Holy smokes, was that a great episode or what? Murder, bribery, deceit, deeply personal issues, and a whole lot more. What more could a person ask for?
“O’Leary’s Cow” saw a ramping up of Liam’s (Billy Lush) undercover work. With undercover work, there’s no telling when you’re going to have to commit a crime to advance your way in the criminal underworld. Backing out of something could cost you your life. So when Liam was showing cold feet as he was being instructed on how to do the arson, I was really wondering if Mikey was going to question his commitment to the whole deal.
The fact that the arson was used both as leverage over Liam and likely to cover up a problem the Irish were having with someone was quite clever. I know it’s despicable and all, but I felt this move was very much a realistic scenario. I just felt bad for Liam. He’s in a tough spot now.
Having Chinatown featured so heavily in an episode was a nice thing to do. As a huge fan of the old Nash Bridges series, I always liked the fact that the writers made use of the various ethnic areas in San Francisco. They didn’t ignore the minorities. Embracing Chinatown in “O’Leary’s Cow” was a smart move on many fronts.
It’s hard to go wrong with a Lost alum on your cast.
We were able to learn how Chinatown’s “mayor” (François Chau) got his job… through Alderman Ronin Gibbons (Delroy Lindo) of course. How else would he have done it? That late scene showing Gibbons talking to the other Chinese man was a big help in giving us background on the relationships Alderman Gibbons has with people. If I were in his shoes, I would have been upset by the “mayor’s” betrayal as well.
The setup to get the gangbangers who were going after the Chinese was smart. It was a simple stakeout with a cop as the intended target. Thankfully, she didn’t get hurt and managed to become useful outside of the office. Every desk jockey would like to see some action like that every now and then.
The only thing I didn’t like about the way this story went down was that scene in the jail. Why couldn’t the two Chinese men have spoken English? I would have loved to have learned what was being said. It’s frustrating at times only knowing one language.
I didn’t envy Superintendent Teresa Colvin (Jennifer Beals) this week. Every day is difficult, but when your brother in law gets involved in crooked activities like that, it would drive you wild. I couldn’t believe he would ask for $50,000 just to help with a parking lot problem like that. For $50,000, I would need to get more than my competitor to have problems. That is some serious money!
Teresa handled the situation about as well as one could expect to. Her sister expected family to trump the law and common sense. That type of scandal could have taken Teresa down and it would have ruined her reputation and in turn, her family’s reputation.
Although it kind of got overshadowed by some of the bigger stories at work, the plot with Caleb Evers (Matt Lauria) and the nurse was something that stuck with me. I appreciated his tenacity, but I understand why she wasn’t interested in getting together with a cop. I would imagine being a cop’s wife is extremely difficult. A simple, routine stop can change everything if it goes badly.
My favorite scene tonight came mid-way through the episode when Detective Wysocki (Jason Clarke) went off on a tangent about electromagnetism anomalies. The fact that the show is done by the same people as Lost and François Chau (who played Pierre Chang on Lost) was in the room at the time wasn’t lost on me. I loved it!
The Chicago Code is definitely must-see TV for me. There’s no denying the fact that Shawn Ryan and company are putting out some incredible television. This is one of the best dramas because of the writing. None of it feels contrived. Those guys ought to feel proud of themselves for their work.
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