A bunch of storylines are set in motion during this week’s episode. The Andy/Sam/Marlo baby drama has taken a backseat to make room for other equally important character developments and storylines. The Nick centric episode shed some light on his family history and how he became an orphan when he was 12.
This is the episode which officially introduces the corruption storyline as Commissioner Santana makes his season debut. His presence in this episode feels tense, shady and somewhat uncomfortable, which sets him up perfectly as this season’s big bad. Oliver is caught off guard as the Commissioner pops by unannounced to personally inform him that his daughter Izzy, is being detained at another division for possession of drugs. The Commission is willing – too willing, in fact – to sweep this under the rug and make it go away. Throughout the episode we see Oliver struggling to make a decision, whether or not he should accept Santana’s help to pull Izzy’s record from the system. In the end, for the sake of his daughter’s future, Oliver calls Santana to take him up on his offer. That’s probably going to come back and bite Oliver in the ass.
What I want to know though, is that has Santana been keeping tabs on Oliver’s family ever since he made Staff Sergeant? Did he have someone slip the pills on Izzy or was the whole thing a coincidence? The Commissioner is obviously a busy man and it’s clear that he wants Oliver in his pocket but I cannot imagine the man dropping everything to show up at Oliver’s office at the opportunity to buy his loyalty. Something’s fishy here. I’m scared for Oliver.
The Ted McDonald case is shut down by Jarvis and this means Marlo’s job at 15 is done and Dov is back on the streets. But that does not stop Dov from reaching out to Marlo. He wants to continue the investigation without Jarvis’s or Oliver’s permission. I just hope whatever they manage to find out later in the season will not get them in trouble. They’re stepping onto a dangerous path and Marlo is pregnant, so I hope nothing bad or life threatening will happen to both of them.
It is established at the end of the episode that Dov doesn’t want to be in uniform anymore. After getting a taste of what working in Intelligence might be like, Dov’s ready for a change of scenery. I’m not at all surprised by Dov’s career decision. I’ve said it in one of the reviews last season that Dov would be a good fit in Intelligence. He’s a smart guy and is always curious and questioning things during cases. I’m very glad he’s heading in that direction this season.
One character that I wish would have a great storyline this season is Chloe. After getting shot, her storyline has been revolving around romantic relationships and sometimes being the comic relief on the show. I want to see the serious side of Chloe. Nobody can be this perky without a dark side, right? But given the shorter season I don’t think Chloe will get the chance to show us she’s more than just a bubbly wide eyed police officer. She’s still a rookie and the original rookies are the priority, screen time and storylines wise. I really hope there’s a seventh season.
Chloe is still not over her breakup with Dov, but by the end of the episode it’s clear that she’s trying to move on as she asks Duncan out for a beer. I’m still not into the whole Chloe and Duncan thing though. I hope they will just become best friends and nothing more. When they interact it seems more like friendly siblings banter to me.
What I’m surprised is the lack of McSwarek in this episode. It’s a welcome sight because it gives other characters more screen time in this short season. Sam is only present to assign roles for case of the week and Andy is on desk duty with Chloe.
Gail is making a bucket list, things she wants to do before becoming a mother. Why do I feel like the adoption is not going to be successful? Do you guys feel the same way? It’s nice to see Andy and Gail hanging out again after what happened in Season 4 with Nick. I love it when the characters hang out at the Penny when they’re not out on the streets catching bad guys. Weirdly enough, I find Duncan’s presence this week tolerable. Duncan and Gail scenes are hilarious to watch. I hope we get to see Duncan giving Gail hip hop dance lessons.
This week we learn about Nick’s past and how it is coming back to haunt him in the present. We learn that Nick’s parents died in a car accident when he was a kid and he also has a brother named Finn. On the way to work, Nick gets a call from Finn and immediately goes to visit him. It is shown that Finn is paralysed because of the accident and he tells Nick that he saw the man, Marco Brunswick, who’s responsible for the hit and run 18 years ago. Ditching work and lying to his partner of the day, Nick tracks the guy down and that’s how the revenge plot from any other TV show or movie begins.
Juliet senses something is wrong with Nick and with a little help from her fellow colleagues and digging into his past, she finds out the truth about the car accident, the brother he never mentioned and goes after him.
Nick’s revenge plot is fairly predictable. We know Nick would never kill Marco and Juliet arrives just in time to cuff him. When Finn finds out, he’s a little disappointed. I guess he wanted him dead. But during the confrontation between Nick and Marco, Marco tells him Finn was the one driving and he ran into Marco’s car that night. Despite the fact that Marco was drunk and he was speeding, technically it was Finn who caused the accident. Nick is pissed that his brother has been lying to him all these years, they fight for a bit before Nick walks away claiming he’s over it. It’s been 18 years. I guess Nick gets to walk away with closure?
At the end of the episode in a tender scene, Nick kisses Juliet and I’m sure drama will ensue in the next episode. Juliet will probably want it to be a one-time thing, that sort of scenario. And the ‘will they or won’t they’ between those two will continue through the rest of the season. This is just my theory and based on the writers’ track record, I think it’s an acceptable theory.
What did you guys think of Letting Go? Too much Nick or too little McSwarek? Thoughts on Nick and Juliet? Do you think anything bad will happen to Dov and Marlo while pursuing the investigation? How do you feel about Commissioner Santana’s return, how soon do you think he will be collecting his debt from Oliver and what would he have Oliver do? Let me know in the comments section!
