The first episode of this two-parter ended with Kenny Damon acquitted from the charge of murdering a former detective; the victim's son Jake (Bruce Campbell in a nicely low-key turn), also a cop, threatened revenge.
Now Damon is found dead. Kellerman (Reed Diamond) and Howard (Melissa Leo) investigate the case, while Meldrick (Clark Johnson), as a friend of Jake, is torn between personal loyalty and increasing suspicions.
A tight script shows the difficulty of investigating fellow officers and examines the consequences of a vigilante brand of justice. It's the thematic flip side of Part One: in the first episode the law failed and a guilty man went free; in the second, a cop takes the law in his own hands.
There is no facile moralizing. Jake is neither a righteous hero nor a monster - just someone who faces a breakdown and loses his moral compass, in a creepy foreshadowing of the fate of Kellerman (who, ironically, is the primary here) in future seasons.
And the final monologue by Gee (Yaphet Kotto) is chilling
8/10
Now Damon is found dead. Kellerman (Reed Diamond) and Howard (Melissa Leo) investigate the case, while Meldrick (Clark Johnson), as a friend of Jake, is torn between personal loyalty and increasing suspicions.
A tight script shows the difficulty of investigating fellow officers and examines the consequences of a vigilante brand of justice. It's the thematic flip side of Part One: in the first episode the law failed and a guilty man went free; in the second, a cop takes the law in his own hands.
There is no facile moralizing. Jake is neither a righteous hero nor a monster - just someone who faces a breakdown and loses his moral compass, in a creepy foreshadowing of the fate of Kellerman (who, ironically, is the primary here) in future seasons.
And the final monologue by Gee (Yaphet Kotto) is chilling
8/10
