Conviction – Dropping Bombs

By: Alex Steele

This week’s episode of “Conviction,” entitled Dropping Bombs, opens on a group of Muslim men entering an office, deep in conversation. As one of them goes to open the drawer of the desk, an explosion occurs, killing all of them instantly. Meanwhile, Hayes (Hayley Atwell) is seen walking another red carpet in honor of her mother. Dressed in a beautiful navy blue dress, Hayes is questioned by the paparazzi regarding all things CIU, her mother’s campaign and the always lingering rumors surrounding her next big public headline. Luckily, Wallace (Eddie Cahill) is there to answers all question diplomatically, saving Hayes from a heated debate with journalist after journalist. Interestingly though, Wallace answers these questions in a way that doesn’t sit well with Hayes; highlighting that she’s changed and reformed that all her bad girl days are in the past. Looking pissed, she immediately returns to the office and spends the night rummaging through case files searching for the perfect case. And by perfect I mean the one that will ruffles Connor’s feathers the most. After all, piss Hayes Morrison off and you best be sure she’ll bite back.

The next morning the team arrive to find the board room in shambles, papers strewn everywhere, files turned upside down. As they begin to solve what exactly has happened, Hayes emerges from underneath the table and scares everyone. She’s slept there all night. Without wasting anytime, she alerts the team to their case for the week; Rodney Landon (Mike Doyle), in jail for bombing a mosque that killed four men (note the scene from earlier in the episode). Sam (Shawn Ashmore) immediately dislikes her choice in case and is supported by Maxine (Merrin Dungey), Tess (Emily Kinney) and Frankie (Manny Montana). They all believe him to be an insane bigot, not worthy of any second chances. Hayes; however, takes a stand saying that the CIU is there to review all cases regardless of bleeding hearts and police involvement and for the first time, we really see a team divided. Nonetheless, Maxine and Sam pay Rodney a visit in prison. It is obvious from the start that both Sam and Maxine do not want to be there and when Rodney makes note that they didn’t have his fingerprints as evidence, sparks fly.

Sam rebuts by saying that explosive residue was found of his clothes and his online chatter indicated he could have been the only one behind it. Rodney’s views on the world and the war on terror are haunting with Maxine afterwards, still believing it’s a dead end case. In contrast, Sam thinks it might be worth investigating. In the meantime, Tess and Frankie have met with a Professor Shaughnessy (Thomas Mitchell), a contact of Frankie’s, who has reconstructed the bomb site. Their plan is to recreate the explosion and assess the crime scene all over again. Hayes and Wallace engage in another exchange full of witty banter and flirtation in which she insists that bigots deserve justice too. Cutting back quickly to the recreation scene, Frankie begins to go through the motions of what happened the day of the bombing, this recount is edited also with scenes from the real life event. Keeping with the case, Hayes has left Wallace to make a home visit. She’s visiting the wives of those men killed by the explosion and although welcomed inside, when she’s in she’s met with hostility and anger. The one woman that stays understands why the case is being reviewed, but reiterates that it isn’t right that her faith be distorted or hijacked.

Back at the office, after Frankie’s experiment, he and Tess believe that Landon didn’t build the bomb responsible. The forensics don’t match which means there is a possibility he’s innocent. Taking this and running with it, the next avenue they investigate is whether the detectives involved could have planted evidence such as the residue. Upon questioning, they learn the detective shockingly lied about a history of planting evidence within the CTU to ensure he received a bigger payout. This debunks the theory that the evidence was planted, while in the process offending those a part of the CTU. To make matters worse, Wallace is not happy with the situation either, showing up at the office to reprimand Hayes for accusing the CTU of corruption. The stand-off is fiery with Hayes saying that the message is received. Wallace apologises for his temper, but as soon as he leaves Hayes goes back on her word and continues to pursue the CTU. She informs her team that Wallace very rarely gets this passionate about something unless he’s hiding something. Soon after, Maxine is on the hunt for new leads and goes to visit her father to see if he has any contacts he could reach out to. We then learn that Maxine has a son and that working for the CTU was not her first choice of job. It seems as though we are getting little by little, more of an insight into each member of the CIU team.

The team investigate whether anyone at the mosque had anything to gain by bombing it, but unfortunately they turn up nothing to indicate that. However, they do discover what Wallace has been covering up and it comes in the form of an illegal search. More specifically, they find out that a surveillance team broke into Landon’s apartment illegally which stands to possibly grant him a new trial. This discovery leads again to another heated confrontation between Hayes and Wallace; he admits to trying to protect her, but that admission gets him nowhere. Feelings are raw and Chicago is bought up again. We learn “things were going good for them” and that Hayes freaked out. Whatever happened in Chicago, it must have been bad yet it seems these arguments with Wallace always help Hayes find a new direction to take her search for the truth. She’s next seen at the prison, questioning Landon herself. Noting that he is both smart and evil, Hayes still believes him to be innocent. This stance continues to put the team on edge, leading to the first full blown disagreement they all have had. Frankie most of all has something to say getting extremely sassy with Hayes stating that he won’t continue to work on this case. In response, Hayes fires him. He hesitates for a moment, but then walks out only to be stopped by Tess. She reminds him how difficult it will be for an ex-con to find a job like this, but what I think solidifies his decision to stay is when Tess calls their boss a “bitch,” getting somewhat of a proud look from Hayes.

After such a horrid day, Hayes finds herself seeking out Wallace, something he takes great pleasure in. He attempts to lighten her mood by telling her an old story involving a motorcycle and his mother. They seem to bond, bury the hatchet of sorts, and this calm seems to gives Hayes clarity. Clarity that comes in the form of a cheating theory; they know the man was well-liked in his community so they posit he could have been having an affair. This theory is a result that implicates his wife as a possible suspect. Searching her house, the team look for a bag that she was seen carrying the day of the bombing. They find it and it shows evidence of bomb residue. It wasn’t a hate crime after all, but a love crime. This win, though, is immediately tarnished by the fact that Landon is innocent and that he will be free to roam the streets.

Sam is responsible for giving Landon the news, with Landon hauntingly collected about his release. Sam, overcome with fear, understandably leaves the prison. As he’s walking out, he slows watching closely as another prisoner is walking past. What is Sam planning? Well, when we see him meet with said prisoner and subsequently watch Hayes get a call that ends with a shocked look, we can somewhat put two and two together. Did Sam just order a hit on Landon? Not necessarily, but he did ensure that he’ll never be getting out of jail. The episode closes with Hayes once again showing up on Wallace’ doorstep, this time at his apartment. She looks sad and dejected, admitting to Wallace that he was right and that she shouldn’t have taken the case. She has a moment of realization where she also admits that she hurts people and that she’s sorry for everything, including Chicago. She goes to leave, but as she turns around for once last glance, the overwhelming sexual tension becomes too much and they make out. Unfortunately, it is cut short when both their phones ring simultaneously. Demanding Wallace put the television on, the two watch horrified as the video footage from the night of her arrest is leaked. Lisa is running the story, uncovering every detail of her arrest and how she became head of CIU.