Maggie’s Choice
The next scene gives me chills. We don’t get a lot from Maggie, but she tries to use her own loss to connect with Cole as a last-ditch effort. She understands. She knows his frustration and explains this. He seems to be considering her comments when a civilian who they must’ve missed appears below. Cole seems to engage in still shooting. Maggie forcing to make a decision per Mosier who declares she trusts her judgement. Bell tells them to take him out. Hard stare from Bell as she leaves the rooftop, clearly depressed and gutted by her decision.
A Win isn’t always a Win
Back at the bullpen, Valentine is declaring their victory. “Savor the win. Drinks on me.” This does not seem like a win to me and might be my least favorite scene of the episode. It feels like a very cold comment from him and you can feel the same thought from Bell and Zidan. Yes, the threat was neutralized, but to what cost? This episode is bugging me. I still hate the idea of using veterans for this sort of storyline.
The Power of Empathy
Mosier seems to sense Maggie’s clear distain for the end of the case. She says, “Empathy’s a powerful thing. And painful.” So gutting and true. This episode proves that and is something that the two of them seem to struggle with from time to time. How will this come into play in future episodes? Will the emotional toll continue to tear them apart?
OA and Bell share a quiet, tense moment at their desks before we cut to Maggie meeting with the killed attorney’s wife where she tries to explain why they had to suspect her. The scene bleeds empathy.
We then cut to OA who is sitting with Kofi and explains how much he hated praying and the Koran as a teenager and only reconsidered after losing his father who was the person who made him do it when he didn’t want to. He offers to help Kofi and promises to be there for him for the sentencing. When Kofi asks why, OA quietly respond, “God only knows.”
What I liked:
- I like the small but building tension you can see between Maggie and OA. This will probably lead somewhere later between the two of them. But, I also like the tiny team bonding moments we’ve been introduced to. Their chemistry is amazing.
- Very exciting to see the Suffolk references, even if they weren’t perfect.
- I think the mentoring aspect between Mosier and Bell proves interesting.
- The theme of empathy is both important and personal to me. Empathy is huge in my career field and one of the biggest burn out reasons is because of the toll of what empathizing with your clients can do to you personally. I’m hoping this is something revisited in the show later because they keep hinting on it.
What I didn’t like:
- I hate the idea of using a veteran for the storyline. I understand what led him to his actions, but other than his experience as a Ranger sniper, nothing fit for the characterization in my opinion. It simply paints our veteran community as the type to ‘snap’ and do something like this when this is truly the minority in situations like this. I get where it came from, but I think it’s a poor choice of storyline. There were other ways around it.
Questions I have:
- Will there be eventual jealousy between Maggie and OA? It’s clear that Mosier clearly favors Maggie. I’m hoping this doesn’t become a negative focal point for more than an episode or two.
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