MILD SPOILERS another episode that doesn't shy away from the reality of life. connie's subplot was a very hard watch and the ending was just grim. i'm very interested in learning more about vic because the way he handles situations regarding children hints at some major stuff in his past. the episode starts off with vic tapping a 'dancer,' when one of the final scenes of the previous episodes was an argument between him and his wife. vic tries to be a good husband, but more importantly he tries to be a good father (again relating to some missing backstory i hope is revealed). he takes out his frustration with his home life on meaningless sex instead of working things out, all the while keeping up the excuse that he's too busy. we as the viewer see the extent of his work and there is obviously more room for his family that he consciously avoids. the subplot that stems from that start is one of the funniest parts of the show so far: shane banging a stripper in the interrogation room. this is a much needed storyline that takes away from the otherwise heavy feeling of the episode. the two characters who have impressed me the most up until now have been dutch and julien. julien continues to battle his homosexuality, this time taking it to a new extreme. he is forced to battle between his real side and the average beat cop personality that all his fellow officers display. this climaxes at the end of the episode in another hard to watch scene, with some amazing acting from Michael Jace. his quote about something "deep inside him" that he hates continues to be true in this episode. his multiple outbursts towards the transgender hooker demonstrate his inner turmoil, with the final blanket party being heavily inspired by the brutality in Full Metal Jacket. his disgust at the fact that people like the hooker are giving homosexuals such a horrible reputation shows in the final scene. danny's hiv scare has some serious cameron vibes from 'house' and perfectly presents a potential future storyline. although cameron gets off scot free in house, this show's darker tone is making me doubt that danny will be as lucky. dutch has the most satisfying scenes in the episode as he confronts who he believes is his killer. it's incredibly satisfying to see him get the appreciation he has been lacking since the pilot, but the reality check he receives first proves too much as the episode ends with him crying in his car. it hurts that the freakshow he interrogates perfectly describes him without even knowing him, and the taste of victory is bittersweet. this raises some interesting themes about doing the right thing: dutch is clearly a good detective and he is helping keep farmington safe, so why is he underpaid? the strike team is finally seen all together for the first time since the pilot and now i finally know ronnie's name. this episode was a very high 4/5 until those final scenes which contain some insanely good moments. i'm going to avoid yapping as much in future episodes so i can watch more of the show at once. low 4.5/5