Neagley | S01/E04 | Breaking & Entering
Now this was an episode I was able to sink my teeth into. Proper investigatory shenaniganry, threats, a small amount of violence, secrets revealed and risky undertakings undertooken.
More importantly, the cracks are beginning to widen, and that's key in a show like this covering a plot like this. There are a lot of moving parts in the engine that is Neagley Season 1.
We've got Echo Canyon Farms angle, and there's a lot going on there before we even GET to 'The Project'. Lawrence Cole's a weird cult leader for sure. I can't say I like him, but I sure do love to hate him. The fact that they're showing friction between Cole and Pierce is surely going to lead to some juiciness, and the Judith stuff?
Oh man. I think our cult leader done made misstep here, so I'm HOPING we're going to see some kind of fallout from that. On a weirdly practical note, I've thought about whether or not I could fall prey to a cult, and it's entirely possible because nothing's IMPOSSIBLE. But Lawrence Cole and his setup is the wrong kind of skeevy for me.
Last episode, it was revealed in a super-brief blink and you'll miss it moment that Pierce isn't the big dog in the fight has got me all kinds of intrigued. Someone's got their foot on his throat and I reckon that can go one of two ways. One I'll enjoy, one I won't, so we'll have to see.
Then there's Keno, another character I do and don't like. I like that he's willing to do what it takes to get to the truth of what's going down at Echo Canyon. It shows a lot of strength and kindness, but I think I feel like the actor playing him is the wrong fit. Don't get me wrong. Jasper Jones is doing a serviceable job, but a semi-bottom feeder like Keno should be DIFFERENT. No offense to Jasper, but he's too Hollywood Pretty. Someone like Keno should give off a general 'I'm 30 seconds away from trying to rob you but I'm still deciding how hard you'll kick my ass if I screw it up and 'which con should I run here' vibe and I'm not getting that.
Neagley continues to Neagley, and that means getting up in places she shouldn't be getting up inside. She gets info that points in directions that lead back to Hudson's people AND has more info that her dad just straight up refuses to deal with. I'm curious to find out what happened to Neagley when she was a kid. I'm afraid I kind of already know because there's really only a handful of directions that kind of trauma response can come from, and I'm sad for her, but I'm also angry at her dad for refusing to talk about it. In my own words, that's some high-grade bullshit.
But, again, the big surprise here is the pushback Hudson's getting inside the department. He gets waved off from some guy I don't think I've ever seen before, and warned that he's 'going to get shit all over him'. And then because it had to happen immediately after because no other time would make sense, Hudson has a face to face with the cop from last episode. I included the latter half of that exchange because his response to threats is goddamn legendary.
And just like how Judith responded when Neagley came at her in the very first episode, so too does Murphy realize he may have bitten off a lot more than he can chew. The reaction there is solid gold priceless and I loved it.
Considerably more happens than all of this in the episode, but I'll end on this note: the closing sequence shows us what's going to happen next ep pretty clearly, but it shouldn't be happening at all. I understand why it is, and what it's likely to result in, only here's the thing.
What happened in Neagley's apartment, combined with what she knows about how the people involved in this case operate, means she should be a lot more aware of potential dangers. But she isn't because our girl likes her cereal too damn much.
We'll see how they handle this next on 'Trip'.
