S3N CRUNCH3S TH3 NUMB3RS – SEASON 3B
This episode is decent. It feels a bit disjointed in the middle with Charlie’s frustration at being stuck between the NSA and Don, as the whole conflict is resolved with basically zero consequences roughly two scenes later, but the case was very interesting. I hate hate HATE seeing Charlie work for the NSA, but I guess I can’t be surprised the pro-police and pro-military show is also pro-surveillance state. It warmed my brothers-loving heart to see Don automatically and continuously stand up for Charlie. Charlie and Millie’s back-and-forths are becoming very MLM/WLW solidarity coded in their bickering and I love it! As we can see from the final scene, she slots in with the Eppes boys perfectly. Liz is in town because she is going to temporarily replace Diane while she’s out for maternity leave was reassigned! Good for her!
I didn’t do a full-length analysis of this episode because, frankly, I still can’t stand Walker. I appreciate that he was wrong this time around, and it was a corrupt cop who was the killer, like it should’ve been in “The O.G.” Don’t care for Amita’s statement that drugs caused in increase in gang-related deaths, as opposed to the war on drugs, though.
Speaking of, Amita gets a mini arc in this episode! But I feel it was missing a scene; Amita says she’s doesn’t want to chair the committee anymore because the other faculty are intimidating, then the next scene she appears, she’s changed her mind off screen. Could we have a scene maybe showing what helped her come to this new conclusion, show? No? We need more scenes of Walker yelling at everyone? Of course we do.
Outside of that, I think this episode starts the trend of Charlie ruining people’s food (Megan’s popcorn), Don and Liz do some cute flirting, there’s a Charlie and Liz crumb (she reaches out her hand to help him down) which only I care about because I crackship it sometimes, and as a fan of the John Wick films, it’s always lovely to see Lance Reddick make a cameo!
A PROPER David episode! Finally! Alimi Ballard gets to do some great acting in this episode, he’s got a lot of juicy scenes! It’s nice to see David’s backstory get a little bit more attention, having lost a dear friend in his youth and being conflicted as to whether or not to put the responsibility on Ben. We also see Claudia again, and her bonding with David was very nice to see. This episode also does some great set up, as it shows us that David’s response to be hurt or betrayed by a friend or loved one is to become angry and cold, which we will see again in “Trust Metric.” For the case, I’m very glad the culprit was not the man of color who came from an unfortunate background, and was instead the major business owner, which is far more accurate to reality.
Lots of little details to enjoy as well! Megan points out Don’s tell is looking at his watch, something Rob does often as Don, we learn that David isn’t really a coffee drinker (I guess those cups we see him with are tea?), and Don and Alan went to the poker tournament! Adorable! A solid episode!
This episode is pretty solid! This is Oswald Kitner’s only other episode, and Megan’s last episode before her temporary departure until “The Janus List.” Both Oswald’s role and Megan’s departure are very understated; which, for Megan, makes sense, as the team likely knew Diane would return, but ends up making Oswald’s last appearance fall slightly flat. The case was pretty accurate this time around! Elections are always rigged by rich, white businessmen, who are happy to commit violence to cover up their crimes. The only inaccurate parts is that A. the politician didn’t know, and B. anyone cared that a small election was rigged. We live in 2026, and Donald Trump and Elon Musk admitted to election fraud on TV, and neither are in prison.
As for the B-plot, Charlie gets a little bit of emotional maturity in this episode, as he recognizes his own growing comfort with death after discovering a colleague was murdered. I’m also noticing that this is the second time that Charlie has shown concern that someone he knew was murdered instead of dying by suicide and Don thinks not much of it (the other being “Structural Corruption”). Contrast this with “Gun and Roses,” where when someone Don knew was believed to have died by suicide, he was insistent it was murder. It does feel a bit hypocritical of him at this point, but everybody’s got flaws.
Requested by @treading---lightly [link]
Arguably, this episode is “Protest” again: a series of bombings that are copies of a previous bombing; the same agent on the previous case is back on this one; said agent is certain that the bomber is the person they believe it was before, but they’re proven wrong; the bomber’s actually has some valid moral points in their manifesto, but because they kill, their argument is considered invalid; etc. Surprisingly, it’s not the same writers (Heuton and Falacci wrote “Protest,” and this was Don McGill), but this was likely a “copy the homework and change some details” scenario. One of the changed details is adding some HORRIFIC ableism by portraying someone with schizophrenia as a violent, sexually-predacious killer. Fucking disgusting.
This episode does have its moments, though! The climax is very Charlie-focused, as not only does he save the day, but he gets a small rallying speech as well! We learn that Don played hockey as a child, and that though he and Charlie will argue often, they’ll always come back around (with dad’s help!) The entire bet subplot was pretty cute, though I’m not sure I’m in love with the resolution (I guess consumerism is okay when they do it??) My favorite little details were Charlie giggling at Millie in the background of a shot, Liz whistling to get Colby’s attention and him throwing a greeting over his shoulder so casually, and the tiniest charliz crumb (they TOUCHED guys!!!) When it’s not about the case, it’s a nice episode!
3x21 – The Art of Reckoning
Off the bat, I’m annoyed. The violent, uncaring, murderous freelance hitman is a man of color. Feels racist to me. I appreciate the attempt at humanizing him, with his guilt over the death of the child and his unrelenting desire to meet his own daughter, but I feel like the story would’ve worked equally well with a white actor. We did not need to depict a Black man as violent and cruel. But then again, this episode was brought to us by the genius behind “Dark Matter” and “Killer Chat”, so I guess I should’ve kept my expectations low.
In better news: Larry’s back! It’s heartwarming to see how happy everyone is to see him again: Amita wants to throw him a party, Don takes time out of his case to go to the Craftsman looking for him, and Charlie is ecstatic, bouncing off the walls like a puppy just at the mere sight of Larry. Larry’s arc is going in a new direction, which I think we should hold off on our thoughts, as it’s going to be a feature in season 4. Besides, getting to see the Craftsman’s solarium again was the true reunion for me <3
This episode is actually extremely light on the math, possibly the episode with the least math in it! There’s no CharlieVisions, and a single AudienceVision. Most of the episode is about characters, with a single action set piece sprinkled throughout the back half. Though, perhaps a little too sprinkled, as I found the pacing to be really awkward (David and the guy from Law & Order were running around in that field for 2 hours??) It was nice to see them utilize some time on the beach! For a show set and filmed in L.A., we barely see them on the actual Golden Coast. Overall, a fine episode!
I don’t like to be a hater, but this episode is a pure skip. Vilifying Middle Eastern individuals and/or people of the Muslim faith, though common for this post-9/11 era, is just disgusting and infuriating. Nothing of value there. They really thought they were saying something with having the white military captain take control of the operation, but they couldn’t even go through with that, as they had him change his mind at the last minute. “Oh, see, the military guy wasn’t that bad! Not as a bad as the eviiiilll brown people!” Fuck you, Andrew Dettman, for this and “The O.G.” I recognize there’s technically a sub plot here about Don not wanting Alan’s help to protect him, but I’m not even sure it’s worth discussing. NEXT!
3x23 – Money For Nothing [link]
3x24 – The Janus List [link]
The special features includes some cool bonuses! A blooper reel, which is very funny. Then there’s “Eppes Central”, a featurette about the Craftsman vs the set reproduction. I found it fascinating, but I’m not sure how granular of information the Cr3w wants, so I’ll review this further if requested. There’s also a set tour with David Krumholtz, Rob Morrow, and Judd Hirsch for the Eppes house. It’s mostly the boys just fucking around, so again, I’m not really sure what more to say about it.
And of course, Crunching Numb3s season 3. I’m still mad they stole my pun, but some questions get answered:
Millie was originally intended to only have a 3-4 episode arc, but with Peter MacNicol going to 24, they expanded her to help fill his role. Seeing as Peter returned, this might explain why Millie did not.
This one is definitely hitting the girl power hard! Most of the featurette is about Millie, Amita, and Liz, and how they add a woman’s perspective (ex. They wanted a women to arrest other women, or speak to widows, etc). You can tell it’s a different world, as now the addition of more women in the cast, as well as discussing as how important it is, would absolutely become a discourse machine in today’s social climate.
Shooting around Diane Farr’s pregnancy was also a big talking point. They knew filming around it was going to be hard, especially seeing as Diane was adamant about working for as long as possible, but they determined the alternative – writing the baby in and making Megan a single mom – would’ve been more messy in the long run.
“One Hour” was Ken Sanzel’s first episode as showrunner. Damn. He hit the ground absolutely RUNNING!
David Krumholtz didn’t know what Braxton-Hicks were, so he assumed that’s what Diane was going to name her child. What a doofus.
I am willing to upload any of these special features that I can, if requested.
Character Retrospective: Dr. Millie Finch
Though she started out rocky, I think Millie ultimately captured our hearts and attention. She’s smart, confident, witty, and fun. She slots in fantastically well with the CalSci Trio, and with the Eppes family. Her position as the CalSci Trio’s boss gives her the ability to cause friction for a B-plot without being a villain or resorting to petty melodrama; it also allows the CalSci community to feel more fleshed out and realistic. Kathy Najimy is a wonderful actor, and she has fantastic chemistry with all she comes into contact with. My only lament is that we did not spend enough time with her. I think Millie had the potential to be a beloved character who helped shepherd Charlie and Amita into the upper elisions of academia, while also being a light-hearted element of the show, as well as another great representation of women in STEM! I am very sad this did not come to pass. I expect everyone to put a Millie-focused fanfic on my desk by Monday morning.
Character Retrospective: Oswald Kitner
Oswald only had two episodes, but he seemed to have left an impression on Crunching Cr3w. Jay Baruchel has great chemistry with David Krumholtz (obviously, that’s how he got the job), and comedic sensibilities made him a great counter-balance to the darker tone of the cases. Giving Charlie a student of his own to guide is a wonderful new angle for his own character arc, as well as his relationships with others (ex. Larry, Alan, Millie); this would’ve been particularly helpful in the later seasons. Oswald also could’ve served as a nice bridge between the academics and the non-academics – a mathematician he may be, but also a baseball fan, making him a nice mixture of Don and Charlie. I wonder if Oswald is the last remnant of the briefly-lived concept of the third Eppes brother…? Either way, much like Millie, it’s saddening that Oswald never returned, nor that there was any character akin to him to take his place.
Besides the additions of Millie and Liz, and the temporarily departures of Megan and Larry, season 3 doesn’t change much from season 2. The budget, special effects, graphics, and tone are all pretty consistent with the previous season. There isn’t a big jump in tone or style as there was from season 1 to season 2. The only change off the top of my head would be the lack of opening. On one hand, I was never particularly impressed by the quality of the opening, but I do miss its cheesy ‘00s charm.
Much like the previous two seasons, season 3’s main focus was on the Eppes boys, though I’d argue it’s slightly more about Don and Charlie than Alan this time around. Don’s arc this season was about vulnerability and trust, getting comfortable with communicating his emotions, and getting closer to his loved ones. This was achieved mostly through his time in therapy, and his growing relationship with Liz. I think this was done spectacularly well; I was never bored or disengaged with either element, and I appreciate Don going out of his way to address Liz’ concerns. There’s a fascinating parallel here with Charlie and Amita’s relationship – a romance where the man is of a higher station or position of influence than his partner – that’s never leaned into it, and is more or less side-stepped, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that is happened twice. Either way, I don’t have critiques for Don’s character arc this season, I think it’s great!
Charlie’s arc is also pretty interesting. Like his brother, Charlie is becoming more mature, but in a slightly different way. Charlie’s growth this season is arguably less about emotional maturity, though this does pop up with Charlie’s denial of Larry’s time as an astronaut, but is more about responsibility. Charlie is forced to take on, or follow through with, responsibilities at work, at home, and in his relationship with Amita. When Millie gives Charlie more work and drags him to fundraising events, he complains, but ultimately does them; he argues with Alan about the house, but does take the criticism and work towards maintaining it; and though he’s described as being “ambivalent” about his relationship with Amita early on, we can see he’s taking the relationship even more seriously. He makes strides in standing up for his principles, as seen in the episode regarding the pharmaceutical contract, we get to see him do some up close and personal mentoring of Oswald, and he even takes on Larry’s seat a poker championship so Larry will have it upon his return. He also eventually has some breakthroughs with Don in therapy, which ain’t nothing! He’s not perfect, of course, he was still weirdly petty about Larry going to space and collaborating with another mathematician, but growth can’t happen unless there’s a flaw to overcome.
As for our other characters, this season gave some spotlight to Larry and Megan, not only in their FANTASTIC romance, but in themselves: Megan carried the emotional section of the 2-part opener, and Larry got some lore when discussing his childhood and time as Charlie’s teacher. Both of these characters had time away, which will create more arcs in season 4 that are even juicer than these! Meanwhile, I feel slightly less satisfied with David, Amita, and Colby’s time this season. David and Colby each got an episode where the case was tied to their backstory, which were very nice, but neither really felt substantial enough. And poor Amita didn’t get an episode at all! I definitely think there was an opportunity to give these three more fleshed out backstories or lives, especially with Megan and Larry gone, but it didn’t happen. I suppose there’s an argument to be made that going too far into Colby’s life would expose or contradict his role as a spy, but I do think that this team is smart enough to work around that. And as for David and Amita, well, we know the only culprit for that is racism.
I love the inclusion of Liz. I’m looking forward to where she goes! I adore Millie and Oswald, and mourn them.
In general, I think season 3 is more consistently-good than season 2. This means it doesn’t have as many high highs as season 2, but not as many low lows, either. Numb3rs has found its rhythm and polished its formula! I’m looking forward to seeing if season 4 keeps the quality up!
Speaking of season 4, there were only 6 requested episodes across all 24 episodes of season 3. Thus, I’ll go ahead and take all season 4 requests over the following week. Please remember to submit one episode per ask, though you can request multiple, and can do so anonymously! Please try to have all requests for season 3B in by Sunday, July 12th at 8 PM EST. I look forward to your requests and thoughts!
Please note that I am will be updating the Crunching Cr3w to include those who have interacted with at least one (1) post in the most recent batch (3B). If you would like to be removed or added from the Crunching Cr3w, please feel free to let me know in any format you feel most comfortable in. There will be no disappointment or hard feelings!
CRUNCHING CR3W: @mave000 @charrytree @insectbah @auburnlaughter @poulnabrone @treading---lightly @clumsyghosts @rattboxwarriorr @supernovasilence
