First proper episode after the eventful 8th episode that tied off many storylines. So as you probably noticed, the Armadillo plot was seemingly resolved early when it seemed like it would be a season long plot. I think despite the conclusion feeling a bit rushed it was still very well executed, and it added a lot of shock to it too. The reason this happened is because the actor for Armadillo had to leave for another role in a movie I believe, so they essentially wrote him off the season early, which led the writers to have no plan for the next episode. That was why Co-Pilots happened, which many people agree is the worst episode in the show. I definitely agree with that unfortunately, but it wasn't a bad episode either. In concept that episode was good as it shows the past of the characters and how the corruption started, it's just that the execution wasn't as good as it could be and created a lot of plot holes with the timeline as it was a flashback. Luckily that means you can skip it, but I think it's still worth a shot, just ignore the timeline not making sense. I assume that it was an old script that they decided to shoot because they didn't have time to write something else, or they just seriously rushed it in like a day. Anyways onto the episode, the point of that was to explain the sudden change in the season and why the second half is (at least in my opinion) slightly weaker and more episodic.
The episode deals with Gilroy coming back and some of the aftermath of episode 8, which is what I'll mainly focus on but that doesn't mean other stuff doesn't happen this episode because it's still very eventful. The civilian auditor's report on the barn leaked early which paints them all in a very bad light. We get a bit more of her character in this episode and I like the political side of it. Danni is afraid of her place in the force after the strike team made her seem negligent by giving a blade to one of the criminals being held to kill Armadillo, and Claudette plans the seed of doubt in her mind making her maybe think someone *cough* Vic *cough* did it to her, even if she doesn't want to admit it at first. Meanwhile a new minority Strike Team member is introduced, which Lem and Shane have to deal with. Like many things in this show it's funny but messed up how you can tell Shane really doesn't like him cause... well you know, he's Shane. The new Strike Team member shows his true colors early on attacking someone in an interrogation, quite a fit for the team, huh? I really like the actor for him. Tensions grow with Aceveda's political campaign due to the report. I like how his political advisor suggests a smear campaign but Aceveda refuses. Danni and Julien deal with a pregnant woman who has a death wish for her son because she hates his dad. Claudette wants to prove a burglar caused a heart attack to a victim cause it's the right thing to do, Dutch wants to move on, but he eventually comes around, Aceveda doesn't want her to, which causes her to have a great outburst complaining about the state of the barn after the reports. Aceveda gives a speech to the barn trying to reassure everyone. Claudette realizes she was wrong and the burgled didn't cause the heart attack. Danni confronts Vic and realizes it was him, in a moment of vulnerability Danni offers to keep the pregnant woman's baby but she refuses because Danni's a white cop. There isn't much to explain this episode but I just think the events give some strong character development and are filled with a strong sense of poignancy which made this episode stick with me.
Now onto Gilroy. Gilroy is back out of house arrest because the District Attorney wants to investigate Vic, but he wants Vic to get him out of the country so he isn't arrested. Seeing how Gilroy is holding up after the ending of season 1 is pretty cool. Most shows would just forget about a seasonal villain who's storyline has been resolved but I love how he's brought back for an episode and how Vic's past has been coming back to bite him this season. This episode shows one of Vic's best qualities, his loyalty, which despite everything Gilroy did to him he's still helping him. They get a coyote to get him across the border. Vic suspects Gilroy on the wire, so he pulls a gun on him while shushing him in a epic zoom out shot. I love how they handled this, turns out Vic and Shane have been followed because of him and it's the second betrayal Gilroy has done to Vic, and Gilroy is devastated as he's being forced to go to Mexico with only 60k, which he said would be fine earlier, but was obviously lying. John Diehl's acting is great in this scene and you almost feel bad for him despite what he's done. Vic creates a plan so he can leave and they won't be exposed once again trusting Gilroy. Gilroy this time does what he's told finally, but now Vic is the one who betrays him, shockingly making him pay for his own hit an if he ever comes back. The lighting in this scene is especially good. I think this is such an impactful scene because it shows how Vic always has to one up the guy who betrayed him and Gilroy tells Vic his famous last words, what Vic is really trying to ignore, "I got greedy. I lost everything. There's a lesson there."
The episode deals with Gilroy coming back and some of the aftermath of episode 8, which is what I'll mainly focus on but that doesn't mean other stuff doesn't happen this episode because it's still very eventful. The civilian auditor's report on the barn leaked early which paints them all in a very bad light. We get a bit more of her character in this episode and I like the political side of it. Danni is afraid of her place in the force after the strike team made her seem negligent by giving a blade to one of the criminals being held to kill Armadillo, and Claudette plans the seed of doubt in her mind making her maybe think someone *cough* Vic *cough* did it to her, even if she doesn't want to admit it at first. Meanwhile a new minority Strike Team member is introduced, which Lem and Shane have to deal with. Like many things in this show it's funny but messed up how you can tell Shane really doesn't like him cause... well you know, he's Shane. The new Strike Team member shows his true colors early on attacking someone in an interrogation, quite a fit for the team, huh? I really like the actor for him. Tensions grow with Aceveda's political campaign due to the report. I like how his political advisor suggests a smear campaign but Aceveda refuses. Danni and Julien deal with a pregnant woman who has a death wish for her son because she hates his dad. Claudette wants to prove a burglar caused a heart attack to a victim cause it's the right thing to do, Dutch wants to move on, but he eventually comes around, Aceveda doesn't want her to, which causes her to have a great outburst complaining about the state of the barn after the reports. Aceveda gives a speech to the barn trying to reassure everyone. Claudette realizes she was wrong and the burgled didn't cause the heart attack. Danni confronts Vic and realizes it was him, in a moment of vulnerability Danni offers to keep the pregnant woman's baby but she refuses because Danni's a white cop. There isn't much to explain this episode but I just think the events give some strong character development and are filled with a strong sense of poignancy which made this episode stick with me.
Now onto Gilroy. Gilroy is back out of house arrest because the District Attorney wants to investigate Vic, but he wants Vic to get him out of the country so he isn't arrested. Seeing how Gilroy is holding up after the ending of season 1 is pretty cool. Most shows would just forget about a seasonal villain who's storyline has been resolved but I love how he's brought back for an episode and how Vic's past has been coming back to bite him this season. This episode shows one of Vic's best qualities, his loyalty, which despite everything Gilroy did to him he's still helping him. They get a coyote to get him across the border. Vic suspects Gilroy on the wire, so he pulls a gun on him while shushing him in a epic zoom out shot. I love how they handled this, turns out Vic and Shane have been followed because of him and it's the second betrayal Gilroy has done to Vic, and Gilroy is devastated as he's being forced to go to Mexico with only 60k, which he said would be fine earlier, but was obviously lying. John Diehl's acting is great in this scene and you almost feel bad for him despite what he's done. Vic creates a plan so he can leave and they won't be exposed once again trusting Gilroy. Gilroy this time does what he's told finally, but now Vic is the one who betrays him, shockingly making him pay for his own hit an if he ever comes back. The lighting in this scene is especially good. I think this is such an impactful scene because it shows how Vic always has to one up the guy who betrayed him and Gilroy tells Vic his famous last words, what Vic is really trying to ignore, "I got greedy. I lost everything. There's a lesson there."
