DJariya

By djariya at 2011-01-01

Synopsis:



Episode 4 of 10

Can't wait, this is the 1st thing I watch when I get home from work every Tuesday.

King Felix

TheKing

It was a pretty good episode up until the ending, which was just plain stupid writing.

What cop would get out of his car when surrounded by 30+ gangbangers? I don't care how much street cred the cop thinks he has, that had to be the dumbest, most unrealistic scene in the history of this show.

I don't have a problem with killing the guy off, but at least make it believable. The guy had a wife, kids, and he just walks into a 30 on 2 situation because someone throws a bottle at the car? Really?

Hell, the only thing more unbelievable is that none of the bangers had guns of their own. I mean they let Sammy shoot one of them without pulling a piece of their own?

Ugh, I like the show and everything, but the last five minutes was beyond stupid.

Nick Martin

Thank TB for this, that's for damn sure.

DJariya

Holy shit!!


Wow! What an ending! That was a seriously fucked up way for Nate to go out getting beaten to death by 30+ gang bangers.

From a dramatic standpoint, I thought the scene was very powerful especially with Sammy trying to fight off all of the gang members and the scene at the hospital. But, I kind of agree with TheKing that it was logistically stupid for Nate to walk into there and confront those guys for such a petty thing like a bottle getting thrown at your window. Nate shoud have known better and they were both outmanned badly.

Not really surprised that it was Kevin Alejandro since he has another job with True Blood and because of the budget cutbacks for this season. I've noticed besides Cudlitz, McKenzie, King and Hatosy, all the other cast members are appearing on a rotating basis and some not appearing in every episode.

I don't want to get nitpicky about the end because it was a great episode overall. This is one of the reasons why this show rocks.

I had to laugh at the scene where Coop and Sherman were arresting that Pothead and he took off running with Sherman running after him.

Cooper: "Hey Shithead you got my partners cuffs"

Cooper to Sherman: "Why run when you can drive? Didn't they teach you anything at the academy?"

DJariya

Interview with Kevin Alejandro about tonight's episode and the death of Nate:

http://thefutoncritic.com/interviews...125_southland/

DJariya

I just read a comment on the Southland facebook page from one of the writers of the show about Nate's death. They didn't kill his character off because Alejandro also works on True Blood.

Here's the comment from Cheo Hodari Coker:

Kudos to the writing staff of the show.

Axeramm

Poor Sammy, first he loses his partner and i just read a spoiler about the baby. Guy cant catch any breaks at all.

DJariya

I've never heard of Shawn Hatosy prior to this show. And I didn't really like the Sammy character initially. But since then he's shown to me that he's a really solid actor. He was also good on Dexter last year.

What makes Sammy run? and now Code 4 were amazing performances by him.

But yeah, the character can't get a break at all.

DJariya

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...on-highs/80363

Some very good news about the ratings. It's gone up again. Now 2.2M viewers and 0.8 in the demos.

flashburn

Man, that was some shocking shit seeing Nate get hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat. That whole scene was intense as hell.

While it did seem a bit "stupid" to have his character get out of the car like that, I'll just chalk it up to him thinking his street cred was worth more than it really was.

Deftones

I don't seem to remember Cooper riding Sherman this much last season. Seems weird. and out of character.

Nate getting popped was nuts. I assume that was in retaliation for the arrest of that banger for that murder.

BDB

Agreed about cooper and sherman, it seemed way out of place, but clearly they have a storyline going there. I also don't remember Sherman being that dumb. Cuffing the guy and just leaving him there.
the frying pan, the wrong apartment.

I had no idea Nate was going to be gone, although the way they start the show off left it pretty clear how it was going to end. I'll miss him, i liked his character better than Sammy.

Gunde

How ironic that the ratings go up as the writing takes a dive

Thos19

So was the guy who hit Nate one of the guys who killed the man outside the bakery, or someone else? I presume the banger thet showed with blood splatter on his neck and face was the killer, but I couldn't tell if it was one of the 2 guys.

Thos.

DJariya

I think it's a combination of Cooper being pissed on Sherman pestering him about his back and the fact that Sherman's probationary period is almost up and he can't afford to screw up.

Nick Martin

Cooper has to make sure he's ready, and riding him like that made sense to me after this amount of time, so I felt just the opposite of it being weird or out of the blue. It would be a mistake to not throw in a few field tests from time to time to make sure Sherman's on top of things. In the end it will make him a better officer.

Nate....well I haven't seen any previews for what's coming next or when, but I hope to hell there's some serious justice hammered out for that, on or off the record.

MikahC

I'd have had no problem if the bullets being shot into the air instead were shot at people who wouldn't back up. I have no idea if the force would have supported him in those actions, but if I were a jurist, I would. Back TFU means back TFU. And let's face it... they'd already clubbed an officer to death and were trying to make sure the deed was done.

DeputyDave

Although it was tactically incorrect to have them get out of the car and confront the bangers it was not unrealistic. Not in the least. Gang detectives the country over have an over inflated view of their own abilities and supposed report with bangers.

Not bad writing at all.

DJariya

One of my High School classmates is a Sargent on the LAPD and works as an Extra and Technical advisor on Southland and was in that scene with Nate and Sammy. He told me the show is about a B in the accuracy department with LAPD procedures.

djones6746

This was an excellent...excellent show. I hated to see Nate die....especially with his family. The writers for this show are pretty damn good. They have truly gone above and beyond in making sure they accurately portray what a day is like in a cop's life. And for those saying it was unrealistic for Nate to get out of his car...sometimes it happens. Depends on the personality of the individual officer...some just cannot let things go on the beat. They take it too personal. This show reminded me a lot of myself in my younger years. I can honestly say I never let someone run off with handcuffs although I can say it did happen to one of my co-workers and I had to run him down. As soon as he put him against the fence, I knew the guy was going to take off when he left his side. You make the perp sit on the ground with his legs crossed...then you do not have that problem...or at least to the extent where the guy had such a huge head start.

Anyhow...another excellent episode!!!