Stumptown: Season 1, Episode 4 "Family Ties"

 Stumptown: Season 1, Episode 4 "Family Ties"

October 16, 2019 

Hold on to your popcorn because there is a lot that happens in “Family Ties.” It is a direct continuation of the previous episode where Dex enlists the help of Artie Banks to get her PI license. We also learn more about Grey’s past and how he fits in with his former boss, Wallace Kane. The forty minutes of the episode flew by thanks to the great performances and assured directing from Marc Buckland. My biggest takeaway is that Artie Banks may have a conscience after all. There is some important backstory and we learn that Banks is a former cop who stole money from the department for a life-saving medical surgery for his child, but the procedure failed resulting in the child’s death. Banks turned to the dark side in order to hide his grief, but past feelings erupted when a child was kidnapped in this episode. Talk about a dark past, geez. Stumptown uses its secondary characters well here. Tookie, played by Adrian Martinez, is tasked to be a janitor (which he found to be racially insensitive) and Dex’s little brother Ansel gets to hand Dex an assist. We also learn that Sue Lynn is a woman who does not mess around. The ending is great! Poor Grey…I wonder what will happen to him.

 

Wallace Kane is serving a life sentence in prison but manages to escape. Meanwhile, Dex is still going after Randall but is being thwarted every turn by Artie Banks. Sue Lynn warns Dex to back off because she partnered with Randall with building a school on her reservation. Banks does have a change of heart when he admits that Candace’s daughter reminds him of his own dead child. Regarding the Kane case, it was shown that Hoffman was the one who put him away. His boss takes him off the case when he shows signs of obsession. Eventually, it is discovered that Randall is using the school to sell drugs which Sue Lynn had no idea. Banks and Dex form an uneasy alliance to take Randall down. Finally, Grey is abducted from his bar who needs to fulfill a debt to Kane.

 

Overall, this is a fast-paced episode that ended on a great cliffhanger. The show continues to pump humanity into the characters even if they don’t seem likeable. Take Artie for example. He is a pompous doof and a thief, but one could argue his actions justify his sad past. Despite the brisk pace, there is plenty of fun here. The show is now getting into a groove and I am ready for more!

 

My Grade: A


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