Deputy Season 1 Episode 2 Review: 10-8 Outlaws
Carissa Pavlica
at
.
Bill is having a tough time accepting his new role as Sheriff of Los Angeles County.
That much is clear on Deputy Season 1 Episode 2, as the man pops in on his team's survellience operation after turning down sex with his gorgeous wife.
And if his actions don't make it clear enough for you, Bill is willing to tell just about anybody who's listening about the ants in his pants.
But Bill is equally as invested in making a difference with the opportunity dropped at his dusty cowboy boots. Make no mistake -- he's not so antsy that he's willing to look a gift horse in the mouth.
You know somethin'? You're right, Jerry. I've got a few ideas about what's best for the department, and that's why I'm not stepping down. Far from it. I've seen a lotta life from on top of a horse, and that's given me a new perspective. And a new perspective is exactly what this place needs. The people of Los Angeles deserve the best, so do me a favor. Worry more about them and less about me. I'll be seein' ya. Except you. If I see your face on the tenth floor again, I'll throw you out the window myself. Thanks for your time.
Bill
Bill is no enigma. He lays all of his cards on the table for everyone to see. And his forthright nature infuriates those who hope to kick him right back out the door in which he came.
If you watch Deputy online, you probably already realized that Undersheriff Jerry London is trying his best to be the big bad of LA County, but he's a little too soft to call him awful.
He's wary of Bill because they never got along. He also thinks he's a rule follower while Bill is a rule-breaker.
But spend a little time with Jerry, and it's plain to see he's a kiss ass who follows the rules that make him look good while he puts his neck out to take down Bill, rules be damned.
We met a couple of new officers during "10-8 Outlaws" who prove Jerry's attempts to corral the deputies to his team in the hopes of getting dirt on Bill to that will help oust him from his role are most likely going to be in vain.
Up first was Deputy Luna, a seasoned deputy showing Joseph the ropes. Getting partnered with Bill's godson has nothing to do with the way Luna feels about Bill, though.
Luna has worked on the line with Bill, and he was impressed. He's even more impressed with the kind of time Bill spends with deputies on the job in his short time on the job.
No other sheriff has ever given a damn about the deputies who risk it all every day, but as Bill is still sporting the very boots he wore in their same position, he has no plans to allow a supposed busy schedule or corporate kowtowing come between him and his team.
Nope, Bill wants to drag his team even closer. He got a great plan while irritated in a meeting with a bunch of suits who know very little about what deputies do all day long -- Jerry included.
Brianna never stops working on Bill to help him see the good fortune before him. She reminds him at every step that he can do a lot of good in his silly meetings if he listens and participates.
You may not see it now, Sheriff, but you can save lives up here, too, if you put just a little faith into the system.
Brianna
She even dropped a line from Hamilton, which Bill picked up without hesitation.
Brianna: Sir, if you are not in the room when it happens, things will happen without you.
Bill: Hamilton, right? I gotta see that.
Brianna: In the end, he's shot by Aaron Burr, sir.
Bill: Well, let's make sure that don't happen.
It looks like Bill is going to be one of those people that continually surprises us with his knowledge about a lot of things seemingly outside of his wheelhouse.
The earworms she planted took hold when Bill stopped worrying about tossing the unlikable suits out of the tenth story window and considered how he can stay close to his team while still being a part of the new, more undesirable lot.
Instead of Bill leaving the bureaucratic hive, he's created a new place for his worker bees right in the heart of the action. Deputies mingling with the suits is a good start to give the latter bunch a better understanding of deputies so that they can see the processes they create in action.
Hopefully, it will be a two-way street. Sometimes financial decisions sound terrible until you hear the alternatives. Being in the same vicinity should give them the chance to help form new policies that serve all departments.
If Jerry can calm his jets, that is.
The other new deputy on the beat is Charlie Minnick. Charlie is an African American woman who has been around a while -- long enough that she can count the number of times she's been passed over for a promotion.
Still, that didn't seem to phase Jerry as he tried to lure her to his "side" to gather intelligence on Bill to use against him. Jerry isn't stupid enough to ask her outright, but promising a key to the kingdom when Bill falls from grace is the hook he dangled.
He'd done it a little earlier with Brianna who didn't take the bait.
Charlie's not a stupid woman, though, either, and like Luna, she sees Bill jumping into the thick of it while Jerry and his pals sit behind desks pushing papers that affect their lives on the streets.
Charlie didn't give him an answer, so she may jump at the chance. It's more likely that she'll straddle the line for a while before she ultimately stands tall beside Bill.
There's no good scenario here for Jerry to be victorious, but as long as he's not driven to dastardly, mustache-twirling levels of evil, he can eventually stand tall with Bill, too.
And while Brianna pushed Bill, and Jerry pulled on him, Bill continued his deputy ways.
What's funny is that his longing for action clashed with Cade's plans during the surveillance mission and neither one came out a winner.
Seeing bad guys being bad made Bill want to jump the gun and get 'em before they were doing anything bad enough to put away for a significant time in prison.
Cade: You know, the text I sent wasn't an invite. What are you doin'?
Bill: I'm dyin' on the tenth floor, man. I just needed a taste.
But I have to wonder if Bill's presence made Cade wait a little too long to jump into action just because he didn't want Bill to influence his plan.
It seems to me that a gaggle of guys using circular saws to enter a jewelry store unlawfully would suffice as intent to do irreparable harm. After all, one of the guys (at least) was already a convicted felon.
By hesitating just a little too long, a security guard got shot. would he have been safe if the team had pulled the trigger while the guys were dropping into their freshly made holes in the roof?
Why did they have to have jewelry in hand and be fleeing the building for Cade to make his call?
Well, that's probably because there is a lot more action to result from Roman Bergan in the wind. Without Cade's delayed action on the mission, Bill wouldn't have had to SHUT DOWN TWO MAJOR HIGHWAYS in pursuit of ONE BAD GUY.
I mean, really. What are the odds of that happening? A thirty-mile stretch of the I-5 and the 101? Authorities can barely close the streets in front of active gunfire when a bank is getting robbed.
And how stupid was Roman, exactly, that he failed to realize he was the lone passenger on a long stretch of highway? Didn't he consider taking a detour to lose the choppers hovering overhead?
This guy is so bad they disrupted the lives of citizens all over the place, but he couldn't even read the situation before him.
Ah, hell, without all of that ridiculousness, we'd never have before us the possibility something is lurking in Bill's past that Jerry can use to take him down.
Roman: I know who you are, Hollister. Have fun hidin' behind that badge.
Bill: Badge or no badge, I'll always come after scum like you.
Even with all that happened (including getting taken as a momentary hostage in the hospital), Paula still found time to plan a massive shindig for Bill and the deputies to celebrate his promotion.
They even (finally!) got down before joining their guests. Things were beginning to look up for the sheriff who won't shirk his responsibilities as a deputy.
Of course, it's going to end on a seriously low note now that Joseph is (again!) caught in the crossfire of bad dudes while his partner gets shot in a convenience store on a beer run.
How unlucky can these people get??
And I think the photo used for tonight's episode is a spoiler because, on my screener, the scene faded to black without Joseph falling to Luna's side. But darn, it was such a dramatic photo and properly coded to this episode, so I thought maybe, just maybe what airs will go a little farther. Did it?
But before tragedy struck, we got to meet Brianna's girlfriend, Genevieve. She's awesome and exactly the kind of woman you'd want to move across the country with to start a new future.
Did you see the look on Brianna's face as she introduced Genevieve to the group? She looked radiant.
The couple fit right into the already established friendship between Bill and Paula and Cade and Teresa, and I hope we'll see the six of them doing things in their off-hours (before getting called to action) more often.
It was another solid outing for Deputy, and it packed as much punch as the first hour with its cheeky dialogue and thrilling action scenes.
How do you like it so far?
What did you think of Charlie and Luna? Will Luna even make it through the next episode?
Hit the comments so that we can get this conversation started!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
