S03.E01: The Killing

[formerlyfreedom]

Baz fights for his life as the Cody boys figure out what their next move is in the aftermath of the shooting. Smurf gets some surprising news in jail and fields an offer from Pearce.

[totallyrosalie]

That wig on Deran/Jake Weary is terrible. I was wondering how they were going to deal with his haircut, but this wasn’t their best choice.

[Cranky One]

My DVR recorded the sneak peak last night, so I already watched the episode. But, I will wait until it airs tonight before discussing. However, I did notice Jake's wig was exceptionally noticeable!

[WalkerTalker]

Geeze, I must have missed something last season. I don't remember Smurf going to jail. 

[patty1h]

Wow!  They killed off Baz!  Even though he was a horrible dad and a thief and kinda creepy, I liked the actor and the character for his interaction with the family.  RIP, Barry Blackwell.

 I was kinda bummed when last season ended and Craig went away, I thought that the were basically writing Ben Robson out of the series.  I like the big lug, so I'm glad to see that he has a part to play this season.  It was sweet to see the brothers having a group hug to console each other, but the scene confirmed that J is just such an outsider, you gotta feel a little bad for him.

I HATE that that cow Nicky is still around.  I hope that Pope's unhinged rage at her and the world drives Nicky away... soon.

Edited May 30, 2018 by patty1h

[mxc90]

Too bad they killed Baz. I wanted to see him and Smurf square off this season. Dennis Leary looks like a poor replacement.

[nekilarose]

Well, they got the cliff hanger right out the way. Bye Baz, don't let the door hit you on the way out. I had wondered how they were gonna tell Lena, and while I thought Pope's story was woefully lacking, she didn't deserve to find out that way. Poor baby. 

Speaking of Lucy, it was smart of her to return and talk to the brothers. If she had just disappeared, that would have been worse.  If it wasn't her that set Baz up to be shot, she's still going to hell wearing gasoline draws for stealing from him while he was dying. 

I know we got hints of how in-hinged Pope could be the past two seasons, but I think Smurf pretty much kept him on a leash. No Smurf now, and no Baz, good god he's gonna spin out of control.  Nikki should really just temper herself when he's around.

And Craig! Yes, honey, it's called an autopsy. He's dead, he cant feel anything anymore. But they had a nice send off for Baz (even though I don't think he deserved it in the end)

[peridot]

I read spoilers about Baz's death, but I expected it to happen at the end of the episode.  They offed him in the first 10 minutes!

J is stone cold, I can't tell if he was knowingly involved in Baz's death at all.  Pope was wound up tight, but I couldn't help but laugh at his sneering at the nachos and telling Nicky to sit her ass down.

Lucy was eventually able to make it to the house, but did she tell the guys that she stole their cache?

[nilyank]

47 minutes ago, peridot said:

J is stone cold, I can't tell if he was knowingly involved in Baz's death at all.  Pope was wound up tight, but I couldn't help but laugh at his sneering at the nachos and telling Nicky to sit her ass down.

 

When she set down those nachos, I thought for sure that he would kill her for sure. I don't know how she will last the season without Pope killing if she doesn't go away from J and his family. 

Smurf is fooling no one with her grief but I believe all the brothers are grieving for Baz. Can't tell with J after his initial reaction when Pope told him.

[lazylou]

I was amazed how quickly the writers took care of the two big cliffhangers of the summer:

1) Will Baz live?  He  does not make it through the first ten minutes of the season, and 

2) Who dun it?  Smurf with the help of Javi's former crew...  inadvertently facilitated by J. Apparently.

I am glad Scott Speedman found employment in Shondaland...

 Now, on to the apparent Season Three conflicts: Pope is once again angry, suspicious, and threatening everyone except Lena in his quest to revenge Baz.  J was never really trusted by anyone except Nikki, who, rather than being an ally in a time of danger, is more like a helpless dependent.  Even Smurf once again suspects him.  So the cheese stands alone.

He sees that he has been used by everyone, can trust no one, yet in some ways sits in the cat bird's seat.  He should secretly sell the beautiful big apartment building, take Nikki, and go off to engineering school on the East coast.  But of course that would end the show, so...

Does anyone have any idea how Smurf knew about the house where Baz had hidden the money?  Maybe she followed him  at some point or heard about it on the bug she planted in his house.

[showme]

30 minutes ago, lazylou said:

2) Who dun it?  Smurf with the help of Javi's former crew...  inadvertently facilitated by J. Apparently.

Is that true, or just your speculation?

It is very suspicious that the shooter aimed Baz but didn't harm Lucy at all, wouldn't a killer want no eye witness left behind? And the the fact that Lucy wasting no time to grab the money doesn't help her either.

I do have one question though, how did Smurf know where Baz was hiding the money?

[Chaos Theory]

I went into the season spoiler free so I was exceptionally surprised that they killed Baz off.   It’s actually a great move story wise.  I know a lot of people hate Nikki but Baz was always the one I couldn’t really stomach and he pretty much drew himself into a corner.  Now the “who killed Baz” is actually a great story.  

[lazylou]

8 hours ago, showme said:

Is that true, or just your speculation?

It is very suspicious that the shooter aimed Baz but didn't harm Lucy at all, wouldn't a killer want no eye witness left behind? And the the fact that Lucy wasting no time to grab the money doesn't help her either.

I do have one question though, how did Smurf know where Baz was hiding the money?

Just speculation.  I am not sure that the crew was Javi's former crew...just thought the guy who visited Smurf looked familiar...but I think this guy arranged the shooting. The "arrangement" the jail visitor talked about would have been to shoot  Baz and recover the suitcases from the house.  Lucy did not need to shoot Baz.  She was Baz's partner, basically, and he was moving to Mexico. She thinks she can control him, as she told Nikki in Season Two. But once he has been shot, she recovers the goods before whoever shot him can. In fact, she now will have a problem fencing the stuff she recovered.

I wonder how Smurf knew where the money was, too..maybe she picked it up from the bug she put in his house; maybe she hired someone to follow him. Since he apparently dry walled after he put the money in the wall..remember, originally, it was just behind plywood...seems he must have spent some time at the place.  I wondered last season if J had bought the truck to follow Baz...but he tells Smurf he did not know where it was, so maybe, even if he did follow Baz, he kept the location to himself.

In the previous season, Marco was unable to fence one valuable ring. How will Lucy and Marco manage to fence all that stuff w/o Baz?  I think most of what was in the suitcases was actually jewelry, watches, etc...Baz had taken all the cash separately.  

J has the buildings now to handle.  I hope all the apartments are mostly rented, or he will have problems paying utilities, taxes, etc.  He did not take his share of the $1.4 mil, and presumably Baz's share was still in that suitcase...so what happened to that money?  

Why was the crime scene tape gone when Pope visited the scene a few hours after the event?  

[Chaos Theory]

Baz robbed Smurf last season and has everything in his house.  My guess is it wasn’t hard for Smurf to guess where he hid it.  She knows who her boys essentially are.  He got one over on her by framing her.  That surprised her but she is smarter then they are and guessing where he hid the stuff he stole was and easy guess.   Lucy getting to it first was a wrinkle in her plans.  

I have no idea who killed Baz.  I don’t think J or Smurf is that cold blooded but it makes a fun story for Pope to think either or both of them are so he unravels.    It’s more likely the Lucy, the cop or Dennis Leary who will definitely be a fun new player this season.  

Edited May 30, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[iMonrey]

I really needed a refresher on last season - did TNT run a marathon of Season 2 before this season premiered? They did that last year and it helped a lot. For some dumb reason you can't even access the Season 2 episodes on the TNT app.

ANYWAY. I'm torn on them killing off Baz. On the one hand he got to be a real asshole last season. On the other hand, I can't help but think they got rid of Scott Speedman to pay for Dennis Leary. And I don't know if that's a trade-off worth having. No doubt Ellen Barkin and Speedman got the highest salaries, since those are the two biggest "names." 

Can't remember why we all thought it might have been J who shot Baz last season. Did they get in a fight or something?

Good grief, the wig they got for Jake Weary was atrocious! It wasn't even the right color and it looked like doll hair. Hope we've seen the last of it. 

I hate to say it, but Ben Robson was just not convincing in his "grief" scene by the pool. Normally I'm all about The Craig but Shawn Hatosy and Jake Weary really sold the emotion in this episode, whereas Ben Robson just couldn't measure up. Not a great acting job on his part. 

Seems like Lucy is the obvious suspect in the theft of all the stuff Baz stole from Smurf's storage unit. She's certainly the most likely to know where he hid it, anyway. I'm surprised Pope hasn't confronted her about it like he did with J.

J is still such a cipher. I wonder if we are ever going to find out who shot Baz for sure.

They have GOT to get Smurf out of jail by the end of this season. Ellen Barkin is looking really rough in there.

Edited May 30, 2018 by iMonrey

[tennisgurl]

They actually killed off Baz! I cant believe it! I guess Dennis Leary will be taking his spot, but I am legit shocked he died in the first few minutes of the show. Baz was an asshole, but I will still miss his interactions with his family, and I need feel bad for his brothers. I really did feel their grief for him, even with all their dysfunction. I am pretty sure that Smurf has Baz killed in a power play, but I really cant be sure. 

I dont buy her grief at all. I thought her conversation with the other inmates about having a grandchild was pretty telling. Dont like how you raised one kid? Just wait for them to procreate, and try again later! And also that she has no interest in kids she cant control through creepy incest,like her daughter. She probably would have dropped Lena eventually when she wasn't little and cute anymore. I thinks he does love her family to an extent, but will still quickly throw them under the bus to help herself. Especially if she still has J around. 

Even if Baz was a piece of shit, the ending was still sweet. Glad that Craig is back, even if he plans on heading back to Mexico. I have a soft spot for the big lug. 

Nikki needs to get out before Pope kills her out of sheer annoyance. She needs to fuck off and soon. 

[Raja]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I really needed a refresher on last season - did TNT run a marathon of Season 2 before this season premiered? They did that last year and it helped a lot. For some dumb reason you can't even access the Season 2 episodes on the TNT app.

ANYWAY. I'm torn on them killing off Baz. On the one hand he got to be a real asshole last season. On the other hand, I can't help but think they got rid of Scott Speedman to pay for Dennis Leary. And I don't know if that's a trade-off worth having. No doubt Ellen Barkin and Speedman got the highest salaries, since those are the two biggest "names." 

Can't remember why we all thought it might have been J who shot Baz last season. Did they get in a fight or something?

Good grief, the wig they got for Jake Weary was atrocious! It wasn't even the right color and it looked like doll hair. Hope we've seen the last of it. 

I hate to say it, but Ben Robson was just not convincing in his "grief" scene by the pool. Normally I'm all about The Craig but Shawn Hatosy and Jake Weary really sold the emotion in this episode, whereas Ben Robson just couldn't measure up. Not a great acting job on his part. 

Seems like Lucy is the obvious suspect in the theft of all the stuff Baz stole from Smurf's storage unit. She's certainly the most likely to know where he hid it, anyway. I'm surprised Pope hasn't confronted her about it like he did with J.

J is still such a cipher. I wonder if we are ever going to find out who shot Baz for sure.

They have GOT to get Smurf out of jail by the end of this season. Ellen Barkin is looking really rough in there.

They showed us Lucy and her brother grabbing the stuff last season as Baz was bleeding out.

[SuzieQ]

I can see how J wasn't all that broken up about Baz.  Baz was awful to him and clearly stated that he didn't care if he was J's father.  Now that Baz is out of he way, J is the clear leader and the only one not acting on pure emotion.  Pope is unhinged, Craig is smoking hot but dumber than a door knob and Deran just wants out of this mess.  Will be interesting to see the conflict with Dennis Leary, but I still wish Smurf was out of jail.  My vote for who killed Baz is Javi, although part of me thinks that's too obvious.

[lazylou]

2 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Baz robbed Smurf last season and his everything in his house.  My guess is it wasn’t hard for Smurf to guess where he hid it.  She knows who her boys essentially are.  He got one over on her by framing her.  That surprised her but she is smarter then they are and guessing where he hid the stuff he stole was and easy guess.   Lucy getting to it first was a wrinkle in her plans.  

I have no idea who killed Baz.  I don’t think J or Smurf is that cold blooded but it makes a fun story for Pope to think either or both of them are so he unravels with them.  It’s more likely the Lucy, the cop or Dennis Leary who will definitely be a fun new player this season.  

The house where the suitcases were hidden was not the house where Baz lived.  It was a house he had just acquired.  So finding it was not such an easy guess., though I suppose she had someone following him after she realized he had robbed her, or had  heard him talking to Lucy on the bug she planted in the house where he did live.

 Smurf is that cold blooded.  She ordered the death of Catherine, Catherine's parents...and Catherine too if she had not been lured from the family home the night of the fire...Javi, and probably Javi's dad since it was her gun that she used; she killed the man who abandoned her when her mother was killed, and who knows who else. She threw J's mother from the family and all but abandoned both her and J, then a young boy.   Baz has now betrayed her.  She would totally have him killed for that.

[missbonnie]

I would pay good money to see Pope take out a gun and just blow that dumb as a stump, skank Nikki off the map. I have always hated that character. I rather like seeing Smurf in the clink myself. The way she continually calls J baby makes my skin crawl. I totally think that she had Baz killed and I think that J knows exactly who did it. Glad to see Craig, but Daren and Pope are my favorites. Dennis Leary's addition should shake things up. 

Edited May 30, 2018 by missbonnie
Errors

[iMonrey]

Smurf manipulated Pope into killing Catherine and she also tried to manipulate him into killing Baz. If you recall, she told Baz that Pope knew what happened to Catherine, then she called Pope and warned him that Baz knew and was coming for him. But Pope just confessed to Baz and Baz forgave him because he knew Smurf manipulated him. 

So when the cops pulled her into the office and told her Baz was dead, my assumption was that she thought Pope did it, because that's what she set up. I don't think she set up anything with Javi's crew (the one she paid to shoot Javi) because she thought she had it taken care of with Pope.

What a tangled mess!

The more I think about it, the more I have to concede that Baz met the natural end of his story. There was really no way for him to come back from what he did to Smurf. She can still manipulate her sons and J but she was never going to have any hold over Baz again and he was never going to forgive her, either. 

[solea]

I can’t help feeling that Baz is only mostly dead. When the ER doc called time of death the camera showed a close up of his hand, I expected it to twitch. But it’s mostly that no one has seen Baz dead. News came from the cops. The body hasn’t been released. If Baz miraculously revived the cops may be keeping it quiet in order to try to get the others to turn on each other or cop pleas as suggested by the cop to Smurf. 

-“”The "arrangement" the jail visitor talked about would have been to shoot  Baz and recover the suitcases from the house.””-

I too don’t know how Smurf knows where Baz hid the money. The only person he told was Lucy. But the “arrangement” Smurf’s jail visitor mentioned is her prison protection squad. She is paying for protection on the inside, but now that her stash was stolen he asks Smurf if this will affect their arrangement. Which is why J met the people in the black car and gave them an envelope of money. 

Edited May 30, 2018 by solea

[Gsallo]

Nope. BAZ is 100% dead. Leary will take over as anti-smurf brigade. Just like the movie version, the inevitable downfall of the Cody bros happens, as the ending song eludes, “no way out but down!”  Its gonna be a fun ride!

OK premiere but I thought a time jump was needed, I expect e2 will reset.

Btw, find it funny Smurf has leverage even in jail, she stole a lot from her sons, now she's protected and I do think eventually J will be revealed as the shooter. Only other person who people keep forgetting is Vinny, left for dead, and wants revenge on Baz (even knows where he lives).

Note: Speedman left for Grey's Anatomy while shooting, maybe he wasn't happy, wanted more money? He did the same thing in the Underworld franchise. Or he wanted to leave much like Frank Dillane did in TWD.

11 hours ago, SuzieQ said:

I can see how J wasn't all that broken up about Baz.  Baz was awful to him and clearly stated that he didn't care if he was J's father.  Now that Baz is out of he way, J is the clear leader and the only one not acting on pure emotion.  Pope is unhinged, Craig is smoking hot but dumber than a door knob and Deran just wants out of this mess.  Will be interesting to see the conflict with Dennis Leary, but I still wish Smurf was out of jail.  My vote for who killed Baz is Javi, although part of me thinks that's too obvious.

The way I see it:

* J will run smurfs errands.

* Deran will be stuck with his father (Leary).

* Craig/Wrenn move to Mexico.

* Pope becomes Mr detective in finding out who shot baz!

* Smurf will be released near the end. Book it!

Edited May 31, 2018 by Gsallo

[Gsallo]

13 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I hate to say it, but Ben Robson was just not convincing in his "grief" scene by the pool. Normally I'm all about The Craig but Shawn Hatosy and Jake Weary really sold the emotion in this episode, whereas Ben Robson just couldn't measure up. Not a great acting job on his part.

Agree on Ben, worst actor on the show. Honestly brings nothing to the table. Even Lena is a better character.

[Princess Consuela]

From the few articles I've seen - the writers always planned on Baz dying (and informed Scott of that when he got the job) - the original plan was for him to die in season 1 but they realized they had more story so pushed it back to season 2.    Am going to miss Baz - always loved the interactions between Baz & Pope.

While I like Deran, Craig & J - Pope is my favorite - be interesting to see how he fairs now that Smurf's in jail  & his other calming influence (Baz) is dead - Lena may be the only one left that can keep him from completely going off the rails.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Btw, find it funny Smurf has leverage even in jail, she stole a lot from her sons, 

It's a tough call to say she "stole" from her sons. She kept a bigger cut than she let on, but considering what a headcase Pope is, and what hedonists Craig and Deran were at that point (and Craig still is) is it any wonder she'd set aside a large savings account? She's had to bail them all out numerous times. She's basically been the brains of this operation from the start. I have a hard time saying she didn't have the prerogative. 

Quote

* Craig/Wrenn move to Mexico.

I was worried they were writing him off too after he told Deran he was going back to Mexico, but he's in all the promo spots for the season, so he's not going anywhere. Which - thank goodness. I can maybe live with losing one of the brothers but not two. And we need our comic relief!

It's ironic to think Craig has outlived Baz though (or anyone else, for that matter). 

[Dessert]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It's ironic to think Craig has outlived Baz though (or anyone else, for that matter). 

It’s hilarious the way he manages to defy the logic of being “too dumb to live”. I like to think he’ll be the last man standing, oblivious as world crash around him.

[JFParnell]

On 5/31/2018 at 1:14 AM, Gsallo said:

I hate to say it, but Ben Robson was just not convincing in his "grief" scene by the pool. Normally I'm all about The Craig but Shawn Hatosy and Jake Weary really sold the emotion in this episode, whereas Ben Robson just couldn't measure up. Not a great acting job on his part.

 

On 5/31/2018 at 1:14 AM, Gsallo said:

Agree on Ben, worst actor on the show. Honestly brings nothing to the table. Even Lena is a better character.

That "no way they're cutting him up" (or whatever the exact lines were) was just beyond weird -- a weird piece of writing, and, yeah, it didn't come off, did it? I've only just caught up on this terrific series after binge-watching on Amazon Prime. And Craig cracks me up -- just such a big doofus. But he's at least self-aware enough to realize he IS a dumbass and total screw-up. Which earns him some sympathy. I dunno. He hasn't stood out to me as a uniformly bad actor, but agree he wasn't able to bring those strange lines to life. Maybe no one could? lol. 

Seemed like a good start to season 3. So curious to know where J really stands in all of this. And, while Pope's character grated on me for awhile (might be in the minority on that!) I'm starting to come around to him. A vengeful Pope is going to be a force to fear this season.

[iMonrey]

Quote

So curious to know where J really stands in all of this.

I don't think we'll ever know where J stands! That kid is such a cipher you can never tell what's going on in his head. I go back and forth on whether Finn Cole is the worst actor in the world or the best. Either way he totally nails "try to guess what I'm thinking."

[lazylou]

On a fan site, I learned that on the Season 2 DVD there is a deleted scene that shows Smurf hiring Deke, the guy she hired to shoot Javi, to follow Baz.  This is how she knew where he had hidden the jewelry, etc.  She may have hired him to kill Baz, too.  That might not have been so hard.  Deke is the actual killer of Javi (in league with Smurf) and may be quite happy to get rid of the witness.  This all explains why she needed the money she dug up and had to fence the jewelry from the boat heist so soon after the robbery.  Also, she is paying the Trujillos, apparently, for protection in jail.  

[nilyank]

17 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I don't think we'll ever know where J stands! That kid is such a cipher you can never tell what's going on in his head. I go back and forth on whether Finn Cole is the worst actor in the world or the best. Either way he totally nails "try to guess what I'm thinking."

I think Smurf called him Joshua when he visited her in this episode. But I'm not too sure.

[I-Kare]

Guess I'm okay with Baz dying since my main complaint last season was that they seemed to completely remold his character into something I found a LOT less interesting than S1. There was a lot of potential in S1 Baz that seemed to go to waste in S2 with his turn. Scott was the reason I even found the show, so I'm sorry to see him go. 

[Gsallo]

The problem was Speedman as a villain, didn't sell it for me. S1 he was the father figure than went full manipulation, but I understand why he went nuts against Smurf in s2. She knew he was a thorn on her side and karma eventually bit him in butt.

I knew the endgame was him being shot in a car but what interests me is who shot him? Writers could potentially shock us, and they probably will.

On 6/1/2018 at 10:57 AM, iMonrey said:

I don't think we'll ever know where J stands! That kid is such a cipher you can never tell what's going on in his head. I go back and forth on whether Finn Cole is the worst actor in the world or the best. Either way he totally nails "try to guess what I'm thinking."

Hahahaha! I agree, he really has a good poker face but pope ain't dealing with his shit. I expect these two to clash this season just like in the movie and we all know who wins!

Edited June 4, 2018 by Gsallo

[Coxfires]

A bit sad they killed Baz just because Speedman and Hatosy were always clicking so well on screen, but The Whodunnit is interesting. Funny how I couldn’t stand Pope in the first episodes of S1 and find him to be my favorite character now. Nikki grated so him lashing out at her was oddly satisfying.

Smurf is such a mind bender that I can’t know for sure that she wasn’t at least a tad sad Baz was dead. J is still as unreadable as ever.

The girls being embarrassed at the 3 brothers crying by the pool made me laugh, weirdly. But I liked seeing that despite Baz not being their biological brother, they still saw him as such. And Pope saying he’d kill whoever did Baz if it found them was a euphemism, he looked ready to raise Hell on earth. Hatosy can be scary AF, what an actor, he and Barkin are just awesome to watch.

Anyway, interesting new dynamic for this season.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Smurf hiring Deke, the guy she hired to shoot Javi, to follow Baz.  This is how she knew where he had hidden the jewelry, etc.  She may have hired him to kill Baz, too. 

That doesn't make any sense, though, because Smurf was under the impression Pope was going to kill Baz. That's why she a.) told Baz Pope knew what happened to Catherine, and then b.) promptly called Pope to warn him Baz knew he killed Catherine and was coming for him. 

The only alternative is that she asked Deke to kill Baz if Pope didn't go through with it (or if Baz killed Pope instead). But this all happened in one day's time - she couldn't have known whether or not Pope killed Baz by the time he was shot. And I'm assuming at this point she is under the impression that Pope did indeed kill Baz.

Quote

Nikki grated so him lashing out at her was oddly satisfying.

Except when he lashed out at her for offering them nachos (and it looked like there were pigs in blankets on the table too). I mean . . . she was just trying to help and that's probably the first nice thing she's ever done! (Otherwise . . . yeah, wouldn't shed a tear if Pope killed her off.)

[LoveLeigh]

On 5/29/2018 at 5:02 PM, totallyrosalie said:

That wig on Deran/Jake Weary is terrible. I was wondering how they were going to deal with his haircut, but this wasn’t their best choice.

He is unrecognizable to me. 

[Pink-n-Green]

On 5/31/2018 at 1:14 AM, Gsallo said:

Agree on Ben, worst actor on the show. Honestly brings nothing to the table. Even Lena is a better character.

Well, he DOES bring the pretty :)

And I agree with someone else who posted that he brings comic relief (although I'm not sure if that is on purpose or not)

As for Nikki...I know I'm in the minority but I don't mind her.  I think she remembered that Smurf always had munchies set out at the family meetings so she was just trying to help.