Lethal Weapon “The Murtaugh File” had very little to do with Roger Murtaugh, although peripherally it did take a close look as his family. (It also relied upon the older more stable partner to take the “kill” shot later on.) This episode was all about Dr. Cahill, and it included her relationship with Riggs.
The show starts out with a motorcyclist being knocked off a cliff by a pickup truck. Roger and Trish learn that Riana has been lying to them and Riggs feels like Cahill is not listening to him.
As he talks to the doctor, she ends the session and puts his file back. Martin notices that there is a file with Roger’s name on it. Thus begins his interest in just why his partner was seeing the precinct shrink. While this runs along side the primary storyline, the main plot deals with Cahill and a stalker who is “protecting” her.
With so much focus on Cahill, we learn a lot more about her character, thought process and her fearlessness in dealing with the criminal element. An outside psychiatrist is called in to go through her files and we also learn who she likes and dislikes, in terms of peers.
The motorcyclist who is murdered at the start of the show is Cahill’s boyfriend. His assailant’s vehicle, the murder weapon, is caught on a GoPro type camera on Sean’s helmet. The clues lead Roger and Martin to find out that Cahill has a stalker.
Suspects range from Brad, the doctor’s ex who refuses to sign over their house, to Dr. Levinson. As they work their way through the list, Cahill actually invites Martin on a date as bait.
Rigg’s plays along and they get a hit. One person who is not a suspect is Bailey’s new assistant Officer Montero. The young uniform cop turns out to be the man behind the murder of Sean and later the near death of Brad and he shoots Levinson in the back.
Montero also sets Levinson up as the killer by planting the doctor’s DNA on an envelope. Along the way, Roger and Trish go through a struggle with Riana when they learn that she has not only been lying but also has a fake ID.
It turns out that their daughter is working as a club DJ and she needs the card to get into the gig.
Rigg’s learns that Roger hesitated to shoot a bad guy who had his then partner Avery held hostage. The incident “bled” over into his off duty relationship with Trish and he had to see Cahill to work things out.
By the end of the episode Cahill’s stalker is taken out by Roger, with a sniper rifle, and Riggs threatens to throw himself off the building if Cahill does not continue their sessions.
This was a brilliant episode. It featured an excellent Riggs moment when he saves Cahill’s ex-husband from being run over by a large truck. (Martin slides toward the prone man and the approaching vehicle and shoots the truck in the radiator.)
Most importantly, the episode managed to breath even more life into the “office shrink” making the character an even fuller three dimensional person and not the cardboard comic cutout that features in the films.
Letting Jordana Brewster and Clayne Crawford dance together, metaphorically, brought so much more to their professional relationship and friendship.
Next week sees the introduction of Matthew Miller‘s version of Leo Getz. The teaser shows a much taller Getz but it looks like the show’s creator has pulled out all the stops, just as he has with the rest of the cast.
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
- Johnathan Fernandez – Scorsese
Guest starring Johnny Sneed as Dr. Ronald Levinson, Adam Kaufman as Brad, Matthew Alan as Officer Montero and Lane Carlson as Sean Hawkins.
Mikes Film Talk 