East New York Season 1 Episode 10 Spoilers: Will Bentley Survive?
Jack Ori
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Please tell us Bentley makes it!
The rookie cop was shot during an ambush soon after the 7-4 took down a gang leader who had gotten away with violent crime for years. He may or may not have been the intended target, but as East New York Season 1 Episode 10 opens, he will be fighting for his life.
This promises to be an emotional hour. Hopefully, we'll have answers by the end of it.
Regina is as loyal to her cops as she is determined to make a difference in the community. She won't be able to sit vigil in the hospital for long because she'll need to get to work finding out who did this and making sure they are held accountable for it.
But first, she and Suarez may need to deal with Bentley's mother, Simone.
Simone was never comfortable with her son being a cop, and now she may lash out angrily at Bentley's superior officers for letting this happen.
It's understandable, though mostly unfair. Bentley was attacked while getting out of his squad car to answer a call. There was no warning, and it wasn't due to any errors more experienced officers made.
That said, after taking down a major criminal, Regina should have expected retaliation and taken steps to protect her officers. Sandeford was likely to be a target since he was responsible for the arrest, so it was logical to assume that he and Bentley would be in the most danger.
Even if Sandeford could have done nothing to prevent this, you can bet that he'll blame himself.
He was training Bentley, and they had started to become friends. One minute they were joking around, and the next, Bentley was on the ground bleeding out.
Sandeford will probably feel that as Bentley's training officer, it was his job to ensure the area was safe before Bentley stepped out of the vehicle. At the very least, he might blame himself for not teaching Bentley to be more aware of his surroundings.
Sandeford will probably allow his guilt to fuel his desire for retribution and will work tirelessly to find Bentley's attacker and bring them to justice.
Meanwhile, Regina, Suarez, and Yenko will feel pressure from all sides as they work to close this case.
Tensions will run high. 1PP or the Mayor's office might expect this case to take top priority because a cop was shot, but Regina can't and won't ignore other serious crimes to focus exclusively on this.
She also may have to deal with community residents upset that the cops work far more quickly when it's one of their own than when a resident reports a murder. Some people's anti-cop sentiments could include not caring about the attack on Bentley because of his profession.
Simone will want the case closed right away and answers to how this was allowed to happen in the first place, too, which will add another layer to this complex situation.
And that doesn't even begin to touch everyone's concerns about Bentley himself.
Spoilers say Bentley will be fighting for his life throughout the hour. That doesn't sound good!
He'll probably survive in the end; it would be too heavy a loss if a freshman drama killed off a rookie officer halfway through its first season! But there will be plenty of drama with his condition before he begins to recover.
This incident might impact Quinlan more than everyone else. She and Bentley are both younger, newer officers who live in the projects, and they've recently started dating.
Before this shooting, they'd discussed whether to make their relationship public knowledge and risk not being able to work together. Now, that may seem like a silly concern.
If Bentley survives, Quinlan will probably be in even more of a rush to go public because she realizes that there are no guarantees and doesn't want to lose the chance to be happy.
She will probably also be stressed out while at the hospital. If Bentley dies, it'll be doubly heartbreaking for her because they just got together.
Bentley is her partner not just romantically but also at the projects. He has helped Quinlan learn to fit in and get along with the residents. How will Quinlan's neighbors respond to the news that Bentley has been shot?
If anyone has information about the shooting, it could increase tension between Quinlan and the neighbors again. They won't want to snitch and might return to feeling like they don't want a cop in the building.
Finally, will everyone handle this case by the book? It's tempting for some officers to get violent or cut corners to get the arrest they want, especially since the perp attacked one of their own.
But if anyone goes off-book with this one, it could undermine Regina's hard work in repairing relationships between the cops and the community. Plus, no charges will stick if the cops don't behave themselves, so Regina may need to rein her officers in for everyone's protection.
What do you think, East New York fanatics? Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know!
Don't forget that you can watch East New York online while waiting for the midseason premiere.
East New York airs on CBS on Sundays at 9 PM EST / PST. The midseason premiere will air on January 8, 2022, at a special time (8 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.
