Eyewitness - Bella, Bella, Bella - Advance Preview

This week on “Eyewitness,” it’s Gabe’s turn to give Philip something to chew over when he describes being in love as “pain...a good pain, right here, in your belly.” It’s an apropos description as different types of love – blossoming teenage attraction, familial loyalty, and inappropriate lust – are what’s driving several of the players in “Bella, Bella, Bella,” and giving them grief.

So we learned at the end of the last episode that the killer Philip and Lukas saw is Ryan Kane (Warren Christie, “Chicago Fire”), a respected FBI agent who’s been assigned to lead the task force looking into the drug trade in upstate New York. Confident he snipped the loose ends in Tivoli, Ryan is therefore rattled when he learns of Helen’s tenacity, of her resolve to solve the murders herself. This leads to a bit of a cat-and-mouse game between them as both Ryan and Helen try to find the titular Bella, who’s in the wind after the bomb explosion at her father’s apartment. And as we follow Ryan more in this episode, we see he’s a man of two faces, the polished one he shows to the world, and a sinister private one that surely means trouble for everyone.

Meanwhile, Kamilah finds herself caught in the middle of Ryan and Helen’s agendas while continuing to worry about her sister’s involvement with the Viscovis. And struggling to cope with inadvertently causing their classmates’ deaths, Philip talks Lukas into going into the city together and tries to coax him out of his comfort zone.

This wasn’t my favorite of the first three episodes, but there was some good stuff. Julianne Nicholson continues to shine and I like Helen’s rapports with Gabe, with Kamilah, and with deputy Tony. There were some nice moments between Philip and Lukas during their night out. And we hear an interesting tidbit about Gabe's (and Helen’s) history that caught my attention. There was a bit of narrative sloppiness, though, in Philip and Lukas’ reactions to last week’s events, and a few bum notes in James Paxton’s performance this week as well. I also continue not to care about Kamilah’s sister, especially now that it seems she’s actively bringing this trouble on herself.

Be on the lookout for “Bella, Bella, Bella” this Sunday on USA Network. But before then, come share and speculate in the comments section.