Lethal Weapon: Spilt Milk – Wise Men (Review)

Murtaugh and Riggs continue to bond in this episode of Lethal Weapon. “Spilt Milk” features a veteran who drinks milk while effectively being able to out-crazy Martin Riggs. Roger fears he is slowing down and Riggs pays Dr. Cahill the ultimate compliment.

This week another vet reacts badly to an interview that goes south and the two partners discover they have a man who leaves milk cartons behind at each crime scene.  The man wrecks a jewelry store and puts a security guard in the hospital.

As Murtaugh and Riggs investigate the former Navy SEAL they learn he was being treated for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Chad Jackson is a loose cannon who wants more medication and it also turns out that the vet was part of a drug trial. The medication; a beefed up antidepressant, has affected the man.

It explains how the suspect is able to be crazier than Riggs. Martin connects with Chad  who insists that he cannot turn himself in until he finishes his mission.  The SEAL is one of the few vets still alive after taking part in the drug trial and he wants to punish the company involved.

Roger is worried that he has changed since the heart attack. He feels that maybe he has “dropped a beat.” His daughter  Riana lets him win in their one-on-one game basketball game and later he walks into a tripwire and Riggs has to save him.

The other vet’s misery causes Riggs to identify with the man and this worries both Murtaugh and Captain Avery.  Avery takes Martin off the case.

Roger and Martin talk to the pharmaceutical company who ran the trials and the woman in charge is annoying and condescending.   Later, Martin talks with Dr. Cahill about Chad and his lack of fear. Riggs actually lets it slip that he knows when he is acting crazy.

Murtaugh learns that Trish has a young, handsome new assistant that he dubs Denzel.  Roger is disturbed that the man is working late with Trish. After Rigg’s saves him from the tripwire in Chad Jackson’s “kill zone” Roger is really worried whether is still at the top of his game.

Cruz takes Bailey to question an old gang colleague from his old neighborhood and they learn that Chad is planning to level a building with C4. Riggs and Murtaugh work out that it is the pharmaceutical company.

They arrive to find Chad with a bomb vest and a timer.  Riggs talks the vet down but the pharmacy’s boss’s bodyguard shoots Jackson and messes the timer up. The bomb cannot be disarmed and they have seconds left till detonation.

Roger recalls a conversation he had with Trish about jumping off buildings and how wise men will not do that. He grabs the vest and runs toward a window in the high rise shooting it as he closes in. He and Riggs jump through the shattered window.

Martins shoots the vest that Roger has thrown high in the air and the two land in the pool;  safe. Murtaugh is at last satisfied that he is not “skipping a beat.”

The episode ends with Martin telling Chad to trust Cahill. Later, when Avery is looking to apologize to Riggs, he and Roger are on the roof. They talk about PTSD and how Miranda, Martin’s wife, saved him.

Lethal Weapon this week looked at Chad as being Martin without the influence of his dead wife Miranda.  It also reaffirmed that Dr. Cahill is a respected character in this small screen scenario.  Roger, however,  was more like his big screen counterpart.

Murtaugh worries about his health since the heart surgery and feels that, compared to Martin, he is slow and out of step.  His crazy stunt with the bomb vest has built back the older cop’s confidence. It has also brought the two detectives closer together.

Bailey and Cruz are also bonding as they work together on each new case. The former gangbanger is earning Sonya’s respect with his low-key attitude and matter-of-fact manner. He gets results and lacks nothing in the bravery department.

In some ways Cruz feels like the Leo Getz in this version of Lethal Weapon. The Latino cop is not the comic relief or a buffoon, but he is almost a third wheel in this small screen buddy “movie” formula.

Wayans and Crawford continue to knock this one almost effortlessly out of the park.  FOX chose this re-imaging of Richard Donner’s hit film franchise wisely and unless the show creator Matthew Miller stumbles badly this one should run on and on. 

Lethal Weapon airs Wednesdays on FOX.

Cast:

• Clayne Crawford  –  Martin Riggs
• Damon Wayans  –  Roger Murtaugh
• Jordana Brewster  –  Maureen Cahill
• Keisha Sharp  –  Trish Murtaugh
• Floriana Lima  –  Miranda Riggs
• Dante Brown  –  Roger Murtaugh Jr. 
• Kevin Rahm  –  Brooks Avery
• Chandler Kinney  –  Riana Murtaugh
• Michael Raymond-James  –  Chad Jackson
• Richard Cabral  –  Cruz
• Michelle Mitchenor  –  Sonya Bailey