S04.E18: Little Bit Of Light

[WendyCR72]

When Chicago's "Night Crawler" Bobby Trent is murdered over a single piece of mysterious footage, Intelligence must investigate one of Chicago's wealthiest families -- uncovering a lineage of old money and secrets. Meanwhile, Burgess's sister Nicole arrives at the District for a visit, and presents an icy attitude towards Ruzek.

[FnkyChkn34]

I don't even really know what to say about this episode in light of Sophia Bush's tweet regarding the butchered scene.  What did JLS do to anger the editors?  Knowing that Jay is going to a PTSD support group now is important information about his character and backstory, and to leave that part out is ridiculous.  Even before seeing Sophia's tweet, I realized that something was up with that scene - Erin clearly stopped before getting to the door and Jay definitely wanted to say something.  Then it cut to him having tears in his eyes and I thought "what did I just miss?"  Well... half of a scene, apparently.  I did like how Jay would sneak little looks at Erin, but she wasn't having it.  That shows he still cares, but she's still angry.

Otherwise, Burgess' sister seems like a piece of work.  She just moved them in to Burgess' house/apartment without telling her?  And the other characters were nearly non-existent this episode except to solve the crime.  (A pretty predictable crime this time, but oh well.)

I did like Voight at the end.  That was a touching scene to end with and the actors were great in just those bit roles.

[Guildford]

I will hold my judgement on Jay's S/L because I do think it is going to take a a fair chunk of the last few episodes of the season. I didn't get that anything was missing and I do actually think it was poor form for Sophia to tweet that. TPTB obviously left it out for a reason & I don't think it is up to the cast to call them out. Especially considering many of the Linstead fans already seem to be on the edge of a full on head explosion as it is.

One thing I have learnt watching this show is that you need patience, nothing is tied up in a neat bow the following week.

I really wish Voight would stop with the blatant nepotism though. Erin was the one the the attitude problem again this week, she needs to to be called out just as much as Jay does, if not more imo.

So Burgess obviously gave her sister the edited version of what went on with her and Ruzek. (Well it is her sister so I will forgive her that) but did she neglect to tell her that she asked Adam twice to push back the wedding? I guess it is true, there are three sides to every story her side, his side and the truth. But I did agree on one thing....yes Ruzek, you are loveable.

Did anyone else think that when that van pulled up it was going to be the Dad he just put away.....I was a little befuddled why he was so nicely dressed for a beating but he surprised me and that scene was sweet as.

[FnkyChkn34]

36 minutes ago, Guildford said:

I will hold my judgement on Jay's S/L because I do think it is going to take a a fair chunk of the last few episodes of the season. I didn't get that anything was missing and I do actually think it was poor form for Sophia to tweet that. TPTB obviously left it out for a reason & I don't think it is up to the cast to call them out. Especially considering many of the Linstead fans already seem to be on the edge of a full on head explosion as it is.

One thing I have learnt watching this show is that you need patience, nothing is tied up in a neat bow the following week.

I really wish Voight would stop with the blatant nepotism though. Erin was the one the the attitude problem again this week, she needs to to be called out just as much as Jay does, if not more imo.

I agree that the storyline still needs to play out, but I don't agree that Sophia was out of line.  She's obviously a fan as well (or at least is good at pretending) and that was her knee jerk reaction to seeing the scene butchered.  I think one of the points of encouraging the cast to live-tweet is to get a behind the scenes look at the episode.  Plus, she obviously didn't even know it was cut - so why are the actors being kept in the dark about edits made to their characters?  I have a feeling if you watch the scene again, it'll become obvious that Erin stopped and Jay was about to say something.

Voight has always shown nepotism towards Erin and the rest of the crew knows that.  It's a given; he's not going to change now.  I agree that she was the one showing attitude, but given what Jay did to her, I don't blame her.  Voight threatening to fire or transfer Jay was a bit much.  

Spoiler

(But we know from future photos and behind the scenes pictures that Jay and Erin are partners again soon.  He's also been seen driving again.)

[dreamcatcher]

But that scene wasn't just butchered, the editing was terrible. It was less than a second, but you could see Jay starting to speak and Erin stopping. That was so poorly done, I was like wth? My guess is it was a fairly big scene and they couldn't cut any other scene in this episode so that's why they took it out. I'm always surprised though when I hear producers claiming that they have to cut scenes pretty often. Even by writing a script you know how much time the episode will take. Then they have the readings and then the rehearsals. Why do they have to film it to realize that it's too long?

I just love how they are hiding Marina's pregnancy. Aaand I also liked this case, it was a major justice boner.

[Chas411]

54 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

o why are the actors being kept in the dark about edits made to their characters?  

I don't think NBC/ show editors are obligated to tell the actors what they're cutting. They film an episode in entirety but I'm sure they're aware the scenes can be cut. If they'd need the go ahead from anyhow id think it would be the execs. 

As for her tweet I guess from one angle it's kind of her to appease fans of the couple and maybe she feels the storyline was too important for the scene to be get cut out. 

On the other gang id be weary calling out the Network on Twitter. That can lead to issues. The tweet wasn't that confrontational though it struck me as a more aw crap kinda reaction then anything else.

[CheshireCat]

Soffer didn't do anything to anger anyone and it isn't the first time that Bush has tweeted about a scene having been longer. She often mentions when she has been involved in the cut scene. She has also said that they're losing at least 10 minutes per episode and that it's usually the personal scenes that they're losing because the case comes first. The editing might have been terrible, still, someone obviously felt that the story can be understood and is moved forward enough without those few extra seconds/minutes.

 

1 hour ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

 

Voight has always shown nepotism towards Erin and the rest of the crew knows that.  It's a given; he's not going to change now.  I agree that she was the one showing attitude, but given what Jay did to her, I don't blame her.  Voight threatening to fire or transfer Jay was a bit much.  

I think he was threatening to transfer him out and I think it was in character because he states early on in the series that he doesn't tolerate relationships in his division. He's made an exception for Lindsay and Halstead and he would have made one for Burgess and Ruzek but Burgess declined to move up back then. But given his rules, it makes sense that he'd tell Jay to get things sorted out or he'd have to go.

[FnkyChkn34]

30 minutes ago, Chas411 said:

I don't think NBC/ show editors are obligated to tell the actors what they're cutting. They film an episode in entirety but I'm sure they're aware the scenes can be cut. If they'd need the go ahead from anyhow id think it would be the execs. 

I don't think they'd need permission from an actor; that's not what I meant.  But I guess up until last night I figured the actors screened the episode ahead of time.  Sophia's reaction makes it pretty obvious that they don't, so they don't always know what changes have been made to their characters.  IMO, that might make it hard to play them consistently from week to week.  

5 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

Soffer didn't do anything to anger anyone and it isn't the first time that Bush has tweeted about a scene having been longer. She often mentions when she has been involved in the cut scene. She has also said that they're losing at least 10 minutes per episode and that it's usually the personal scenes that they're losing because the case comes first. The editing might have been terrible, still, someone obviously felt that the story can be understood and is moved forward enough without those few extra seconds/minutes.

I think he was threatening to transfer him out and I think it was in character because he states early on in the series that he doesn't tolerate relationships in his division. He's made an exception for Lindsay and Halstead and he would have made one for Burgess and Ruzek but Burgess declined to move up back then. But given his rules, it makes sense that he'd tell Jay to get things sorted out or he'd have to go.

We normally agree 99% of the time, but I'll have to respectfully disagree this time.  That seems like important information - a PTSD support group, and clearly one of the characters said something to make Jay tear up.  What was it?  I'm thinking that 30 seconds or a minute could have been cut from somewhere else.  I guess we'll have to wait until next week to know if we still understand without knowing he's in that support group or not.  I'm sure I'm biased because Jay quickly became my favorite character and the reason I kept watching the show after one of the crossovers with Chicago Fire, but still.  The scene seems important to the overall story they are creating as well.

[CheshireCat]

16 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

 

We normally agree 99% of the time, but I'll have to respectfully disagree this time.  That seems like important information - a PTSD support group, and clearly one of the characters said something to make Jay tear up.  What was it?  I'm thinking that 30 seconds or a minute could have been cut from somewhere else.  I guess we'll have to wait until next week to know if we still understand without knowing he's in that support group or not.  I'm sure I'm biased because Jay quickly became my favorite character and the reason I kept watching the show after one of the crossovers with Chicago Fire, but still.  The scene seems important to the overall story they are creating as well.

I didn't say that I agree with the editing decision. I just said that TPTB felt that the story can be moved forward and understood enough without the missing scene. That's usually how the decision is made - the look at it and throw out what they feel isn't entirely necessary for the viewer to have. Often times it probably works, at other times, it gives us something that makes us go "huh?"

[dreamcatcher]

2 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I don't think they'd need permission from an actor; that's not what I meant.  But I guess up until last night I figured the actors screened the episode ahead of time.  Sophia's reaction makes it pretty obvious that they don't, so they don't always know what changes have been made to their characters.  IMO, that might make it hard to play them consistently from week to week.  

We normally agree 99% of the time, but I'll have to respectfully disagree this time.  That seems like important information - a PTSD support group, and clearly one of the characters said something to make Jay tear up.  What was it?  I'm thinking that 30 seconds or a minute could have been cut from somewhere else.  I guess we'll have to wait until next week to know if we still understand without knowing he's in that support group or not.  I'm sure I'm biased because Jay quickly became my favorite character and the reason I kept watching the show after one of the crossovers with Chicago Fire, but still.  The scene seems important to the overall story they are creating as well.

I agree that to me it was important. First of all, they've been talking about Jay's struggles after getting back since S1. It's about time they actually explore the storyline. Plus, Linstead's breakup to me was completely out of the blue. I don't get why they had to include a secret (ex?) wife. They could have cut that and make the story about his mental struggles to begin with, since that's where it's going anyway. Maybe in the next episodes they've filmed already scenes where Jay's talking about his PTSD and they felt that this scene was redundant. But the thing is, Erin was so cold towards him in this episode but normally, after having a conversation where Jay shares his struggles and tells her that this is why he needs some time off, in the next episodes she will have to be more supportive and that won't make any sense given what we've seen on screen. Anyway, we'll have to wait and see.

Btw next episode seems awesome! I like Kim and I love seeing more of her. Hopefully Marina is coming back after her maternity leave ends!

[CheshireCat]

10 minutes ago, dreamcatcher said:

I agree that to me it was important. First of all, they've been talking about Jay's struggles after getting back since S1. It's about time they actually explore the storyline. Plus, Linstead's breakup to me was completely out of the blue. I don't get why they had to include a secret (ex?) wife.

Sophia Bush said on twitter last night that she was expecting a break up between Jay and Erin because TPTB are of the opinion that a happy couples are boring.

I think this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. There are a gazillion obstacles a couple can face. You don't need to break them up to keep things interesting.

[FnkyChkn34]

18 minutes ago, dreamcatcher said:

I agree that to me it was important. First of all, they've been talking about Jay's struggles after getting back since S1. It's about time they actually explore the storyline. Plus, Linstead's breakup to me was completely out of the blue. I don't get why they had to include a secret (ex?) wife. They could have cut that and make the story about his mental struggles to begin with, since that's where it's going anyway.

 

4 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

Sophia Bush said on twitter last night that she was expecting a break up between Jay and Erin because TPTB are of the opinion that a happy couples are boring.

I think this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. There are a gazillion obstacles a couple can face. You don't need to break them up to keep things interesting.

Right, but I still see what dreamcatcher is saying - they could have broken up without the introduction of Abby.  Something else could have triggered his memories and PTSD.  Maybe reading something about a fellow Ranger, or - god forbid - something happening to Mouse.  Abby was a ridiculous, superfluous, unnecessary character.  Sophia could have still been expecting a break-up because the writers believe they can't be happy, but it didn't have to be Abby.

[dreamcatcher]

THANK YOU.  I do think that the writers are overthinking this. In a show like one tree hill, yes happy couples are boring. But when you barely get to see a couple being happy, I don't think they need to create more obstacles. I think they handled Burzek a bit better because at least their struggles made sense and the break up came after they had spent some happy times together. In a show where relationships take the backseat, creating drama is a bit unnecessary. Unless they plan to make Abby Jay's new love interest, there was literally no point in introducing her. Actually, I thought that they introduced her to make Erin break up with Jay. So Erin was totally chill with Jay sneaking behind her back and never telling her about his marriage-which does seem a bit out of character- and still be fine. And then Jay decides to leave their shared house for some reason. Like ???? 

Plus, I can't see how they can bring Linstead back together after that without it being ridiculous.

[CheshireCat]

28 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

 

Right, but I still see what dreamcatcher is saying - they could have broken up without the introduction of Abby.  Something else could have triggered his memories and PTSD.  Maybe reading something about a fellow Ranger, or - god forbid - something happening to Mouse.  Abby was a ridiculous, superfluous, unnecessary character.  Sophia could have still been expecting a break-up because the writers believe they can't be happy, but it didn't have to be Abby.

Well, I don't think that any other reason would have made the split any more credible, so it doesn't really matter to me whether they introduced another character to achieve it or made up another reason :-)

[dreamcatcher]

I agree! I'm just confused over Abby's significance because apparently Linstead didn't break up because of her and I don't see how seeing her would trigger his PTSD. But what's done is done!

[CheshireCat]

1 minute ago, dreamcatcher said:

I agree! I'm just confused over Abby's significance because apparently Linstead didn't break up because of her and I don't see how seeing her would trigger his PTSD. But what's done is done!

Well, I'm by no means an expert but one thing that I do know is that triggers can be a tricky thing and seemingly harmless things can trigger memories and/or emotions. There could be one memory attached to Abby that isn't also attached to Mouse, and that single difference could be enough.

[dreamcatcher]

Then I guess maybe that was what they were trying to do... But they should have explained it. And btw didn't he meet Abby after he came back? I would assume that working with Mouse would be a better opportunity to bring in this storyline. Not because in real life Mouse could have been his only trigger, but it's a show and we should be able to get stuff without really trying :p

[FnkyChkn34]

4 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

Well, I'm by no means an expert but one thing that I do know is that triggers can be a tricky thing and seemingly harmless things can trigger memories and/or emotions. There could be one memory attached to Abby that isn't also attached to Mouse, and that single difference could be enough.

But we may never know, given the way that this is going.  Or they'll write it and film it, but the editors will cut it. ;-)  

I guess that's just my overall complaint - it's so choppy.  And it doesn't need to be.

1 minute ago, dreamcatcher said:

Then I guess maybe that was what they were trying to do... But they should have explained it. And btw didn't he meet Abby after he came back? I would assume that working with Mouse would be a better opportunity to bring in this storyline. Not because in real life Mouse could have been his only trigger, but it's a show and we should be able to get stuff without really trying :p

No, he met Abby in the Middle East.  She was part of his unit.  They talked about the barracks and he told Erin what her job was (I forget).  I guess at some point we learned that Mouse was the one who dragged Jay home and was there for him after just returning, because the actor who plays Will said it recently in an interview?  But I can't recall that, unless it was revealed on Chicago Med.

[Bringonthedrama]

3 hours ago, dreamcatcher said:

I agree! I'm just confused over Abby's significance because apparently Linstead didn't break up because of her and I don't see how seeing her would trigger his PTSD. But what's done is done!

My takeaway from last week is Abby told him she loves/loved him. To him, they were pals and getting married was a young, drunken, brief joke. He thought he signed the divorce papers, and that was the end of it. To Abby, she was falling in love with him when they were in the Middle East and now here she is, telling him she wants him and there is no fiance. He's shocked, politely/kindly tells her she's not going to find happiness with him, and gets out of there. 

I figure, he doesn't feel comfortable living with Erin right now because this woman from his past, who apparently is still his legal wife, is saying ILY after they haven't seen each other in some years. The feeling is not mutual,  but maybe he wonders if he lead her on back then (guilt upon guilt-Erin knows nothing of this), and the conversation certainly stirred up memories of the past when his unit was family. Now he has one brother, his gf Erin and the Chicago PD as family. But is he truly over his past? It comes up, like when he was in uniform at a funeral (with Erin at his side), when Mouse wanted to go back. etc. He's not sure. Clearly, Abby is hanging onto their past - the scene with his brother last week indicated she called him when she couldn't get Jay on the phone, and then she shows up to get Jay's attention while he's at work.  

[CheshireCat]

9 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

But we may never know, given the way that this is going.  Or they'll write it and film it, but the editors will cut it. ;-)  

I wouldn't be surprised if the writers don't know themselves and someone just floated the idea of giving Jay a wife, having that trigger PTSD and going with that without any specific details.

 

9 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

No, he met Abby in the Middle East.  She was part of his unit.  They talked about the barracks and he told Erin what her job was (I forget).  I guess at some point we learned that Mouse was the one who dragged Jay home and was there for him after just returning, because the actor who plays Will said it recently in an interview?  But I can't recall that, unless it was revealed on Chicago Med.

Okay, I was curious and it's in ep 3 of S3.

[dreamcatcher]

11 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

But we may never know, given the way that this is going.  Or they'll write it and film it, but the editors will cut it. ;-)  

I guess that's just my overall complaint - it's so choppy.  And it doesn't need to be.

No, he met Abby in the Middle East.  She was part of his unit.  They talked about the barracks and he told Erin what her job was (I forget).  I guess at some point we learned that Mouse was the one who dragged Jay home and was there for him after just returning, because the actor who plays Will said it recently in an interview?  But I can't recall that, unless it was revealed on Chicago Med.

You're right, I wasn't paying much attention during their scenes!

[FnkyChkn34]

7 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

I wouldn't be surprised if the writers don't know themselves and someone just floated the idea of giving Jay a wife, having that trigger PTSD and going with that without any specific details.

I get the impression that they have the remainder of the season planned out.  I think it may all be written.  That may have easily been the case when they started the story, but at least by now they should have details.

[Xantar]

All these replies and nobody is talking about the actual case! Those poor actors portraying Sarah and the incarcerated father and his daughter were acting their hearts out. I'm just hoping that Erin doesn't end up taking another damaged girl under her wing who gets murdered at the end of the season.

[FnkyChkn34]

1 hour ago, Xantar said:

All these replies and nobody is talking about the actual case! Those poor actors portraying Sarah and the incarcerated father and his daughter were acting their hearts out. I'm just hoping that Erin doesn't end up taking another damaged girl under her wing who gets murdered at the end of the season.

The case was predictable and the characters weren't very memorable.  Sorry.  I feel like the writers may have done that on purpose, so we got an episode where the personal stories (Kim and her sister, Jay/Erin) were supposed to take center stage.

The guest actors did a fine job, but it's not like it was PD's best case.  The one last week with the crazy lady, dead husband, and illiterate accomplice may have been the best all season.  

And if Sarah becomes Nadia 2.0, well... they should just cancel the show.  No need to literally re-tell a story they've already told.

Edited March 31, 2017 by FnkyChkn34

[Chas411]

They actual put up the the deleted bit that Sophia tweeted about on the shows Facebook page.

[dreamcatcher]

I agree that they probably wrote a very straightforward case for this episode to make focusing on the side stories a bit easier. Imagine having a roller coaster PLUS linstead PLUS that scene with Voight PLUS Kim's sister.

I've read the comments under this clip and I guess a lot of people agree that the Linstead thing was completely out of the blue, as well as them having Jay going to therapy 4 seasons in. I get that in real life he could be triggered at a random point, but story wise it doesn't really make sense. He got tortured and almost killed last year and he was fine afterwards, but now seeing his wife triggered him to the point of finally admitting that he needs help. Ok I get it, they add these stories on the show whenever they think they should, but it's a huge issue and that shouldn't come up after four years. They should have dealt with that from the beginning and save Erin's past and aaaall that drama for later seasons-because all these events could happen in any point of Erin's life anyway.

[FnkyChkn34]

22 hours ago, Chas411 said:

They actual put up the the deleted bit that Sophia tweeted about on the shows Facebook page.

Just that extra little bit made that scene complete.  I don't understand why they had to cut that little bit, of all the scenes in the entire episode.  I think it shows that Jay is really trying to get better and now Erin understands that too.  And as other people have mentioned on Twitter, it's nothing to be ashamed of and should have been left in as an example to other veterans that if they need help, it's available and they shouldn't hesitate to get it.

[betsyboo]

On 3/30/2017 at 10:15 AM, FnkyChkn34 said:

 

I did like Voight at the end.  That was a touching scene to end with and the actors were great in just those bit roles.

I wish he had invited Kevin since he's the one who chased it down. But i def got a little misty.

On 3/31/2017 at 3:28 PM, Xantar said:

All these replies and nobody is talking about the actual case! Those poor actors portraying Sarah and the incarcerated father and his daughter were acting their hearts out. I'm just hoping that Erin doesn't end up taking another damaged girl under her wing who gets murdered at the end of the season.

I thought same. When she said she was taking Sarah to the rehab place I was screaming NO NO!! Remember Nadia! Say no!

AND: Where was the mom? I thought that was telling that she didn't show up at the station either to defend the husband (I don't believe it!) or defend her daughter (You &+@%$ bastard!).

Cracked up at the sister kissing up to Platt and Platt becoming all sunshine for a second. HA!