Graceland airs Thursdays at 10/9 C on USA Network
If there's one thing Graceland is good at, it knows how to stick the landing. This episode is no exception. While it starts off slow, it ends with a 1-2 punch to the gut for Charlie in a case that could end her career. Much of tonight's episode builds towards larger goals. Mike tries to get in deeper with Bello while demanding more information from Juan about why they think Briggs is dirty. Charlie and Briggs revert back to covers they created when Charlie first came to Graceland. Johnny and Paige are mostly there for comic relief, while Jakes is absent completely. Opening with post-suicide trauma Mike sleeping through his alarm, Johnny wakes him by jumping on the bed and demanding Mike join Paige and him for a little beach football fun. It's nice to see how his teammates try different strategies to help him cope. What really snaps him out though is returning to find Charlie shooting up in her room. Mike is stunned until he sees Briggs who talks about their "secret 10 am skag party." Charlie and Briggs channel their old aliases as Katie and Eric, sex crazed dope fiends. Apparently that means needle marks and a well rehearsed 0-Mouth, the look a junkie gets when first feeling the high kick in. Undercover agents shoot up hemoglobin that "looks real, cooks real, smells real," which also means real needles to sell the act. They ask if Mike wants to join but he shrugs off by saying he has to meet with the FBI shrink.
O-Mouth lays the foundation for upcoming episodes, including finding a way to tie Mike's real mission, nailing Briggs, to his current undercover work with Bello. The FBI doesn't think it is coincidental that Briggs has been pursuing this case for so long and have built a highly circumstantial case against him. However it’s the background information given about both Charlie and Briggs that gets the most attention as Johnny and Paige fill in the gossip. Let's just say that at one time they were very close and old aliases can bring back old feelings. Meanwhile a dog becomes a metaphor, Mike gets a cover story, City of Bad Men saves an operation, and no one should ever wager in Graceland. This episode moves slowly on the plot front and there is less fall-out with Mike than I expected, but character revelations come at a steady pace and those missing Charlie and Briggs last episode get plenty to sink their teeth into tonight.
Recurring characters - Abby and Whistler
Best moment - the very last one
Best funny scene - Charlie, Briggs, and Johnny in the kitchen
Best speech - Briggs' "no downside"
Best impromptu move - tie - Johnny jumping on the bed and Mike in the store
MVP - movies of all kinds
Biggest awww - tie - Paige/Johnny talk about adopting Mike and Briggs kisses Charlie's forehead to say he trusts her
Best lines:
"Because he's a humble, modest jerk. I hate him."
"I'm a junkie not a sex doll."
"Maybe he was just hoping you'd chase after him."
"Nothing kills the mood like a girl getting serious."
"Shoot straight partner."
"Tell me what I missed." "The gunfighter taking what he wants."
"The customer's always right."
"Whoa, this just got way weird."
"You're lucky I value your brains."
Watch Graceland tonight at 10/9 C on USA Network.
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