LifeInitiative 38
Original Air Date: Apr 1, 2009
Brittany Wells – Associate Staff Writer
brittanyw@thetwocentscorp.com
Don’t ever let your roommates mess with your TiVo, kids. Also? Who just had a Buffy flashback reading that title? Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. It is, however, a jaw-dropping ending that will make you be counting down the minutes until next Wednesday.
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[photo: NBC]
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Don’t ever let your roommates mess with your TiVo, kids. Also? Who just had a Buffy flashback reading that title? Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. It is, however, a jaw-dropping ending that will make you be counting down the minutes until next Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteIn a “let’s continue the trend of numbers in the title” episode, campaign expert Howard Amis calls Crews and Seever because he’s afraid his wife Lisa, a state assemblywoman, is missing. Apparently, her car is at home but no one has seen her, her phone isn’t getting picked up, and she couldn’t possibly be sleeping around. As they wander through the house to the backyard, Crews notices the wife’s cat sitting on top of the covered hot tub. You can guess where this is going from here. Lisa’s dead body, four gunshot wounds and all, is laying at the bottom of the hot tub.
Apparently there’s a rather large list of suspects in her death. This is because Lisa Amis was heading Initiative 38 – a movement to ban handguns in California. Lisa’s assistant points out that P&K Firearms in particular was quite opposed to this, and is eager to use Lisa’s death against them, while Crews does everything short of knocking the woman upside the head to get some sense into her. Seever isn’t too happy Lisa’s assistant calls Crews Mayoral material, as they ruin her Mary Sue Destiny. I’m still not quite kosher with Seever, but I will admit that she’s grown on me a little in these last two episodes as we get to see some of her flaws. Namely, someone’s a sore loser.
A further intrigue is that Lisa was gearing up for a Senate campaign while her husband ran campaigns for anyone on the other side of the aisle. Weird marriage, huh? The cops are a little confused. Tidwell is more confused, because when Crews asks, he tells Crews he hasn’t been able to reach Reese in a few days. Tidwell assumes it’s something to do with Crews’ investigation into his frame job, and becomes angry, but Crews remains calm and tells him to go GPS Reese’s cell phone. (At this point, I’m sure half the show’s fanbase – myself included – forgot everything else about this episode and had a moment of panic.)
The episode’s moment of levity happens when Crews and Seever get a shots fired call at none other than P&K Firearms. Bobby is there, and informs them that Lisa’s assistant broke through security with a body bag she intended to deliver to Nadia Yassir from 24. I mean, Whitney Paxman, P&K’s CEO, who happens to be played by Marisol Nichols from 24. (Someone should have told her James Morrison was on Eli Stone this week.) Paxman fired a warning shot to stop her. The detectives quickly defuse the situation, but are also piqued by the fact that everyone who works at P&K carries a gun. Even the mail guy. What, is he afraid his mail cart is going to get attacked? The detectives interview Whitney, and don’t learn much other than that Lisa’s crazy assistant is outside on the news telling the world that P&K is a suspect in Lisa’s death. Oh, peachy.
They realize that the shots came from two different weapons, making them wonder why two shooters would be sent to kill the same woman – then realize they wouldn’t. Howard, who had just come back from an unscheduled trip, was the intended second target, but he wasn’t home. He is home when they come back to see him…except now he’s holding a flower bomb. After the bomb squad takes care of the situation, they find out that the attached note refers to Lisa’s estranged sister Jackie, a park ranger with a screw loose. We know this because she shoots at the cops because a voice on the radio told her to.
Crews and Seever forget all about Jackie when Howard Amis suddenly announces that he’s running for Senate himself – and dumps several guns, presumably including the murder weapons, into a giant waste bin on national TV. He’s been playing them all along. They go to Lisa’s assistant, and coerce her to bait Howard out by claiming there’s a tape of Lisa saying she was in fear for her life from her husband. Yet when it comes time to do the deed, Lisa’s assistant tells Howard everything – proving she, too, was in on it. Charlie calmly tells her to play the other tape she claims is blank – and yet, there’s Lisa’s voice, saying exactly what Charlie said would exist on the fake tape. Howard cracks, his virtual confession on videotape on the giant campaign screens. Jackie, crazy or not, drove the final nail into his coffin: she sounds just like her sister.
NOW FOR THE REALLY IMPORTANT PART. I put that in capital letters because it bears repeating.
Tidwell and Crews still can’t find Reese. The FBI is less than helpful. So Ted goes to Raybourn’s security expert to help them locate Dani. Amanda is able to figure out that she’s 15 minutes away, and the two of them rush off to find her. They arrive at a trailer park where there are signs of someone being forcibly dragged from one car to another. That’s where they find Reese’s discarded badge and gun. She’s been kidnapped.
A visit to Roman Nevikov in prison reveals Roman isn’t there at all. Charlie, more enraged than we’ve ever seen him, tells Ted he’s going to need a bigger gun.
Wow.
That’s all I can say. Forget about the Case of the Week – this episode hammered home the partnership between Crews and Reese. How much it means to the show, and how much it means to the characters. Knowing next week is not only the season but possibly the series finale, it has me on the edge of my seat wondering what might happen. I have a feeling we’re going to get a lot of answers, and a great hour of entertainment.
One last thought: between this, The 4400, and Terminator, Garret Dillahunt must be developing a reputation for playing nasty bad guys. I bet in real life he’s probably the nicest guy alive. Not that I want to find out. He’s creeped me out playing all those nasty bad guys.
Forget about the Case of the Week – this episode hammered home the partnership between Crews and Reese. How much it means to the show, and how much it means to the characters.
ReplyDeleteSame here. I actually liked the Case of the Week better but seriously, the Conspiracy is finally, finally interesting BECAUSE they got Dani involved and how. And... I'm just so worried about Reese.
But Crews's reaction to a missing Dani was perfect and chilling!
Right after playing the tape, Howard says 2 sentences. I just couldn't make out the exact words of those 2 sentences. I am gonna write down what I got
ReplyDeleteHoward: Why would you play that tape, look at ______ promised you. You knew everything I knew, you just____ ____ _____.
Kindly help.
Also, the part where you guys mentioned about Dani missing at a trailer park and ROman is missing, I didnt find that on episode 20 (Initiative 38). Where was this featured?
Monic,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I think it's a testament to the writers and actors that, for as much as this is a procedural show, they've gotten us so invested in the characters and their relationships that we care so much. I liked the case this week, but the moment Tidwell was freaking out about Dani, my brain just immediately went *flail*!
MovieMan,
ReplyDeleteI wish I could help you, but I don't have the episode on my DVR anymore. NBC.com may have the episode available for streaming - you can check there.
As for the part regarding Reese, it's near the end of the episode. Ted and Amanda find her gun and badge at the trailer park, and then the very last scene is with Crews and Ted visiting the (fake) Nevikov in prison.
You do know you can play these episodes free at any time on the net, right?
ReplyDeleteWhy would you play that tape, what could they have promised you?
You knew everything I knew, you're just as guilty as I am.
Me, I loved the episode because it was about time Hollywood exposed the "our cause justifies any means" mindset of the gun-control advocates, instead of always treating them like little Mother Teresas.