Amac Productions

Let me start this by saying, I hate Jim Carter.

He is everything wrong with police officers.

In case no one remembers, he has been mentioned in the series prior this moment in the pilot episode when Lucy is worried Tennant didn’t like her trick to get the autopsy report from Kate. I thought this would be a throwaway line, a character we’ll never see or hear about again.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to see him. To dig deeper into the past of these characters.

Only to discover he’s a giant asshole who deserved to be fired. In fact, he probably deserves to be thrown in jail.

Throughout the entire episode, I kept wishing and screaming at Jesse to say something, to stand up for himself, for Tennant, for good police officers everywhere.

But he didn’t.

And it bothered me.

Jesse is a good man. A good cop. He tries to do the right thing.

He looks out for Lucy.

Treats Kai like a younger brother.

Jane like a sister.

In the episode of season one where he’s taken hostage, Tennant is beside herself to show up for him the way he always has for her. He was the first to welcome her, make her feel like part of the team she recalls.

Jesse in this episode appears to have a different version.

He says he should have stood up for Tennant years ago. Said something to Carter.

But when he had the chance to stick it to him?

He doesn’t.

And Jesse’s never been shy about sharing his feelings. At least, not about his loyalties to Tennant.

So, what gives?

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense with Jesse’s line about him being something of a mentor, that everyone liked him.

Carter was the big man on campus when Jesse came along. But he deigned to take Jesse under his wing, be a friend, a mentor.

Jesse looked up to him.

Now, he views it through a different lens.

He sees how wrong it is. How wrong Carter was. He apologizes to Tennant, he affirms his loyalty to her.

He talks to Carter at the end, pushing harder than he has before, and realizes he’ll never change. Carter isn’t hearing a word Jesse says and it doesn’t matter. He’s not a cop anymore. He can’t hurt anyone, anymore. Jesse can’t change the past.

He can own it though.

He can cut ties with people like Carter. He can fight that injustice. He can make things right with his friend who will know he regrets what he did or what he didn’t do.

I actually liked Jesse’s growth because he realized at one point, he was the problem too.

He understood it and apologized to the person he hurt. Someone he considers a friend and family.

No one is perfect, but the point was trying to do better.

And arguing with someone like Jim Carter wasn’t going to fix anything because Carter will never hear what he’s saying. He’ll always think he’s right and he’s the victim.

Better to move on and stop giving Carter a voice.

Jesse spent the whole episode trying to come to terms with Carter – a man he once looked up to and considered a mentor and friend – is actually a jerk.

Meanwhile, with a fresh perspective is Kai. He saw the whole puzzle involving Carter and dismissed him without a second thought.

From Kai’s view, Tennant is family.

She saved his life.

He followed her off a cliff. She gave his a job. A family. A chance to truly come home. She’ll always be there when he calls, just as she promised. She would do anything for her team and her people. She’s firm and fair.

Even when he did the wrong thing, she didn’t endlessly beat him up. She dealt with it. She sat him down and talked to him, but never made him feel small.

To him, Tennant is ohana.

And someone who disrespects his ohana is no friend of his.

I loved the moment in the bullpen where Carter turns on the charm and tries to sway Kai. But Kai wants no part of him.

‘One of hers.’ Carter said.

Yep, and proud of it.

Everyone there is.

Carter coming into Tennant’s home with her children right there was an awful moment. Any respect or hold he had on Jesse slipped away.

Meanwhile, I loved that Tennant had an honest conversation with her kids.

Not everyone is going to like you and there’s nothing you can do about it. Not to mention, it’s not a bad thing. Some people just don’t go together.

Her daughter learns a valuable lesson about pushing forward, even when people don’t like you.

Life doesn’t stop.

Their moment at the end where they fixed her dinner, had everything ready for her when she came home was so sweet. I teared up a little.

Her kids knew she was having a tough week trying to get along with someone who doesn’t like her for the sake of the case. Someone who tried so hard to make everything personal, while Tennant kept everything professional until he came into her home.

Also, the look on her kids’ faces when Carter walked in and she said his name said so much!

In the pilot we have Ernie walk into her home and greet her kids happily. They know him by name and at the end of the episode the whole team is gathered for dinner.

Her kids know her team.

They’re family.

They eat there, they’re good people they can trust with problems. Her team watched her kids when she was out of town in season one. They brought food and hung out together.

So, when Carter walked in and they were alarmed spoke volumes.

They barely knew him.

They knew his presence irritated and angered their mother. Not to mention an air of fear because her kids were in the next room and she didn’t seem sure of what action Carter would take.

The whole episode was well done.

It reaffirmed how close they are. It reaffirmed that Tennant is the ultimate boss and police officer.

Her promise to the innocent man was wonderful. She swore if there was truth to his statement, she would find it, and she did.

I love Tennant.

Le sigh.

Next week, though ya’ll! Lucy returns and we should finally get the long awaited reunion of Kacy!

This is going to be a long week.

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