Monday's episode was interesting, at least the concept more so than the on-screen drama. I applaud the ambition, and I agree with others that the execution didn't land, in part because Jacob and Naomi are not a strong enough couple to carry a standalone episode at this time.
It also reminded me of something that's occurred to me a few times over the past year: I think Jacob and Naomi should have met on-screen in the first week(s) of the show, instead of being happily married from the outset. Jacob could have debuted as the arresting officer when Dani shot up the wedding on his first day as detective, with Naomi jumping in to defend her mother. The two could have butted heads and slowly fallen for each other in the process (instead of having a C-story married-couple-fight about the whole incident and quickly making up). Most of the "flashbacks" they recreated this week could have easily fit into the drama of the show in real time.
I find both characters likeable, for the most part, and I don't think the actors are bad per se, but they are among the less experienced cast members. Maybe having some sort of arc to play in the beginning would have helped them find their footing. And Jacob being introduced as an outsider learning about the Duprees' drama would have allowed for more natural exposition as he questioned witnesses about the history between Bill, Dani, Hayley, etc., which would have helped the show overall. Relatedly, this actor has at times struggled more so than some of the seasoned veterans with those extended scenes of the characters reminding each other in detail of backstory they all supposedly experienced in real time (also with the "Rashad" scenes, but that's another story).
While I'm on the subject of Jacob, I think one of the biggest holes in the dynamics of his family that they're attempting to build up is the fact that we've already established the father is running an inherently corrupt department. As far as class conflict, whatever the chief of police's official salary might be (and I agree they've definitely kept the jurisdiction ambiguous), he has to be making even more under the table. Does Darlene know this? Did she think he was really in danger from criminals he was trying to bring to justice all those times when he was allegedly doing undercover work that she keeps talking about, or did she know he was probably off collecting bags or whatever? Is she actually supposed to have the moral high ground?
And if the foreshadowing about Jacob in danger leads somewhere, it will be a real letdown for me if it's because of this stupid plasma story, instead of something they've laid the groundwork for from the beginning: Jacob getting too close to the truth about his father. I commented a few weeks ago that the plasma story is a poor substitute for the earned climax of the Hayley/Bill poisoning story, but I should have added that Joey hiring a corrupt cop to murder Doug is also much more worthy fodder for Jacob to be investigating.
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DeliaIrisFan ·
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