier or whatever his name is.  He probably wants to erase Ashe, a black woman, from his daughter's life, and put his girlfriend in her place, leaving daughter with no black woman role model.  Ashe should have used a sperm bank.

[jhlipton]

On 4/8/2017 at 9:42 PM, Neurochick said:

Ugh, I can't stand Ashe's baby daddy, Javier or whatever his name is.  He probably wants to erase Ashe, a black woman, from his daughter's life, and put his girlfriend in her place, leaving daughter with no black woman role model.  Ashe should have used a sperm bank.

I dunno -- he seemed to give Ashe all sorts of chances to see someone, to to deal with her issues.  I know someone with major anger issues and they keep saying they're going to do better, but they never do.  Moreover, we don't know if Javier is in contact with any of the black women that he might have met (like as part of another couple) while they were together.  It's possible that the daughter won't have nay black women role models, but it's possible that she might.

I really liked this episode.  Nice detective work by Ashe, and congrats on getting the cases linked.

[Neurochick]

20 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Moreover, we don't know if Javier is in contact with any of the black women that he might have met (like as part of another couple) while they were together.  It's possible that the daughter won't have nay black women role models, but it's possible that she might.

That's an assumption.  I can only go with what I see and I don't see any other black women Javier is hanging out with.

[jhlipton]

1 hour ago, Neurochick said:

That's an assumption.  I can only go with what I see and I don't see any other black women Javier is hanging out with.

We don't see Javier -- period.  I'm not saying you're wrong; I just don't think we have enough evidence one way or another. Agree to disagree?

[AyeshaTheGreat]

This latest episode where Ashe and Preston finally get to investigate both cases above board was slightly satisfying.  Seeing someone trying to murder Cory made sense because I was wondering when the guys after him would figure out where he was staying.  I am anxious to see how Joey's and Jesse's killings actually relate.

Seeing Joey's younger brother have a "good" first day at his new school was a nice touch in a grim situation.  I wonder if we will see more of him at this new school.  Also, I wonder if we will see more about the private prison that promises to bring jobs.  I've known about the problems with private prisons but never followed any story in detail.  The requirement that the prisons maintain a certain occupancy level is beyond disgusting.

Lastly, one statement that stuck out to me was made by Beck after his house had been vandalized and he was talking to his sheriff.  He mentioned that had he come out while the guy was vandalizing his house, he would have shot him like any other deputy in their department.  That was a little off to me.  Since I do not own a gun, my first instinct to various criminal behavior is not to shot.  I would hope that an officer who has been trained would be able to de-escalate a spray-painting criminal without shooting to kill (I assume he meant a deadly shot and not just one to the legs).  Overall, I understand that would be a tense situation but I thought people who owned guns had a heightened responsibility.  Anyway, I will end here but that statement just made me pause.

[Neurochick]

Interesting that the judge hearing Ashe's case is a black woman, but is she a black American woman?  Yeah, judge, when that little girl looks at that white Latina she'll see herself.  I didn't go to law school, but I can figure that out.  If that girl stays with her dad and his gf, she'll probably start thinking she's white in a few years.  Oh well, can't have a child being raised by an "angry black woman."

Aaaaand another black woman gets replaced by a Hispanic, so typical.

To bad she can't shoot Javi and call it justified.  

[possibilities]

Did Ashe tell Preston about the roadside incident? I kept waiting for her to let him in on that, but if she did, I missed it.

[jhlipton]

On 4/26/2017 at 9:00 PM, Neurochick said:

Aaaaand another black woman gets replaced by a Hispanic, so typical.

Too true.  But Ashe does herself no favors by getting so angry all the time when the reason she's being denied time with Kai is her anger issues.

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

Did Ashe tell Preston about the roadside incident? I kept waiting for her to let him in on that, but if she did, I missed it.

Not that we saw.

[Neurochick]

20 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Too true.  But Ashe does herself no favors by getting so angry all the time when the reason she's being denied time with Kai is her anger issues.

And I thought anger was a normal emotion; guess it's not anymore.

[roctavia]

1 hour ago, Neurochick said:

And I thought anger was a normal emotion; guess it's not anymore.

I think feeling anger is one thing, throwing vases at people is another.

[jhlipton]

3 hours ago, Neurochick said:

And I thought anger was a normal emotion; guess it's not anymore.

When you might lose your child because of your anger, it might be time to tamp it down a bit.  Anger management isn't about totally suppressing anger, it's about finding the right time, place and method to express it.

[Empress1]

On 4/15/2017 at 3:05 PM, AyeshaTheGreat said:

Lastly, one statement that stuck out to me was made by Beck after his house had been vandalized and he was talking to his sheriff.  He mentioned that had he come out while the guy was vandalizing his house, he would have shot him like any other deputy in their department.  That was a little off to me.  Since I do not own a gun, my first instinct to various criminal behavior is not to shot.  I would hope that an officer who has been trained would be able to de-escalate a spray-painting criminal without shooting to kill (I assume he meant a deadly shot and not just one to the legs).  Overall, I understand that would be a tense situation but I thought people who owned guns had a heightened responsibility.  Anyway, I will end here but that statement just made me pause.

Shooting for the legs or arms or shooting a gun out of someone's hand all is Hollywood invention. None of that is part of police training. Cops are trained to shoot for the center mass for a lot of different reasons. Firing a warning shot isn't part of police training either - it's stupid and dangerous. (What goes up must come down; don't shoot guns in the air.)

The riot in the most recent episode was hard to watch. The mother screaming in the street as her son was being dragged off by police was horrible. And then we switch to Ashe and Javier, and I immediately stop caring - even with the blackmail.

[BigBlueMastiff]

Quote

When you might lose your child because of your anger, it might be time to tamp it down a bit.  Anger management isn't about totally suppressing anger, it's about finding the right time, place and method to express it.

This, if Ash was really thinking in the best interests of her child, she would stop fighting other people and start fighting for her child. If that means therapy and anger management, do it, what is the point of being irresponsible and selfish when  the object is to have your child. Javier is right, and Ashe brought this on herself. She's admitted as much by not following through on anger management and therapy. She can live her life in an unpredictable and dangerous job anyhow she wants as a single person, but her kid needs stability, which she cannot yet provide.

[Neurochick]

13 minutes ago, BigBlueMastiff said:

She can live her life in an unpredictable and dangerous job anyhow she wants as a single person, but her kid needs stability, which she cannot yet provide.

So, are you saying that a fireman shouldn't get married and have a family because they have a dangerous job?

See, Ash's anger didn't bother me.  What does get me is Javier's gf.  She'd probably have that poor little girl wearing a weave just because SHE doesn't know how to take care of her hair.  To me, she comes across as a self centered witch, just my opinion.

[BigBlueMastiff]

 As someone married to a fireman, the comparison is not the same (I will not even bore you with how not dangerous it is in the modern day due to a variety of factors and this is the Chicago Fire Dept.). Taking unnecessary risks is not part of a firefighter's job, and if you are married, depending on your schedule there is a stabilizing force at home when the firefighter spouse is at work.  Where is any such stabilizing force or stability for that matter in Ashe's life? Who steps in when she's travelling for weeks or days at a time? Ashe takes risks with no back up, not even close to the same as what a firefighter does. My problem with Ash is it's her fault that Javier has this kind of leverage on her. She has no one to blame but herself, not Javier, not his girlfriend. She needs to step up and show the court that she is capable of being a stable, good parent. To date, I've seen her forget to call her daughter at specified times, show up when she feels like it for visits, and the worth threaten physical harm in her obviously scared daughter's presence. That is not stable, and she has no right to even have anything but supervised visitation given her behavior. I don't see the point in harping on Javier and his GF's race, so what? He left Ashe because she has mental issues, nothing to do with her race. 

I hope Ashe does some serious work on herself before getting back in her daughter's life.

Edited April 29, 2017 by BigBlueMastiff
added text

[jhlipton]

20 hours ago, Neurochick said:

See, Ash's anger didn't bother me.  What does get me is Javier's gf.  She'd probably have that poor little girl wearing a weave just because SHE doesn't know how to take care of her hair.  To me, she comes across as a self centered witch, just my opinion.

The "unpredictable and dangerous" thing doesn't cut it for me either.

But everyone, from her therapist to the judge to everyone else, is telling her to get some help.  Her anger issues are not healthy to herself and are definitely not healthy to her daughter.  Throwing something at (or even by) someone is not excusable behavior, and Ashe has never even said she was sorry.  I want Ahse to have partial custody but if she can't (or worse, won't) get herself under control, she can take care of her daughter's hair in supervised visits.

Lydia (I think her name is) is not on trial.  Ashe can't point to anything t suggest that she is an unfit mother (yelling at the daughter doesn't count).

[Neurochick]

6 hours ago, jhlipton said:

The "unpredictable and dangerous" thing doesn't cut it for me either.

But everyone, from her therapist to the judge to everyone else, is telling her to get some help.  Her anger issues are not healthy to herself and are definitely not healthy to her daughter.  Throwing something at (or even by) someone is not excusable behavior, and Ashe has never even said she was sorry.  I want Ahse to have partial custody but if she can't (or worse, won't) get herself under control, she can take care of her daughter's hair in supervised visits.

Lydia (I think her name is) is not on trial.  Ashe can't point to anything t suggest that she is an unfit mother (yelling at the daughter doesn't count).

Then we'll have to agree to disagree, because I don't agree with this at all.  Hair hate is a serious thing and not to be dismissed.  Just because Lydia isn't on trial doesn't mean she shouldn't be.  I see class A bitch when I see her.

[jhlipton]

31 minutes ago, Neurochick said:

Then we'll have to agree to disagree, because I don't agree with this at all.  Hair hate is a serious thing and not to be dismissed.  Just because Lydia isn't on trial doesn't mean she shouldn't be.  I see class A bitch when I see her.

I agree with the bolded but we'll have to disagree about the rest.  To be honest. I had to rewatch the 1st episode, and Paula's "crime" was having to enforce bedtime -- Ashe was acting like the absentee dad who spoils the kid and makes Mom look like the bad guy.  When Paula says "now" (not yelling just emphasising), Ashe throws the vase and tells her she'll give Paula "a hysterectomy with her fist".  That is way over-reacting for enforcing bedtime.

Can you tell me where Paula says or does anything in regard to Kai's hair?

[formerlyfreedom]

Let's agree to disagree and move on, please.

[jhlipton]

So much to despise about this episode: Ashe hitting and strangling Breeland instead of calling for Preston and having him arrested; and Preston and Ashe's sexcapades.  The only way Preston can show that he thinks Ashe is a good person is by boinking her?  So dumb!

But they had to make out since nothing really happened this episode, so.

Edited May 13, 2017 by jhlipton

[roctavia]

I get that they want the characters to have dimension and not just be the prosecutor, etc... but I do think the personal side stories have taken away from the overall picture of this show. I mean, I do thing Ashe having shot someone as a rookie was a good start for dramatic back story... but the way they have gone with the custody battle and attempted blackmail.... I don't have a problem with casual sex, but I really could have done without Preston and Ashe hooking up...

I also don't get why Ashe didn't tell Preston what was going on with Breeland... he could have followed them outside, Breeland clearly attacked her first and brought her to the ground for no reason. Get that on video and maybe they'd get some answers.

[jhlipton]

4 hours ago, roctavia said:

I also don't get why Ashe didn't tell Preston what was going on with Breeland... he could have followed them outside, Breeland clearly attacked her first and brought her to the ground for no reason. Get that on video and maybe they'd get some answers.

Exactly.  It was done solely for the drama and the PLOT!!!!