S01.E04: The Switch

[WendyCR72]

This will not air until November 13th. But the synopsis is already up, so here you go!

The rookies are temporarily paired with new training officers, and Officer Nolan is paired with Officer Lopez. When Nolan and Lopez track down an escaped criminal, they discover a little kindness goes a long way. Meanwhile, Jackson is forced to face his fears when he is partnered with Officer Bradford, while Officer Chen and Nolan must face a hard truth.

[voiceover]

Yeah, I snorted at Bradford's line about not helping lost causes.  FFS!  That's *all* he's been doing, starting with his junkie ex.

Yayyyy, they broke up!  I hope they don't let Chen mope for too long.  Nolan, like the rest of us old-timers, has better coping skills.  I don't see her as his Great Love.  He as much as admitted that she helped him bridge a gap in his life.  A thing useful and valued, but not core-shaking.

And now I'll take my wizened, bitter heart to bed.

[shapeshifter]

18 minutes ago, voiceover said:

And now I'll take my wizened, bitter heart to bed.

Heh, I bet mine's older 'n' colder 'n' harder than stone.

IRL, this would be the end of their relationship, but this is TV, so most likely NF and what's-her-name will stay apart long enough--longingly--for their mutual lust to build, and then in some very romantic circumstance, True Shmoopy Wuv will prevail in a passionate moment during ratings sweeps.

Regardless of their future relationship outcome--she might instead hook up with her emotionally damaged TO ('cause she has a type) and break poor 40-year-old Rookie's heart--I wonder if 20 years from now, rerun viewers will cringe at a story line that accepts that a woman's career can be tanked by her choice of partner.

[BlakesMomma]

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Heh, I bet mine's older 'n' colder 'n' harder than stone.

IRL, this would be the end of their relationship, but this is TV, so most likely NF and what's-her-name will stay apart long enough--longingly--for their mutual lust to build, and then in some very romantic circumstance, True Shmoopy Wuv will prevail in a passionate moment during ratings sweeps.

Regardless of their future relationship outcome--she might instead hook up with her emotionally damaged TO ('cause she has a type) and break poor 40-year-old Rookie's heart--I wonder if 20 years from now, rerun viewers will cringe at a story line that accepts that a woman's career can be tanked by her choice of partner.

This is November ratings sweeps lol. Maybe February sweeps. 

[mxc90]

Nolan choosing between the book or chase the fugitive was stupid. I guess he wasn't so important for the US Marshals or a Fugitive task force to bother go look for him.  How he escaped with ease in an orange jump suit, avoid building security, roam the streets, and made it to the quinceanera where a suit was waiting for him was amazing.

Lopez should have informed Bradford about Jackson's lack of courage under fire. There were a lot of bullets over Jackson's head, I would be ducking too.

A major drug deal has been tipped to the police and it's given to this group to handle? Surprised Nolan didn't pull the man's pants down first before he yanked his legs. 

I appreciate the kid having a lemonade stand, earning money the honest way and not follow his neighbor's example to sell drugs. But the look on Nolan's face suggest the lemonade was worse to drink than taking drugs.

Hodor hasn't left his apartment in 15 months? Still in shock or sulking from his GOT death?!!

Edited November 14, 2018 by mxc90

[shapeshifter]

I glanced away for not more than 3 seconds and missed the moment when West saved his TO from the villain (which is, IMO, not good directing, editing, etc.), so I just re-watched those 3 seconds on Hulu and saw that he stayed in the car (per orders) and nailed the guy with the cop car.
So.
This cannot mean that West is now miraculously over his fear of getting shot at, can it???? After a pep talk from Hodor?
I mean, West has not yet engaged in a gun fight
--and, yes, I realize most cops with a lifetime on the force never do, but for The Rookie world, it seems essential.

 

 

8 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Nolan choosing between the book or chase the fugitive was stupid.

Yes, it was stupid. I think they were aiming for funny.
Bad directing?
I can't recall: Is physical comedy just not NF's schtick?

Edited November 14, 2018 by shapeshifter

[break21]

This show is starting to lose me.  Same complaints as the previous episodes.  The only cast member's names I remember are Nolan and Bishop.  Everyone is a cliché.  Nolan needs to stop being such a boy-scout and have some complexity added to his character.  He's starting to bore me.  Everyone needs to have some of their life outside the precinct shown to humanize them and make them relatable.

They all need to spend more time at target-practice.  Some of them couldn't hit the side of a barn.

[Loandbehold]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I glanced away for not more than 3 seconds and missed the moment when West saved his TO from the villain (which is, IMO, not good directing, editing, etc.), so I just re-watched those 3 seconds on Hulu and saw that he stayed in the car (per orders) and nailed the guy with the cop car.

The other thing is that this means that the TO left the keys in the car. Why? so West could put on his favorite music station or let the A/C run?

11 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Nolan choosing between the book or chase the fugitive was stupid. I guess he wasn't so important for the US Marshals or a Fugitive task force to bother go look for him.  How he escaped with ease in an orange jump suit, avoid building security, roam the streets, and made it to the quinceanera where a suit was waiting for him was amazing.

Yeah, that was bad. And, he  kept on going back for it. Dumb and really not funny even the first time.

 

12 hours ago, voiceover said:

Yayyyy, they broke up!  I hope they don't let Chen mope for too long.  Nolan, like the rest of us old-timers, has better coping skills.  I don't see her as his Great Love.  He as much as admitted that she helped him bridge a gap in his life.  A thing useful and valued, but not core-shaking.

This could have been a good conversation for Chen and Nolan to actually have. Instead of the two of them having separate conversations w/ the TO.

Most disappointing episode so far.

[Moose135]

51 minutes ago, break21 said:

They all need to spend more time at target-practice.  Some of them couldn't hit the side of a barn.

From some of what I see in real life, that may be one of the more accurate parts of the show...

[chaifan]

I'm really on the fence on this show.  It didn't really grab me at the pilot, but it's ok filler for an hour of winding down before bedtime.  I don't know why they even bothered with the Chen/Nolan pairing to begin with - it has added nothing to the show.  The relationship was boring, the end of the relationship was boring.  It was a waste of time.  My guess is we'll find out Bishop was in a relationship with another cop early on, it went bad, affected her career, and that's why she's got such an issue with this.  But, we could have that plot line without the Chen/Nolan pairing in the first place.  (But we don't even need that plot line, so I hope they don't go there.)

I did like that TO whatshisname did the "Bang!  I'm shot!  Where are we?" with West, just so we know he treats all rookies the same. 

The training book vs. chasing a fugitive was stupid.  One slight hesitation was sort of funny, actually going to get it, then spending time picking it up was stupid.  They overshot on this one and it failed.

My nitpick with the episode...  two police officers walk into the quinceanera where the dad is a big drug lord, and no one in the room bolts?  I guess it's possible dad keeps his family life and work life separate, and everyone on the guest list was a law abiding citizen, but sort of doubt that would be the case. 

[tpel]

I understood Bradford being angry at Lopez for not giving him a heads-up about West freezing under fire. But I'm not sure I get why everybody seems to think this will lead to an instant dismissal. The first time, his panic left his T.O. in danger; the second time that was less of an issue. Wouldn't the higher-ups expect that there would be some learning curve here, as people learn to tamp down their normal reaction to gunfire?

I agree that Nolan fussing about the training book was silly. My favorite line from the episode was when Bradford said, straight out, that he would only be happy when he broke West's spirit. 

HODOR!!!!!

[Netfoot]

16 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I wonder if 20 years from now, rerun viewers will cringe at a story line that accepts that a woman's career can be tanked by her choice of partner.

We should be cringing at it today.  But if that's the reality of the situation, as hard to swallow as that may be, it's reasonable for the writers to include it in the script.  

Why was a boot like Cowardly Custard a part of the team that had the job of taking down the heavily armed drug dealer?  Was "Hondo" still busy agonizing about shooting a womyn?

[mxc90]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I glanced away for not more than 3 seconds and missed the moment when West saved his TO from the villain (which is, IMO, not good directing, editing, etc.), so I just re-watched those 3 seconds on Hulu and saw that he stayed in the car (per orders) and nailed the guy with the cop car.
So.
This cannot mean that West is now miraculously over his fear of getting shot at, can it???? After a pep talk from Hodor?

Yes, it was stupid. I think they were aiming for funny.
Bad directing?
I can't recall: Is physical comedy just not NF's schtick?

After West's first experience with no courage, the next episode/time he was Mister Badass (chasing the woman BB player turned thief and the fight in the backroom of the store), now this episode the writers are going back to his scared ways. The writers can't do this yo yo. 

Their aim was off with Nolan/book. The situation didn't require it. Also, the uber and five stars lines were off the mark too. 

[BlakesMomma]

48 minutes ago, mxc90 said:

After West's first experience with no courage, the next episode/time he was Mister Badass (chasing the woman BB player turned thief and the fight in the backroom of the store), now this episode the writers are going back to his scared ways. The writers can't do this yo yo. 

Their aim was off with Nolan/book. The situation didn't require it. Also, the uber and five stars lines were off the mark too. 

West’s issue isn’t a lack of courage in general, it’s only a fear of being shot at. 

[meira.hand]

45 minutes ago, mxc90 said:

After West's first experience with no courage, the next episode/time he was Mister Badass (chasing the woman BB player turned thief and the fight in the backroom of the store), now this episode the writers are going back to his scared ways. The writers can't do this yo yo. 

I don't think he is a coward but that he has a specific fear of gun fire. It may be the noise and he may react differently to a knife or other danger which explains his behavior in the second episode. Like the man stuck in his flat, its a phobia not general fear of danger.

[chaifan]

10 minutes ago, meira.hand said:

I don't think he is a coward but that he has a specific fear of gun fire. It may be the noise and he may react differently to a knife or other danger which explains his behavior in the second episode. Like the man stuck in his flat, its a phobia not general fear of danger.

My guess is that it goes back to something that happened with his father.  Maybe before his his father was in IA he was caught in gunfire, maybe West as a small child witnessed it, was in the car, something of the sort.  Hurt/killed his mom?  We never hear him talk about his mom.  So it's a PTSD thing that only comes out during gunfire.  If they make it a couple more episodes maybe we'll find out. 

[femmefan1946]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I can't recall: Is physical comedy just not NF's schtick?

He can be very funny - Dr. Horrible showed that among other work.
Early on he was in One Life to Live and this scene was the only part of Joey and Dorian that was not squickly'

[mxc90]

7 minutes ago, BlakesMomma said:

West’s issue isn’t a lack of courage in general, it’s only a fear of being shot at. 

 

7 minutes ago, meira.hand said:

I don't think he is a coward but that he has a specific fear of gun fire. It may be the noise and he may react differently to a knife or other danger which explains his behavior in the second episode. Like the man stuck in his flat, its a phobia not general fear of danger.

Yes. My poor choice of words. Thank you.

I just don't want to see him have his line of fire issue one week, then the next week he's looking good making multiple apprehensions and back/forth. I hope it resolved quickly but if all is right with him they have nothing going forward. Also, isn't this issue found out in the Police Academy?

[shapeshifter]

20 minutes ago, mxc90 said:

Also, isn't this issue found out in the Police Academy?

Seriously. Like at the firing range?

[femmefan1946]

You'd think a phobia about gunfire would have been noticed earlier-- unless it was sloughed off in the Academy because he is Daddy's Little Boy.

[mxc90]

10 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Seriously. Like at the firing range?

Yes.

I remember in the pilot for TJ Hooker, they wasted no time and threw out a recruit because he froze in the staged shooting situation at the academy.

Edited November 15, 2018 by mxc90

[shapeshifter]

38 minutes ago, mxc90 said:

I remember in the pilot for TJ Hooker, they wasted no time and threw out a recruit because he froze in the staged shooting situation at the academy.

Maybe whoever created West's neurosis either consciously or unconsciously modeled after the TJ Hooker character's.

 

 

1 HOUR AGO, FEMMEFAN1946 SAID:

11 HOURS AGO, SHAPESHIFTER SAID:

I can't recall: Is physical comedy just not NF's schtick?

He can be very funny - Dr. Horrible showed that among other work

I actually was thinking of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog when I asked that, but could only recall NF standing in a superhero pose, which isn't really very physical comedy. I think of his comedy delivery as being more about facial expressions and use of his voice. 
Oh well, if this show fails, at least he got back in shape with all the running around chasing perps and whatnot.

Edited November 15, 2018 by shapeshifter

[Raja]

It isn't just the noise of gunfire, it is the noise of bullets rushing past your head. And coming off of a recent incident where a Deputy did not enter an active shooter's killing zone alone and was cursed by his Sheriff and the entire nation there is no way Officer West, legacy or not, would be supported through three firefights until he found what it took to stand when someone shot at him.

[Clanstarling]

On 11/13/2018 at 9:35 PM, shapeshifter said:

Regardless of their future relationship outcome--she might instead hook up with her emotionally damaged TO ('cause she has a type) and break poor 40-year-old Rookie's heart--I wonder if 20 years from now, rerun viewers will cringe at a story line that accepts that a woman's career can be tanked by her choice of partner.

I cringe now. We've come a long way, but not far enough, and there's been some slippage.

16 hours ago, Netfoot said:

We should be cringing at it today.  But if that's the reality of the situation, as hard to swallow as that may be, it's reasonable for the writers to include it in the script.

Agreed.

As for West's not washing up in the Academy or at the firing range - he might have done just fine under the controlled circumstances. A simulation, no matter how realistic, is still a simulation and your mind knows there won't be real life or death consequences. Being under actual fire is a different thing, which I imagine is why they're probationary until they've experienced at least a year on the street. (meaning not just being under fire, which often doesn't happen, but all the other high risk things that do).

Edited November 15, 2018 by Clanstarling

[shapeshifter]

58 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

which I imagine is why they're probationary until they've experienced at least a year on the street. (meaning not just being under fire, which often doesn't happen, but all the other high risk things that do).

Too bad West's Plan A wasn't being a cop in my neighborhood. Nothing but traffic tickets.
I guess a traffic-ticket neighborhood isn't an option for his Plan B at this point.
They don't have him wearing a red shirt on his day off, do they? *sigh*

[break21]

Ratings dropped to a series low for this episode.  Hard to say if it's because of the week off (shows usually have lower ratings after a missed episode) or if it's losing people.   In any event, probably not much fun being Nathan or Hawley right now.  The lower the ratings go the more the network is going to interfere to try and fix it.  They're both probably under tremendous pressure.  On the plus side, international sales are so good they'll get every chance to make it work.

[Loandbehold]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I guess a traffic-ticket neighborhood isn't an option for his Plan B at this point.

I remember taking a class in high school that was co-taught by an officer. He said that making a big arrest could get you a detective's shield. One of is friends made such an arrest, but didn't want to be a detective. He asked for and was given a transfer to the traffic=ticket neighborhood type of assignment. Maybe West, with IA Dad's help, could get one of those even w/o making the big arrest. But the average boot w/o any juice probably couldn't get that to happen.

[Jodithgrace]

Quote

Oh well, if this show fails, at least he got back in shape with all the running around chasing perps and whatnot.

Well, sort of. He was showing a good set of man boobs in that tee shirt.

I actually like this show. I like the fact, that despite NF's name and cover photo, the show isn't really about just him, but rather the three rookies and their TO's. I guess they couldn't call it The Rookies, though, since I used to watch a different show by that name starring Georg Sanford Brown and Michael Ontkean back in the day. One of the characters had a wife, a nurse named Jill, who was always being taken hostage, which is just about all I remember about it. 

[Waterston Fan]

I agree with most of you and this show just doesn't catch me. I wonder if West is doing the police stuff so he doesn't upset or disappoint his dad. Maybe West just isn't right for being a cop. 

I just wonder how long until Bradford's set ups come back to bite him. I would think the commanding officer would know about the drug dealers in the house ahead of time. But then I really don't know. 

[Moose135]

58 minutes ago, Waterston Fan said:

I wonder if West is doing the police stuff so he doesn't upset or disappoint his dad. Maybe West just isn't right for being a cop. 

Yes, I assume that given his father is a high ranking police official, that it's expected that he also becomes cop.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

One of the characters had a wife, a nurse named Jill, who was always being taken hostage, which is just about all I remember about it. 

If I had a nickel for every time this plot was used—including almost every episode of Police Woman and a lot of episodes of Hart to Hart—I could buy—something.
And this kidnapped-sexy-ingenue/heroine plot from the 70s-80s makes me cringe now in a way kind of like I imagine (maybe hope?) viewers will cringe in the future about plots with world-weary professional women still needing to warn younger women about tanking their professional standing by hooking up with coworkers.
 

[madmaverick]

Another OK episode for me.  It's no worse than many a network show for me, but it's not grabbing me either. But then again, few network procedurals do.  I like the actors and like the characters  so I'll keep watching, but the writing could be sharper.  It's serviceable procedural right now, but not outstanding. 

The switch up was an interesting idea and it got Lopez more attention as she'd felt rather like a blank page to me previously.  If I were Bradford, I might be even more pissed at Lopez for lying because she did put his and her own life at risk by not coming clean about West, for noble or self serving reasons.  But I still like Nolan with Talia better.  The Talia/Lucy relationship is also interesting to me, and could evolve into a mentor/mentee one, though I don't necessarily buy that Lucy would just spill her inner feelings about Nolan to someone she doesn't actually know that well.  The Nolan/Lucy breakup (for now) was signaled from the get go (because this is TV), but part of me wanted them to ignore the naysayers and prove everybody wrong by making it work.  Both that colleagues shouldn't date each other (because they sure do in real life), and also that a woman would still be branded by that in 2018 rather than be taken at her own merit.  So it isn't casual for either of them, so you can bet the feelings will come back at a conveniently dramatic time.  I didn't mind this romantic relationship like many others, maybe because I like both actors and they were fine together to me, and the relationship was depicted as adult. 

West's problem should not be so easy to fix, but this is TV, so we'll see.  

I do give this show props in that there is storyline/character continuity episode to episode as we learn more about the characters and all isn't forgotten the next episode like many a procedural. 

[break21]

I

[break21]

I think, because I like Nathan Fillion so much, I have been thinking about ways to fix-it.

The  Pilot - If they had written Nolan different- he had a terrible divorce, he is broke, living off of credit cards and moves to a bad part of CA.  His kid is 16, blames him for the divorce.   His ex is going after him for alimony/child support.  

I  mean, there are so many ways they could have gone to make any one of them interesting, complicated characters.

At this point, if I had to fix it, I'd say he's hiding a lot - he was in a bad marriage, his construction business went down, he ran a lot of money on his credit cards, bad divorce,  is renting a house he can't afford, and go from there?

Any other ideas to save it?

[madmaverick]

I don't agree that the show needs "saving" per se.  Ratings have never been a measure of quality to me.  I actually think they are doing fine with characterization, it's just the nature of a procedural show limits the places and the depth they can take these characters.   I don't think piling on a lot of melodrama onto a character necessarily makes a character or a show more interesting.  It worked for a show like Breaking Bad but this show is not BB nor does it aspire to be.  It's actually refreshing to me that Nolan and others feel like normal people trying to do their best in a tough job.  This is a slice of life kind of show.  If you want it to be something else, you're bound to be disappointed.  I'm tired of overwrought melodrama and conspiracies in shows that never get resolved well myself. 

[Moose135]

27 minutes ago, madmaverick said:

I don't agree that the show needs "saving" per se.  Ratings have never been a measure of quality to me.

Ratings aren't a measure of quality, they are a measure of eyeballs, which is what advertisers pay for.  Take two shows, one is the most incredibly written, acted, and produced show in the history of television, and it gets 50K viewers a week.  The second is the worst schlock in the history of schlock, but it gets 10 million viewers a week.  Which do you think will have advertisers lined up to run their ads, and which do you think will be cancelled in 3 weeks?

[break21]

28 minutes ago, madmaverick said:

I don't agree that the show needs "saving" per se.  Ratings have never been a measure of quality to me.  I actually think they are doing fine with characterization, it's just the nature of a procedural show limits the places and the depth they can take these characters.   I don't think piling on a lot of melodrama onto a character necessarily makes a character or a show more interesting.  It worked for a show like Breaking Bad but this show is not BB nor does it aspire to be.  It's actually refreshing to me that Nolan and others feel like normal people trying to do their best in a tough job.  This is a slice of life kind of show.  If you want it to be something else, you're bound to be disappointed.  I'm tired of overwrought melodrama and conspiracies in shows that never get resolved well myself. 

Yeah,  but I don't think you can do "TJ Hooker" in this day and age.  It doesn't have to be "The Wire", but it doesn't have to be this.  It doesn't have to be Breaking Bad - that's in an entire different category.

Divorces rarely go well, and apparently Nolan's divorce was completely amicable, he has no financial fall-out, he doesn't miss, at some level, his ex, and he never talks about his son. 

They  need to dig deeper. It's not working

[femmefan1946]

Maybe West, with IA Dad's help, could get one of those even w/o making the big arrest. But the average boot w/o any juice probably couldn't get that to happen.

Internal Affairs perhaps? Or in the public relations division? Or school visitor? Maybe not that last, tragically.

 

and he never talks about his son. 

Yes. That's  a failure, even if the kid is in university by now.
Do none of the writers have children?

 

I actually was thinking of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Well, his reaction to the birds when he was eating frozen yogurt with Penny.... Or his arrival with Alan Tudyk in Trailer Park Heroes.

I know..... off topic.

Edited November 16, 2018 by femmefan1946

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, Moose135 said:

The second is the worst schlock in the history of schlock, but it gets 10 million viewers a week.

So... something with the word "Kardashian" in the title?

[TWP]

6 hours ago, madmaverick said:

I don't agree that the show needs "saving" per se.  Ratings have never been a measure of quality to me. 

We have the luxury of feeling that way as long as the ratings are good enough that the show can stay on the air.    Unfortunately, The Rookie is pretty much a bubble show right now, very much in danger of not getting a second season.  However, I'm pretty sure the spring shows ABC has in its lineup are going to be highly unpopular schlog (rather than popular schlog like Kardashians), so it's very possible that those will go first, making room for new shows plus The Rookie.  But we'll see.  I do think that for whatever reason ABC has prioritized TR over A Million Little Things.  Fans can only hope that their opinion remains the same.  If TR fails, I wonder if Nathan will ever again take a job with no scripts to read first, or with Hawley, who just really isn't very good..  What a waste of Fillion's television return this show turned out to be.  I mean it's not terrible, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's great TV.  Maybe Fillion is making big bucks and doesn't care.

 

This was probably one of their less memorable episodes, except for the Nolan/Lucy breakup.  Fingers crossed that Nolan moves on to the captain!

I think my greatest problem with this show is that I actually LIKE real procedurals.  The characters here aren't well enough developed for me to care about them at all, so give me a case of the week to care about, damn it ;-). 

I just realized that I didn't see if there was a resolution with the shut-in (Kristian Nairn).  Is it worth going through all the On Demand commercials to find out? or will you guys tell me what the point was there?

West is cured, as long as he can use his "shop" rather than his gun as a weapon.  He should have been an army tank driver rather than a cop.

Gosh, did we even see the captain this episode?

We got another subtle hint that Nolan has a past, basically a downward left look at a strategic point in the script.  Now, I can't even remember when that  happened, but I know it did! And it was remarkable, really!

I love the sergeant out in the field.  I hope he does more of that and less of the silly ageism nonsense.

I've already added TR to my eye-rollivision list.  I'll probably stay as long as it does.  With the ratings, that's not a huge commitment of time.

[BlakesMomma]

8 hours ago, break21 said:

Yeah,  but I don't think you can do "TJ Hooker" in this day and age.  It doesn't have to be "The Wire", but it doesn't have to be this.  It doesn't have to be Breaking Bad - that's in an entire different category.

Divorces rarely go well, and apparently Nolan's divorce was completely amicable, he has no financial fall-out, he doesn't miss, at some level, his ex, and he never talks about his son. 

They  need to dig deeper. It's not working

None of them talk about their family life. Yet. So do you expect Nolan to just start jabbering on about his son? The son is coming, we know that. They were casting for his son a while back. We are slowly learning more about each of their personal lives. I actually like the way they're playing it out so far focusing on the job and will gradually reveal more about each of them. 

[femmefan1946]

I like the lack of resolution in the stories.

The street cop goes in, gets the bad guy, or not, and moves on to the next job.

We did see a flash of courtroom duty, if only because Nolan had to sit outside and wait for Talia. Hours of boredom with instants of action feels more realistic to me than say a detective working with a mystery writer on a daily basis.

Maybe we'll see a little more of courtroom duty in future,when the bad guys come up for trial. Which might bring in some interesting reactions to plea bargains.

The on to the next job keeps the action moving, and all the plot becomes the characters, since none of the bad guys are much more than stick figures (unless the actors can add a little more to them).

[retrograde]

I'm confused by the problem over the relationship between the two rookies. Are they saying any female cop would be frowned upon for having a relationship with any male cop? Is it the age difference?

I understand slut shaming and double standards and all that -- and if the situation was a one-night stand or a relationship with a more senior cop I could see where what might happen -- but I don't really get why there's be such judgement around two officers of the same rank in a committed relationship? Am I missing something?*

* this is highly probable, as this show struggles to hold my full attention

[Raja]

14 minutes ago, retrograde said:

I'm confused by the problem over the relationship between the two rookies. Are they saying any female cop would be frowned upon for having a relationship with any male cop? Is it the age difference?

I understand slut shaming and double standards and all that -- and if the situation was a one-night stand or a relationship with a more senior cop I could see where what might happen -- but I don't really get why there's be such judgement around two officers of the same rank in a committed relationship? Am I missing something?*

* this is highly probable, as this show struggles to hold my full attention

It is that she came out the academy and started a relationship with one of the first cops she met. In effect she is a badge bunny with her own badge. Call it double standards, call it slut shaming but in the world of this show, and possibly in the  real lives for whoever their story advisers are it exist.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, Raja said:

 

8 hours ago, retrograde said:

I'm confused by the problem over the relationship between the two rookies. Are they saying any female cop would be frowned upon for having a relationship with any male cop? Is it the age difference?

I understand slut shaming and double standards and all that -- and if the situation was a one-night stand or a relationship with a more senior cop I could see where what might happen -- but I don't really get why there's be such judgement around two officers of the same rank in a committed relationship? Am I missing something?*

* this is highly probable, as this show struggles to hold my full attention

It is that she came out the academy and started a relationship with one of the first cops she met. In effect she is a badge bunny with her own badge. Call it double standards, call it slut shaming but in the world of this show, and possibly in the  real lives for whoever their story advisers are it exist.

Yes.
There are also the factors of police work being a traditionally male-dominated profession, and that it is a profession in which any lack of cohesiveness of the unit can be fatal—lots to unpack there, but this is not the place for it.
In fact, it's such a dense topic that it will be hard for the show to navigate it.
I do think Melissa O'Neill and the writers of this episode did a good job of acknowledging the bigger issues with just these couple of lines uttered by Chen to Nolan:

• You'll never be in my shoes. And you'll never know how unfair that is. 

Nolan's response, OTOH, was almost cringey:

• You're right. And I'm sorry.

—because it makes him out to be such a good guy. But. Hey. It's Nathan goddam Fillion. And he can totally pull off One Of The Good Ones.

[sr49ers2018]

100% book it..lucy will end up banging her TO. the TOs wife will OD or something and he will cry and be emotional and good old lucy right there to help him. so predictable.  typical hollywood ..brain dead writers.

 

i never get whats wrong in having a couple together in a t show. why do they think its better TV to break them up. i loved castle and i like this show but i dont see it past season 1.

[break21]

1 hour ago, sr49ers2018 said:

100% book it..lucy will end up banging her TO. the TOs wife will OD or something and he will cry and be emotional and good old lucy right there to help him. so predictable.  typical hollywood ..brain dead writers.

 

i never get whats wrong in having a couple together in a t show. why do they think its better TV to break them up. i loved castle and i like this show but i dont see it past season 1.

No show has ever topped Friday Night Light;'s Coach and Tami in terms of marriage.  

Most seem clueless.  

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, break21 said:

No show has ever topped Friday Night Light;'s Coach and Tami in terms of marriage. 

So true. Tips a large glass of wine in your direction. :)

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 11/14/2018 at 1:21 AM, mxc90 said:

Nolan choosing between the book or chase the fugitive was stupid. I guess he wasn't so important for the US Marshals or a Fugitive task force to bother go look for him.  How he escaped with ease in an orange jump suit, avoid building security, roam the streets, and made it to the quinceanera where a suit was waiting for him was amazing.

And with his arms cuffed in front of him.  I guess one of his associates has a good set of bolt cutters or a skeleton key.

[newyawk]

Go Jackson. And thank you, PTB for the Chen/Nolan breakup. It was like trying to make "fetch" happen. 

4 (now 5) episodes in and we'd better start seeing a lot more character development soon than what we've been given so far. It's a very slow, stingy process on this show.  And reflecting reality is one thing, but hanging on to an audience where so, so many people seem to be "meh" about it because they can't quite attach to the characters, is quite another.