[picspam] Life - Tear Asunder III

[grimorie]

All this semi-good feelings for her partner immediately disappear when he contradicts her in front of Davis. I loved Davis' look of exasperation at Charlie's 'Windows to the soul' crap he was selling and Reese's increasingly annoyed/angry faces she makes in the background.

*

This scene killed me. I loved Charlie trying to apologize and Reese quickly shuts it down by simply waving a pen and you can hear Charlie literally go: 'Uh-oh' in his head. And when he tries again, she stares at him then pointedly shuts off her lamp, grabs her leather jacket and storm out of the bullpen. All the while Charlie has a 'yikes' expression on his face as if he expected Reese to suddenly reach out and stun him.

But at least he learned his lesson and never again contradicted Reese in front of Davis. Also, I'm pretty sure because of this incident Reese was pissed enough to go get something to drink. I think pretty much anything Crews did in the early days of their partnership drove Reese to drink on a regular basis. Heh.

*

Reese is still obviously irritated with Charlie but seemed on the verge of saying something and as soon as the elevator doors close and they're (relatively) alone she starts.

Reese: [takes deep, not very calming breath] I need to know if this is going to be a thing with you.
Charlie: Which 'this' is that?
Reese: This thing with Jake Silvers. Are you going to see falsely accused people everywhere?
Charlie: You don't think its a good instinct for a cop to have?
Reese: [impatient] I just need to know if it's going to be a thing with you.
Charlie: Shouldn't innocent until proven guilty be a 'thing' for all of us?
Reese: [Looks ready to murder Charlie and leaves the elevator before she does just that. Because there's a witness.]
Charlie: [Turns to the old lady and smiles]

He might not attempt contradicting Reese in front of Davis again but he's still ready to annoy Reese whenever he possibly could and the smile he had on at the end of the exchange shows how much he enjoys annoying her.

*

Despite how much Crews annoys her they're both professionals in front of the witnesses. The drunk guy (not Deputy Leo) amuses me with his random (but deserved) 'You're pretty!' to Reese and I liked that despite being in 'cop mode' she still appreciates a compliment, although I really don't know what to think of Charlie staring at Reese right after the drunk compliments Reese. What, was that the first time he noticed she was pretty? Or the first time he'd seen her smile? Or was he just curious about Reese's reactions?

Anyway, when the lawyer guy, who I recognized as Eliza Dushku's brother in Tru Calling arrived and says something suspicious I love that Charlie and Reese automatically did that partner communicating thing.

*

They immediately interview Anna Silvers' best friends and they basically had the same thing to say, both Jake and Anna loved each other and before meeting up they both had the same self destructive attitude. But in the same moment Reese also lets slip some of her own tendencies to Charlie.

Blond: Anna used to have a tough time growing up, Anna used to act out... I mean, we all did stuff but Anna always had to go further. Drink more--
Reese: Was she involved with the drugs?
[Both the blond and brunette shift uncomfortably]
Charlie: It's okay, we're investigating a murder.
[The girls look at Charlie adoringly]
Reese: Was she involved with drugs?
Brunette: She always had to do more drugs, more guys, more everything. It was more than partying she used to do like... I dunno--
Reese: [with almost conviction and insight] Punishment?
Blond: [with speculative look] Yeah. Punishment. Until she met Jake, they were a team.
Reese: [Finally notices Crews looking at her speculatively] And you used to date Jake?
Blond: Oh, on and off...
Brunette: Only some of the time.
Charlie: Just hook-ups?
Tiffany: Can I ask you something?
Charlie: About Anna?
Tiffany: No. About Jake, if he doesn't remember what he did... what he did to Anna is it as bad if he did remember it?
Charlie: You mean legally?
Tiffany: [nods]
Reese: [gently] Tiffany, if Jake killed Anna he's going to prison for a very long time if he remembers it or not.

I kind of think that while growing up Reese didn't 'act out' as much as Anna did because for some reason, despite her issues with her father I don't think Reese was the type, she may act out in her own way but I think its the undercover assignment that has Reese indulging in her self-destructive addictions. I think something happened during the assignment that sent Reese into a downward spiral. I really hope we get more of Reese's backstory when the show resumes again somewhere in March. (Okay, I'm dreaming but a girl can dream, can't I?).

*

Davis: How's your partner doing?
Dani: [agitated] I'm not a rat, lieutenant.
Davis: I'm not asking you to be one, detective, it would be better for your partner to be removed from duty. The LAPD is not the best environment for him to be in.
Dani: The best environment.
Davis: You can do this, Dani. You can do something good for Crews, for the department and good for you.
Dani: So, if it's bad for the department, is it bad for me too, lieutenant?
Davis: [frowns and seems to realize that she's hearing street noises] Where are you right now?
Dani: [looks up, annoyed]
Davis: Dani, this is not an excuse to backslide, do you understand me?
Dani: [looks disturbed and lies] I'm actually going into a meeting right now.
Davis: [looks guilty and worried]

Love the aerial night shots of LA.

Since the pilot we've known that Reese is reluctant to let her partner take the fall but it's not till

Fill It Up

do we realize how much she hates the behavior. Even before she decided to stick to Crews she's already defending him to other people, Juarez, prison guards but earlier in the pilot Davis knows just the right buttons to push and because at that point Reese is keen to be seen as a proper by the book detective she caves but by end of the episode redeems herself by retracting her earlier statement.

In this episode Davis tries that tactic again, appealing to Dani's professional side but when that fails she brings it to the personal and addresses her as 'Dani' but Dani, agitated and already on edge and I think Davis' phone call caught her just at the time when she's completely shed her 'cop' persona and was ready to engage in her not so by the book past time was antagonistic. This catches Davis off guard until she realizes that she's hearing too much noise and demands Dani report where she was.

At Davis' question, Dani's first reaction was irritation and almost rebellious but this attitude instantly goes away when Davis goes on to lecture against backsliding at that moment she looks small and guilty because that was what she was doing. Granted it wasn't drugs but sex and alcohol but I doubt both activities are things she's allowed to do while working the program. I think Davis knows/suspects that she was off doing something like that and the reason why she stepped back from pressuring Dani was because she felt guilty that one of the reasons Dani was backsliding was because of her.

Davis seemed genuinely concerned but as we'll see, concerned as she was by SCI she's not above holding Dani's addictions over her head when it would suit her purpose.

Also, can I say, after rewatching this ep a buncha times its really hard not to notice that Dani's wearing the exact same shirt she wore when she stormed out of the bullpen indicating that this was intended after she stormed out -- or maybe the wardrobe department suck at continuity.

*

And there we are, in a bar. The married man really looks familiar, wonder where I've seen him before.

Apparently, not wanting to go through all the trouble of a guy wanting to know her name now picks up a very unavailable man so there won't be those pesky 'Will you call?' questions the next morning.

Charlie has a rule about married women (no touching) and Reese has her own rule about married men.

*

Um. So, yes, Charlie is still the star of the show and he has this conspiracy to solve see...

Sorry I've been neglecting you, Charlie! But your the star! You can survive!

Anyway, I liked this scene more than the others because it moved the conspiracy arc forward and its the first time we see him without his Zen mask. He's operating on single minded focus and this hint of something controlled and angry and something else. I love the revelation. I wonder how'd I take it though if I hadn't seen Farthingale first.

*

There's something about this scene I've always liked. I liked how it illustrates how good they can be with each other, because left alone both would go on doing things that in the long run won't be good for them. Like, if Reese had her way she'd stay in her own world, content in staying silent until she's done her 'time' so to speak on the job and Charlie would just babble and babble and babble and eventually, someone would slap him if no one stopped him.

Charlie brings Reese out of her brooding when he says something random to distract her and Reese reminds Charlie it's annoying and rude to go on talking to people without really talking to them.



Part IV