East New York Season 1 Episode 20 Spoilers: Will a Homeless Man's Death Have Political Ramifications?
Jack Ori
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The good news: East New York is back.
The bad news: There are only two episodes left this season, and as of now, there isn't yet any word about whether the series will be back in the fall.
Still, the penultimate hour will be explosive! East New York Season 1 Episode 20 spoilers suggest a HUGE fallout between Regina and Sean, and possibly one with Suarez.
I'm here for all this, especially the Regina/Suarez conflict. This has been building steadily throughout the season as Suarez tries to navigate his political ambitions and personal beliefs.
In a way, Regina needs him to be concerned with politics. She doesn't give a damn about elections and mayoral approval ratings, but if the powers that be hate her ideas enough, they'll replace her, and then she won't be able to reform the police department at all.
Still, Suarez's tendency to swing too much toward the political side often leaves Regina feeling undermined. He'll stop or slow walk policies that are unpopular with the brass, even if they are exactly what neighborhood residents want or need.
Regina's been friends with Suarez enough times, and she's let a LOT go.
Suarez's decision to deny her ability to transfer a problematic officer to day shifts where she could keep an eye on him earned him glares and an aggravated comment but not much else, and she's forgiven more than one sound byte that caused trouble for the 7-4.
But this time, she may have come to the end of her rope! A clip in the spoiler video suggests she doesn't accept Suarez's explanation of the importance of political alliances -- she tells him those decisions might be costing him friendships.
It's unclear what prompts this argument, but could it have to do with the main case of the hour, which involves a dead homeless man?
According to spoilers, the 7-4 faces "unexpected challenges" while investigating this suspicious death. The mayor often wants the cops to focus on crime against wealthy constituents instead of the low-income people who live in the neighborhood.
Mayor Sharpe might object strenuously to Regina putting a ton of resources into the death of a homeless man, especially if he's concerned about crime rates in wealthier areas.
Suarez has vowed not to allow Sharpe to run the police department, but will he stick to it? He often backs Sharpe's desires over REgina's when there's a conflict. That could make Regina feel that Suarez isn't truly on her side.
Suarez may believe in police reform, but he also wants to be Commissioner, and Regina may have had enough of him putting his political ambitions first.
Conversely, the fallout could be related to Regina and Sean's problems.
The official synopsis calls their conflict a "speed bump," but the spoiler video tells another story -- a clip depicts Regina yelling at Sean that he's been lying to her this whole time.
Sean was undercover when Regina first met him; supposedly, he's not doing that anymore. But if he's been on a mission the whole time, Regina could have more than one reason to be upset.
She doesn't trust easily; it took a lot for her to give Sean a chance rather than run away from his advances and her attraction to him.
In addition, if Sean's so deep undercover that he couldn't tell Regina, it could potentially involve her or people close to her. She disowned her father after learning that he was sleeping with prostitutes during her sixteenth birthday -- could he again be in legal trouble thanks to Sean's investigation?
Conversely, Regina might overreact to whatever Sean's secret is because of what she now knows her father did that he claims was part of his undercover assignment.
Since spoilers classify this conflict as a speed bump rather than a dealbreaker, so it may be resolved by the end of the hour or less serious than it appears in the video. Still, I can't imagine Sean's deception will be forgotten even if Regina gets past it.
Finally, Quinlan has to make a big decision related to Raskin Gardens.
Most of the time, Raskin Gardens stories revolve around Quinlan trying to be both a neighbor and a cop. She's finally stopped trying to police her neighbors for minor violations such as making too much noise, which has helped her make inroads at the projects. She's even begun to make some friends.
But since Quinlan and Bentley have supposedly broken up, and he lives in Raskin Gardens, too, Quinlan may be considering moving out.
It has to be hard to run into your ex in the halls all the time, especially if you can't escape him at work! And it would make more sense for Quinlan to move than Bentley.
Even though Bentley has a family home to move back to, he can more easily navigate life at Raskin Gardens, and Quinlan may feel that the neighbors accept him more.
Your turn, East New York fanatics. Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know your thoughts about these spoilers!
Don't forget you can watch East New York online while waiting for the new episode to air.
East New York airs on CBS 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.
