Harlee said that it's not the scars but the story you tell about them that sells it.

Perhaps that's why Shades of Blue Season 3 Episode 8 picked up right where we left off with Cole's skin getting seared.

I really didn't need to see that.

Even with the burnt flesh, Cole still had to do one heck of a sales job to get Ramsay to believe him.

And then he had to put a bullet in Bennett's head.

Cole didn't hesitate for a minute, and I can't say I blamed him. Bennett certainly would have done the same to him without a moment's indecision.

Harlee: Bennett's dead.
Wozniak: What?
Harlee: Right in front of me. Ramsey made someone answer for the leak.
Wozniak: Good!
Harlee: At least he's satisfied.
Wozniak: No, I mean good, I hope that brings you peace, you know, for Nava.

Permalink: No, I mean good, I hope that brings you peace, you know, for Nava.

That Wozniak's first thought was for Harlee was kind of sweet, although Bennett's death doesn't seem to have brought her much peace.

She's got far too many balls in the air to let her guard down long enough to feel anything.

Harlee is desperately trying to keep Cole alive while still attempting to take Ramsay and the Intelligence Unit down.

And she's trying to catch Stahl before he kills her or someone she loves.

Stahl: I can free you. I can free you from this carnage that you're leaving in your wake.
Harlee: Don't bother. I can free myself.

Permalink: Don't bother. I can free myself.

Stahl's delusional. He's become completely unhinged, that I understand.

What I didn't understand was Agent Myers.

Myers didn't appear to be mentally unstable or unintelligent. Yes, she has some prior romantic connection to Stahl stemming from him saving her life, but she's an FBI agent for goodness sake! She's seen Stahl's file. She knows the evidence against him.

So why was she risking her career and her freedom by not only believing in but working with this lunatic? That made no sense to me.

Also, why would Wozniak lie to Harlee about those flowers, although I suspected he was right from the start? Woz just doesn't come across as a guy who sends flowers on a whim.

I know Woz thought that Harlee was suffering from PTSD, but obviously, someone sent her those flowers. You'd think if he was going to lie to her to get her to let it go that he'd at least investigate who sent them himself.

The biggest upside to the turmoil caused by the Intelligence Unit has to be that it's gotten Wozniak's team back on the same page.

They're all working together once again which is a relief because I can't see them making it through this any other way.

Wozniak was willing to give up his badge, at least temporarily, to put the heat on him and protect his team, which led to this telling Shades of Blue quote:

Without that badge you're going to feel light. There's a reason they call it a shield.
Verco

Permalink: Without that badge you're going to feel light. There's a reason they call it a shield.

I never thought about it quite that way, but Verco's description seemed fitting. Wozniak will definitely need some sort of shield to protect him from here on out.

One of the other things that struck me was how disturbed Harlee looked when Loman roughed up that kid who saw them abduct Enrique.

The kid was terrified, and frightening him further may have been the surest way, other than killing him, to ensure he kept his mouth shut.

But Loman was a little too adept at playing the enforcer. How much was an act to scare this kid and how much was real?

Harlee looked upon Loman as though she didn't know the answer and wondered if she'd created a monster that she couldn't reign back in.

Harlee has grown used to the rest of the team stepping over the line, but Loman was meant to be different until Harlee changed his path.

That Wozniak was willing to burn Cole wasn't a shock. Woz doesn't trust Cole and Cole isn't a part of his team which makes him expendable.

And to Woz's way of thinking, capturing Enrique was their only play to get out from under the Intelligence Unit.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

Cole was right. The moment Woz started playing Let's Make a Deal with Ramsey, Ramsey began making his own plan to win the entire game.

And with the Deputy Commissioner of Internal Affairs in his back pocket, he definitely has the upper hand.

Harlee still has Stahl on her tail. Wozniak is being hunted down as a terrorist. And no one in the NYPD except perhaps Verco will have this team's back, but he doesn't have the power to get them clear on his own.

My best guess is that Wozniak will try to use Enrique and the cartel to take out Ramsey while Harlee may end up going to the Feds for help.

But I'll be shocked if the team gets out of this without taking on casualties.

Check back in for my review of Shades of Blue Season 3 Episode 9, and until then, you can watch Shades of Blue online here at TV Fanatic.