"Bedfellows"
Was it just me or did this episode seem more complex? I took more notes tonight than I have previously and I'm not afraid to agree with the majority of you and say this show is getting better. I might be showing a past loyalty to writer
Lawrence Kaplow, who used to write for
House, one of my favorite shows. He cowrote this episode and I felt like he and his cowriter really elevated the material.
The case: Ex-DA and current city councilman Clay Beelman is pulled from the water. A Tiffany blue fingernail is the only piece of evidence Boulet and Cobb have to try to identify his alleged attacker. Said fingernail belongs to call girl Laine Rogers. Boulet and Cobb storm the brothel in search of Laine only to find out she's on a house call. One of the hookers they do find in the house, Sarah Rogate, has a connection to Captain Embry. Cobb thinks the Captain has something going on the side until Boulet tells him the captain lost his wife six years ago to cancer. But what is his relationship to Sarah and is she really his CI (confidential informant)?
Then Laine turns up dead. It looks like her john was in the john when someone who speaks only Spanish visits Laine. The john, Thomas Macy, can't be too certain what was said although he did recognize one word, spoken a few times. He thinks he hears "cera" but Boulet and Cobb know the Spanish-speaking man is asking about Sarah.
Mateo Cruz, also known as El Jeffe, is unionizing the local illegals. He provides a transportation service for undocumented laborers helping to rebuild the city. He gets a fee from every job to which his guys are transported and seems to be making a killing - literally and in more ways than one.
Turns out Sarah is passing information between Beelman and Cruz. Both Beelman and Cruz stood to make a lot of money off the Green Space Initiative. The only problem is the few holdouts still living in the neighborhood, unwilling to move if they could help revitalize their neighborhood. So Beelman, who let Cruz go on a technicality when he was DA, teams up with him to intimidate people out of their homes and turn their neighborhood into a park.
Resolution: Cruz and Sarah are arrested and both Boulet and Embry connect with their families.
The Green Space Initiative angle is very interesting. I liked the little bit of New Orleans history we get from Beelman's wife about how the city used to have more green space and how that prevented extreme flooding during past storms. I also think it's interesting to see both sides of the debate. I'm sure some of those people can't leave because they have no place to go, but if giving up your home means a safer city, would you do it? I'm sure I'm simplifying the argument, but I'm definitely interested in your opinions on that.
I also enjoyed getting some backstory on the captain. He's got his own personal demons and it looked like he is taking steps to fight at least one of them. Even though he couldn't be there for his daughter when she was growing up, it's better late than never. And how about how fast Sarah turned on Embry when she thought Cruz was going to kill her? And after all Embry did for her? I hope she rots in jail.
I have two small quibbles. The first is all that gunfire Herck was spraying at the cops. I liked what he added to the story but I always have a problem with that amount of gunfire never hitting its target. Do I want members of the NOPD shot down in the streets? No. But maybe someone can get a flesh wound? I'm just saying. My other quibble is about Boulet's wife identifying that fingernail. It just seemed a little convenient. Don't get me wrong, I would like to see more of Boulet's wife and daughter. I think I'd just prefer if their screen time had nothing to do with helping solve Boulet's cases.
Thoughts?
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