Last week in Shades of Blue Woz got caught in a steamy kiss with Donnie Pomp, his lover and in What Devil Do, Harlee is still struggling to deal with the reveal. Miguel was released last week by Agent Chen, who may or may not have a hidden agenda for that move, and Miguel starts making his presence known to Santos and Cristina.
Shortly after the kiss, Harlee and Wozniak head to a laundromat, the owner pays for protection, to roust a homeless guy. The two arrive to find a man in a BDU jacket attacking a dryer with a bent mop handle. As he shouts at the machine, the cops call for backup and move in.
The man is a former marine and Woz, also being Simper Fi, puts the dryer attacker in the drunk tank to dry out. The Vet believes he killed someone the night before during his blackout as he has on new shoes. Another precinct’s cops arrive to pick up the marine and arrest him for murder.
Santos takes an evidence bag out to the other detective and talks to the accused man.
Harlee: “You seem more and more sure that you killed that man…”
Marine: “I’ve been to war…We’re all capable of just about anything.”
As the suspect is put in the police car, Harlee spots Miguel across the street reading a paper. A bus passes by and he disappears. Santos follows him but loses him in the subway. Nava finally gets in touch with Harlee and confirms that her old boyfriend Zepeda (Antonio Jaramillo) is out of prison.
Santos calls Cristina (Sarah Jeffery) to tell her that Miguel is out. The girl still believes that Zepeda is not her father and this will later come back to bite Harlee in the butt. After he call to Cristina, Miguel shows up and also confirms he is out and that he wants to see his daughter.
Woz follows up on the marine accused of murder and he, Loman and Tufo question people in the area. Loman is told to speak to a dancing homeless man, as a joke. Harlee confronts Nava only to learn he had nothing to do with Miguel’s release and Donnie sets up a meet for his lover with the guy in charge of the heist.
The old man Loman questions, Moses, actually saw the murder and he tells Woz and Harlee that the dead man “Father Time” was killed by the devil who hit him with a whacking stick. The old man reveals that he sees the devil everyday on the bus, number B-1-2.
Stahl figures out that Chen got Miguel released. He confronts her and the two argue, Stahl is not happy and he leaves Molly on stakeout. Woz explains that the job Donnie is proposing is not what was initially on the table. He also puts Tess and Espada on the bus with Moses to find the devil.
Santos meets with Stahl and accuses him or his partner of turning Miguel loose. Stahl lies about Chen saying she is afraid of her own shadow. Harlee asks for another wire. She suggests going to Stahl’s place for a replacement. He agrees and leaves instructions for her to call him if the meet happens before she gets the new wire.
After the FBI agent leaves Woz calls and tells Harlee to go to the address he is texting her. It is about the “face-to-face” meeting .
Moses spots the devil and after Tess and Carlos hop off the bus, guns drawn, they learn it is the owner of The Kink Club a model named Royce. Tufo and Loman learn that the man on the poster owns the club and had beef with another building owner on the street; the dead guy.
Donnie is at the meet and he is not pleased to see Santos tagging along. He threatens to cancel the face-to-face. Woz closes him down by reminding Donnie that he is not in charge. Harlee is amused:
“Feed a monster…better hope he doesn’t get bigger than you…”
She moves after Woz to attend the meeting. They see a familiar face, Joaquin; the delivery guy who dropped off the kidnap victim, who turns out to be Donnie’s nephew. The man in charge is Linklater (Stephen Lang); a DEA agent whose father was friends with Pomp’s father.
Linklater explains that the money in the security van belongs to the DEA as evidence and the amount is $12 million. Woz pushes for equal shares and gets it. $3 million for each member of his crew. After the meeting Harlee speaks with Cristina who complains about over protection and Santos promises to ease up when the Miguel thing is sorted.
Woz puts the job to the vote and all his crew agree to take part. He tells Donnie that the crew is in and Pomp reveals the the Vet has confessed to the dumpster murder. Woz is not happy. Miguel stops by Harlee’s apartment to see Cristina. Zepeda tells the girl that he was let go because he is innocent.
Zepeda learns that Harlee has told Cristina that he is not her father. Tufo and Loman go to The Kink Club to arrest Royce. As they head to the back office Joaquin passes them. The two cops kick in the door and find the murderer dead; hanging with a bag around his head.
Santos tells Stahl about the heist that is happening the next day and that it’s worth $12 million. She then tells Stahl to change the plea deal to include her crew. The agent goes in the next room to “talk” to his boss, Baker.
Miguel tricks Harlee, over the phone, into revealing the lie about his not being Cristina’s father. At the end of the episode, Cristina is standing in front of her father and Harlee faces Stahl in his apartment. The title’s meaning becomes clear, “What devil do you choose.”
The two Santos women are in the same predicament, it is not just about Harlee’s decision to “surrender” to Stahl, but Cristina’s choice to approach her dad.
Shades of Blue follows through with a number of storylines in this episode. Stahl’s displeasure at Chen’s actions and Woz’s tightrope act, as well as the heist hovering around in the background and of course the lie about Cristina’s parentage.
Things look likely to heat up quickly with the robbery to take place “tomorrow.” Warren Kole continues to be the creepiest “good guy” ever and one wonders if he is in league with the cold as ice Linklater. It is also apparent that Pomp and Linklater have their own agenda and the murder of Royce is puzzling.
Shades of Blue airs Thursdays on NBC. This procedural thriller has taken on wings. Tune in and soar a little.
Thanks. Everything about Stahl screams stalker/obsessive… 😮
So glad someone else understood the creepy subtext in that scene between Harlee and Stahl. So many reviews don’t even pick up on the “conditions” he’s presenting Harlee with.
Feeling that the opening scene in episode 1 will catch up next week.
Enjoying this show so much.