Deputy Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Deputy Down
Carissa Pavlica
at
.
Remember the scene we didn't see on Deputy Season 1 Episode 2 but for which we got photos?
Well, Dedputy Luna is already in surgery at the beginning of Deputy Season 1 Episode 3, so they must have decided to cut a lot of material for the sake of time.
Crazy, right?
As someone said in the comments of the last review, things cannot keep happening to Joseph. The kid is getting put through the wringer.
At the top of the hour, Joseph was in the hospital praying. He wanted to help get the bastards who cut down his training officer, but Bill sidelined him as part of Luna's security detail.
Bill had to speak as not only Joseph's commanding officer but as his godfather, and keeping him on the job even at the hospital was better than pulling him altogether.
But that didn't sit well with Charlie. If you're also fans of The Rookie, maybe you see some similarities between Charlie and Nyla Harper, Nolan's latest training officer.
They're both ballsy as hell and don't give a hoot about the rules.
If there was an even slim chance that Charlie might side with Jerry in the great Sheriff shootout, surely that inkling has flown the coop.
We didn't see Luna's last moments, so it's not a surprise we didn't get a hint of Bill's thoughts on Joseph skedaddling from his "post" at the hospital despite Bill's orders.
Bill was a rulebreaker just a few short weeks ago, so he couldn't possibly hold Joseph accountable for wanting to be like his godfather. Still, Bill did hold accountable his deputies when they tried enacting vengeance instead of listening to his wise words of wisdom in the wake of Luna's attack.
It seems Bill is changing, much to Jerry's chagrin. The undersheriff wants desperately to either run Bill out on his own or to get him fired, but he's failing miserably.
Still, he does have a few faithful followers left even with the bang-up job Bill's been doing so far.
Brianna isn't one of them, and Bishop remains a delightful presence on Deputy. Her reaction to hearing Jerry call Bill the "acting" sheriff during his press conference was on course for the woman who gets more responsibility every day.
If she's not acting as Bill's official chauffeur or bodyguard, she's speaking on behalf of him and the department with the press. And she's doing a darn good job of it, too.
But Bill doesn't even need a lot of encouragement to follow her direction anymore. He's stepping into the powerful boots in which he walks with ease, and it's Jerry who is left floundering in Bill's wake.
If you watch Deputy online, then you know all of the pieces are in place for a relatively satisfying procedural going forward. The team and the opposition are settled.
If the press photos are any indication, Charlie was always going to be one of Bill's closest deputies, and if she's going to be Joseph's new training officer, Bill needs to trust her.
Paula is enjoying the rewards of Bill's new position. He's more attentive and even more understanding of what she's experienced at the hospital with some of the tough decisions she's made.
The responsibility of being sheriff is much different than it was as a deputy, but by keeping the lines of communication open, Bill can stay close to both sides effectively straddling what could be a gaping divide between those on the street and those making the rules.
There are still some growing pains with Deputy, though, especially when it comes to their social platforms.
Maybe I misread the situations, but a couple of things were a little annoying on that front.
The first was Bill's repeated use of the phrase below:
A gun shot one of my deputies last night.
Bill
No, Bill. A human shot one of your deputies using a gun. Guns should never be in the hands of bad guys, but they are and always will be as long as bad guys are bad.
And since it's their very nature to go against the grain of goodness, expecting a gun to kick up and kill without the bad guy pulling the trigger is just silly.
And darn it if I wasn't incredibly annoyed by the turn of events leading to poor Douglas cradling his bare legs in front of the television set.
If you watch television, and I know that you do, you spotted every sign when Cade knocked on the door to find Douglas' mother shushing the deputy.
The real-life scenario, especially by a deputy who grew up in the system and knows his way around difficult circumstances, would have been for Cade to apologize and ask about her son to determine that he wasn't the guy they were seeking.
Hushing his tone into a whisper and allowing a grandmotherly type to impede an investigation was again, silly. If anyone knows how circumstances can be other than they seem, it's someone who had to protect his sister from the very people tasked with caring for them.
Looks are deceiving. No self-respecting deputy was going to behave as Cade did.
Making matters even worse was the lady running into the street and dumping two empty lithium bottles on the ground screaming about the healthcare system.
A three-month supply of lithium costs under $20. You can get a coupon online that brings that cost down to $6. If you're going to try to make a statement about the system, at least know what you're talking about.
On fellow FOX series, The Resident, Conrad was dealing with a patient with MS (that could be wrong, but it was a physically debilitating disease) who was getting chased for medical bills that he didn't authorize.
When Red Rock decided to screw him and sue him, he got suicidal with the belief his wife would be happier and financially stable without him. Ludicrous to believe that, for sure, but a very realistic scenario.
They got the madness right. The idea that someone couldn't give up a pack of lunchmeat to keep her son properly medicated just didn't float.
It's not easy to get the right tone between right and left these days, but it's possible to do it. We have a lot of entertainment that bridges the divide successfully.
And that's not the only thing that should be a little more even-keeled on Deputy.
Luna lost his life, but the show was still pretty much about Bill's reaction to it all. And while nobody is going to get in my way where Stephen Dorff is concerned, the prevailing content doesn't have to be about his adjustment to his new position to make the series good.
The proof is in the promotional photos. How many pics of Bill aiming his weapon do we need for any given episode?
The answer is less than four. It's a scenario of "ya seen one, ya seen 'em all" thing.
Lastly, we have to talk about how moving it is when on-duty officers in any area of service like the sheriff's department calls out for their dearly departed.
Every time that gets covered in any way, the emotions get stoked to alarming levels. Portraying how each member of a team like that is affected when they lose a comrade on the job helps people to understand the sometimes less-than-desirable actions that can result after a trauma.
Dispatch had two roles during this hour.
The first was to stoke the fires already raging within the deputies who had just been told to take the higher ground when they'd prefer to get revenge on anyone they run across in the street.
A man is showing aggression toward our deputies. Let's make sure we give him grade A service.
Dispatch
The second was to deliver the dramatic Last Watch Call. No amount of vengeance was going to take away the pain everyone suffered in that moment of loss.
Deputy Gabriel Luna ended his watch at thirteen hundred forty-three hours. Rest in eternal peace.
Dispatch
How are you feeling about how Deputy is shaking out? The good outweighs the bad, but the topics covered require a tight balancing act that could eventually falter.
Do you like the overwhelming number of scenes to focus on Bill feeling his way?
In what areas do you feel there is room for improvement?
Am I overthinking the social issues?
TV Fanatic is nothing without all of you, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on "Deputy Down."
Weigh in with your thoughts on all things Deputy!
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.
