Shades of Blue Season 1 Episode 5 Review: “Equal and Opposite”

Welcome to reviews of NBC’s freshman drama series, Shades of Blue. This police-centered drama has done well in the ratings, lead by excellent lead actress Jennifer Lopez (she can do it all, can’t she?). Though I was ambivalent about the series at first, the dramatic twists and turns have come to interest me, and the strong cast has me more invested as the episodes go by.

This week on Shades of Blue: The cops crack down on a drug dealer that they had previously allowed to operate, causing him to retaliate. Wozniak worries that his secret has been discovered. Harlee is suspicious that Agent Stahl is watching her inappropriately, so she enlists some assistance to turn the tables. Wozniak catches Carlos and Tess sleeping together. Saperstein and Tufo are caught in a lie.

I tried to only cover the major plot points in the above synopsis because a TON of stuff happened in this episode. Honestly, I was shocked with how much they were able to cram into a 42 minute-ish episode. There is so much  meat to the stories they are telling, and so many facets to the characters that sometimes, it can be a little overwhelming to keep up with. I did have to check a couple of character’s names on IMDB, but I’m getting there, I promise.

For awhile after I started watching this show, I wasn’t sure what to think. Jennifer Lopez is a compelling lead, but everything beyond that was a little messy. There was a lot of exposition and set up, and it didn’t really do a good job building the world or hooking me with the drama. Yet, inexplicably, I watched anyway. Then, character nuances were revealed. Lt. Wozniak is a closeted bi-sexual. Tess’s marriage is falling apart. Then they did the last episode centered around Loman and his guilt. Turns out, this show just needed to simmer a little before it started cooking.

It’s still not perfect, but the cast carries it a long way. Jennifer Lopez, I will say again, is a compelling lead. She’s an ageless, multi-talented performer and she really embodies the role of Harlee. Ray Liotta and Drea De Matteo are both nice complements. It took a few episodes to warm me up to them, but each is compelling in their own dramatic storyline. I especially love Saperstein (even though I wish his first name was “Jean-Ralphio”), and Santino Fontana is excellent in the role. The solid cast is perhaps Shades’ greatest strength.

As I stated before, it’s still not a perfect show. The drama is really compelling, but at times it feels soapy. At other times, it feels a little NSFW. As it goes on, I’m certain a balance will be struck, but it’s still very much finding its sea legs. Based on the past couple of episodes, though, it’s finally getting where it wants to go. Maybe after Wozniak stops suspecting each member of his crew in turn, then things will finally start to cook at the proper temperatures.

I realize most of my criticism and review has been about the series as a whole so far, so about “Equal and Opposite”: I really like the characters, and their interactions in this episode were really good. Wozniak really came into his own as a character as he chased down the drug dealer and erased any notion of a big reveal. Saperstein was funny. Harlee was a little all over the place, but Lopez grounds the character enough to make her watchable in any situation. This show has a “do something crazy and then reveal plot later” approach that’s interesting, but it still bothers me a little bit. It felt like this episode tried to use every character, even when it wasn’t necessary.

For now, I’ve decided to stick with it. I’m compelled enough to start the next episode, certainly. The good cast and intriguing plot points are enough to keep me interested for the time being. There are certainly Shades of greatness here, that could blossom into can’t-miss-TV.

What about you? What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments!!

Shades of Blue airs Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC