I thought Cooper was falling asleep at the wheel, but we find out differently at the end of the show.
I'm doing the recap a little differently this week.
The Lydia and Josie storyline was boring this week. How many times have we seen it in other shows? I'm sure every flavor of CSI and Law & Order have done it. Seems like it anyway.
Lydia and Josie are working a rape. Why? Don't they work homicide? Or have they been pulled into a special task force about the rapist?
This is the classic story of a woman who covers up an affair by saying she was raped. The victim is having sex with the tennis pro from the club. [Man, it's always the tennis pro - so cliche'] Her husband comes home 3 days early and the tennis pro has to jump out the window.
The victim tells Lydia and Josie that the guy was Hispanic and wore a dark uniform. She later identifies a man who is a gardener, as the rapist; from a six-pack line-up (not caring about how much it will affect this man's life). Lydia doesn't think they have enough evidence, but Josie is ready to convict. Lydia tells Josie, "Creating a ruse to get a criminal to confess is one thing, but to coerce a rape victim into IDing somebody...that's wicked." He gets bailed out of jail by another wealthy client of his and goes on the run. Lydia and Josie catch up to him at a bus stop and he flees. He runs into traffic and is hit by a car.
Lydia's & Josie's boss inform them that another rape has occurred, the rapist was caught, and that the rapist confessed to all the rapes except the one Lydia and Josie are working. They decide there's something hinky going on with their case and investigate further. When they get in their car, they have an argument that displays the differences in their attitudes about work. I liked Josie at first, but this week she seemed a little to eager to fit the suspect into the known facts. And in other recent cases, she seems to just want to get the case over with in the least amount of time.
The truth comes out that the wife had an affair and cried rape to cover it up. So now she's being arrested for filing a false police report. She got what she deserved. And hopefully the man she ID'd as the rapist will sue her ass off.
Cooper is lying prone on a doctors exam table without his shirt on; acupuncture needles sticking out of his lower back. His head is propped on his fisted hands as he stares into space and listens to what the therapist has to say. This is the last of a series of twelve acupuncture treatments. He tells the therapist that he's not really getting any relief from his symptoms. The therapist says that it's probably not muscular since he's getting no relief. The problem may be degenerative, or a ruptured disk - it's time to look at other options. Has he considered surgery? He should at least consult a surgeon. Cooper continues to stare into space. Is he thinking he's maxed out all benefits and that the only remaining recourse is surgery? I think I need to rewind that scene some more to get a good look at Cooper's arms and shoulders. :)
Roll call. Ben turns to look at Cooper and sees that Cooper is not paying attention and wonders what's up. The sergeant mentions the funeral for Nate and says he expects everyone to be there.
Cooper and Ben walk to their patrol car. Cooper is having allergy problems due to the Santa Ana winds. Ben asks Cooper if he wants Ben to drive. "Do I want you to drive?" Cooper asks. "Let's see. Last shift you gave a death notification to the wrong person and lost a handcuffed suspect. Until you can stop stepping all over your dick; I'm driving, you're keeping books."
I don't think Cooper says a kind word to Ben this whole episode. I think it's due to all of Ben's screw-ups from the previous two episodes, plus all the crap that is going on in John's life right now.
Ben and Cooper are riding in the patrol car. Cooper, on the phone tells the caller he will see him tomorrow. Ben asks, "Where you going?" and Cooper ignores him.
Again, Cooper and Ben are in the patrol car. John, on the phone, says, "I've got my gate pass and directions. I'll see you tomorrow." At first, I thought he said he had his gay pass - ha! Sherman asks him where he's going and Cooper ignores the question. To fill the silence, Sherman starts talking about the fires started by the Santa Ana winds.
Sherman and Cooper are flagged down by a woman who is evidently Kathy Griffin's good twin. The woman says her dog is under the porch in the back yard and is going to be killed by a snake. The snake is some sort of constrictor and is squeezing the life out of Precious. I don't think Ben likes snakes. First he asks if they can tase it; then he wants to call animal control. Cooper says they don't have time; the dog is being suffocated. "I'm going under," Cooper says. [I've never seen such a clean, spider and cob web free area under a porch.]. Cooper grabs the head of the snake and asks Ben, "You gonna help here?" Ben says, "Yeah, I'm going to tase it." Which he does and the snake lets go of the dog. Cooper carries the dog out and tells Ben, "Get the snake." Ha! The look on Sherman's face!
Cooper gets a call and thanks the person for calling back. He tells Sherman the dog just got out of surgery; had a few fractured ribs, but is going to be okay. Sherman wonders how much that's going to cost the owner - his Mom paid $7000 for chemo for their Schnauzer; what a waste. Cooper replies, "Can't put a price tag on man's best friend." And Ben responds, "Sure you can. Didn't know you were such an animal lover." "I like dogs, all right?" Cooper says. I would be willing to be that Cooper's father killed the family dog when Cooper was a kid. And Cooper doesn't have a dog now because he's away from home too much. Plus he doesn't want the responsibility - if he can't take care of himself, how could he take care of a dog too?
Ben and Cooper arrive at the scene of a suicide. The Santa Ana winds are blowing strongly. Dewey and his partner are already there. Dewey says the guy didn't leave a note. "Poor bastard. Wonder why he hung himself?" Cooper says, "Hanged. Hanged, not hung." Dewey replies, "Really?.... Genius?.... Google it Boot." Sherman gives Dewey a look like WTF? I'm not going to .....Dammit, I'm still a boot - have to do what they say. Sherman checks Google and determines that hanged is correct. Cooper to Dewey, "Told you asshole." Dewey starts to demand to see Ben's phone, but as he walks toward Ben, the suicide guy falls to the ground, causing Dewey to jump back. Cooper and Sherman get called to a burglary.and leave the suicide scene.
Cooper and Sherman find an abandoned kid instead of a burglary. The parents had told him to stay at a friends for the night, then moved without even leaving a note for him. The kid says, "They left two things behind. Me and the trash." Cooper and Sherman take the kid with them.
Ben has someone cuffed and sitting on the curb. Cooper and Richard, the kid , are sitting in the patrol car. Richard thanks Cooper for the burger and when Cooper says that Richard inhaled it; Richard says that it has been several days since he ate - his Mom never cooked. Cooper says, "My parents were assholes too." Richard wants to know what's going to happen to him and Cooper says that they will take him to the station where a social worker will see him and then place him with a foster family.
Sherman and Cooper are patrolling and listening to a radio broadcast about the fires. Sherman hopes they get the fires under control and Cooper says he hates cleaning the ash out of his pool because it clogs the filter. They get behind a van that is weaving in its lane of traffic and pull it over. The driver was weaving because he had taken prescription xanax and oxycodone for a bad knee. Every word that Cooper directs toward the suspect he should be directing toward himself. Ben stands there, staring at Cooper, wanting so desperately to say something - to call Cooper on the BS double standard.
They take the suspect to the station and see that Richard is still there, the social worker hasn't been there yet.
Ben is counting the pills that were confiscated from the van driver. Cooper comes in and tells Ben to go finish processing the driver while he finishes the property report. Ben hesitates because he doesn't want to put any temptation in Cooper's path. But Cooper insists. Later, Ben is in the locker room and Cooper comes in with a copy of the property report. He wants to make sure Ben knows that he didn't take any of the pills. "I've been a cop since before your balls dropped. So you wanna start passing judgment on me; you try wearing a Sam Browne for 19 years." Cooper lowers himself slowly to sit on the bench as Ben walks out the door; slamming it behind him.
Cooper sees that Richard is still at the station playing a video game and decides to join him. They play for a few minutes before the social worker finally shows up. Cooper gives Richard his card and holds his hand out for Richard to shake; but Richard hugs him instead. Cooper hadn't expected that and after a momentary delay, he wraps his arms around Richard. Cooper's hand is much bigger than the back of Richard's head. He leans his head down, rests his chin on the top of Richard's head, and whispers, "It's gonna be all right." I don't know about anyone else, but a hug and whisper like that from Cooper would make me forget most of my troubles.
Ben is sipping coffee in the patrol car the next morning; waiting for Cooper to get there. Cooper gets in the car and Ben hands him a cup of coffee. As Cooper throws the coffee out the door, he says, "We're not buying any bullshit calls today - we gotta clock out on time. There's somewhere I gotta be this afternoon." Throwing the coffee away was a little rude, I think. And from the expression on Ben's face; I think he was calling Cooper a few choice names silently.
Ben knocks on the door of a house, Cooper standing a few steps behind them. Someone from this house had called the police and reported that child abuse was taking place here. The woman who answers the door denies that she called, but her son admits he called because she hit him with a belt. Ben asks the woman if that's true and she says she found out from school that her son has been skipping class. And when she questioned him about it, he lied. So she hit him. Ben is a little hesitant and before he can say anything, Cooper ask the kid to come outside. He leads the kid down to the end of the sidewalk and asks him about what happened. From the kid's answers, it's obvious there was no abuse - just the belt to his butt three times.
Cooper takes the belt "into evidence" and walks back toward the mother. She wants to know if she's going to jail. Cooper turns to the kid and asks, "You called the police on your mom because she disciplined you for skipping school?" "That's child abuse," the kid says. "I've got rights." When Cooper asks who told him that, the kid says his friends did. Cooper turns to the Mom, holds the belt out and says, "Hit him again." The mom and Ben eye each other and Ben turns toward Cooper with an, "Oh shit. What's he going to do next?" look. Cooper tells the kid that he got some bad advice from his friends on the playground. "You don't ever call the police on your Mom. Had that been my mom, you'd be calling me from the floor. I gotta be back here again, 'cause you're ditching school? I'll peel this big belt off and hit you myself. You got it?" The kid nods yes fearfully and Cooper says, "Get inside." The kid runs into the house. Cooper walks up to the mother, hands her the belt, and says, "Have a nice day," before turning and stalking back to the patrol car.
Cooper, Ben, Dewey, and his partner are having lunch and discussing the kid who called the police on his mother for child abuse. Cooper thinks today's parenting is not as good as it used to be. Parents have been hitting their kids for 10,000 years. "That's the trouble with society today. Two kids get into a fight on the playground, they go to counseling. Getting a beatdown builds character. Worked for me." Dewey says, "Oh yeah, You're the picture of mental health." The Dewey wants to know how Ben's parents punished him - did his dad pick the marshmallows out of the hot chocolate, or were his parents just really disappointed. Cooper's phone rings as Dewey is wondering where Cooper's sense of humor has gone. Cooper doesn't like the news he's getting and he stands up to walk away for some privacy. His chair gets in the way and he throws the chair in frustration. Dewey asks Ben what's wrong with Cooper and Ben says, "I think the Santa Ana winds blew a stick up his ass." They all laugh and then Ben sees Cooper coming back and gives an "Oh shit. The teacher is coming back. Be quiet!" panicked look at the others. Another chair magically appears for Cooper to sit in. Dewey asks Cooper if he's going to Nate's funeral on Sunday. "Yeah. Another fucking happy day."
Sergeant Hill calls out to Cooper at the station. He tells Cooper that Richard ran away from the family he was placed with.
Cooper is back at the station and hears Richard call out to him. Cooper goes into the room, concerned with the bandage on Richard's face. Richard tells Cooper that another kid hit him; so he left. Cooper lets him know that he can't do that kind of crap. Richard is upset, thinking Cooper is mad at him. Cooper tells him he should have called. When Richard says he's not going back there, Cooper asks him where he's going to go. Richard says, "With you. You can adopt me." "No. I can't." Cooper replies. "Why not?" Richard tearfully asks. 'I gotta go," Cooper says as he backs out of the room. Richards wants to know why he can't take him and Cooper tells him that he's done all he could. As Cooper walks away, Richard yells, "Man, fuck you." What an emotional scene to go through as you're on your way to your abusive father's parole hearing.
Cooper pulls up at the gate to a prison and receives instructions on what to do with his various cop toys. He is led through the prison to a conference room. He walks with confidence, his back straight, no matter how much pain this is causing him. His father is led into the room and they both give each other a glance. A parole board member reads off the accomplishments Cooper's father has made while in prison. He seems to have been a model prisoner and when asked what he has learned from his counseling, he gives a two-sentence answer about God being gracious, and everyone being worthy of forgiveness, even him.
But Cooper has no forgiveness for his father. He gives a very eloquent speech about why parole should not be granted; especially the part about growing up with him and how he doesn't want him to be "given the opportunity to inflict this kind of pain on another person ever again. Monica's last moments on this earth were filled with torture, suffering, and pleas for mercy. My father should stay in here until the day he dies."
As Cooper drives home from the prison, he is following a utility truck across the desert. He takes his pain pills out and tries to shake a couple of pills out of bottle onto the seat between his legs. A ladder suddenly falls of the truck in front of him and he has to take evasive maneuvers which result in a blown tire. He pounds the steering wheel with his hands in frustration. The last few days have been very emotional. He has been constantly reminded of his not-so-great childhood. Richard, who wanted Cooper to adopt him, the bratty kid who should be grateful for a Mom who actually cares; the parole hearing and seeing his father. Added to that was the van driver who has very similar pain and pill issues as Cooper; the boot who believes Cooper would steal pills, and he has to go to the funeral of a fellow cop in a few days.. He was moving a little slowly due to his back problems, but he was trying to get to those pills while driving because he was suffering so much emotional pain
Cooper gets out of the car and the pills fall in the dirt. He immediately goes to his knees, searching frantically for the pills he dropped. When he finds one, he shoves the dirt-covered pill in his mouth, spitting the dirt back out. He yells in anguish, sobbing as he falls onto his hands and knees.
Sherman and Cooper are flagged down by a woman who is evidently Kathy Griffin's good twin. The woman says her dog is under the porch in the back yard and is going to be killed by a snake. The snake is some sort of constrictor and is squeezing the life out of Precious. I don't think Ben likes snakes. First he asks if they can tase it; then he wants to call animal control. Cooper says they don't have time; the dog is being suffocated. "I'm going under," Cooper says. [I've never seen such a clean, spider and cob web free area under a porch.]. Cooper grabs the head of the snake and asks Ben, "You gonna help here?" Ben says, "Yeah, I'm going to tase it." Which he does and the snake lets go of the dog. Cooper carries the dog out and tells Ben, "Get the snake." Ha! The look on Sherman's face!
Cooper gets a call and thanks the person for calling back. He tells Sherman the dog just got out of surgery; had a few fractured ribs, but is going to be okay. Sherman wonders how much that's going to cost the owner - his Mom paid $7000 for chemo for their Schnauzer; what a waste. Cooper replies, "Can't put a price tag on man's best friend." And Ben responds, "Sure you can. Didn't know you were such an animal lover." "I like dogs, all right?" Cooper says. I would be willing to be that Cooper's father killed the family dog when Cooper was a kid. And Cooper doesn't have a dog now because he's away from home too much. Plus he doesn't want the responsibility - if he can't take care of himself, how could he take care of a dog too?
Ben and Cooper arrive at the scene of a suicide. The Santa Ana winds are blowing strongly. Dewey and his partner are already there. Dewey says the guy didn't leave a note. "Poor bastard. Wonder why he hung himself?" Cooper says, "Hanged. Hanged, not hung." Dewey replies, "Really?.... Genius?.... Google it Boot." Sherman gives Dewey a look like WTF? I'm not going to .....Dammit, I'm still a boot - have to do what they say. Sherman checks Google and determines that hanged is correct. Cooper to Dewey, "Told you asshole." Dewey starts to demand to see Ben's phone, but as he walks toward Ben, the suicide guy falls to the ground, causing Dewey to jump back. Cooper and Sherman get called to a burglary.and leave the suicide scene.
Cooper and Sherman find an abandoned kid instead of a burglary. The parents had told him to stay at a friends for the night, then moved without even leaving a note for him. The kid says, "They left two things behind. Me and the trash." Cooper and Sherman take the kid with them.
Ben has someone cuffed and sitting on the curb. Cooper and Richard, the kid , are sitting in the patrol car. Richard thanks Cooper for the burger and when Cooper says that Richard inhaled it; Richard says that it has been several days since he ate - his Mom never cooked. Cooper says, "My parents were assholes too." Richard wants to know what's going to happen to him and Cooper says that they will take him to the station where a social worker will see him and then place him with a foster family.
Sherman and Cooper are patrolling and listening to a radio broadcast about the fires. Sherman hopes they get the fires under control and Cooper says he hates cleaning the ash out of his pool because it clogs the filter. They get behind a van that is weaving in its lane of traffic and pull it over. The driver was weaving because he had taken prescription xanax and oxycodone for a bad knee. Every word that Cooper directs toward the suspect he should be directing toward himself. Ben stands there, staring at Cooper, wanting so desperately to say something - to call Cooper on the BS double standard.
They take the suspect to the station and see that Richard is still there, the social worker hasn't been there yet.
Ben is counting the pills that were confiscated from the van driver. Cooper comes in and tells Ben to go finish processing the driver while he finishes the property report. Ben hesitates because he doesn't want to put any temptation in Cooper's path. But Cooper insists. Later, Ben is in the locker room and Cooper comes in with a copy of the property report. He wants to make sure Ben knows that he didn't take any of the pills. "I've been a cop since before your balls dropped. So you wanna start passing judgment on me; you try wearing a Sam Browne for 19 years." Cooper lowers himself slowly to sit on the bench as Ben walks out the door; slamming it behind him.
Cooper sees that Richard is still at the station playing a video game and decides to join him. They play for a few minutes before the social worker finally shows up. Cooper gives Richard his card and holds his hand out for Richard to shake; but Richard hugs him instead. Cooper hadn't expected that and after a momentary delay, he wraps his arms around Richard. Cooper's hand is much bigger than the back of Richard's head. He leans his head down, rests his chin on the top of Richard's head, and whispers, "It's gonna be all right." I don't know about anyone else, but a hug and whisper like that from Cooper would make me forget most of my troubles.
Ben is sipping coffee in the patrol car the next morning; waiting for Cooper to get there. Cooper gets in the car and Ben hands him a cup of coffee. As Cooper throws the coffee out the door, he says, "We're not buying any bullshit calls today - we gotta clock out on time. There's somewhere I gotta be this afternoon." Throwing the coffee away was a little rude, I think. And from the expression on Ben's face; I think he was calling Cooper a few choice names silently.
Ben knocks on the door of a house, Cooper standing a few steps behind them. Someone from this house had called the police and reported that child abuse was taking place here. The woman who answers the door denies that she called, but her son admits he called because she hit him with a belt. Ben asks the woman if that's true and she says she found out from school that her son has been skipping class. And when she questioned him about it, he lied. So she hit him. Ben is a little hesitant and before he can say anything, Cooper ask the kid to come outside. He leads the kid down to the end of the sidewalk and asks him about what happened. From the kid's answers, it's obvious there was no abuse - just the belt to his butt three times.
Cooper takes the belt "into evidence" and walks back toward the mother. She wants to know if she's going to jail. Cooper turns to the kid and asks, "You called the police on your mom because she disciplined you for skipping school?" "That's child abuse," the kid says. "I've got rights." When Cooper asks who told him that, the kid says his friends did. Cooper turns to the Mom, holds the belt out and says, "Hit him again." The mom and Ben eye each other and Ben turns toward Cooper with an, "Oh shit. What's he going to do next?" look. Cooper tells the kid that he got some bad advice from his friends on the playground. "You don't ever call the police on your Mom. Had that been my mom, you'd be calling me from the floor. I gotta be back here again, 'cause you're ditching school? I'll peel this big belt off and hit you myself. You got it?" The kid nods yes fearfully and Cooper says, "Get inside." The kid runs into the house. Cooper walks up to the mother, hands her the belt, and says, "Have a nice day," before turning and stalking back to the patrol car.
Cooper, Ben, Dewey, and his partner are having lunch and discussing the kid who called the police on his mother for child abuse. Cooper thinks today's parenting is not as good as it used to be. Parents have been hitting their kids for 10,000 years. "That's the trouble with society today. Two kids get into a fight on the playground, they go to counseling. Getting a beatdown builds character. Worked for me." Dewey says, "Oh yeah, You're the picture of mental health." The Dewey wants to know how Ben's parents punished him - did his dad pick the marshmallows out of the hot chocolate, or were his parents just really disappointed. Cooper's phone rings as Dewey is wondering where Cooper's sense of humor has gone. Cooper doesn't like the news he's getting and he stands up to walk away for some privacy. His chair gets in the way and he throws the chair in frustration. Dewey asks Ben what's wrong with Cooper and Ben says, "I think the Santa Ana winds blew a stick up his ass." They all laugh and then Ben sees Cooper coming back and gives an "Oh shit. The teacher is coming back. Be quiet!" panicked look at the others. Another chair magically appears for Cooper to sit in. Dewey asks Cooper if he's going to Nate's funeral on Sunday. "Yeah. Another fucking happy day."
Sergeant Hill calls out to Cooper at the station. He tells Cooper that Richard ran away from the family he was placed with.
Cooper is back at the station and hears Richard call out to him. Cooper goes into the room, concerned with the bandage on Richard's face. Richard tells Cooper that another kid hit him; so he left. Cooper lets him know that he can't do that kind of crap. Richard is upset, thinking Cooper is mad at him. Cooper tells him he should have called. When Richard says he's not going back there, Cooper asks him where he's going to go. Richard says, "With you. You can adopt me." "No. I can't." Cooper replies. "Why not?" Richard tearfully asks. 'I gotta go," Cooper says as he backs out of the room. Richards wants to know why he can't take him and Cooper tells him that he's done all he could. As Cooper walks away, Richard yells, "Man, fuck you." What an emotional scene to go through as you're on your way to your abusive father's parole hearing.
Cooper pulls up at the gate to a prison and receives instructions on what to do with his various cop toys. He is led through the prison to a conference room. He walks with confidence, his back straight, no matter how much pain this is causing him. His father is led into the room and they both give each other a glance. A parole board member reads off the accomplishments Cooper's father has made while in prison. He seems to have been a model prisoner and when asked what he has learned from his counseling, he gives a two-sentence answer about God being gracious, and everyone being worthy of forgiveness, even him.
But Cooper has no forgiveness for his father. He gives a very eloquent speech about why parole should not be granted; especially the part about growing up with him and how he doesn't want him to be "given the opportunity to inflict this kind of pain on another person ever again. Monica's last moments on this earth were filled with torture, suffering, and pleas for mercy. My father should stay in here until the day he dies."
As Cooper drives home from the prison, he is following a utility truck across the desert. He takes his pain pills out and tries to shake a couple of pills out of bottle onto the seat between his legs. A ladder suddenly falls of the truck in front of him and he has to take evasive maneuvers which result in a blown tire. He pounds the steering wheel with his hands in frustration. The last few days have been very emotional. He has been constantly reminded of his not-so-great childhood. Richard, who wanted Cooper to adopt him, the bratty kid who should be grateful for a Mom who actually cares; the parole hearing and seeing his father. Added to that was the van driver who has very similar pain and pill issues as Cooper; the boot who believes Cooper would steal pills, and he has to go to the funeral of a fellow cop in a few days.. He was moving a little slowly due to his back problems, but he was trying to get to those pills while driving because he was suffering so much emotional pain
Cooper gets out of the car and the pills fall in the dirt. He immediately goes to his knees, searching frantically for the pills he dropped. When he finds one, he shoves the dirt-covered pill in his mouth, spitting the dirt back out. He yells in anguish, sobbing as he falls onto his hands and knees.
No comments:
Post a Comment