Grade 'Rush to Judgment'

[PepeBee]

I was excited to see this episode because it "focused" on Flack. But I'm going to admit it, I was hoping to see some more than what they showed. I know that the original victim was the coach and that they were after his killer and not the boy but...I kind of expected some more. (Or maybe it's just my Flack fangirl-ishness acting up)

IAB came down on him too fast and too short, IMO, but I guess aside from his storyline, they had difficulty juggling that and the wrestlers. As for Angell, it was kind of predictable that the fact that she and Flack were dating would come up and her snarky answer would be just that. But what do you expect..it was bound to happen. But it was good how she took what Flack told her with a stride. I think the writers got wind that the way D/L got written left a bad taste in the mouth. So I'm crossing my fingers that Flack and Angell don't go down that road.

It wasn't so bad though but it wasn't good. The whole pedophile thing and Danny said the vic deserved it if he did that, I do agree, it was OC on his part.

And no Adam!

The bottomline: B

 

[La_Guera]

-I forgot to mention this in my review, but I adored the scene in which Flack calmly stopped, put down his pen, and tore up his official statement before asking for his union rep. It's such a vastly different response from Danny's in "On the Job." Flack wants to clear his name just as badly, but he's smart enough to proceed with caution rather than charge recklessly into a bad situation. Unlike Danny, who's convinced that everyone down to the statuary in front of the building is out to get him, Flack believes that Mac and the gang will get to the truth, and that the truth will exonerate him in the end. His faith in Mac is especially impressive in light of their previously contentious relationship in S3. Flack is clearly able to move past old hurts; he can let go, whereas Danny clings to his collection of hurts and betrayals with fanatical determination. Danny is proud of his paranoia, dammit.

Someone mentioned that Flack's serenity stemmed from his ultimate faith in the system he serves, and I think that's true, though I doubt that faith is absolute. As seen in "Consequences" and "...Comes Around", Flack isn't always happy with the way the system works, nor is he comfortable with the political machinations that so often determine the course of justice.

 

[jolein]

I wonder if Danny`s reaction doesn`t come from the fact that he is becoming a father himself?
Cause I could imagine that because of that he could react the way he did.

 

[Faylinn]

Well, we did see as far back as season 1 ("Recycling"?) that Danny doesn't react well to pedophiles - who would, really? But yeah, I don't know that him being a dad made the difference - I think he's always had that kind of contempt for anybody who would abuse a child.

 

[Top41]

I think I had a different take on why Flack was sitting at his desk working crossword puzzles, and I actually saw it as a positive for his temperament and character. To me it seemed like Flack was just trying to do the right thing and follow the rules -- giving those involved a chance to resolve the situation hopefully in his favor. It’s actually an interesting contrast to what we’ve seen from Danny and even Mac in similar situations. So, to some degree, it made me see Flack as the more grounded, stable one because he didn’t come across quite as emotional or temperamental as Danny nor as egotistical and stubborn as Mac has, at times.

I liked that it played out that way, and think it's very true to Flack's character. The man truly is grounded in every sense of the word. He doesn't get emotional or paranoid like Danny, and unlike Mac, he's not so full of himself that the mere idea of someone suspecting him of wrongdoing fills him with rage and indignation.

I didn’t have a problem with the Flack/Angell discussion either – it seemed fairly realistic. I could see Angell being a bit rattled by discovering that IAB (of all people) knows about the relationship and wanting to bring it up with Flack ASAP. Sure, it was the wrong time and place to have that discussion, and Flack told her so. What I like is that Angell didn’t pout or get into a snit about Flack’s comment. Instead, she seemed to acknowledge what he said with a return comment and small smile before going on her way. I guess it remains to be seen whether there will be any lingering fallout from the discussion, but my initial impression was that Angell realized she has slipped up and was trying to be mature about the whole thing. Overall, I’m ok with how they’re handling the relationship so far -- it’s still staying mainly in the background and not overshadowing their work interactions.

Agreed--I thought Angell's response was mature and respectful. She realized that what she was focused on wasn't what Don was focused on and moved on.

Re: Lindsay and the widow….I thought the scene at the end with the roses was a nice touch, and I can understand the writers wanting to give Lindsay material to bring out different elements of her personality like empathy. But one of the issues seems to be that Lindsay /AB has a neutral, almost stoic type of facial expression, which does not lend itself easily to conveying certain emotions. Not trying to bash the character – there may not be a consistent pattern to it…it just seems more noticeable to me when she is in scenes with some of the more expressive actors like MK or EC.

Lindsay really only has a few expressions, the most prevalent being the scrunch face. It doesn't help when the audience needs to read what she's feeling. I do think it's good that the writers are trying to incorporate more empathy into the character--something she's been sorely missing--but it would have been nice to see a little more of why this woman in particular got to Lindsay.

-I forgot to mention this in my review, but I adored the scene in which Flack calmly stopped, put down his pen, and tore up his official statement before asking for his union rep. It's such a vastly different response from Danny's in "On the Job." Flack wants to clear his name just as badly, but he's smart enough to proceed with caution rather than charge recklessly into a bad situation. Unlike Danny, who's convinced that everyone down to the statuary in front of the building is out to get him, Flack believes that Mac and the gang will get to the truth, and that the truth will exonerate him in the end. His faith in Mac is especially impressive in light of their previously contentious relationship in S3. Flack is clearly able to move past old hurts; he can let go, whereas Danny clings to his collection of hurts and betrayals with fanatical determination. Danny is proud of his paranoia, dammit.

Yeah, that was a nice contrast, and perhaps goes a ways to explaining why Flack is always the one there for Danny and not vice versa. Danny's a mess when it comes to stuff like this--he falls apart and makes bad decision after bad decision. Flack takes things in stride and calmly evaluates what needs to be done. I like that he wanted to clear his name but knew to cut the process off and get legal aid when it was clear the IAB guy had an agenda.

Someone mentioned that Flack's serenity stemmed from his ultimate faith in the system he serves, and I think that's true, though I doubt that faith is absolute. As seen in "Consequences" and "...Comes Around", Flack isn't always happy with the way the system works, nor is he comfortable with the political machinations that so often determine the course of justice.

I think in this case, he knew damn well he didn't do it and that the facts would back him up. I'm sure having Mac's support helped, too.

Well, we did see as far back as season 1 ("Recycling"?) that Danny doesn't react well to pedophiles - who would, really? But yeah, I don't know that him being a dad made the difference - I think he's always had that kind of contempt for anybody who would abuse a child.

Yeah, Danny does have a history of reacting really negatively to pedophiles (more so than the other characters). I could definitely see that kind of abuse in Danny's past--the way he is in relationships with people who consistently have his back suggests that he was at some point mistreated or abused by someone he trusted. Danny has always been one to look out for kids, too, and think of their plight in the course of a murder investigation (like in "Dancing With the Fishes").

 

[Ghawazee]

Top---> i respecfully disagree with you

Agreed--I thought Angell's response was mature and respectful. She realized that what she was focused on wasn't what Don was focused on and moved on.

Only because she didn't run away from the precinct saying "It's hard" or just because they didn't argue in from of their colleagues it doesn't mean their relationship show maturity.
Angell didn't support him as she should have done
C'mon he is the guy she is sleeping with! or at least she pretends to. Don was waiting a little of moral support from his girlfriend.
And in any case she was his colleague and friend
I don't blame Angell. I blame writers again because she was introduced as a warm character and suddenly they decided to become her almost self absorb in this scene

unlike Mac, he's not so full of himself that the mere idea of someone suspecting him of wrongdoing fills him with rage and indignation.

He was upset and he did feel indignant but he reacted as a British Lord and he was waiting his name to be clear.

Stella is right. He is a "by the book" guy. Of course she didn't imply he was perfect but she did know he always try to follow rules in any case



i do really want they can fix this.

 

[Top41]

Only because she didn't run away from the precinct saying "It's hard" or just because they didn't argue in from of their colleagues it doesn't mean their relationship show maturity.
Angell didn't support him as she should have done
C'mon he is the guy she is sleeping with! or at least she pretends to. Don was waiting a little of moral support from his girlfriend.
And in any case she was his colleague and friend
I don't blame Angell. I blame characters again because she was introduced as a warm character and suddenly they decided to become her almost self absorb in this scene

I can understand how it would be seen this way, but I really do feel she tried to support him during her questioning with the IAB officer and was really thrown when she basically got discredited because IAB knew she was in a relationship with Flack. It felt more like she was really thrown by the fact that her testimony did no good, and wanted to find out who was to blame. And not "who" as in Flack--I think when she said "that only leaves you," she wanted to find out who he could have mentioned it to so she could wring that person's neck! :lol: Angell strikes me as a woman of action, and she was frustrated that her attempt to help Flack fell through.

 

[Sam-Maddy]

Only because she didn't run away from the precinct saying "It's hard" or just because they didn't argue in from of their colleagues it doesn't mean their relationship show maturity.
Angell didn't support him as she should have done
C'mon he is the guy she is sleeping with! or at least she pretends to. Don was waiting a little of moral support from his girlfriend.
And in any case she was his colleague and friend
I don't blame Angell. I blame characters again because she was introduced as a warm character and suddenly they decided to become her almost self absorb in this scene

I can understand how it would be seen this way, but I really do feel she tried to support him during her questioning with the IAB officer and was really thrown when she basically got discredited because IAB knew she was in a relationship with Flack. It felt more like she was really thrown by the fact that her testimony did no good, and wanted to find out who was to blame. And not "who" as in Flack--I think when she said "that only leaves you," she wanted to find out who he could have mentioned it to so she could wring that person's neck! :lol: Angell strikes me as a woman of action, and she was frustrated that her attempt to help Flack fell through.

I agree! I think that Angell was concerned that her word wouldn't mean squat and she couldn't help Flack. She may have come off as more concerned about her well being, but I think she was more concerned that Flack job could be in serious jeopardy b/c IAB wouldn't believe her when she Flack did nothing wrong.

 

[Ghawazee]

Well, that makes sense. I want to make clear i DO like Angell (a lot actually) but i didn't understand her character in this episode.

Also i found weird Sam wasn't there to support Don. And Danny!!!! Probably it should be developed in two episodes with a more serious Nemesis for him. And then all relationships could have been showed

Debbie

 

[Shica]

Hi all! I'm kind of new to this board and I've been lurking for a while, but I wanted to put my two cents...

I won't get the season 5 over here until who knows when, so I saw a crappy version online. I liked the fact that they focused on Flack, but I agree with what others said before about the IAB guy trying to blame Flack at all costs without having any ulterior motive.

I loved the scene where Stella goes to compfort Flack, I thought it was a nice touch, and it was nice to see other people supporting Flack, since he always seems to be the one taking care of the others.

I have a question though, and it may just be that I misundertood what was said (english is not my first language) and had a bad image, but in the last scene with Flack and Mac, is it just me or it looked like Flack was packing his things? To me it looked like he was almost cleaning his desk... Was he just picking his stuff up and closing for the day or was he taking a more long term decision?

Maybe I just read too much into it, but I'd like your opinions...

See you around...

 

[Half]

IAB guy trying to blame Flack at all costs without having any ulterior motive.

Maybe he's just really particular about his job? (Yeah, go ahead and cue the "Wow, really Alex? Really?!" music...)

I didn’t have a problem with the Flack/Angell discussion either – it seemed fairly realistic. I could see Angell being a bit rattled by discovering that IAB (of all people) knows about the relationship and wanting to bring it up with Flack ASAP. Sure, it was the wrong time and place to have that discussion, and Flack told her so. What I like is that Angell didn’t pout or get into a snit about Flack’s comment. Instead, she seemed to acknowledge what he said with a return comment and small smile before going on her way. I guess it remains to be seen whether there will be any lingering fallout from the discussion, but my initial impression was that Angell realized she has slipped up and was trying to be mature about the whole thing. Overall, I’m ok with how they’re handling the relationship so far -- it’s still staying mainly in the background and not overshadowing their work interactions.

I agree with this, too. Depending on how you look at it, it might have felt a little bit off, but I really do believe that in the end it was just a common slipup. If you were in a relationship with someone you work with, and somebody like the HR manager found out about it, wouldn't you be just a little bit annoyed/nervous about that? I found it to be a reasonable, if slightly flawed, judgement.

C'mon he is the guy she is sleeping with!

Aw, we don't know that! Give the writers the benefit of the doubt! It's not like they have a habit of hiding relationships from us! rolleyes

 

[fm62]

I do feel some sympathy towards the IAB guys on shows like this, they always seem like the enemy. A cop being prosecuted for something that happens on the job would be a major event and cause bad feeling throughout the department. Therefore, the IAB investigation should be as detailed and thoughro as possible, to ensure any future prosecution is valid and stands up to scrutiny.

I remember in an early season of NYPD Blue, John Kelly (Caruso, when he could act) having a ex-best friend, who reported a bent cop and could then only be accepted into IAB. He was rejected by his colleagues and suicidal, then had nothing but contempt for 'the blue line'. Kelly of course just lost contact, nothing to do with the rat squad job and only got in contact when he needed help.

 

[Top41]

I have a question though, and it may just be that I misundertood what was said (english is not my first language) and had a bad image, but in the last scene with Flack and Mac, is it just me or it looked like Flack was packing his things? To me it looked like he was almost cleaning his desk... Was he just picking his stuff up and closing for the day or was he taking a more long term decision?

Maybe I just read too much into it, but I'd like your opinions...

See you around...

Welcome to the forum, Shica! I think Flack was indeed packing up his things when Mac came to tell him the good news. I think it was a little extreme for him to be doing that--especially since everything we'd seen of Flack up to that point indicated he wasn't going to be making any rash decisions/moves--but it does seem like his intention was to walk out for good given the fact that he felt like no one was supporting him. Luckily Mac's news that he was cleared changed his mind!

 

[Shica]

Welcome to the forum, Shica! I think Flack was indeed packing up his things when Mac came to tell him the good news. I think it was a little extreme for him to be doing that--especially since everything we'd seen of Flack up to that point indicated he wasn't going to be making any rash decisions/moves--but it does seem like his intention was to walk out for good given the fact that he felt like no one was supporting him. Luckily Mac's news that he was cleared changed his mind!

Thanks for the welcome!

Well, that's the thing, wasn't it a bit rushed of Flack to start packing his stuff? It would have sounded a bit like how Mac "I'm too good to be treated like this" would have reacted in the same situation. I had the idea that Flack had more trust in the system.

 

[SpeedyMeg25]

Welcome Shica

I think that Flack does have faith in the system. But he's probably also seen so many other people who have been steamrolled over by it that, at the time, he felt like he'd just be another one of them. It's easy to tell someone that things will work out, but when you yourself are in this position, sometimes it's harder to believe everything will work out.
Luckily Flack hung around long enough to see that the system did come through for him in the end.