'In Plain Sight': The Heart Wants What it Wants

There's nothing like a good cop corruption story, more Bobby D and a scuffle between the ladies to jazz up an episode of In Plain Sight. And this week, we got 'em all.

We start in Chicago, 16 months ago, when a cop who's chasing -- and then framing -- a suspect gets shot by his partner for being a rat to the FBI. The cop, Robert Eps (Jason Wiles), ends up shooting and killing the other guy in self-defense, and after a big police corruption investigation wraps up, heads to Albuquerque 13 months ago. He's all very cool and ironic, sparring with Mary and activating all of Marshall's protective impulses. He even tries to con her into having dinner with him under false pretenses (she doesn't fall for it -- you know our girl), and ends up getting her to sleep with him (you know our girl). Show of hands: who else smacks their forehead and throws up their hands, saying, "Oh Mary -- really?" when she has one of these spectacular lapses in judgment? In her defense, she had put up quite a show of being impervious to his antics (though clearly kind of impressed) before she came in. And she'd also had a conversation with him about how he got mixed up in the corrupt cop business -- planting evidence, giving false testimony in the name of locking up criminals. Sounds romantic, no?

Interestingly, while we're watching our heroine be really stupid, we once again get another bit of insight into her life and what makes her the way she is. Mary's life wasn't always crazed with her messy relatives. We see her, 13 months ago, becoming a homeowner for the first time and talking with Marshall about how it's a good thing, despite her buyers' remorse. She's 35-ish and does nothing but work, has no boyfriend, no life. Then, of course, in sashays her mother, all the way from Paramus, to help her settle in. So basically, no wonder the onslaught of things -- the house, the family, the boyfriend and her obvious discomfort with it, plus her clear awkwardness about not having the life she wants -- all in the last year or so would make her a little more... quirky than some when handling it. Oh, Mary, you weird prickly twisty soul sister, you.

On to present day. Mary hasn't slept with Eps again -- in fact, since that one time she's kept her distance. She has a talk with her sister, Brandi, about Raph. Mary's ruling: fine if you hang out together, but I don't want to compete with you for his attention. Brandi's excited and barges into Raph's house (where he's lifting weights, unusually gratuitously shirtless), proclaiming to "Chico" that since he's basically her only friend he's stuck with her, and she knows that because he's a decent guy he'd never do anything untoward anyway. Then he confesses that he's slept with Judy, his physical therapist. Upset, Brandi slaps him across the cops and storms out.

More on that later. Meanwhile, an Albuquerque cop has been shot -- and it turns out he used to be a cop in Chicago. Marshall makes the connection to Eps immediately, and Mary can't get the guy on the phone. Mary goes to the police department to see what she can find out and witnesses the cop's partner, Roxanne, screaming at Bobby D about the investigation. We'll see Roxanne screaming and lunging at a lot of people throughout the episode. In fact, she starts by grabbing Mary by the jacket and throwing her against the wall, demanding to know what she knows about the shooting. Mary totally gets it, but she and Bobby D have the first of several face-offs about the case. In the scuffle, Mary drops her phone, and Bobby D scoops it up and pulls Eps' phone number off of it, setting up a tap.

Mary finally gets Eps on the phone and goes over to his house to check out what he knows. He says he didn't know Ramirez, the dead cop, didn't know him in Chicago, and didn't kill him. During this scene I think about how I'd like to see Mary strike some stance other than hands-on-hips while she's questioning someone. But anyway. Marshall calls -- the cops are headed over to arrest Eps, and Stan's on his way. Before she can get a chance to get Eps to the police department herself, squad cars roar up and Bobby D hauls Eps away in handcuffs. And at the police station takes a hard line with Mary, refusing to let her in until she discloses her connection to Eps. Stan rides in and saves the day with a federal warrant and all sorts of stipulations about how the marshals will have access to Eps, the wiretap will come off, and the cops will keep them posted on the investigation. Rock on, Stan! Awesome that he got more than a dozen words to say this episode -- let's keep that trend going. The cops found the murder weapon -- a gun stolen from evidence in Chicago five years ago. The ammunition was police issue.

At home, Mary walks in on Brandi doing Raph's laundry. She shakes the laundry bag, and condoms fall out. Ultimately, Raph's extra curricular, ahem, physical therapy comes to light -- he'd been by the house earlier to try to talk to Brandi about it, and explained that he and Mary were largely apart during that time. Mary, angry, throws out both her mother and her sister, who didn't tell her.

After sleeping at the office (even first thing in the morning after sleeping on a chaise lounge, her hair looks great), Mary pays a visit to Ramirez's widow, and learns he was decorated both in Albuquerque and Chicago, but he didn't have a lot of friends on the force. Then, of course, partner Roxanne comes in, sees Mary, flips out, and starts a catfight on the front lawn. I get the feisty partner thing and all, but isn't this a little excessive? Mary makes nice with Roxanne, and they come to a kind of grudging respect after Mary reveals that her partner was shot a few months back too. They find out Eps is about to get charged with Ramirez's murder, because they worked together on a case in Chicago. Meanwhile, Marshall finds a confidential informant Ramirez used on a drug case, and stumbles upon the knowledge that Ramirez was gay.

The widow had no idea -- or says she didn't -- and in an extaordinary scene where she talks with Roxanne, Bobby D, and Mary, Mary does a hugely skillful job of coaxing her to admit what she did know. After all of that charade, everyone knew he was gay and no one cared but Ramirez's wife. When they make clear to her that her husband was shot with a stolen gun, but his own bullet -- i.e., he killed himself and set it up to look like he was shot by someone else -- she maintains that he died like a hero, that "he died right."

Turning to her own life, Mary calls Raph and leaves a message on his machine. She knows about the thing with Judy, and she's not mad. She understands, in fact, and it doesn't work when they seem like they're trying to make their relationship something it's not. If you want to see other people, that's fine, she says -- just not my sister. Back at Raph's, Brandi's there, listening to the message with him. Then her phone rings -- it's her no-good boyfriend Chuck. And because poor Brandi (who I have to admit I've come to kind of like; I think her friendship with Raph is funny and she plays it well) is so starved for someone to care about her, she falls for his line -- and fishes the suitcase with the drugs from the riverbank where she threw it (way to call it, commenters).

Finally, as everyone else is setting their lives straight, Eps does too. His cover's been blown, and instead of going to a different location and assuming a different identity, he's taking himself out of the program. And staying in Albuquerque. Which makes Mary smile, just a little bit.

Thanks to Brandon for so doing such a great job with last week's recap.

What did you think? Were you loving Stan's swing into action? Are you disappointed that Marshall was once again relegated to being a piece of furniture for the most part? Do you think Mary will ever be able to deal effectively with her demons -- or all kinds -- or will that just make it boring?

E-mail

• Digg
• Facebook
• Fark
• Yahoo Buzz
• Stumbleupon