Well, it looks like season two of Murder in the First will be following a different direction as to that of last season, rather than taking and running with a case for the whole of the first season, we'll instead follow different cases with the undercover cop going missing whilst investigating an underground prostitute ring (something that was mentioned in the premiere, Twenty-Fifteen), being a likely candidate for future storylines. This of course meant that the writers could keep the pace high, rather than spend time on needless filler episodes, not dragging anything out as they wrapped up the manhunt for Alfie Simmons in a violent confrontation on a lighthouse.
The episode itself opened with the death of Walt Martin (Inny Clemons), and now, the pressure has increased all the more to find the killer because he's not just taken out innocent kids, he's taken out one of the SFPD's own. With nobody else available, this means that English gets promoted to Lieutenant in role that unfortunately, didn't give him much in the way of different things to do than what he would have done otherwise, but there hasn't been much to do other than chase Alfie this week. However, despite that, It's an interesting second chapter that raises the stakes from the premiere, putting the entire SFPD on a hunt for one mass murderer, with plenty of red herrings (such as that sheet of paper that was first believed to be a kill sheet, only later discovered to be a list of names of his friends by his mother, who wanted to somehow make things right), thrown in there for good measure to keep the plot twisting, as well as entertaining and captivating to watch. It also explained Alfie's motives more as we watched him unravel, with Jimmy Bennett putting an impressive performance as the character continued to lose his mind, becoming more immersed in the video game (which is basically a Grand Theft Auto clone, only set in real life San Francisco), to the point where Alfie recognised his own endgame and planted seeds of clues for the cops to follow. And of course this was what gave Hildy and English our endpoint, the final showdown on the Lighthouse, which was suitably tense even though hostage situations have of course been done hundreds of times before. We were never quite sure what was going to happen next and what the resolution would be, with the addition of Alfie treating this like a game of good and evil, with him being the villain and her being the "Princess", making for an unpredictable encounter because even though we knew that Hildy probably wasn't going down, we didn't know what would happen to Alfie or the hostage, a young teenage girl refereed to as Barbie.
We got more time to spend with Emmanuelle Chiriqui's character, Lara Cruz this week, which was welcoming as she never really got enough to do in the premiere. She's already shaping up to be a fun, interesting new addition that should add a fresh new dynamic to the Hildy/English partnership (and her involvement with English will no doubt be brought up again in the weeks to come), and allow us to explore characters who aren't just our two protagonists. We also got to see her in action in the tunnels in another tense sequence, that was handled well with the cinematography helping to create a fantastic atmosphere that helped create a heightened level of suspense. Murder in the First is always a show that you can count on to provide some good thriller elements, keeping us entertained and offering up some good police drama whilst not exactly being too memorable. If this series were a book, it would be something that you'd expect to be written by a popular crime author like James Patterson or John Grisham, a typical Summer read that you'd probably find in an airport somewhere to read, and get through it quickly.
This episode again hit all the right notes that the premiere did, and the case was resolved strongly, keeping the tension high right to the end. Hopefully we won't see a case of the week format emerge after this and we'll be plunged into a longer, more complicated mystery yet that doesn't have a quite as straightforward resolution. Needless to say, there's plenty of potential here for a very different remainder of the season.
Now with that out of the way, what did you think of "Schizofrenzy"? Did you like the resolution to the case? Are you a fan of Lara Cruz? Let me know in the comments below.
Overall Episode Grade: B+
Positives:
-Good resolution to main plot.
-Good atmosphere. Tense tunnel scenes/resolution.
-Lara Cruz!
Weaknesses:
-For now at least, Terry's new role hasn't shaken up things much.
Thank you very much for the review! I like that they didn't drag this story for too long, it wasn't worth it, there wasn't enough "propulsion" I guess. And you' re right, this is like a well written summer thriller read. Two things didn't convince me much though: the end (there wasn't enough suspense, I mean to me it lacked of the climactic element and came out flat). And the kid, the actor: he wasn't believable. I'm looking forward to the next episode!
ReplyDeleteI liked the first season of Murder in the First, though I never felt it was Top Notch entertainment or story telling. The writers never really found the feel of the San Francisco Bay Area, despite filming on location. With that said, I can't get a feel for Season 2. I felt that the premier, kinda just "ended"--like it was a re-cut after the filming had finished. Also, I'm questioning the multiple-case format that the show seems to be evolving into instead of the single-case all season approach. Maybe the reviewer is correct, and it's all about not having too much filler.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I'm not ambivalent about is the addition of the lovely Emmanuelle Chriqui as "Raffi" Cruz. She seems to have been added as the "Ziva David" of this show--and, while Kathleen Robertson can hold her own in the sexy, tough chick department, Raffi definitely is the one my eyes are focused on whenever she's in a scene--even in the background.
As for the Raffi/Terry relationship, it seems to be a bit of a (pardon the express) cop-out. There was/is definitely chemistry between Terry & Hildy, and they did share a kiss in the first season; but the writers seem to be going out of their way to avoid the partners-at-work-and-in-bed dynamic. Maybe it's Ms. Robertson's request, since she has played "sexy" in so many of her previous roles. Whatever! The scene with Terry & Raffi (in the cafe storage room?) was one of the hottest on basic cable. The butt shots (both of Diggs & Chriqui) will give The Americans' Kerri Russell some competition on the Mr. Skin website.
One more bit of ambivalence: the plot made it a point to inform the viewers that Raffi is either Israeli or middle-eastern (Ms. Chriqui's parents are from Morocco) and I'm left wondering if they made that choice in order to appease viewers who may be turned-off by Diggs in an inter-racial relationship--though the Diggs/Chriqui hook-up qualifies as inter-racial. I may be over-thinking it, but when you add this to the end of the affair between the Asian police Lt. and the African-American DA, there's just too many "signals" that the Terry/Raffi hook-up was designed to be "safe." Which is strange, given that San Francisco is maybe the most adventurous, inter-racial relationship cities in the world.
Final thought: I'm watching next week to see where they take the episodes...from press releases, Hildy's cop-family will play a larger role in the plots. In fact, I believe the viewers will learn that the Police Sniper from the first two episodes is a relative.
I really enjoyed the first season, but not so sure about the second one. I thought the first episode was good, but this second one didn't blow me away in any form or shape.
ReplyDeleteI was rather disappointed with the totally anticlimactic ending of it. The whole hour was boring at times. Not that I expect action all the time, that is not what makes an episode interesting, but somehow even the dialogue lacked quality.
And making him the Lieutenant was not a good move, in my eyes. I'm sure he'll do a good job, but if they want to keep it real he wouldn't be out in the field from now on.
The sex-scenes I felt were inappropriate at that time with the killer on the loose. Sure they needed to let off steam, but this felt wrong somehow.
Without the benefit of the first season, I wouldn't watch the third episode. Which I think is sad. But I will give it another chance and hope to be surprised.
Thank you for your review.
Totally disagree about this show being good but not necessarily memorable. I think this show has a very lasting presence with a high quality that can't be found on other crime dramas. I definitely think about this show long after it airs. But that's just a matter of opinion. Agree to disagree.
ReplyDeleteI do love Lara Cruz though! I think she has MUCH more chemistry with Terry than Hildy does. That was something that always bothered me about season 1, I just didn't feel it with them. I hope they drop that storyline and focus more on him and Lara. Thanks for the review! :)