We are now halfway through the sophomore season of TNT’s police and courtroom drama Murder in the First, and things are starting to really heat up. The gang war has gotten more violent, the internal investigation has gotten more intense, and the criminal who shot up the bus in the first episode pled guilty. Nothing has gone the way I’ve expected it to, and that’s a good thing.
This week on TNT’s Murder in the First: Terry and Hildy try to keep things on the down low as people find out about the internal investigation. Navarro, trying to help his brother, goes missing. The Chinese gang has retaliated against Suger. The shooter pleads guilty to the murder of the ten bus riders.
All in all, Murder in the First gave us another dramatic, powerful hour of television. The acting on this show is very good, and each plot thread is well fleshed out. The only issue I have (I’ll talk about it first because it’s minor) is that I can’t see at this time how the plots are related. Are they related? Or is this simply the consequence of having a serialized cop show? The main problem I have is that this is impossible to distinguish. Everything in Season 1, in some way, related to the personal lives of the characters or the main case. I’m assuming (right now) that these cases are unrelated, and it’s simply supposed to be a drama involving the various characters. What I’d like to see, however, is relating it back to everything, and threading some of these plots together. But, with a serialized cop drama, I’m assuming that multiple arcs in one season is just a consequence of the chosen format.
Everything else in the episode was pretty strong. I like the way that the different arcs are developing. Where the heck did Jamal’s body go, anyway? My personal theory is that he’s not dead, and he wanted to be able to escape Suger’s wrath when “he has a sister” was revealed. Of course, this show usually turns out a little more straightforward than that, but hey I can dream, right? Suger’s arc has become pretty interesting over the last couple of weeks, so I can only imagine after this week’s ending that there will be some ensuing drama.
I was disappointed to see so little of Navarro’s arc this week. As much as I don’t believe he killed Kaleb, I would still like to know what kind of turmoil he is entangled in. However, Molk finding out that Navarro is a suspect is probably the most dramatic moment of the episode this week. It was a really strong moment, and Raphael Sbarge nailed it.
Overall, I’m pretty pleased. Again, I’d like to see some of these threads tie together, but even if they don’t, there are some solid arcs happening on this show. The actors are strong, the plotlines (though apparently unrelated) are solid, and the show offers an interesting alternative to shows that solve their cases by the end of each episode. I like to be dragged along a little bit on shows like these, and I’ve not been disappointed.
What did you guys think? Did you enjoy this week’s episode? Let us know in the comments!
Murder in the First airs Mondays at 10/9c on TNT.
[Photo via TNT]
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I think this season is more captivating because there is more than one story line going on, which may or may not be somehow tied in together at the end.
Last year it was obvious that the guy did it, just a matter of time of how they proved it.
The characters are definitely not one dimensional and the acting is strong. Hildies brother is always impressive in his performances and I enjoy Taye Diggs, but Katyleen Robertson seems too strained. I know hers is a complex character, but it’s not coming off natural in certain instances. Love the actor who plays Navarro, intense to say the least. Overall at this time thumbs up to season two.
This season isn’t quite as compelling as the first, but it I’m still enjoying it. My main issue is that it seems this season lack’s focus, like the writers are just making up plot twists as they go with no underlying story arc in mind. Call me spoiled by shows like Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, The Fall, and others, but I expect a sharply focused show. The acting is still top notch, but I think the writing is just a little loose this season and they could shore that up and really put this show on the map.
Oh also props to the show for helping me discover Wishes and Thieves – their song “Let You In” is the one playing when Hildy and Terry enter a strip club where they run into fellow officers, Junior and Raffi. It reminded me of Portishead but more accessible, which is a great thing.