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Episode Recap: "Breaking Point"
This was one of those Numb3rs episodes that felt as if it had been cut down from perhaps a seventy-minute running time, or would've been more comfortable if it could've run a bit longer than 48 minutes or so. Everything was just a bit too compressed, giving most of the more intense moments a slightly over-the-top feeling, and even the more laid-back sequences could've used more room to breathe.
Synopsis: It begins with intercutting, between Don Eppes running down with his FBI team the known specifics of an apparent kidnapping of a television news reporter, and a television news interview with Charlie Eppes, wherein he allows that he tries to help his brother's FBI unit solve crimes, and lets slip a few more facts about the case than Don's bosses are comfortable with. Don chews Charlie out; Charlie, perhaps excessively miffed, showily takes off to his university office to do the academic work he isn't doing when consulting on FBI cases. As Charlie drives to the CalTech analog where he teaches, a pickup truck with floodlights above the cab tailgates him and otherwise seems to be at least trying to shake him up; Charlie takes a sharp turn and loses the pickup, but is sufficiently rattled to sleep in his office. Meanwhile, Ray Galuski (Chris Bauer, returning to the series), in the course of helping fix a koi pond pump in the Eppes's yard, makes some suggestions about modernizing the house that discomfit paterfamilias Alan Eppes (Judd Hirsch).
Amita and Larry find Charlie in his office, and discover that he's in a jumpy mood, after the argument and the road incident; Charlie leaves abruptly, running late for a meeting at the FBI offices. From the offices, Charlie and the agents take on various tasks in the investigation of the probable kidnapping; Charlie offers to do some statistical analyses that might narrow the large field of suspects who might hold a criminal grudge against the reporter. Meanwhile, a visit to the reporter's television station doesn't turn up much, other than that among the stories she's been pursuing is one involving a local real estate developer and his underhanded business dealings, including a photograph of him with a tough-looking character. That night, Charlie is pursued again by the same pickup, which actually bumps his car off the road; at least one man, the one in the photograph with the real estate developer, emerges from the pickup and starts shooting at Charlie, who manages to scramble away, and scares his would-be assassins by remotely setting off his car alarm, drawing attention from other drivers and a nearby house. Charlie now tells Don and the other agents about being tailgated the previous evening by the same thugs; Amita starts demanding that Charlie get off the case, and Don starts to wonder if that isn't a good idea.
Don and Colby (Dylan Bruno) explore the reporter's apartment, where after a brief examination Don decides he's seen enough; Colby suggests that he'd like to do a more thorough search. Colby begins going through her papers and watching her raw-footage videotapes, and clearly becomes somewhat smitten with her. When two power company bills come in through the apartment's mailslot, one of them is for her office, away from her television station's campus. Colby calls the address in and goes to meet Don and the other agents there. Colby arrives first, to find the shooter and two accomplices stealing materials from the repoter's office; a gun battle leaves one of the thugs dead and one seriously wounded; he and the third get awayin the pickup.
A shaken Charlie has difficulty getting his mind to work on breaking the reporter's apparent code, while Colby, particularly, attempts to be helpful while also stressing how little time they might have to find the reporter alive. Having Sinclair (Alimi Ballard) assigned to Charlie as a bodyguard, while Don confronts the developer, does little to help rising tensions. Eventually, Colby gets Charlie to talk about his trauma, which helps the mathematician clear his head; with the help of Amita and Larry (and Colby at least standing by), they crack the codes, which turn out to describe lots the developer has purchased. The last surviving thug having been arrested but refusing to reveal where the reporter is being held, the team has to figure it out on their own...happily, the coded properties include three lots aside from the developement area, only one of which has a house on it. Colby is disappointed that the reporter, whom we've learned is rather a loner even when not traumatized, is ungracious when rescued. Finally, Don, who's been worrying throughout the episode that involving Charlie in FBI cases, even when not dangerous, might be a waste of his brother's precious time and intellectual energy, asks Charlie if he sees it that way. Charlie bluntly says no, he doesn't, and invites Don in for a beer.
At certain points, particularly early on, it seemed to me that Charlie's guilt and irritation, with himself and with Don, seemed too quickly wound up into more than pique; I also had to wonder how the thugs in the pickup were able to predict which road Charlie was going to be riding down the first night, and how they recognized his car. I certainly didn't buy Colby being as wrapped up in a woman he didn't know as he seemed to be, even if charmed by her demeanor in the unguarded moments on the unedited tapes, and even with his somewhat romantic (in every sense) notions of rescue and its rewards. Certainly, while referring to his own hostage experience in coaxing Charlie to spill his anxieties made sense, expecting the reporter to have the same reaction to rescue as he did made no sense; unlike Colby, she had no reason to assume that anyone would be working feverishly to find her. So, this episode had a lot of little bits and pieces that could've used a bit more foreshadowing or expansion, had there been time, even if the interaction between Larry and Ray, and Ray's assumption that Larry's relation with Megan could only be a joke (something skeptical viewers have suggested from time to time), was very well done. Some of David Krumholtz's slightly odd reactions as Charlie in this episode seem just right in a somewhat alienated former child prodigy; others, as noted, seem excessive (even given his disturbing experiences here). So, more than most episodes of the series, this one could've used another run-through. I have to wonder if the strike might've affected post-production. Still, a fun-enough episode, even with the flaws.
For more on Numb3rs, please see our Online Video Guide.
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Jan 12, 2008 2:24 AM
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Yet another Megan-less episode! Why does Diane Farr just disappear like that every so often (not counting her earlier maternity leave)? Right off the bat, the episode lost points with me because of her absence. But it was pretty good otherwise.
I was impressed with the scene between Colby's pep talk with Charlie on the roof. Colby's character suddenly became more "real" for me there--not quite as stiff as he tends to be at times.
But give me back Megan!
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Jan 12, 2008 7:52 AM
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Am I the only one who flashed to the classic movie Laura while Colby was in the reporter's apartment watching tapes of her? And my heart broke for him when she showed no gratitude to him when he rescued her. Poor Colby. Find him a nice girl soon!
I too missed Megan, and I thought that the physics professor was a little bit of a jerk to Larry.
SHAVE, CHARLIE!!!!!!!!!!
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Jan 12, 2008 8:37 AM
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Charlie's fear of the hostile side of law enforcement has always been a part of this show. He has never been one to handle the violence well; he even flipped out in one episode after hearing a gunshot come over a live recording of a capture. And remember when the FBI office was shot up and one bullet hit the whiteboard right by Charlie's head?
So given that background, it's natural he would get rattled by what's going on. The violence has never been directed at him, just around him and when he becomes the target, he has no idea how to react.
I agree that there were a lot of variables in this episode that stretched the truth a lot. The chase scenes did not make sense to me at all. Someone flips a house light on when a car alarm goes off?? In LA? That doesn't even happen in my bucolic suburban neighborhood!
Colby's interest in the reporter was a little puzzling. It seemed like he was trying to figure out why someone can end up so isolated and alone and it was interesting to see a more human side of him than his usual militaristic style. I loved his pep talk with Charlie (i'm pretty sure he was playing the body guard role at that point, the reason he was hanging around so much)and his urging of Charlie to trust the team to come through. And yeah, this guy needs a companion.
Overall a good episode despite being a little scattered. Lots of actions and more of the personal side of fighting crime.
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Jan 12, 2008 9:58 AM
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Does anyone know how I can find more information about the music during the Breaking Point episode? There was a great song playing at the end when they stormed the house looking for the reporter. Would like to know who that was.
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Jan 12, 2008 10:25 AM
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brachec
There is a song listed on TV.com for this episode called 'The Funeral' by Band of Horses. I think that is the song you are talking about.
This was a good episode but it did seem as though almost everyone was over the top, including Charlie, Alan, Colby and the Developer. I did enjoy the episode though. It was pretty fast paced.
I did feel sorry for Colby though when his rescue fantasy turned into a rescue disappointment.
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Jan 12, 2008 11:09 AM
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I have watched this show from day one, and it is my absolute favorite of all time.
The two brothers always tug at my heartstrings. Don the "protective, caring big brother." When he pulled Charlie's hair back to look at the scrape, I was crying like a baby. Charlie, so scared and not wanting to admit it. David Krumholtz can do faces that actually turn him into a scared frightened little boy that you want to protect. I was screaming at the TV for them to "leave him alone or you are going to have to answer to Don and the guys. Colby and David are family too you know. You are not going to get away with hurting Charlie!"
Larry, what can I say about Larry. Everyone in this world needs a Larry for a best friend. When Charlie gets aggravated at him, he calls him Lawrence. Ray, Ray, who is a perfect addition to the show as a Mechanics Professor, is now jealous of Larry for having Megan as a girlfriend.
Amita, I love Charlie with Amita. She is gorgeous and really loves him.
Alan is the perfect Dad. I can understand him not wanting to change the house. As you get older, the more you like things to stay the same. I am that way anyway.
This show is an hour long, but it seems like only a few minutes. It's the fastest hour on TV. I spend the whole week looking forward to it. I just hate that the the network executives don't think about the writers or the fans. They are breaking our hearts with this strike. I guess they want to have everybody watching Cable. I see where they are getting new shows ready. I for one am not a big fan of reality shows. I guess I will just have to read a lot of good books and hope that the strike is over soon.
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Jan 12, 2008 1:02 PM
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It does seem like one of the fastest hours when I watch it! Well, NCIS and The Unit are right there too!
I missed Megan too, it was sad to not see her, but loved the scenes with Colby and Charlie. I felt so bad for Colby when that lady was so unthankful for being rescued....that was just wrong of her!
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Jan 13, 2008 6:43 PM
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Next to "Trust Metric (season opener)" this is my favorite episode of the year so far. The only thing that would have made it better is Megan's presence. Otherwise, I wouldn't have changed a thing. It would be great (post-strike) to see the reporter come back into the show in some way and be a potential relationship for Colby.
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Jan 14, 2008 11:21 AM
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I felt sorry for Colby, and was glad that they humanized him more showing how he was getting more and more interested in her and more personally interested in rescuing her. Was sad that she just brushed it all off and I too would like to see SOMETHING happen with her in the future. Even if she's just on the scene with a belated thank you like on her TV show.
Liked Colby and Charlie together and questioned how the truck knew it was him in the car. Seeing how frightened he was was right on too because as someone else noted they have occasionally shown him frightened at the position he was in.
Love the show and have from the beginning but love it more when these little bits of humanity shine through. I too wonder about how and WHY they often leave one of the members out of the show. Do you think it's maybe just giving one of them time out?? Too bad they're all having so much timeout now with the strike. Will hate going cold turkey with so many of my favorite shows on hold!!
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Jan 14, 2008 4:06 PM
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I totally agree Todd. Watching this episode made me feel watching a brief summary. I missed the depth somehow. Although the plot was great. I would have appreciated they took more time to work things out instead of squeezing it all in just one episode. I liked it but it left me somehow discontented.
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Jan 15, 2008 3:34 AM
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Loved this episode and ALWAYS love the show - I just KNEW Colby wasn't the bad guy they were trying to make him out to be!! The relationship between the brothers is perfect; easily as good as the one between the guys over on Supernatural which gets WAY more publicity.
And Judd Hirsh is ALWAYS perfect in everything he undertakes - his portrayal of an older man fighting change even when it was against his own personal beliefs was spot-on. Why is he never nominated for an Emmy?
Anyway, I agree that Charlie ALWAYS freaks out when confronted with direct, personal violence and his behaviour made perfect sense given how he was raised - totally sheltered, remember? And I LOVED that it was Colby, of all people, who explained things to him and not Don - who would totally have messed up!
I also love the relationships between Larry, Charlie, Anita and Meghan - so intricate and true to life. I would kill for a friend like Larry who simply doesn't have the "take offense" gene in his DNA structure! No wonder Meghan is in love with him: any sensible woman with half a brain would be drawn to his seeming innocence coupled with the HUGE IQ which cannot HELP but see things as they really are!! I would! LARRY for president!
Great episode, overall. It's about time Don acknowledged the time, work and effort Charlie pours into his FBI work, and said THANK-YOU and are you sure you want to? Well over time, in fact.
One last thing - more MEGHAN!! She, Larry and Judd are the combined hearts of this show, and I am SICK of not seeing her. Smarten up!
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Jan 16, 2008 7:36 PM
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