Southland – Recap & Review – Two Gangs

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Southland
Two Gangs

Original Air Date: Feb 9, 2010

Farrah Kaye – Associate Editor
farrah@thetwocents.com

Today’s opening scene is Salinger (man, he’s been missing for a while) spitting out blood in a street. Voiceover: “It’s said a recurring nightmare for police officers is losing their gun. For Detective Salinger, the nightmare has just come true.”

Three hours earlier…

Bryant is yelling for Tammi to come to bed but she’s busy smoking pot in the bathroom (the pot she got last week using the dog), only she’s not smart enough to realize the dog can smell the drugs and Bryant tells her to flush it. Seriously, I’m not sure how many more episodes I can take of her! Det. Adams gets home late to her mother who heats up dinner for her and discusses selling the house. Adams asks her mother what if she goes to Paris and it’s not what she thinks it’s going to be and then she has nothing to come home to. She says ya gotta live a little (Lydia should take the advice..). Officers Cooper and Sherman are called to a house by a man but a woman answers a door and says the man who called is fine. She threw a cat at him who then attacked him – he doesn’t press charges and they leave (I have a feeling this isn’t over…). Det. Salinger is back to making out with TV girl (Mia) in a car. He’s happy and blasting the radio and singing on his way home (tipsy?) as two cars come racing towards him. As he swerves to avoid them, he hits a pole and one of the cars comes back and and the guys realize he’s a cop and take his gun while he’s out of it. He comes to and realizes his gun is gone but the guys have already left.

He calls Bryant and Moretta to help him, but Bryant doesn’t want to call it in because he has a prior DUI. Moretta wants to do it by the book but Bryant is standing by Sal. He remembers the cars’ descriptions and says he wants to do it by the book so things will go better with the case but Bryant says no. Cooper and Sherman are riding around after their “assault with a deadly animal” call and really don’t have much to talk about besides that. Meanwhile Sal, Bryant and Moretta hear gunshots go off as Sal’s car is being towed away. He swears it’s his gun going off so Bryant and Moretta head towards the sound and find a convenience store all shot up. The witness didn’t see the people or the cars but there is a surveillance tape. The officers ask Bryant and Moretta why they’re working so late and they cover saying they’re finishing up a case. When Sal gets home, he grills his daughter on how to protect herself in case someone comes after her since someone took his wallet and knows he’s a cop. He’s really freaked out. The tape from the store shows the cars Sal saw having a shootout in the parking lot and one of the guys was shot. One of the shooters had Sal’s gun – and someone got shot. They start to look at local hospitals for shooting victims.

Adams is leaving her house when someone is talking to her from the bushes, asking her if she “wants some.” He has no pants on and she asks him if he is the Valley Molester. His name is Stanley and asks him if he’s been to therapy and he says he’s tried but it hasn’t worked. She also mentions that he can’t do it to a kid. At the station, Bryant and Moretta haven’t found anyone in a hospital that’s been shot. All of this is being done under wraps since they didn’t report it. Cooper and Sherman find a kid holding a sign saying “Radar ahead, slow down” and people give him money as thanks. They are amused by it. It’s a slow day for them obviously Adams books Stanley and calls Clarke about him. He is with his wife who is writing in her blog which is about being the wife of a cop (IHeartACop) but it’s more about how much she hates it (he says she should call it “I Hate a Cop”). Bryant and Moretta arrest some of the guys involved in the shootings under different circumstances, like violating their house arrest rules.

Bryant and Moretta go to “Big Wayne’s” house. He’s the head of a “youth center” with ties to bad kids through his center. But he was shot by a cop (he’s in a wheelchair) so he’s not so inclined to help. Interesting character, quite funny actually. Sal, meanwhile, is doing his own scouting and coming up with nothing. The guys at the station check out more videos and find out the guy who was shot was wearing a video-proof vest, which is why no one was in a hospital. Cooper and Sherman are called to a house where a woman is teaching her daughter to use 911. She explains to her daughter that when you call 911, officers come to help. They are not amused. At the station, all hell is breaking loose when all the family members and friends of the people they’ve taken in/harassed are causing a ruckus over what they’ve been doing. Sal tries to calm them down but that doesn’t work. Mia comes in to cover the story. A shooting is called in and Moretta and Bryant head out to check it out. One of the lead officers asks Sal why his detectives are harassing the neighborhood and Sal comes forward and tells the truth, admitting to not filing the report. The officer gives him 12 hours to complete his investigation before filing a report. He is given a warning that if it happens again, his badge will be taken. When Bryant and Moretta get to the shooting, it looks like it’s been target practice instead of a shooting, but it’s not Sal’s gun, it’s something bigger than that. Mia grills Sal about what’s going on and says it’s completely wrong for her to be there and he tells her to get out of his station.

Moretta and Bryant are interviewing one of the neighborhood “guys” about the shooting and if he knows where the gun is and also about the target practice they came upon. When they make fun of his height and weight, he admits to being part of the target practice. They bring in Big Wayne because they impounded his car so he’d come in to help them with the case. He said his “bible” was in the car so they go to the impound lot to search the car. He has a lot of shipping receipts for his “record company” … highly suspicious! The detectives are scouting the neighborhood but everyone is laying low. There is a funeral and the detectives head to it. Cooper and Sherman get called to a tattoo shop because a customer was given a wrong tattoo. The tattoo guy says the customer “mumbled” what he wanted. The customer wanted Denise and was given Denis. The customer attacks Cooper after they exchange words and Sherman takes him down. Like, REALLY takes him down, karate style. Line of the night! Cooper: “Where did you learn that?” Sherman: “Summer camp.” The detectives go to the funeral and it’s for a PFC and the entire neighborhood is out, Big Wayne included.

Moretta and Bryant figure out Big Wayne is sponsoring the kids from the neighborhood going into the military. Moretta isn’t comfortable with what they’re doing but Bryant is justifying what they’re doing because they’re making the neighborhood safer. At the end of the day, they’re going to take a lot of bad guys (and guns) off the street. Clarke is at home eating with his wife (a rarity during the day) and they’re discussing how their alarm system was bad and overhear their neighbors fighting. His wife tells him about the neighbors fighting since she listens to it all day. The detectives are looking at the shipping receipts found in Big Wayne’s car, which match addresses near Army bases around the country and for kids that Big Wayne “sponsors.” They follow one of the shipments to an older lady’s house and she’s being held hostage (essentially) in her house, which is being used to house guns. She was being kept in a closet with a can to go to the bathroom in and she was disoriented. They get a search warrant for the boxes and they are filled with Army-style guns. Adams’ doorbell rings and it’s Stanley. He has come to thank her for treating him with dignity and kindness. He says he’s taking medication and is getting help … and asks her to get coffee! WTH?? During the gun bust drama, a kid turned in Sal’s gun, but he is still upset over the situation. Cooper, meanwhile, is flaring off a crime scene. He is off duty and in his plain clothes. He throws on his LAPD jacket. It seems to be a tree in the middle of the street? Or on a car? I can’t quite tell. Sal is leaving the station and Mia meets him in the parking lot. He tells her they can’t be together anymore, they need to be done. Lines can’t be crossed (uh, didn’t he already cross them?) and he tells her to take care. Peace out, TV girl! Moretta and Bryant are finishing up their shift and discussing their wives. Bryant was a stoner when he met Tammi (duh?) and asks Moretta if he’s ever smoked weed. He says no, did ya think any different?

So, that was this week. Sal may have made a big mistake but I personally think a greater good came out of it. I think Sal is on a slippery slope and I foresee Moretta stepping in to help. I’m not sure how much more of Tammi I can take (can ya tell?!). What did you think of this week? Are you excited it’s almost time for season 2 (if you have already seen these episodes)? Leave your two cents below!

** Be on the look out for some super exclusive TTC Southland interviews coming up! If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll really enjoy these!! **