The final episode kicks off a month after election day & we see the town of Flint decorating for the Christmas season complete with the mayor doing a tree lighting ceremony. Time has passed for Dion Sanders & family. Having moved and feeling more secure Dion welcomes a new daughter & wonders about the future. We get to see Frost & Balasko getting some much needed R & R on vacation and they have made a large life decision. Most of the final episode revolves around the city budget. We get to see the city council on one side of the issue, Chief Tim Johnson and the PD on another side with the Mayor somewhere in between. According to a brief news clip the millage "increased" the budget, but this seems to be a goof as was mentioned in a previous episode that the tax was only to be renewed. As anyone can expect, especially for a cash-strapped administration there ensues infighting over dollars. Follow the money. It is touching to see my favorite volunteer Mr. Lewis Spears graduate with the rest of his group. Meanwhile problems continue for the PD as we see lack of adequate functioning patrol cars means officers must do foot patrols in freezing conditions. CATT team goes on another raid & we see officer Dion Sanders go on patrol alone. Many members of the PD drive home the point that they are not just police, but must act in a variety of roles in the course of their jobs. Connection with the larger community is one the most important parts of their jobs as mentioned by officers and citizens alike. The finale concludes by learning how the budget was decided which leads to learning some rather discouraging news in a mini epilogue. As with my initial thoughts this show could have done with some much better organization. Even now I feel that the show is arranged for folks who have a much better intimate knowledge of the Flint than the average viewer. Personally being an avid documentary viewer who also follows the news regularly I was aware of Flint & some of it's problems going in, but not at all the scale of detail as was shown. I feel the makers did not want to alienate anyone in the Town by providing details about them or narration describing the issues surrounding the players in the show, but I feel that such details to a lesser degree could have been helpful and provide the viewer at least a modicum of context for understanding. In conclusion it was a good, eye opening show and I personally feel as if I would like to see a follow up, perhaps a reunion type TV movie that brings back everyone on this show (who is left) before someone makes a new docu-series on another facet of this Town.
Review of The Stand Off
