Stalker - The News/My Hero - Double Review

Apologies are at place here, because I know these reviews are terribly late. I am sorry I haven't written these reviews earlier. This review covers Stalker episode 1.13, "The News", and episode 1.14, "My Hero". I know episode 1.15, "Lost and Found", has already aired, but I will include that one in this week's review of 1.16, "Salvation". Anyway, apologies again, but here are my reviews:

Episode 1.13 "The News"

"Imagine me and you, I do
I think about you day and night it's only right
To think about the girl you love and hold her tight
So, happy together

If I should call you up, invest a dime
And you say you belong to me, I'd lose my mind
Imagine how the world could be so very fine
So, happy together"
- Happy Together - The Turtles

The case starts when a news anchorman, John Bardo, gets a text that threatens his daughter. His reaction is broadcast live on the news. Bardo's daughter appears safe, but obviously the TAU looks into the case. They learn Bardo had a previous stalker named Sam, who tried to kill him, and is now out of jail. This incident cost Bardo his marriage, and he is now dating a woman named Lauren. Sam might not be Bardo's current stalker, but when the latter is attacked again, the TAU finds Sam in his house and arrest him. However, Beth still thinks Sam is not the current stalker. This turns out to be true when a new suspect is brought in: Keith Bradshaw, who lost the promotion of anchorman to Bardo. Keith admits he hates Bardo, but he didn't stalk him. The evidence found earlier is then matched to Candace Donavan, who is in fact Bardo's girlfriend Lauren. It turns out Candace/Lauren was in love with Keith, and hated Brado for getting the anchorman position. Hence, she wanted to avenge him. She points a gun at Brado in the studio, but the TAU gets there in time to arrest Candace.

Meanwhile, Perry manages to get Ray out of the facility he is currently in. Beth is shocked when Janice tells her, but even more so when the team discover Perry and Ray are working together. Later, Ray calls Beth to taunt her and tells her that they should see each other soon. As a result, Beth places police officers at her house. In the evening, Jack, Janice and Ben, who was finally informed of the situation as well, come over to her house to comfort her and put her mind at rest.

Before the start of the series, I had my concerns for Stalker's longetivity given the limited subject of the series. And I still have no idea how the series would run for 5 seasons, even though given the ratings the show is not likely to be on the air for so long. However, Stalker has done an excellent job of presenting a unique case every week again, showing that all kinds of people are vulnerable to stalking. So having a news anchorman being stalked was a unique turn. It was nice to see Kerr Smith as a good guy given that the last time I saw him on screen, he played the infamous Port-to-port serial killer on NCIS. Stalker does a good job of offering various suspects in the case, and usually I never guess correctly who is the stalker. Besides the case, we also got some interesting movement on Beth's story. Maggie Q once again did a great job of portraying Beth's deep fear, and even though we have gotten to know a lot about Beth, I am still looking for more. Hopefully that will come soon! Also, I loved the little team moment at the end of the episode. We haven't gotten something like that before, so I am happy to see them hanging out together after the job.


Episode 1.14 "My Hero"

"Who's gonna tell you whenit's too late
Who's gonna tell you things aren't so great
You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong
Who's gonna drive you home tonight

Who's gonna hold you down when you shake
Who's gonna come around when you break"
- Drive - The Cars

At a pier, a man named Dave proposes to his girlfriend Nicole, who happily says yes. However, the engagement ring is stolen by someone in a hoodie, and while Dave chases after him, he loses him in the crowd. The TAU looks into the case and learn that Dave and Nicole have been followed by a red truck. Also, since both Dave and Nicole's previous partners were unhappy with their break-ups, they become the first suspects in the case. Nicole, who is a lifeguard, used to date her lifeguard supervisor Mike, who says it was awkward at work, but it got easier so they continued to work together. Later, Nicole and Dave are at a beach barbecue when Dave goes off to buy more beer. However, he goes through a tunnel and the person in the hoodie comes from the other side and sets the tunnel on fire. Dave burns alive and Nicole watches in horror. The team is joined in the investigation by Trent from homicide, since Dave is dead. The TAU looks into Nicole and Dave's work and find out that 12-year old Pedro Vasquez died on Nicole's watch. His parents sued the city and were mad at Nicole. Nicole did her best to save Pedro, but he got pulled into a current and it was too late by the time she got to him. The team investigates the boy's father, but they have no proof against him.

Later that day, Nicole is at the beach and comes across Mike. When they hear a sound, Mike is attacked from behind. The TAU finds footage from a weather camera and see the red truck, and match it to Isabelle Vasquez, Pedro's mother. Isabelle nearly confesses at her interrogation, but again, there is not enough evidence. Later, Nicole is at her house with her friend Zoey, but she is taunted again when she realizes someone is in her bedroom. The TAU finds a hidden crawl space under Nicole's house, where they find a ligther with Mike's initials. Mike claims he didn't kill Dave and that his lighter must have been stolen. Jack thinks the lighter is too obvious and they look into the people whom Nicole rescued. Beth sees Zoey's list on the list as well and they deduce that Zoey had enough to crawl out from under the house to get back to the living room. Meanwhile, Zoey and Nicole are at the pier and Zoey tells Nicole that she loves her. Nicole saving her has given Zoey a new purpose in life and now Zoey proposes to Nicole. When she refuses, Zoey attempts to choke Nicole but the TAU intervenes. Zoey lastly attempts to jump from the pier, but Jack saves her.

Also, the only thing we hear about Ray and Perry are that Beth suspects they are in Los Angeles. Instead, the episode focuses on Jack, Amanda and Trent. Amanda invites Jack for a party on Friday where Ethan is meeting with some friends. As Jack and Trent work on the case, Jack asks Trent if he'll be there too on Friday but Trent didn't know anything about it. Trent later confronts Amanda and she tells him that she was going to invite him as well. Trent is angry because she forgot that they had other plans. After the case is solved, Amanda invites Trent to come over, but Trent says things are getting too complicated with Jack in the mix. Jack later goes over to Beth's because he needed some company.

Again, this was quite a unique case of the week. We also got our second deadly victim in the 14 episodes that we have now seen, with the first death being the girl in the opening scene of the pilot (who in fact was burned to death just as Dave was). Phoebe Tonkin did a great job as Nicole and the case made for various twists and turns along the way. Also, while I really love Beth's story with Ray and Perry, I am glad we got a break from that to focus on Jack and Amanda instead. Don't get me wrong, I love the intensity of Beth's stalkers, but it's been a while since we have seen Jack and Amanda so it was nice to see some more interactions between them. I don't necessarily need a love triangle, but for now it keeps things interesting between Jack, Amanda, Trent and Ethan.

What did you think of "The News" and "My Hero"? What are your thoughts on the cases of the news anchorman and the female lifeguard? Do you have any idea what Ray and Perry's next move will be? And how do you feel about the love triangle between Jack, Amanda and Trent? Sound off with your opinions in the comment section below.

Here's a promo of the episode "Salvation", airing this Wednesday:

About the Author - Daniel van der Veer

Daniel van der Veer is a Dutch university student studying Psychology. On SpoilerTV he is a reviewer of NCIS, The 100, Stalker, Madam Secretary and the upcoming shows Battle Creek and Odyssey. He also enjoys LOST, Arrow, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, Nikita, The Blacklist, Scorpion and How To Get Away With Murder.

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