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| The saddest, most disappointed apostrophe eyes of them all. |
"John, you have a problem."
Ben finally says the words, but it takes John riding around an entire day with his throwback Oakleys on, uncharacteristically sluggish, barely stirring from the car (you know, except the one time where he smashes in an elderly man's passenger window) to get it done. I thought Ben McKenzie did a great (and cute, of course) job of showing the teakettle-whistle build-up of Ben's frustration.
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| The camera work in this scene was boss; I love how between Ben addressing John as "Sir" and the angle of the shot, it made John look like he'd been pulled over for a traffic stop |
I read a few commentaries/recaps here and there at the beginning of the series that mentioned that John's addiction to painkillers felt like a go-nowhere storyline. The more I thought about it last night, the more I disagree. I think Southland has succeeded the way a lot of tv dramas don't in showing the seesaw effect of addiction, particularly in an individual like John, who is stubborn and self-reliant and smart and should "know better" but fails and fails and rights himself, then fails again. Sometimes it's a bumpy ride to rock bottom, and after seeing tonight's episode, where John basically ends the day as he would any other--well, this time with silence instead of his standard in-your-face bit of lecture and wisdom--I admire the show for sticking to what other (lazy asses) may see as a mundane or repetitive path. I think this has been a deliberate choice, one that defines itself against Dewey's spectacular flame-out from season 2: sometimes the worst collapse is slow and quiet and agonizing:
I also like how this arc has shown Ben building strength and confidence not just as a police officer, but as a person. He tried speaking to John as a friend and an equal and when that failed, he pulled out that booming command-and-control voice. He worked it too.
Lydia/Ochoa:
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| So gorgeous, and so funny when she's on the spot and being charmed |
I was totally loving the Lydia/Ochoa storyline. I thought it was great how it started with Lydia's flirting with the gun range guy, how the attraction was sort of an everyday exchange with that little spark of something more, and I liked how Lydia and Ochoa went through their day--with the back-biting and snarking about "Tweedledee and Tweedledum"; the fairly straightforward murder case with the heartstring-tugging kids; the gun range guy asking Lydia out; Lydia and Ochoa wrapping up and heading back to follow up on the employment leads and Lydia shyly admitting she has a date to her partner (and Ochoa's hilarious--and iiiiiironic--delight); the "failure drill" coming back around in the workplace massacre...
...and then it turns out handsome, charming guy is Ochoa's son? Boo! BOO! I wish that hadn't happened. It was promising how Lydia shut it down and how he was still persistently charming but not in a "we're going to be in the sack by the next ep" way. But still: can't Lydia date someone nice and charming without it having a huge TVish complicating factor? I was really looking forward to her having a fun office romance, and now it's all dramatical.
I'll mimic the show and transition from Lydia to...
Sammy:
Not a whole lot on Sammy's end this ep--looks like they're saving that for the finale, what with the reappearance of the hole-digging tattooed guy (who I SWEAR is the guilty party when I did a mini-rewatch)--but I liked what we got to see. Mostly I think his new high-and-tight haircut is super adorable. And I like the way he wears his shield:
It was interesting how the camera floated over to Sammy's temporary partner as the pastor expressed his concern that he hadn't seen Sammy recently. After being so up close and personal with Sammy's process, it was almost like the show was giving Sammy a little breathing room. By the time we rejoined Sammy and the pastor, it was clear that the genuine and straightforward concern was almost a little too much for him (you can see the glint of moisture in his eyes when he looks at the floor):
I have to admit I'm a little amused by how dialed back pregnancy/the writers have made Tammi. Beyond her showing up at the scene when Sammy is about to make an arrest in the church incident, she's not the getting-high, acting-out idiot I grew to hate so much by the end of season 2.* Nice and promising to see Sammy with the paint and the swingset and the awkward-but-ultimately-uneventful interaction with Tammi's live-in lover. He's trying.
*This does not mean I want them to get back together. Please, please, please no.
First, I LOVED that Ben confronted John dead-on about his actions and his addiction. No more watching and wondering, no more nudging, just flat-out addressing it. Look at how far they have come.
ReplyDeleteSecond, excellent point about how they are depicting the addiction "seesaw".
Third, I actually like the twist that Mustache Flirty Cop is Ochoa's son. I think he and Ochoa are good for Lydia: they respect her abilities but don't put her on a pedestal or expect her to solve all their problems, which is a great change from Russ or her other short-lived partners. And the son provides that same boost to her personal and romantic life; despite his age, he is more of her equal than her ex was. Knowing this show, I doubt they will go the regular route of Lydia's relationship with the son ruining her relationship with the mother; hell, Josie will probably grin and highfive her when she finds out.
(Third as addendum: So you think him being Ochoa's son is too dramatical? But Lydia and *Sammy* wouldn't be? Hrmmm. Right.)
Fourth, Sammy. I love him.
You really think Ochoa's going to high-five Lydia, or do you *hope* that's what's going to happen? Because with all the "next week..." stuff, it doesn't look very high-fivey.
ReplyDeleteI really like the son character a lot, so I'm willing to be open to it, but if it turns into the downfall of Lydia's partnership with Josie, I'll be super disappointed (see how far I've come in these few episodes!).
And quiet, you. That's all super made-upskis anyway.
Did you know there are a lot of "Southland" fans who don't like Sammy and think he's whiny? Fun fact!