The Mysteries Of Laura - General Discussion

[Texasmom1970]

I know this is tv land but could they have been a little more realistic about Laura's behavior. Right or not, in real life you talk to your new boss like that they would hand her ass to her on a platter!

[Julia]

I know this is tv land but could they have been a little more realistic about Laura's behavior. Right or not, in real life you talk to your new boss like that they would hand her ass to her on a platter!

 

That part, actually, I could kind of buy. I'm sure Captain Asshole (the second) would have gotten rid of Laura already if she could have. But after her embarassing public flameout, she kind of can't afford to hang a lantern on the fact that she can't work and play well with people. The one person she did manage to get rid of, she did it on technical grounds. Trying to bust (what they keep telling us is) a popular detective with a ridiculous success rate when pretty much everyone in the precinct would testify on her behalf at the union hearings is not a way to stay in your soft new command.

Edited September 25, 2015 by Julia

[gik910]

I hated the new Captain. Did she honestly think that an entire precinct would just welcome her with open arms when their Captain (who had been shot trying to stop a crime) came back? Aside from Jake's issues with Laura, he seemed like a pretty effective Captain.

 

I miss Frankie (who would have thought). I miss the chef boyfriend. I even missed the nanny (not the boys though.)  

 

I did like the COTW.

[Free]

I hated the new Captain. Did she honestly think that an entire precinct would just welcome her with open arms when their Captain (who had been shot trying to stop a crime) came back?

 

She's so obnoxious to the point where it actively interferes with the investigation.

[Julia]

I hated the new Captain. Did she honestly think that an entire precinct would just welcome her with open arms when their Captain (who had been shot trying to stop a crime) came back? Aside from Jake's issues with Laura, he seemed like a pretty effective Captain.

I think she's supposed to be a humorless powertripping harpy who doesn't get along with anyone and enjoys making people unhappy. I expect she and Laura will eventually bond over being single mothers or powerful women in a man's world when she Learns To Trust. Until then she'll serve as a reminder that Laura, despite not getting back with Jake romantically, is not one of those ballbusting women. Massive cliché. I understand Castle just got rid of theirs.

[gik910]

I think she's supposed to be a humorless powertripping harpy who doesn't get along with anyone and enjoys making people unhappy. I expect she and Laura will eventually bond over being single mothers or powerful women in a man's world when she Learns To Trust. Until then she'll serve as a reminder that Laura, despite not getting back with Jake romantically, is not one of those ballbusting women. Massive cliché. I understand Castle just got rid of theirs.

They did- and while I got used to Capt. Gates I think the difference is her issues were almost always with Castle-who in all reality should not have been in the think of things.  

 

Back to Laura- yes this Capt. is a massive cliche- which is sad because what did work about this show was the team. The precinct was a fun place.  I just do not understand what the writers are thinking.

[Julia]

They did- and while I got used to Capt. Gates I think the difference is her issues were almost always with Castle-who in all reality should not have been in the think of things.  

 

Back to Laura- yes this Capt. is a massive cliche- which is sad because what did work about this show was the team. The precinct was a fun place.  I just do not understand what the writers are thinking.

Probably that if they were going to take away the divorced working woman's mommy time and not concentrate so much on her relationship issues they had to make her 'relatable' by giving the audience a powerful female character to dislike (think early Cam on Bones, when both she and Brennan used to get stories that weren't about the goings on in the lives of their men and their children). IOW, they somehow looked at everything that went wrong last season and thought a little more sexism would make things better.

Also, while I'm ranting, Deborah Messing is a beautiful woman, but whoever put those weird chunky black fake lashes on her needs to stop.

[Free]

I understand Castle just got rid of theirs.

 

These types of characters just don't work because most of the time, it's more unpleasant to watch when them in the scenes they're in.

[shapeshifter]

She's so obnoxious to the point where it actively interferes with the investigation.

So, in other words, a typical boss. (Apologies to any nice bosses reading.)

[Free]

So, in other words, a typical boss. (Apologies to any nice bosses reading.)

 

Well, more of an ott caricature of a mean boss.

[Julia]

And really politically unrealistic. Jake would not have gotten that job as a first-time Captain if he didn't have serious political juice (it's a very affluent neighborhood, to the point where their local school district is the only one in the NYC system which isn't required to accept transfers from less golden neighborhoods outside the district).

 

The idea that he would be replaced during his medical leave by a female Captain Queeg whose own juice was insufficient to move her out of a high-crime district and who publicly disrespected the old boys club in the NYPD, and that she would be allowed to keep that command when his leave was over, is in the realm of fantasy. 

Edited September 26, 2015 by Julia

[Trey]

 

When a woman with cancer dies under strange circumstances, members of the team investigate the community of survivors and supporters.

 

[shapeshifter]

Best line [Laura to guy stuffing cancer charity money in his $3000 suit]: What would your mother say?!

Worst bit: Jake-Laura-Tony triangle. I thought this was over at the end of last season!

Another show (maybe L&O CI? Or Monk? The Mentalist?) had a similar plot, but the fake cancer patient murdered her boyfriend. In this case, the surviving cancer friend had such a healthy, plump face, and was wearing the same bad under-eye shadow that I expected her to be the culprit. If The Show cast her and made her up that way on purpose as a red herring, good job! But if it was just poor casting and makeup: Boo!

Fewer scenes and lines for the Bad New Boss is a good thing.

[Hero]

The Laura-Jake-Tony triangle is getting old.

Josh Lucas is really nice to look at and he is partly why I watch this show.

[Trey]

I was glad that Laura is still with Tony but I can see that he will be breaking it off soon because of constant interruptions for boys, work, Jake, etc.

 

I am also glad that Laura isn't even close to getting back with Jake.

 

 

Best line [Laura to guy stuffing cancer charity money in his $3000 suit]: What would your mother say?!

 

I thought so too.

 

A decent enough episode, certainly not great. 

[gazebo]

I was glad to see that Laura was continuing her relationship with Lucas.  I was so afraid that she was going to drop this hot guy for her husband.  I don't want Jake and Laura to get together so quickly, or even at all.  I like their relationship just fine.  I think Jake and Laura make excellent partners.  I like that Jake knows Laura well enough to trust her judgment, even though he doesn't always agree with her.  And I also like that Laura has this voice of reason next to her if she goes too far off with her theories (which doesn't really happen on this Show).

 

I still can't stand the new captain.  Why does she continue to be so rude and overbearing to her detectives?

 

 

[clb1016]

FYI, Krysta Rodriguez, who played the legitimate cancer victim, is a cancer survivor IRL.  She is a triple-threat talent (actress, singer, dancer) who has appeared in a number of Broadway musicals and has shared the story of her breast cancer/mastectomy on social media.

[Julia]

What's weird is that I was just reading about this literally last week. Fake cancer blogs are apparently a thing.
 

I still can't stand the new captain.  Why does she continue to be so rude and overbearing to her detectives?

 
And yet somehow she's willing to put up with gross insubordination from her detectives. 

[LVmom]

What was with Jake going to the private room to take a pill? Are we going into a health crisis for him now, with that and the upped insurance thing?

 

Or did I misread a scene completely?

[Trey]

What was with Jake going to the private room to take a pill? Are we going into a health crisis for him now, with that and the upped insurance thing?

 

Or did I misread a scene completely?

I saw him taking a pill just outside the captain's room.  If there was another instance of his taking a pill, i missed it.  When I saw him taking the pill I figured it was a tip-off that we will be getting a pain killer addiction storyline.

[Free]

What's weird is that I was just reading about this literally last week. Fake cancer blogs are apparently a thing.

 

It happens with other incidents as well, there are people who lie for attention.

[ASpring1900]

FYI, Krysta Rodriguez, who played the legitimate cancer victim, is a cancer survivor IRL.  She is a triple-threat talent (actress, singer, dancer) who has appeared in a number of Broadway musicals and has shared the story of her breast cancer/mastectomy on social media.

I thought the actress looked familiar! Nice to see Krysta and Debra back together for an episode... I still miss Smash. :(

[AnnaMayWong]

I don't enjoy the 'will she or won't she with her ex-husband' aspect of the show. I don't enjoy Laura's extremely obvious fixation on her ex--awaiting his attentions and side-lining her lovely in love lover while her ex-husband behaves dismissively as he enjoys his liaisons. It reeks of the humiliating... and the trite: Husband gets bored,... has affair(s) but wife does not really move her life along. She's just in a holding pattern until The Husband DECIDES what HE wishes to do. I do not care for this old storied female submission.

--

Edited October 1, 2015 by BookElitist

[iMonrey]

I knew something was hinky right away because when they talked to the food delivery guy, he said he saw the end-of-life counselor going into the victim's apartment building just as he was leaving. But then when they interviewed her, she said she never went into the building. So one of them had to be lying and I got impatient as they worked their way through a maze of other suspects and twists and turns for the next thirty minutes. They should have picked up on that right away.

 

I liked how easily they dealt with the Tony and Jake thing, just a quick and simple exchange between Laura and Meredith, done and done.

 

It's official, I hate the new boss and I don't know what they thought she was going to add to the show but she's an annoying cliche of a character and all she does is obstruct every investigation with her hard-nosed, "by the book" rules. How long would it take her in real life to realize everything Laura says turns out to be true before she stopped trying to block her every move? It's just dumb. 

 

I think the writers thought it would be more interesting if Laura worked with Jake instead of Billy for the sake of romantic and sexual tension but I much preferred it when Jake was the Chief and handed out the assignments. 

Edited October 1, 2015 by iMonrey

[AnnaMayWong]

Partnering with the husband? No, please.

The new chief as the perpetual obstructionist? Please, no.

Laura embarrassingly awaiting Jake's proclamation of love everlasting? Oh, please! Hell no!

[AnnaMayWong]

Why, Laura. Why? Why do you still have feelings for Jake? The show made it very clear throughout the entire season that Laura maintained a cordial relationship with Jake because he was her boss and her children's father, but she was completely over him. Laura never seemed confused about her feelings, except for a recent episode when she got upset about Jake bringing the FBI lady around the boys. But I can assume that was put in as build-up for this episode.

--Laura had enough perspective on her marriage to say to Jake several times that yes, they had fun early on in their marriage, but he ultimately proved to be a womanizing jerk who treated her like shit, and she realizes now that she deserves better and doesn't want Jake back. And Jake has been dating throughout this season even though he supposedly still loves Laura and wants her back. He had sex on her couch! So what would be different if they got back together?

--Please, show, don't make Laura stupid enough to take Jake back. And poor Tony--I've liked him since Laura chased him down in his food truck. Wise up, girl.

--And people can have temporary confusion or memory loss as a result of the medications they're receiving or if they suffered significant head trauma. It doesn't sound as dramatic as Peter's amnesia in "While You Were Sleeping," for example--a movie I loved, by the way.

ETA: I did like Josh Lucas's performance this episode. He toned the charm, which made him more likable.

[AnnaMayWong]

I so agree with your post.

If Laura continues to hesitate and dither over her undeserving husband while dismissing her 'boy'friend, I will have to cease and desist viewing the show.

ETA In the above: EX-husband

[AnnaMayWong]

"I always disliked Jake trying to get Laura back - she is trying to move on and he keeps trying to hold her back, all the while moving on in his life.  I really hope she doesn't go back to him and keeps Tony as the boyfriend."

QUOTE: Trey (May 21, 2015)

I agree.

[shapeshifter]

I would love to see Tony developed more- that was really the only thing I did not like about their romance.

I don't really need/want to see Tony become a real boy. He's the most attractive plot device I've ever seen. Not only good looking (and the actor is 10 years younger than DM, which is kind of awesome for a change), not only a gourmet cook, but he has lines like he did in this episode that begin with the usual admonishments to Laura that she's "spending so much time with the job and the kids, when is [she] going to have time for..." and instead of Tony saying "for me?" he says, "for Laura?" The guy is too good to be true. But that's okay.

[pivot]

I have mixed feelings about this show. The pilot was horrendous, but the show really improved throughout the season to become this quirky cop show. Fast-forward to the second season and all of the humor has been removed, we have a battleax for a captain and we lost the fun blond detective. They are trying to turn this into another one of the dreary procedurals that I don't watch. What a disappointment.

[Free]

They are trying to turn this into another one of the dreary procedurals that I don't watch. What a disappointment.

 

Yup, they rebooted the series this season.

[gik910]

I was so excited when the episode opened with Tony!  

 

Then I watched the rest of it.  The Captain is still the worst. A painkiller addiction for Jake is lazy writing (and I really hated his shirt for some reason).  I miss Laura & BIlly teaming up. I do love the ME. Mostly- the heart and humor is kind of just gone.

 

I really, really, really wish that when Laura & Meredith had their little chat- Laura would have been far more explicit about Jake.  I do not want to see a story where a woman who is balancing a career and motherhood after divorcing her cheating husband go back to him.  It was one of the things that made this show different!  She stood up for herself and her kids.  They can be friendly & co-parent, but if they actually go down that road of rekindling their relationship- I am out. So that end scene was not a good sign...

Edited October 3, 2015 by gik910

[Free]

It was one of the things that made this show different!  She stood up for herself and her kids.  They can be friendly & co-parent, but if they actually go down that road of rekindling their relationship- I am out. So that end scene was not a good sign...

 

That's actually what made the later half of last season more enjoyable once the show toned down the craziness of Laura balancing her rowdy kids and work with her man child ex it had going early on.

[Trey]

 

A technology prodigy is murdered in a high-security building thought to be impenetrable; the team must solve the case before billion-dollar ideas are stolen.

 

[kirinan]

Well. I'm sure Jake's heart condition isn't a major plot point waiting to happen or anything.

Edited October 8, 2015 by kirinan

[Free]

Well. I'm sure Jake's heart condition isn't a major plot point waiting to happen or anything.

 

It's only a matter of when especially if they repeat that for the finale again.

[shapeshifter]

So the mellowing of the tyrannical boss begins.

[Free]

So the mellowing of the tyrannical boss begins.

 

More like the on/off switch, but at least it's more bearable now.

[Trey]

At least it's not a pain killer addiction story line after all.  I am glad about that.

 

They really have sucked a lot of the humour out of the show - it's a good thing we still have Max.

 

When they couldn't figure out the weird blood spray pattern I did think of something rotary, like a weed whacker.  I am obviously watching too many crime shows.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Trey

[Julia]

Totally called the bonding moment over being single mothers. Just saying. Although I was amused by how squicked Laura was by it.

 

I'm going to bet a billionaire corporate officer has a will. 

[Trey]

Totally called the bonding moment over being single mothers. Just saying. Although I was amused by how squicked Laura was by it.

 

I'm going to bet a billionaire corporate officer has a will. 

But Laura genuinely bonded with the victim's mother.

 

Yes, I am sure there is a will leaving everything to his mother.  I loved Jake pointing out to the bio dad that he couldn't claim anything because he never supported his son.  I didn't know that was a law but I'm glad it is.

[xander874]

What was up with that young guy in the crowd of reporters at the beginning who said he wasn't a reporter? I feel like that was random, especially because it didn't come into play later. I thought I even saw him at the memorial service, so maybe that will come back down the road?  

 

I just don't like the Captain. They are making her way too harsh. The whole thing about the mother was very off-putting. Again, I expected a payoff, but nothing.

[Free]

I just don't like the Captain. They are making her way too harsh. The whole thing about the mother was very off-putting. Again, I expected a payoff, but nothing.

 

So far, her character has been all over the place.

[iMonrey]

If Jake has a heart condition then why is he having memory problems? Is the medication he's taking causing him short-term memory loss? I didn't get the connection there.

 

I didn't really buy the premise that a drone could fly into that guy's apartment, slice him up real nice, then fly right back on out without any trouble. Seems to me he would have put up enough of a fight to damage the drone and disable it or at least damage it enough so that it wouldn't have been able to get back out the window. 

[Saylii]

I expected them to find footage of the slice and dice. I assume the friend was piloting it with some kind of camera footage. There's no way in hell that the friend would be able to get a visual at 27 stories up. Otherwise the billionaire would be able to just run from the drone pretty easily.

I think the heart condition and memory loss have to be separate. The only way the atrial fibrillation is going to cause memory loss is if Jake is having mini strokes. Even those would be more stroke-like (droopy face, paralysis, blacking out) then straight up short term memory loss in the middle of a conversation with no side effects.

And I can't believe the NYPD wouldn't require the surgeon who did all the surgery to be the one to sign off on Jake's paperwork. Even if he was an ER surgeon only, the doc would have passed off a cop to the best heart doctor the hospital had. So being able to sneak that by them is extremely suspect. I almost wish that storyline was pain pills.

[Trey]

 

Laura and the team join the search for two convicted killers -- one being their former captain -- who escaped from a maximum security prison.

 

[Trey]

Enrico Colantoni makes every show better.  I would for sure have watched a show with him as Laura's Captain.

 

Edited to fix his name.  Sorry, Rico.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Trey

[Free]

Enrico Colantino makes every show better.  I would for sure have watched a show with him as Laura's Captain.

 

Same, I liked the callback to the pilot.  I also liked him on POI.

[iMonrey]

They really seem to be dialing back the lighthearted humor that characterized the first season. I don't get why. Without Max there would be no humor at all. Plus pairing up Billy and Meredith so soon seems forced and pandering. Laura and Jake's unresolved issues are also boring me. The whole new dynamic to this season isn't really working for me.

[Julia]

Laura: I'm going to keep these bodies hidden because I'm obsessed with a cold case and I think my former boss/partner, who broke my heart when he tried to kill me, can help me get justice for the murdered woman whose children thought she abandoned them all these years. Also, murdered cop. So, I'm going to go see him in prison where I arranged for him to spend the rest of his life.

 

Jake: Oh, fine. All I did was sleep around on you while you were dealing with twin toddlers and working a full time job, and me you're judgy with.

 

What?