LAPD officers are trained to safeguard the lives and property of the people they serve. While most threats are external, the most dangerous come from within.
It seems that Cooper may be over his weeks of introspection and has come to some life decisions. He stepped up as a natural leader much more this week than this entire season (with the exception of the tough love he gave Hicks last week). I especially liked his taking over the roll call briefing when Sgt Hill had a problem with continuing. He also settled everyone down when Lucero and the other cop started to get into it in the locker room. Maybe Cooper will take the sergeant’s exam alongside Ben.
Cooper’s scene with Laurie was amazing too. They love each other and I think Laurie is still in love with Cooper. When Laurie asked Cooper a couple of seasons ago to father her baby; Cooper knew it was not the right time for him. He was heavily under the influence of drugs at the time. Now he has been clean for a year, has built an exceptional body, and is ready to have a baby. Ovaries around the country were aching with the thought of a baby in Cooper’s big arms. I don’t know if I would want a little boy Cooper or a little girl Cooper.
Le sigh.
I’ve always liked Sgt Hill and to see him so broken up by his son’s death was hard. After making the decision to throw their son out of their house, it must be so difficult to realize there will never be a time when they could get their son back and reconcile with him.
Ruben really laid down the law with Lydia. He is on to the way she operates by pushing people away. And he is not going anywhere. Lydia responds by going to see the one partner she could always control – Russell. The former partner who betrayed her on the big celebrity case. But maybe she can gain some control back by talking with him.
Wow. Lucero’s home life is very bad. From what his wife says, being a cop was, and is now, taking up a lot of his life leaving no room for the family. I wonder where Lucero is actually living now that he is separated from his family.
Shaq’s brief appearance was pretty good. If you follow him on Twitter, you know he is a goofy, friendly guy. He’s no actor; he is best at playing Shaq. But he did well in his cameo.
I don’t know what to say about Ben. Such a promising cop gone sideways. I think Ben and Sammy feed off each other – and not in a good way. Sammy gets all squirrelly about what he testified to at the IA hearing – and his conscience starts wearing on him. Ben knows from what Sammy said that Sammy had not gotten rid of the tape yet. Sammy has flip-flopped ethically more than any other character. You almost have to have a chart to keep up with which way his ethics are going to go in any given episode. And you better be able to keep up with where he’s at on the chart; especially if you’re his partner. AND. Why is Sammy making excuses for Tammy once again? His lawyer lists her latest offenses and he defends her by saying she’s going through a lot right now? I seriously question Sammy’s mental health lately. He brings this shit on himself and I have no sympathy for him.
When Ben asks Sammy if the tape was destroyed, Sammy responds that it’s taken care of. That’s not a direct answer. Did anyone believe that Sammy had destroyed the tape? I didn’t think so. So Ben decides to have the brother of his latest squeeze go to Sammy’s house and take the tape. And throw some gang signs on the walls to place suspicion on the gang that had threatened Sammy earlier in the day. This results in the babysitter being hit on the head and baby Nate hiding in a closet. Which causes Sammy to flip out once again and change his position on the ever-changing chart of Sammy’s ethics. Ben’s ethics have dramatically changed over the last two seasons, but at least you know where he stands. And I’m not defending Ben either. These two just don’t need to be partners.
