I find myself really enjoying the way the directors choose to play with time in this show. They've been starting episodes with a particularly momentous event - last week the riot, this week a car chase that ends with a bang - then they go back in time to show us how it all started. Then, upon reaching the moment from the beginning, they march onward, showing us how things go down after the event. It's an interesting storytelling dynamic, and, at least for now, it serves to increase the suspense leading up to the showcased event.
This week's episode was interesting (like most episodes of SouthLAnd are from a character standpoint. Much of the episode focused on the tensions between the partners. The story focused on 2 main aspects: the brutal murder of a family, and the stakeout of a suspected gang that was introduced last week.
We open as Sherman and Cooper are called to the scene of the triple murder - a man lies on the sidewalk, badly injured. The two officers go inside his house and make one gruesome discovery after another. This scene really highlighted the wonderful camera work in the show. They show you enough to give you an idea of what happened in the home, but it's never too much. In fact, I was a little surprised to see that they blurred out the mother's face when they discovered her body. The two officers are obviously affected by what they see, and they both make their need to see justice served clear. As I am most every time I see the show, I was struck by the powerful acting of my two favorite characters in the show. While they didn't say anything, the disgust and horror were evident on their faces.
Detective Lydia and her new partner Detective Cordero take over the scene, and their cool manner is a stark contrast to the shock evident in the two officers. They spend the episode debating back and forth about whether the father, who was almost killed himself, could have been responsible for the murders. It was fascinating to watch them debate, each first taking one side then switching opinions later in the episode. These debates gave a sense of tension between the two detectives, but over the course of the episode, as they bounce ideas off one another, it seems they come closer and closer to being actual partners. There is a respect that is building between the two.
Sherman and Cooper on the other hand... not so much. Cooper notices that Sherman looks exhausted after spending the night with the murders keeping him awake. After Cooper makes a remark about getting him some sleeping meds, Sherman responds with a scathing remark about not needing pills to fix his problems. Cooper, who takes meds for his back, pretends to shrug off the remark, but we see later in teh show how deeply it impacted him. My quote of the week happens to be a rather amusing line from Cooper about how he is not addicted to his pain meds, but the remark is a classic case of using humor and sarcasm as an avenue for denial - something Cooper is exceedingly good at. The idea that he needed to justify himself to Sherman shows two things in my book. First that he cares very much what Sherman thinks of him, and second that he knows he's addicted and is rationalizing. In this conversation, he tells Sherman that without his pills, he'd have to resign his position. Interesting tack they're taking here with Cooper's drug addiction (for he is addicted) - he must continue taking the drugs to continue doing the good work he's doing. Can't wait to see how this develops.
Finally we have the mounting tensions between Bryant and Moretta with Moretta's previous partner. Several pointed comments from Moretta's partner about how Bryant and his wife Tammi are trying to get pregnant was enough to really set Bryant off. He spent the day with a professional mask, yet it boiled over when he got home from his shift. Like I mentioned last week, I like Bryant's character a bunch, and I'm vewry glad he's getting significant screen time in these most recent episodes. I really want to see where this ends up going between him and Moretta's previous partner.
There are very many paths that these characters are walking that fascinate me. God, I love this show.
The show closed with some very powerful scenes. The first had Sherman going on a blind date that his sister set him up with. There ended up being several people around the table, and they all wanted to talk about the gruesome details of the triple murder. Having seen everything through his eyes earlier in the episode, the comments came across as garish and rude. Granted that such comments, while generally accepted socially around the water cooler, are rude in general, this was different. Because we had experienced the horror of this crime scene through Sherman's eyes, I found myself wanting to punch these folks in the face. How heartless! It was very fascinating how effectively the writer's took a socially accepted norm and turned it around to show us that those kinds of remarks really are asinine.
Being the polite gentleman he is, Sherman excused himself from the table without getting angry at anybody, though we could see he was, and went to take his frustrations out on the shooting range.
We also see Cooper at the bar, having a couple of drinks before going to meet his contact in the restroom. Here we see him illegally purchase the pain medication, thus confirming ours and Sherman's suspicions.
I once again find myself needing to point out the acting in this show, particularly in these scenes. As Sherman is sitting at the table listening to those comments, as Cooper is drinking his beers gathering himself to make his purchase, no words are spoken by either one of them, yet you can see the emotions plain as day. It's amazing.
Between this show and SGU, I feel we have two of the best-acted shows on TV in a very long time. Thankfully, it appears that both are going strong. I hope to see both of them on the air for a very long time to come.
Quote of the Week
Cooper: "I'm not an addict. I am not one of these people like your mother's friends up there in Beverly Hills with their Onwee and their Vicodin and their white wine."
Leave some comments and let me know what you think!
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