S3.05 ~ The Winds
While I am beginning to dislike the flash forwards b/c they act as a spoiler, this one was effective b/c it was a bit different from the reality at the end.
Foreshadowing for Cooper: If the acupuncture isn’t working, it’s not muscular in nature.
The rape crime scene: I could be wrong, but do rapists usually bother to bring all the trappings of a bondage session to the victim’s house?
The dance between Lydia and Josie continues. L won’t accept anything at face value and J wants to clear a case at all costs.
Oh hey - it’s Mr. Fischer, Holly’s dad from the OC. Not the first shout out to the show here tonight. Then we had the kid, Richard, who’s beating the crap out of his apartment. Ben asks “Did they leave a note, say where they’re going?” “They left 2 things: me and the trash.” Déjà vu for our Ben, but at least Dawn left a note (in lipstick?) And the kid is as polite as Ryan was, says bless you when Coop sneezes and thanks him for the burger: “Mom never cooked.” Again, Dawn.
The traffic stop with the van: “I’m not an addict. I’ve got chronic pain. I take just enough to get through the day.” “Yeah, just enough to maybe get in an accident, get someone killed.” “All I did was take some pills my doctor prescribed. Is that a crime?” “Yeah, as a matter of fact it is, Numbnuts. You’re under arrest.” Ben looked disgusted by Coop’s hypocrisy here. Well conveyed.
I love the whole bit with the pills from the van - did Coop take/switch them, even though he rubbed the log’s veracity in Sherman’s face when Ben obviously made out like he didn’t trust John? The fact that the writer of this episode said on the SouthlandTvFans chat yesterday that it was not intended by her to be that, MrChic still insists John did it (yes, he’s pulling my leg, but that’s besides the point) That John is so adamant about this just betrays his guilty conscience. And he’s still trying to squash what Ben is seeing with his own eyes. Ben’s big response is to slam the locker room door behind him.
Not sure where this fits into the time frame here, but when Ben brings early morning coffee to John, he tosses it out the car door. Seems every contact John has had with Ben this ep is hostile in nature.
Love the seemingly garbage call of the kid calling the cops on his mom who whooped him for cutting class and then lying about it. John makes it something else. And that was based on another true story. Kids think they have way too much power these days, and parents have way too little authority…./rant
How sad that the one bright spot in Cooper’s arc this epi is the abandoned kid - who so badly wants John to take him in and then cusses him out.
The parole hearing: Earlier in the ep, John is at the prison gate………..How ironic is it that when Coop said “I’ve got my gate pass and directions…” both MrChic and I thought we heard ‘gay pass’.
I knew John would speak out against his father. ‘Dad’ says, “Everyone is worthy of forgiveness.” I so totally disagree. We learned a great deal about John’s backstory here.
And I’d really like to know if that victim was someone Coop knew…like a GF…like *someone* wrote in a fanfic…… And how did John know that Monica’s last moments were filled with pleas for mercy? (or is that just expected in a crime such as this)
On to the flash forward/end scene: We now see that the reason John is distracted is that he’s actually fumbling with his pill bottle. That’s why he doesn’t immediately see the ladder fall off the truck. The swerving onto the shoulder has to nicely jar his back. When he gets out of his car, he almost falls out, stiffly. And we see that the reason he scoops at the dirt is that he has dropped some of his precious pills. Once he tries to pop them into his mouth, he spits them out in disgust that he has resorted to this. I realize that at this moment John is not quite rational, but he still could have picked the pills out and dusted them off. Such is his state of mind after the hearing, and everything else in his life, that he can’t deal with that.
And so, Cooper’s addiction leads him to have an accident, just as he told the van driver could happen….and he has his breakdown.
I said this over at TWoP. Cudlitz’s scene here could have been a stellar break through. But it was the 3rd such breakdown in as many episodes and now this plot device almost seems trite.
Great Lines
“You can’t put a price tag on Man’s Best Friend.” “Sure you can.”
“Hit him again.”
“Rape victims don’t usually lawyer up, even on the Westside.”
"Look at this asshole, driving by Braille.”
“I’ve been on the job since before your balls dropped.” (my personal fav, and BMcK never flinched)
“I gotta be back here again because you’re ditching class, I’m gonna peel this big belt off and I’m gonna hit you myself.” (snowprince confirms that this really happens)
"...and the beat down builds character - worked for me." "Oh yeah, you're the picture of mental health!" (I swear there's a snort from Ben here)
"Hey Boot - how did your parents punish you? Did your Daddy pick out the marshmallows from your hot chocolate or did he just get really, really disappointed?"
"I think the Santa Anas blew a stick up his ass."
So, to sum up the Santa Ana Winds:
fires
bad 'dos
allergies
snakes eating dogs
hangings
rapists
child abuse/abandonment
ashes in Coop's pool!
That's how I see it...YMMV