CHOP SHOP
With these latter Season Two episodes, there's a feeling that the supporting cast are stepping into the sunlight a little more, creating a more ensemble feel. They've been serving an important role thus far, but there are some minor changes that suggest a recognition of the quality of the cast. The two main stories in this episode can best be described as "Isbecki is kidnapped after an undercover operation gets blown" and "Petrie shoots and kills a mugger in Harlem". Perhaps the first time the entire plot could be summed up without a mention of either of the titular characters. Equally significantly, for the first time to the best of my memory, the end-of-episode freeze-frame features neither of the two leads.
That's not to say the format of the show has changed, and Chris and Mary Beth remain in the thick of things, and their responses remain key. But this episode has a refreshing - and organic - sense of evolution. An appreciation, if you will, for the underdog.
Both Isbecki's kidnap and Petrie's shooting are cop show clichés on the surface. Isbecki's story in particular ticks some very familiar boxes: he's held in a garage, tied to a chair, effects an escape after slipping his bonds, is caught and beaten and eventually put into a car that's put into a crusher in a scrap yard which is stopped in the nick of time. This shows things haven't changed too much, as the most gripping parts of the story involve the bungled operation at the beginning where Chris and Mary Beth lose the wired Isbecki as they tail him (the setup and execution feeling very familiar to anyone who watched Conduct Unbecoming), and their phone calls with one of the kidnappers who is helping them in return for immunity (there's a really nice, tense scene where Chris bluffs her way though a conversation with him while they wait for Samuels to show up with the papers they need). So really, it's when Chris and Mary Beth are thrown into the mix that the story really goes somewhere special.
Petrie's storyline is just great. Layered, carefully woven and thought-provoking. The political side to policing comes to the fore (something this show does incredibly well). Because the young man that Petrie shot and killed was black, there's the view from high up that there will be less fallout for the force if it is publicised that the cop who fired the shot was also black. Not wanting any part of it, Petrie finds himself the unwilling participant in a race relations exercise. On a deeper level, it also prompts Petrie to question himself about his internalised racism and the fact that he views Harlem differently as a result of being on the force.
There are some nice touches of continuity. Two journalists have appeared in earlier episodes and Mary Beth references her own experience of killing someone back in Season One's Pop Used To Work Chinatown. I enjoyed having a number of Mary Beth/Petrie scenes in this episode. I always enjoy the friendship between these two. Chris aside, Petrie was the first person to connect with Mary Beth at the 14th, and while the series has moved on following their initial bonding over being persecuted minorities, it's such a strong foundation that the history is implicit in all of their scenes, something that is utilised well here. Besides, Carl Lumbly is a wonderful actor, and I look forward to more Petrie goodness in future episodes.
