S02.E13: Better Living Through Chemistry

[Guest]

Quote

Murtaugh and Riggs respond to the murder of an escaped patient of Dr. Cahill's who mysteriously goes off the rails. The investigation brings to light a hidden scheme far bigger than they imagined. Meanwhile, Riggs' anger gets the better of him once again, causing Avery to consider whether or not he is fit to serve. Also, family tension runs high between Murtaugh and Trish, who have to make big decisions about R.J.

[Happywatcher]

Riggs isn't funny anymore. He is hurting decent people without cause

[ParadoxLost]

They are taking it too far with Riggs. 

There was a brief respite when he was getting over his wife's death and moving on.  Now mommy issues.  Daddy issues.   I don't need any more issues where Riggs is spinning out emotionally and self destructive and suicidal.

The drunk driving is really putting me off the show.  Its not ok.

[JackONeill]

This anger issue is NOT funny. Hurting innocent people is not funny or cool.

Also, what was the deal with the affidavit Cahill signed? They seemed to go back and forth about it, then at the very end Cahill asks for the white-out.

They just can’t seem to figure which way to take the characters or the overall show. Tonight, Riggs’ father seemed almost sympathetic.

And I’m tired of Murtaugh’s kids. 

Edited January 17, 2018 by JackONeill

[ParadoxLost]

30 minutes ago, JackONeill said:

Also, what was the deal with the affidavit Cahill signed? They seemed to go back and forth about it, then at the very end Cahill asks for the white-out.

It seems like its supposed to be something that protects the department from liability if Riggs does something really costly or bad.  Can't imagine it would work for the department, so maybe its just career protection for Santos by throwing Cahill under the bus if something happens.

I think the white out thing was just playing it for a joke.

That is what I'm having a problem with.  A lot of things that are not funny, like the drunk driving and hurting innocent people, are being played as jokes.

[Irlandesa]

I'm glad I'm not the only one losing interest in the show.  Last season was so enjoyable.  The show knew its characters, worked through some issues and introduced comedy nicely.

This season feels like a struggle.  The cases aren't interesting.  What they're doing with Riggs is torture porn and it immediately makes me care less.  It lacks the heart that drove last season too. 

Such a shame.

[jewel21]

I really enjoyed this episode. This season has been a bit hit or miss for me, but this one was definitely in the win column. I found the story line engaging, and I like while a lot of it was dark, there were some funny moments, too.

Also, I know people don't like Cahill, but I find myself liking the episodes she has a bigger role in. Which is funny, because I was never a fan of the actress and hated her in The Fast and The Furious movies. Yet, I enjoy her on this show, particularly playing off of Riggs.

I hope next week is just as good.

[bethster2000]

BIPOLAR PEOPLE ARE NOT "CRAZY."

[JackONeill]

I’m curious about one thing, of many, about this show.

When Riggs chased after the guy who climbed the building, I got the impression that Roger and Cahill thought that Riggs was somehow responsible for the man’s death. True, we have all seen Riggs do stupid hare-brained things. In fact, I thought he was going to grab the guy and jump into the dumpster they lingered on as they were climbing.  (I had no real sense how high they were but we’ve seen unbelievable things, especially on this show.)

But then the guy pulled a knife and lashed out at Riggs. Then, off-balance, the man fell. And died, right? (That wasn’t clear to me either.)

So, did everyone think Riggs was responsible for that???  I sure don’t think so. In fact, Riggs was trying to talk th3 man down before he pulled the knife. However, the one thing I didn’t like was that Riggs didn’t show any emotion. To me, that should have added to his guilt of losing his mother, his wife, his father, etc. That one thing would have been a good way for Cahill to help Riggs, to show him he ISN’T responsible.

Edited January 17, 2018 by JackONeill

[Happy Harpy]

Agree with many above. The show this season seems to have no direction, has no balance, and lately Riggs really suffers from it.

I still have the same issue with Cahill, she's Riggs' shrink and his friend. And now she's responsible for his behavior, and it's pretty unfair to the character imo. Either she'll be the enabler or the "bad guy", either Riggs will be more of a jerk. I don't see how it can work out well. Riggs can only change from within, because he wants it, and not for a partner, a friend of a girlfriend (including Palmer). With the way the writers piled  trauma after trauma, I don't think he can be in that place anytime soon, as opposed to Movie or Season 1 Riggs.

Are they planning to kill RJ off or something? Murtaugh's "I'm worried", with no follow up, was pretty ominous. I hope not. The show is dark enough as it is.

[WendyCR72]

I started out loving the show and thought it straddled the films and TV well. But it is fast becoming a chore. Maybe this really is meant just for film, since the time constraints kept everyone from being self indulgent. I think that helped by leaps and bounds in letting Movie Riggs heal.

Who would watch four films if he is still sad/morose/suicidal in all of them? He managed to keep his edge there but found happiness again.

Is it that hard to follow the same trajectory here?

[MissLucas]

Well, we had to expect that the mother's death would sooner or later come up. It looked like Dad wasn't exactly super-Dad before but that might have triggered a new level of nastiness. But I'm not sure why this pops up right now. Where is the trigger? It feels forced. No wonder Cahill is confused.

Anyhow, agreed that this is getting too dark. The show should not have dropped Molly & the kid.  I know they do not want to waste the potential that crazy Riggs bring along. Following Joss Whedon's guidebook that happy people make boring tv. So they threw a wrench in there by having Dad threaten Riggs' surrogate family. But breaking off with Molly did not really solve that problem. Who's to stop Dad coming after the Murtaughs next time he wants Riggs to follow orders? Since this plot is clearly the main cause for all the misery we get right now they should not drag it out much longer. Deal with Dad and his threat (preferably by not killing him), then have Riggs re-establish bonds with the family he started to create.  Right now the show's trying to make us forget that Molly and Ben ever existed - but that's not working  It's especially jarring to see Riggs playing with suicide in an episode where we see how badly his mother's suicide affected him when we know that there's a kid out there who started to look at Riggs as a surrogate Dad.

Riggs trying to fit into what makes a stable home was a compelling plot and did have potential as there was no way it would all be smooth sailing. Dropping that for more drama and having the character relapse so badly was a mistake.

[Commando Cody]

I have pretty much lost interest in this show. I used to watch on the night it recorded. I was backed up three episodes and I am finally watching the most recent. When a show goes from must see to putting off until I have watched everything else, it's time to move on. 

 

I very much dislike the arc of the evil father. We're getting flashbacks of Riggs's horrible childhood. His plot twist mistrusting wife/girlfriend who spied on him. His dead mother. 

Helicopter Murtaugh parents going berserk over their legally adult son dropping out of college. He's so stressed out about disappointing his parents he has to see a psychiatrist? At least we now know that there are two working psychiatrists in the city.  This might lift Cahill's workload a little bit. At least she doesn't have to council the Murtaugh son while he goes through his gut wrenching guilt of disappointing his parents. 

 

I really enjoyed the first season. This season took a dark turn. It's not fun to watch anymore. They resolved the dead wife story and then resurrected it. Riggs couldn't get a break, they had to give him a tragic back story. 

[juliet73]

On 1/20/2018 at 2:39 PM, Commando Cody said:

 

Helicopter Murtaugh parents going berserk over their legally adult son dropping out of college. He's so stressed out about disappointing his parents he has to see a psychiatrist? At least we now know that there are two working psychiatrists in the city.  This might lift Cahill's workload a little bit. At least she doesn't have to council the Murtaugh son while he goes through his gut wrenching guilt of disappointing his parents. 

 

I really enjoyed the first season. This season took a dark turn. It's not fun to watch anymore. They resolved the dead wife story and then resurrected it. Riggs couldn't get a break, they had to give him a tragic back story. 

Agree! I did like RJ's shrink way better than Cahill. (She was on "In Living Color" with Damon). The kids are beyond spoiled and need to grow up. I hate it when they are featured.

Agree with everyone else that this season really took a nose dive. I don't understand Rigg's dad. He was basically a jerk, but after the mom died he became an alcoholic, child abusing scumbag criminal?  

I love the captain and the B team. I wish they were more involved in the episodes.

Riggs is now Cahill's responsibility? Yeah, that would happen in real life. Lame!

[dargosmydaddy]

Quote

When Riggs chased after the guy who climbed the building, I got the impression that Roger and Cahill thought that Riggs was somehow responsible for the man’s death. True, we have all seen Riggs do stupid hare-brained things. In fact, I thought he was going to grab the guy and jump into the dumpster they lingered on as they were climbing.  (I had no real sense how high they were but we’ve seen unbelievable things, especially on this show.)

But then the guy pulled a knife and lashed out at Riggs. Then, off-balance, the man fell. And died, right? (That wasn’t clear to me either.)

So, did everyone think Riggs was responsible for that???  I sure don’t think so. In fact, Riggs was trying to talk th3 man down before he pulled the knife. However, the one thing I didn’t like was that Riggs didn’t show any emotion. To me, that should have added to his guilt of losing his mother, his wife, his father, etc. That one thing would have been a good way for Cahill to help Riggs, to show him he ISN’T responsible.

I don't think they were blaming him for the guy's death, though possibly they thought he was making a bad situation worse (i.e. maybe if he had backed off rather than trying to engage with the guy, things would've ended differently). However, the bigger issue, which Cahill brought up in a later scene, was how Riggs put himself in such a dangerous situation without a second thought and seemed to have no concern for his own life. Which, granted, Roger has witnessed many times before, but Cahill hasn't. (Hence Roger yelling at Riggs that he was scaring Cahill during said scene.)

And yes, the guy definitely died! He was on Scorsese's table later, when he said both victims didn't have medications in their bloodstreams.

[Orbert]

This probably isn't too high up the WTF scale, all things considered, but I was surprised that the guy died.  They seemingly made a point of showing how he was right over the dumpster, which had a bunch of stuff in it.  If he'd fallen from that height onto pavement, yeah he would've splattered.  But I thought the whole point was that he would fall into the dumpster, and whatever "stuff" was in it would break his fall.

[TobinAlbers]

Ha! Loved the 'In Living Color' reunion with Wayans and Kelly Coffield Park (RJ's therapist).  Can we get Kim Coles, David Alan Grier, Tommy Davidson, and T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh on too?

Riggs' childhood exploration is pretty dire and angsty; maybe Clayne Crawford wanted to keep exploring that a bit to give him more meat. Or the show doesn't have a complete game plan for happy Riggs. But if they go 5 seasons, season 3 can be where he turns the corner finally, season 4 he commits to his lady/gets married, season 5 is him finally becoming a dad and then the show is done.

Loved Avery's instincts having him duck and Roger taking the punch. I felt bad for him having to take one from the team because a punch from Riggs has to hurt and since Avery's had a little...work..done.  But then it all came round full circle that Roger delivered the punch to Avery. Hopefully Roger's fists don't deliver as much damage. Heh.

Edited March 1, 2018 by TobinAlbers