In This Section
|
« Raines
April 20, 2007: Inner Child
As Raines says, law and order takes a backseat to justice. I’m paraphrasing, but you catch my drift. This was one tough case. His cases all get a little gruesome considering Raines is a homicide detective, but the ick factor was high this week. Poor Emily. She seemed like such a sweet kid. It’s unfortunate that at age 10 she thought she was a grownup. I have to say I’m continuously surprised at what little kids get themselves into these days. I’m not a parent so I don’t know what most parents are dealing with, but I can’t imagine myself having an e-mail account and IMing people at age 10. But I got on the technology train a little late; I didn’t have an e-mail account until college and I’ve only been IMing the last few years. But back to the case.
I had one big issue with the story: How could Emily have a half day and her parents not know about it? I feel relatively confident in saying any elementary school would not rely on their students to tell their parents about a half day. I feel like there would be some sort of literature on it — either a note the child had to take home or some sort of holiday schedule the parent gets at the beginning of the school year. I could be wrong, but that seemed a little unrealistic. But I’m no stranger to suspension of disbelief so I quickly recovered.
There were many things I did like about the episode. When Raines goes to the Strongs' house and questions the father, he asks if Emily knows how to play the piano. That threw me for a second until I realized Raines needed Emily to be doing something else so he could ask her father all those questions without any distractions. He’s a smart guy. I also liked seeing Boyer take some initiative. It’s more fun to see Raines giving him a hard time, but I really liked that Boyer stopped being his normal slacker, unhelpful self and really stepped it up.
And what about the perp? I have to admit I had no idea Charlie was guilty. He did seem nervous during the interview, but I totally believed he didn’t do it. Although he was a convicted pedophile the things he said made him seem innocent. Obviously, it’s a very good thing I’m not a cop. Well, maybe I wouldn’t have taken him at his word if I were a cop. I know they are used to hearing lies all day, but I guess Raines believed him too since he let him go.
It was weird but very interesting to see Raines interacting with two dead people. I was surprised when he let Emily kill Charlie in his mind. But I did think it was funny when Emily threatened Charlie with the gun. Do you think we’ve become desensitized to violence in our society? I mean, it was a pretty violent act but I wasn’t crying over it. I was pretty upset to discover Emily’s father had killed Charlie. I guess it was inevitable, but I was still disappointed. I’m not sure having Charlie tried and convicted would have done much for Emily’s family, but is it ever OK to take the law into your own hands?
And what about Raines’ sessions with Dr. Kohl? In a way I was glad he lied about seeing the victims. Even if he’s destroying himself in the process, he’s still solving his cases. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want anything bad (or worse than what’s already going on) to happen to Raines, but I want him to have the opportunity to keep doing his job. If he does lose his job, I think we’ll lose him. His job gives him purpose and forces him to keep dealing with life. I definitely don’t want to see him lose that.
Random stuff we learned: Raines didn’t have any toys as a kid. This worries me. The only two explanations I can think of are that he grew up really poor or that his parents were really mean and didn’t allow toys. Yikes. We also learn he might be having thoughts of suicide. He was great at talking Emily’s dad off the ledge, but I hope he takes his own advice. Stay strong, Raines.
I usually list all my favorite lines, but I thought it might be more fun this week if you share yours instead. And next week is the season finale. I do hope this little trial run has proven to NBC that this show is a keeper.
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 12:17 AM
|
> I had one big issue with the story. How could Emily
> have a half-day and her parents not know about it?
Because it wasn't a half day. Her and her friend cut school. They lied. That's why her parent's didn't know about it, because it wasn't true.
Also a lot of time they put half days on the calanders, but not all parents remember to look and they rarely give kids fliers about them (at least when my sister and I were in school).
And IMing/emailing at 10 isn't unheard of. Both my sister and I have been emailing since that age and I believe my sister was IMing people at that age as well.
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 2:17 AM
|
I watch a lot of gory TV and I eat through it without blinking (Bones, all the CSI's) but the moment when Charlie is dragging Emily with him in Raines's mind creeped me out. I do not remember the last time a 10 second scene made me feel so uncomfortable.
Otherwise, I want to know whether Raines is coming back. Anybody knows that?
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 7:10 AM
|
I love the show and hope it is coming back. ihave heard nothing about ratings or anything. NBC is just as quick to cancel as the other 3 networks, let's hope this one stays. I think it needs a better timeslot.
As for the episode, yes that was creepy when Craig dragged Emily off. I was kind of put off by the half a day thing as well. When I was in 1st grade, my mother was not informed of a half a day. She was at work when they let us leave. Not only was I dismissed along with the rest of the kids but left standing alone in front of the school.
Fortunately I had (still do) a great sense of direction and my mother's job was within walking distance (maybe 4-5 blocks) of the school. I think of all the danger I faced crossing the streets alone (no crossing guards) and getting to her job. She was shocked to see me to say the least and was horrified that she wasn't notified in advance. Thank goodness this was the 70's, NYC and I wasn't afraid to leave the school grounds.
I hope we hear something soon on this great show.
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 10:49 AM
|
Lexly, that's pretty nutty, isn't it, that NYC in the 70's, an admittedly high crime decade, seemed like a safer time than now for little children to be walking the streets by themselves. Frightening.
This one was a tough one to sit through, which is a real tribute to the creator and writers. How many times have we watched something similar on SVU or CSI and just watched the goodguys go through the motions, following clues, and ultimately catching the badguys. The difference here is we get to actually know the victims because they are actually living characters, at least in Raines' head, so we get way more invested in who they were, IMO. Which made the scenes with both the little girl andthe perp that much more unsettling. Just great television.
At first I was a little put off by Jeff Goldblum's mumbling, but with further viewings I've come to realize that most of the time he's doing his ventriloquist act it's because he's talking to (the dead) himself in public. Nice touch. Another thing that makes this show a cut above. It's always the little things added up that separate the gems from the crap.
Hopefully the expectations for ratings, considering it's on Friday, will be taken into consideration when the suits make their decision for another season.
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 11:32 AM
|
As a parent of an 11 & 15 year old let me say the schools (at least L.A. Unified) don't always let you know when there's a half day. They send home calendars that don't have all the early out days listed. It's a mess. Also my 11 yr old has had an email account since 8. As a parent you just have to police it. Well hey you have to police them nowadays!
This is a good show and I can't believe we don't get more episodes. Seems like it's only been on 2 months. I hope it comes back.
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 11:34 AM
|
I love this show as well. I think it's gotten even more intriguing with each episode. Unlike Kara I was disappointed that Raines didn't tell his shrink the truth. I get that he's afraid he might lose his job, but if he's going to receive help, he's going to need to be honest. Plus I think she knows the truth anyway. I think that's why she asked and his answer was unconvincing. I was glad to see Steve from Sex and the City and then mortified by that dragging the kid scene. Excellent acting by all involved.
Friday nights work for me so I don't mind if it stays there. I just want it back!
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 11:59 AM
|
This show seems to grow more and more on me as I watch it and learn all of the details about why Raines is seeing things. I admit after the first episode I was very unsure about this show but now I really look forward to it.
One thought that came to me after this episode is that I think Raines is better off seeing his dead homocide victims. Without them he may have turned to more distructive methods of coping like suicide, drugs, more alcohol! Anybody have any thoughts on this?
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 12:01 PM
|
|
I also thought it was strange the parents didn't know about the 1/2 day and I didn't get the impression the kids skipped school. The dad or mom even asked "why didn't she tell us she had a 1/2 day?" I always knew when my daughter had a 1/2 day so I'm surprised to hear from the previous posts that so many schools do this without proper notice. That seems criminally negligent if you ask me. Anyway, I also suspended my disbelief on that and just let it go. Heck, I watch 24, so I'm great at suspending disbelief and that was minor in comparison. It really was an upsetting episode. I get pretty emotional with this show because of seeing the victim's through Raines eyes. It's just a great plot device. I've never seen anything quite like it in a show before so I really hope they keep this show going. It allows us to get to know Raines gradually through his encounters with the victims who know everything about him since they really are him. I was confused about the scene w/Charlie dragging Emily down the hall and then Emily shooting Charlie in the bedroom. I didn't understand the point, but I finally do. This was what Raines needed to see to feel like Emily got her revenge on the sicko who raped and murdered her. I have to keep reminding myself that Raines is actually seeing these things because his psyche needs to process such upsetting information. The continuing scenes w/Emily and Charlie were disturbing and yet still kind of funny w/her threatening him with the gun. Guess I am a little desensitized to violence. Like I said, though, I watch 24 so that probably explains it.
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 12:47 PM
|
I have to admit I was shocked at first when the girl shot her attacker. Then I realized it was like the piano and more was a reflection of wishful thinking. Then again, maybe if more 11 year olds were packing and offed some child molestors the problem would get better (ok, impractical on many levels but we are talking wishful thinking). I did find the end suprising, most shows would have the irony that the person
the dad killed wouldn't be the real perp. I thought in the last scene they would figure out it was her teacher or something. It doesn't seem like too many shows the prime suspect is guilty. And since he was imagining the molester as a victum too that almost seemed like
he didn't do it.
I was a little confused about the exchange with his therepist about if he was seeing the girl. I seem to remember him telling her that he did, going so far as to say 'she just stuck out her tongue out at me' in a previous episode. I don't think she was convinced, especially since she heard him sushing people who weren't in the car with him, the 'on 2 phones' line was a little weak.
Like everyone else here, I really hope they pick up this show for a full season next fall.
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 2:21 PM
|
|
I also thought it strange (though, as a sometimes scatterbrained parent, understandable) that the parents might have forgotten/not known about a 1/2 day of school. What I found unbelievable was the subsequent revelation that these 10-year olds had instead skipped school. A junior high or high schooler, maybe--but these girls were presented as sweet (especially Emily's friend) little girls. I didn't buy them skipping school to cruise the boardwalk.
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 2:26 PM
|
|
I love this show but from what I have seen in USA and other publications about which shows are coming back and which aren't Raines is over. I hope NBC gives it a last minute reprieve since they don't have many hits. I think Raines and Las Vegas would be perfect on Friday.
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 3:07 PM
|
shadowkate was totally right! I guess a lot of people missed this, but when Raines and the mother were in Emily's room talking about her having an email account, the father comes into the room and says, "the girls lied about the half day!" and then they all went to talk to the other little girl that Emily had been with that day.
Great show! I hope it comes back to stay.
|
|
Apr 23, 2007 3:57 PM
|
|
|
