5x09 - Scared Crazy
Well, hello there. Long time, no see. Anyway, I'm back with one of my personal favorite episodes. And maybe not for the reason you might expect. Yes, I also love the coffee scene. And I also love that, once again, Goren and Eames are working together to uncompromisingly protect the helpless. But what makes it one of my favorites, is just the quiet undercurrent in the first third of the episode of Eames being the person with the tech knowledge. And not in the "I had a course on it, so I know it." way, it's more in the she's really into certain areas of tech. And I know that she is the one who does computer stuff in other episodes, too, but this feels a little more in depth. Anyway, let's get into it.
Goren: Wi-Fi card. A, um... Eames: An N-connector.
Yes, I needed to look up what that is. Pretty unspectacular connector. But, 2 other things: 1. I have no idea where in the name of sanity he pulled that thing from. It's not from the card. And 2. That is a PCI card. I'm pretty sure of it. They just removed the slot bracket. Which makes what Eames does later with just pushing it into a front slot very unrealistic. This goes where the sun don't shine on the motherboard. Or maybe the sun does shine there, if you have a transparent side panel. I'm getting off track here. But I do love that Eames confidently identifies the connector type like she knows and handles it every day.
Goren: I better call in.
And another time where the "call in"-excuse is used. Also their non-verbal communication is on point here. Just one look and everything is understood. So efficient.
Mountain goat. Maybe he's part goat and that's why he climbs on stuff? Eames looks up at him like "I remember him being smaller." and possibly starts to doubt that she can leave him alone for 2 seconds without him doing something weird.
Eames: Any programmer worth his chips would be drooling over a StealthWave, but Kevin acts like he doesn't care.
And you, too? The way she identified the computers on sight earlier and thought them to be "nice." Eames knows her computers apparently. In an age where prebuilt PCs where still a thing. Nowadays, you'd probably have a Dell sitting on the desk, maybe even just a laptop somewhere. And this is the episode I point to when I say she might be a gamer. She knows tech but she doesn't know algorithms and other networking stuff. Familiar with the concepts but not the more in-depths stuff. I would've loved to have her in F.P.S. or any other episode where they would've had to deal with gaming stuff. Could you imagine they'd need to investigate in an MMO thing and she just goes, "Okay, where do we need to go?" and logs on with her account. Or something like that. Haven't put in a lot of thought but think it would be funny if she'd just enlist the help of a guild for tracking a player. Also, it's my headcanon that she knows how to number pages in Word from page 3. (You can take that skill out of my cold dead hands. I worked hard for that niche skill of learning how page numbers in Word work. So I will bestow that gift onto any character I want.)
That short glance at her partner. She knows he feels some vibes are off. This is not his usual bored with the situation walking off and busying himself with peoples' stuff. He is absolutely detecting something. And, personally, I love his little dance shuffle he does. Also, can we talk about how weirdly those two sinks are placed? That is some realistically weird shit going on there. Though I also just spotted the interrogation room chairs in the background at the table behind Eames. Must be a hard month that the chairs need to take up a second job.
Goren: You know, you can help us out. We're in over our heads with all this high tech stuff. Eames: He's not kidding. Until six months ago, we had rotary phones.
This is a good joke. Well, or actually a lie. But also, don't mock the humble rotary phone, built like a brick and made to last. A modern phone could never... be thrown at someone's head and survive without a scratch.
Goren wrestles the stuff from the guy and yanks the spoon out of his hand. No one else makes coffee for his partner. He is fully capable of doing it and knows exactly how she likes it. Or should I ask if she'd like some coffee with her sugar? (Also, is it just me or does anyone else cringe at the coffee pad used in the machine? Those two things don't go together. Sure, it works but... No.) By the end there, you can see how much Goren doesn't care about what that guy has to say anymore. He has made coffee and feels that his partner found something and is about to call for him. At the very end of the gif you can just glimpse her looking over at him. They are so much on the same wavelength this episode.
And a small thing I noticed, she redirects herself to work first and then enjoy whatever nice treat her partner has brought over.
Sister: What did I do to him? Goren: Well, Dr. Pynchon did it, not you.
He speaks the truth. While it may be true that she might've gotten him into the hands of that doctor, she wasn't the one who ultimately did the torturous things to Robbie. Actions have consequences but sometimes we can't see the consequences because we've been deceived. And yet, people have to live with the consequences of other peoples' actions. But we can't take the blame when other people deceive us. The blame lies with them for doing the bad things.
Carver: Don't you use psychological manipulation, Detective? Don't you deceive suspects and subject them to stress? Eames: Except we respect their rights, we let them have lawyers present.
Very amazing and on point facial expression. Carver might have a point, but him equating them and their methods with torturers is a big stretch and rightfully earns him a very strong "What the fuck, man?!" look from Eames. He should know by now that these two are not just driven by their quest for truth but also guided by their strong sense of morals and their integrity.
Goren: You want us to break him, we can break him. I mean, with the state that he's in, maybe for good. Eames: Not to mention his confession might not even hold up. Carver: These are the chances I'm willing to take. Goren: Not me, not with Robbie. Eames: There's a better target.
They try to appeal to Carver's sense of humanity and that what he asks of them is cruel. Eames even says they might not be able to use the confession. And they have nothing else to connect Robbie with the murder. So that might be a lost case. And Carver's blatant disregard of both of those valid points puts him back where we were years ago when he pulled back on his deal with the wife of that one criminal and made the detectives do things they would otherwise not have done. He needs to fully understand that he can't expect these two to do what he says if it goes against their beliefs. Especially if it goes against their beliefs. Also, Eames as the one offering up an alternative strategy to get this solved is a nice touch as it will spare Goren the need to stand on his point more emphatically but also allows him to refocus on the actual culprit. And it will protect Robbie. She knows they can take on the doctor using exactly the things they were told to use. Deception, manipulation and emotional stress. Another thing, maybe you've noticed Goren leaning himself very much towards Eames and he repeatedly looks at her whenever he's making a point, like he constantly checks to see if she is still with him, but also seemingly in part to ground himself when he gets the confirmation that she is. I mean where else would she be physically and emotionally, she is with him in their quest to not let more harm come to Robbie. He went through enough, they don't need to add on to that.
Goren: Uh... It's gonna be okay, Robbie.
It's such a small thing and from Robbie's perspective probably completely random. But together with them making sure he is protected in every way they can at that moment, it shows they do care about what happens to him. They know what happened was not his immediate fault, he became a victim of circumstances. They know he wouldn't have done it, if Pynchon hadn't done what she had done to him.
Eames: Everybody told us he'd never hurt a fly. Torture changed him. Goren: Evil changes everybody.
This is one of those closing remarks that hit you with the truth.