East New York Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Misdemeanor Homicide
Jack Ori
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It often seems like there's a different justice system for rich, white men than for poor people, especially non-whites.
But not if Regina Hayward can help it!
On East New York Season 1 Episode 2, Regina fought for a grieving father to get the closure he needed, almost tanking her career.
Regina's fight for justice put her at odds with the brass. They wanted the hedge fund manager's murder to be solved yesterday and couldn't care less if the Hilliard case languished endlessly.
That put her in a tough spot. She wanted people to know the truth about what was happening, but Suarez was right that if the brass knew she was the one blowing the whistle, she'd lose her command.
Regina doesn't want to think about political considerations. She doesn't want to have to make the NYPD look good when the department doesn't deserve it.
But if she loses her command, she'll be unable to make any more changes. From that perspective, it's a good thing she has Suarez looking out for her.
Man: You ever lose a kid?
Regina: No, I haven't.
Man: You wake up in the morning and at first it's okay and then you remember what happened and the whole world turns upside down.
Regina: I'm sorry.
Man: You're sorry. You're busy. My boy is dead and it don't make a lick of difference to anyone.
On the other hand, Hilliard and the rest of the citizens of East New York are damn lucky that there's someone in charge at the 74 that understands the human side of these issues.
Hilliard was a grieving father who didn't think there was a chance in hell that he'd get justice for his son. From his perspective, the police were doing little more than making token efforts toward finding the killer. Even asking Brandy to nose around seemed more like making it look like the cops were doing something than actually doing it.
No wonder he wanted to take matters into his own hands!
The cops' arrest of Ray Ray felt uncomfortable even though it was the right thing to do.
He wasn't being arrested for murder, at least not at the outset. Bentley and Sandeford used stop, question, and frisk -- a set of procedures that often leads to unjust arrests of minorities -- and more or less made up a reason to arrest him.
That wasn't cool, but it saved his life since Hilliard was about to shoot him.
Meanwhile, could that South Manhattan detective that Killian and Morales were forced to work with be any more obnoxious?
He was so ingrained in the idea that rich people couldn't commit crimes that he couldn't fathom anyone having a motive to kill Oren Scoville on purpose. In his mind, it had to be a robbery, no matter how much evidence there was to the contrary.
Was I the only one who cheered when Killian punched him? That guy needed to be taken down a peg -- or ten.
It turned out that the hedge fund manager's murder revolved around a woman from East New York who had risen above the poverty and racism she experienced to make it on Wall Street. How ironic!
That also allowed Morales to connect with her, which led to the case being solved quickly.
If South Manhattan had gotten this case to themselves, it probably never would have been solved. Or else someone from the projects would have been unfairly accused, thanks to that detective's narrow-minded thinking,
That guy had some nerve, too. Insisting on his theory of the case is one thing, but he moved documents Killian and Morales needed to move ahead with their investigation. Whether he meant it that way or not, that was active sabotage.
Thank goodness Killian and Morales turned out to be correct. It would have been horrible if that annoying idiot had the right idea in the end.
Brandy's ability to crack the case at the projects was surprising.
Most residents still don't trust her because she's a cop. They have no real reason to; in this episode alone, the NYPD seemed to be going out of its way to make it clear that the hedge fund manager's murder was far more important than the homicide of some kid in the projects.
Ray-Ray's arrest won't help that, either, because many people will assume the cops got lucky and managed to get the right guy while harassing him for being who he is.
However, Brandy did get someone to talk -- hopefully without consequences from people who don't like snitches -- and is two for two in helping get justice for members of the community.
Eventually, she may win some neighbors over, but she still has a long way to go before she does.
Although the stories were primarily serious, East New York injected humor into the hour.
Sandeford: You need to think of yourself as a self-contained unit. You need something, have that thing.
Bentley: Like what?
Sandeford: Bandages, tourniquets, tape measure...
Bentley: Why a tape measure?
Sandeford: Officer, how did you know he came at you with a 2 by 4. See? You need a tape measure.
Sandeford's suggestion that Bentley always carry a tape measure seemed random and ridiculous. Although that was one of the funniest exchanges of the hour, he was right: Bentley's tape measure allowed them to arrest Ray-Ray.
There was also a sideline about Yenko trying to learn Italian. It seems like he'll have a different diversion every week.
Finally, while the restaurant renovations were off-screen, Killian got many calls from his wife about them. This story will probably be more prominent again in the coming weeks; this time, it was merely a distraction for Killian.
The hour ended on a serious note, with Regina's refusal to talk about her father's situation at her mandated counseling session. This is sure to come up again too. I'm curious to learn more about this backstory and how it affects her.
Your turn, East New York fanatics. Hit the big blue SHOW COMMENTS button and share your thoughts about Regina's quest for equal justice and the cases of the hour!
If you'd like a refresher first, watch East New York online.
East New York airs on CBS on Sundays at 9 PM EST / PST.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.
