By: Kelly Kearney
After disobeying orders to question Evelyn Breen—the widow of the agent who altered the official reports in Joey Ellis’ death—Nina and Awan break the rules again, heading to the hospital to speak with the agent himself. Knowing she can’t rely solely on Jim turning against Saxton, Nina and her reluctant partner pursue other avenues to take the mob boss down. But things quickly spiral out of control, putting both Nina’s life and career on the line.
Meanwhile, Jim spends much of the episode convinced Nina is wrong—Saxton, who’s like family to him, couldn’t possibly be behind Joey’s death. That conviction begins to crack when he discovers Agent Breen altered the police report, changing Joey’s cause of death and suggesting a possible connection to Saxton. The truth is staring Jim in the face—literally—as he accompanies Saxton on a job, where the mob boss makes it painfully clear that loyalty might not be a two-way street.
“You’re No Good” is an action-packed hour that pushes the story forward, unearths new clues, and brings the Saxton investigation closer to a boiling point.
The C-4 Conspiracy
We begin with a flash forward to the final moments of the episode: Nina (Rachel Hilson), dressed in what looks like a nurse’s uniform, is being held at knifepoint by a crazed man. We cut to 13 hours earlier, where she exits the elevator and immediately bumps into a smiling custodian—a young Black woman-custodian named Kelly (Esther Omegba) who’s practically glowing with pride and excitement. Inspired by seeing someone like herself in a position of power, the woman tells Nina how proud she is to see her breaking through both the glass and racial ceilings. She beams as she tells Nina she’s even shared the news with her own mother. Nina represents progress—hard-fought, slow-moving, but real. While that change comes with countless setbacks, microaggressions, and little support from most of her colleagues (aside from Awan [Asivak Koostachin]), who seems to alway have her back), Nina can’t help but glow under this woman’s admiration. Before leaving, the woman gives Nina a small cactus for her desk, and it just so happens to be her favorite. “They might be prickly and painful,” the woman says, “But they’re still beautiful.”
When Awan arrives at the office, Nina can tell immediately that something is bothering him. He deflects her concern by changing the subject: he’s managed to dig up the medical examiner’s report from Joey Ellis’s van explosion. The two agents head off to question the ME about his findings.
Meanwhile, in another part of the hospital, Jim Ellis (Josh Holloway) is charming nurses into revealing what they can about Sergeant Groomes’ (Donal Logue) condition. According to one nurse (GiGi Erneta), the dirty cop is still in a coma—and things don’t look good. Normally, news like that would be met with concern, but Jim is all smiles and tells the nurse, “Darlin’, you just made my day.” With Groomes unconscious, he can’t tell Saxton about Jim’s late-night meetings with a female FBI agent. For now, Jim’s undercover role—and his betrayal—remains a secret. But for how long?
On his way out of the hospital, he runs into Izzy (Camille Guaty), who’s stopped by to have breakfast with the doctor she’s dating. The introduction between Jim and Dr. David Callahan (Matt Lauria) is a little tense, but everyone manages to stay polite.
Back to Nina and Awan who learn something shocking at the medical examiner’s office.. According to the doctor (James Cady), the Phoenix PD isn’t exactly known as, “an intellectual haven”—and whether by incompetence or cover-up, they altered a key detail about the explosion.It wasn’t propane that killed Joey Ellis; C-4 was found on the underside of the vehicle. Now Nina and Awan are left wondering if someone in law enforcement is protecting Saxton’s organization. They debate the reasons behind the discrepancy, but the medical examiner interrupts to deliver a grim warning to “drop it” The last agent assigned to the Saxton case ended up in a mental institution. And let’s face it—Nina is a Black female agent, and Awan is Native American; they only get one shot to prove themselves. If they fail, so does that higher purpose her mother talked about. The case seems cursed, and he doesn’t want to see two promising agents destroyed for trying to uncover whatever corruption might be buried in the system. The doctor means well, but Nina isn’t backing down,but Awan, though supportive, is clearly struggling with the risk he’s taking. He needs reassurance that this is all worth it. Back at the office, Nina gives it to him, gently but firmly with, “I’ve got your back—and you’ve got mine.”
“Whatever you say, Baltimore”
After discovering the doctored police report, Nina contacts Jim and arranges to meet him in the hospital garage. There, she shows him more proof that his brother’s death wasn’t an accident. Jim’s loyalty to Saxton is beginning to interfere with his promise to help the FBI, but the report is undeniable proof that there’s more to the story than either of them understands. Even with the altered report in hand, Jim still isn’t convinced Saxton had anything to do with Joey’s death. To prove otherwise, Nina needs him to find out who Saxton is meeting with. Unfortunately, Jim isn’t that kind of driver. If Nina wants intel on Saxton’s meetings, she’ll need to talk to his personal chauffeur—Norm (Jonathon Dixon). She reminds Jim that if he wants to solve his brother’s murder, he’ll have to figure out a way to get her the evidence she’s looking for. Nina promises that their little partnership will eventually uncover the truth—even if Jim isn’t ready to face it just yet.
Back at the office, Nina’s boss, Nathan Abbott (Greg Grunberg), is furious that she disobeyed orders by speaking with Evelyn Breen (Adrienne Barbeau). His superiors are breathing down his neck, concerned that their new agent is veering off course and failing to deliver the kind of progress they expect. She pushes back, arguing that she is making progress—despite being blocked at nearly every turn. She’s secured Jim Ellis as an informant, but it’s going to take time to get him into a position where he can provide actionable evidence. Too bad Nathan isn’t convinced. He thinks Nina is relying too heavily on Ellis and that the man can’t be trusted. Agent Braddock has made it clear that Jim won’t turn on Saxton, and he’s managed to convince Nathan of the same. So, he orders Nina to focus on someone else, and when she asks if that someone could be Agent Breen, he shuts her down immediately. Breen is in the hospital, and complaints from his widow have already reached the higher-ups. Nathan warns her to steer clear of both Breen and Jim, and the fact she is talking about conspiracies at the FBI only makes his orders seem even more questionable. Nina tries to argue her case, but Nathan isn’t interested. He’s already going out on a limb for her and refuses to take the fall if she continues ignoring direct orders.
Whenever Nina feels uncertain, she turns to her mother for support–who lifts her spirits with reminders of why this case matters. Nina’s success is just as important to women like the office custodian she met at the start of the episode. “You’re a symbol of a higher purpose,” her mother says. For some, that’s just as important as solving the case itself.
After talking with her mother Nina realizes Nathan might be right—she can’t rely solely on Jim to break this case. So she turns to Awan. The two of them decide to make the trip out to the mental hospital for an attempt at talking to Agent Breen. The man was once a logistics professor at Georgetown University, and was recruited into the FBI after serving in the Korean War. Nothing in his background suggests he’d “go off the rails,” but Nina is convinced that beneath his current mental state lies a brilliant, reasonable agent. She’s determined to reach him—and get to the bottom of that doctored report.
Fighting Fire with Fire
From the moment the two agents arrive at Kirkbridge hospital, every attempt to gain access is blocked. Fortunately, Nina spots a custodian named Clyde (Moses Jones) who seems to be completely overlooked by the staff due to his race and his position in the hierarchy of hospital employees. Flashing a charming smile and slipping him a handful of cash, she manages to flirt her way in—with Awan in tow. The custodian, clearly interested in a date with Nina, escorts them down to the locker rooms where he instructs them to change into a nurse’s and an orderly uniform. Then he directs them to the location of Agent Breen–a lower level floor where they keep their sickest patients.
While Nina and Awan are working the case from inside the hospital, Jim finds a way to get the evidence the Feds are after. He takes a pocket knife to the engine of Saxton’s car, leaving the mob boss with no choice but to ask Jim to drive him to a meeting later that day. While waiting for that call, Jim meets up with Luna (Adriana Aluna Martinez) for lunch. Over their meal, they discuss a mean girl at Luna’s camp—the girl’s experience inspiring Jim to consider fighting fire with fire when it comes to liars and thieves.
After lunch, Jim makes the mistake of not calling ahead and accidentally walks in on his father, Wade (Corbin Bernsen), and his stepmom, Charlotte (Gail O’Grady), mid-romp—complete with feather boas and a striptease. Trying to erase the image from his mind, Jim eventually sits down with his father to talk. Their conversation turns serious when Jim asks Wade who he could call if he needed C4. Wade immediately knows this has to do with Joey’s death—he’s always believed the explosion was far too large to be caused by propane. The name Jim needs is Paris Gilford. Then Wade makes it clear that the FBI can’t be trusted, but Saxton—who is family—can and should be protected from the Feds. Still, he tells Jim that whatever he finds out about Joey’s murder, he hopes his son returns the deadly favor.
Meanwhile, after checking in on his son Royce (Benjamin Charles Watson)—who seems to be struggling emotionally following his heart transplant—Saxton (Keith David) heads out to his big meeting, with Jim now serving as his driver. On the road, the two men talk about music, and when asked about a favorite song, Saxton calmly, almost eerily, says, “You’re No Good.” The conversation feels friendly, familiar—two men who’ve known each other forever—but there’s an unmistakable tension riding shotgun in the Duster. It’s as if Saxton, while playing up his loyalty to Joey and the Ellis family, already knows Jim is up to something.
Deadly Clues
Back at the hospital, Awan grabs a mop and acts as a lookout while Nina sneaks into Breen’s locked room. They almost get caught when a doctor (Patrick Burch) tries to enter, and Awan does his best to delay him, buying Nina time. Inside the room, the Breen (Michael Bryan French) seems delusional—muttering about presidents and spouting nonsense. The moment he hears that Nina works for the FBI, things take a turn. Breen accuses her of lying, shoves her aside, and bolts through the now-unlocked door. Awan sees the commotion and rushes to help Nina and together, the agents chase after the escapee.
Meanwhile, for the second time in this episode, Jim may have tipped his hand. At the meeting with Saxton, he casually asks what the whole thing is about. Earlier, he’d questioned Billy (Evan Jones) about Saxton’s schedule—something that seemed to catch Billy off guard. Fortunately, Saxton doesn’t appear suspicious, and in fact, he fills Jim in on some, claiming it has “global implications.” He’s not lying. When Jim scans the attendees and recognizes them as Russian mobsters, he quickly heads back to the Duster and scribbles all the details into a notepad.
After the meeting, Saxton is in high spirits. He’s ready to celebrate the deal he just struck—though he doesn’t admit that he understood almost none of what was said. Still, despite the language barrier, he walks away confident that he got exactly what he wanted. He never reveals what that is, but judging by his smug demeanor, whatever the deal was, he’s acting like the cat that caught the canary.
Over at the hospital, Nina tracks Breen down in the kitchen, where the deranged man holds her at knifepoint. He demands she solve a riddle or he’ll kill her. When she proves smarter than he expected—and likely telling the truth about being an agent investigating the Saxton case—he relents, delivering a cryptic clue before Awan knocks him out cold. The two agents escape before anyone else finds them but not before Nathan Abbott learns about it. Nina’s boss is ready to fire her and if it wasn’t for the fact his wife is rooting for the first female agent at the office he would have gotten rid of her after she spoke to Evelyn. To keep the peace at home he gives Nina another chance to prove herself, and for that the young agent can’t help but love Mrs Abbott right back.
To celebrate his newly sealed deal—one he believes will make him richer than anyone in his organization could dream of—Saxton orders Jim drive them to a local bar. Unfortunately for Saxton, it’s the same bar Jim was previously banned from, and it’s filled with bikers, racists, and rednecks. When a Black man in an expensive suit walks in, every head turns and the mood in the room shifts. A black man and his position with his level of wealth is used to dealing with loud and proud bigotry but nothing about Saxton says he’s going to let that attitude slide.
They barely finish one drink before the insults and harassment start, but with Jim now believing Nina might have been wrong, the two men fight side-by-side like brothers, leaving no racist left standing. Even the bartender (Jacob Lynn) ends up beneath Saxton’s boot, forced to call him “sir.” It’s a brutal bonding moment until Saxton carelessly mentions the brawl reminds him of a wild night with Paris Gilford. He doesn’t explain the connection between the two, but the name plants a seed of doubt in Jim’s mind. The link to Paris, the video of Joey’s explosion, and the doctor’s mysterious cause of death are clues Jim can no longer ignore.
After cleaning the blood off his boss’s knuckles, Jim is told to call ahead and let everyone know they’re heading home. He uses a payphone to make two calls: the first is to Paris Gilford. Jim drops Saxton’s name and requests more of whatever killed Joey Ellis. Paris agrees to a meetup–proving Saxton killed his brother.
The second call is to Nina. He fills her in in the night–confirming she was right to trust him all along. Back in the Duster, whatever good vibes this road trip started with, Jim now knows the truth—and it’s anything but good. Ironically, the song “You’re No Good” plays on the radio and as Saxton happily sings along, Jim forces a smile, masking the crushing realization that the man he’s loved since he was sixteen murdered his brother.
Wade may have warned his son not to trust the FBI, but in doing so, Jim may finally fulfill his grieving father’s wish—and get revenge on the man who killed his son.