Shades of Blue – Straight Through the Heart

By starrymag | August 5, 2018

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

 

 

Harlee (Jennifer Lopez), Wozniak (Ray Liotta), and the others have crossed the infamous blue wall…but they’ve done it together and that might be enough to save them. Tess (Drea de Matteo) remains the only officer who responds to Wozniak’s distress call, and she does so with her gun drawn. Tess attempts to enter the warehouse but is met with some unfriendly fire. She’ll have to find another way inside to help her friends. Wozniak and the gang decide to make a move and descend the iron staircase as their assailants flee via a stereotypically sketchy van. Tess feebly shoots at the moving locomotive, but it’s no use. At the very least they’re all safe and they’re all reunited. For now. Tufo (Hampton Fluker) stops Tess from wasting anymore ammunition while they surveil the scene. Wozniak bends over to pick up an apple that survived the spray of bullets unscathed. Upon further inspection, he discovers that the apple is stuffed with drugs. Ramsey’s (Bruce McGill) shipment was there, after all, Intelligence was just sloppy in moving the product.

 

A few minutes too late, Verco shows up with a little bit of backup. They regretfully inform him that he’s too late to be of any assistance. Harlee shows Verco (Dov Davidoff) the “candy” apple – but without an arrest, it’s nothing more than paraphernalia. As if this singular disappointment wasn’t enough, Harlee gets a call from a detective in the “85” who informs her of Gina Romero’s death. Her card was found in Gina’s apartment – linking her to a murder victim, something that was likely orchestrated by Stahl (Warren Kole). Harlee arrives to the scene of the gruesome crime and is met with classic New York hospitality. The detectives use some snide remarks to call Harlee a turncoat and she leaves far more triggered than how she arrived. Harlee calls Cristina (Sarah Jeffery) to keep her abreast of the situation and tells her to stay at a friend’s. There’s work to be done and, hopefully, one of Harlee’s tasks is realizing that Stahl has planted the knife he used to kill Gina under her car seat. We can only hope.

 

Back at the station the team has a chance to regroup. Tess and Tufo fight over Tess’ lack of self-control while Carlos (Vincent Laresca) warns Harlee about Woz’s concurrent meeting with Verco. Loman (Dayo Okeniyi), the only one bringing useful information to the table, has potentially found a way to implicate the Intelligence Unit in their relationship with the cartel through the domestic abuser’s girlfriend, Vanessa. The good news is very short-lived; however, as Ramsey once again proves himself to be one step ahead of the gang. Anticipating their each and every move, Ramsey found a way to forge documents claiming Woz as the owner of the shell-company who owns the warehouse and drug tunnel. Verco’s hands are tied. Ramsey even has the County Clerk’s Office under his thumb. Even so, he’s willing to give them the benefit of the doubt (at least a little bit of it). Harlee lies and tells Verco that they knew about the warehouse location because Bennett (Christopher James Baker) tipped them off. It’s a little white lie that might buy them more time.

 

There are six hours left on the timer that Verco had set for Harlee and Wozniak. Their options are exhausting far too quickly for comfort and Harlee is left with no choice but to lean on the flaky Intelligence Unit mole known as Cole (Nick Wechsler). He tells Harlee that they had scared Ramsey, causing him to send his officers to the warehouse instead of showing up himself. The Intelligence Unit was instructed to move the product, without taking any kill shots. Cole reminds Harlee of Ramsey’s unlimited resources, telling her that Ramsey utilized a skilled hacker to forge the ownership documents. Harlee’s had enough of his games. She asks him to prove his trustworthiness by giving her the location of Vanessa Ruiz (Juani Feliz), their only power play. He hesitates. Wozniak moves his own chess piece across the board by meeting with Bennett in an interrogation room. Bennett is a master of evasion, but Wozniak is the ultimate game player. It doesn’t take long for Bennett to crack. He lets it slip that Ramsey has some officers from Internal Affairs in his pocket.

 

Harlee and Wozniak are still hard at work at 5am. Wozniak requests the name of the hacker Ramsey used to forge the documents and probes Harlee for answers of Cole’s motives. Harlee eventually agrees to send Woz the information, but first she needs to tend to a separate case: Gina’s murder. Harlee examines Gina’s corpse and briefly discusses her cause of death with the morgue’s attending physician. There’s a slim chance Wozniak will find out about her side job; he’s too busy pumping Nate for information on the hacker. Harlee’s little errand didn’t take too long. She confirmed, in her own mind, that Stahl killed Gina – then compartmentalized to meet up with Cole. The only half-decent officer in the Intelligence Unit has finally agreed to contact Vanessa. Harlee picks him up and they speed up the block until they’re cut off. Harlee’s stomps on the break, and the momentum forces the knife Stahl had planted under her seat forward into view.

 

Wozniak intercepts Verco as he attempts to leave the station. Nate (Cameron Scoggins) did not provide him with the hacker’s details, but he knows that a hacker was involved and hopes that this will be enough to stall Intelligence. Wozniak asks Verco to file a document notifying his superiors that he’s chasing a lead on the hacker – an illegal move without meeting the proper burden of proof. Verco declines, but Wozniak rebuts with an accusation that someone in Internal Affairs is leaking information to Intelligence. Though Verco wants to do the right thing, fear of retaliation pushes him onto the defensive line. He’s not ready yet. Cole isn’t ready yet either (clearly), but he’s taking baby steps. He and Harlee stand on the side of the road trying to figure out what to do with the planted murder weapon. Cole tells Harlee that he knows all about her file, which was supposed to be sealed. For some reason, this doesn’t sound the alarms in the fairer detective’s brain. There’s only one thing she can do, and that’s dispose of the weapon to prevent herself from becoming incriminated. Cole offers to get rid of the knife, but Harlee wants to do it on her own. If only she knew that Stahl was watching her with a camera and a telephoto lens in hand.

 

Bennett was correct, there is quite certainly a mole in the Internal Affairs department and it’s not just some patrol officer. Verco’s superior is clandestinely working with Ramsey and orders the good detective to release Bennett immediately. He initially concedes, until his conscience flares up. He turns around and tells her everything that Wozniak had asked him to say. He mentions he’s following up on a lead about the hacker. This buys Wozniak and Tess enough time to seek out the hacker. On their way, Tess confesses that she’s over one-hundred-thousand dollars in debt. She’s in too deep for anyone to help. When Tess and Wozniak arrive at their location, they find Ramsey playing golf. Wozniak has come to gloat about knowing the hacker’s identity, but Ramsey has already cut off that loose end. He tells Wozniak that the hacker suffered from a fatal car accident, rendering him dead and useless to the investigation.

 

Loman has successfully retrieved Vanessa without Harlee’s assistance. Loman brings Vanessa into the station to meet with Carlos, but she flees when she makes eye contact with Bennett.  Harlee’s too busy preparing to get rid of Stahl’s knife to work both cases at once. Stahl snaps photos of her from his car as she decides her course of action. Harlee, in a moment of clarity, decides to keep it. She drives to meet with Agent Myers (Afton Williamson). Despite this moment full of uncharacteristic integrity, Agent Myers in uncompromising in her distrust of Harlee…until she takes a moment to consider the circumstances. Agent Myers seems to be at war with herself. Stahl’s profiles on Harlee would have predicted that she’d get rid of the knife – not turn it in. Are the tables finally changing in her favor?

 

Wozniak sends Carlos to verify the death of the hacker while Verco listens in. Verco is unhappy with how things are playing out – and though he might know that something is awry within the police department, his knowledge is nothing without tangible proof. Harlee promptly interrupts the arguing men to ask where Vanessa had run off to. Verco reveals that she fled the moment she saw Bennett, who had been released from custody a few minutes prior. Verco is apologetic for failing to keep his promise but informs Harlee that Bennett is still in the building. There’s still time for her to frame him as a snitch while he waits for his partners to pick him up. Harlee calls Cole, who speaks to her in riddles while he’s in the car with Phelps. They speak in code until Cole agrees to stall. He misses a turn and agrees to follow Harlee’s lead. If they can discredit Bennett in the eyes of Ramsey, they might be able to poke enough holes in his unsinkable ship.

 

Bennett leans casually against the wall in the back lot of the precinct. Wozniak taunts him by mentioning how unusual it is that he hasn’t been picked up yet. He starts to sweat, and for good reason. Harlee forces Bennett into the car with herself and Woz, yet another brush stroke in the new portrait they’re trying to paint of him. At that very moment, Wozniak pulls over and says that perhaps, they should just kill Bennett instead. With Bennett restrained in the backseat, Harlee and Wozniak get out to argue. Wozniak has fallen back on his old ways. He wants to truly kill Bennett – not just scare him. Harlee wants to do what’s right. Once again, the dynamic duo are at odds. Woz finally caves and agrees to let them do it Harlee’s way. They drive to the rendezvous point and drop Bennett off. As he exits the car of Harlee and Wozniak, Ramsey watches – and he doesn’t look happy.

 

Despite the miniscule professional victory, things at home aren’t so great for our reluctant heroes. Wozniak gets into a bit of a scuffle with his son back at home, disgruntling his wife in the process. It’s all for good reason though, had Nate given Wozniak the name of the hacker, they may have been able to save him. The fight ruffled more than just feathers. When Wozniak tries to smooth things over with his loyal wife, she exits the room in a small cloud of rage. Suddenly, Woz keels over and falls to the floor. His doctors had warned him against too much exertion and the shrapnel in his back could become lethal. It looks like it might. While he lays on the floor unconscious, his team is dispersed throughout the city. Tess and Tufo finish their drinks. He leaves and Tess is quickly approached by Phelps (Elia Monte-Brown), who is making a name for herself as the Intelligence Unit’s recruiter. Phelps dangles temptations in front of Tess’ face, words like “dignity” and the cost of her soul, which just so happens to be the exact amount of money she needs to crawl out of debt. Tess dismisses the dirty detective – but the offer is tempting.

 

Remember when we said that the tables may finally be turning for Harlee in the race against Stahl? Yeah, me too. Turns out…they’re not. Agent Myers comes home to find none other than Robert Stahl sitting on her couch. She is not afraid. Rather she was expecting him. Myers pours the two of them glasses of wine and tells him about her latest impression of Harlee. Detective Santos adapted and evolved beyond the formula Stahl had created to track her behaviors. This planted a seed in Myers mind, but Stahl quickly discredit it and says that Harlee is not a good or reformed person, but a master manipulator. Stahl insists that Harlee murdered Gina. He calls her smart, manipulative and ruthless…all the words that could be used to describe him.

 

Myers and Stahl getting cozy is not the only problem on Harlee’s list. Cole has anxiously demanded a meeting. Bennett was never supposed to have seen Vanessa, which means Cole could be outed as the true mole. They need to cover their tracks. Ramsey requested a meeting with Cole, which means that suspicions may be rising. There’s no way to deny the tip-off, which means there’s only one thing that can be done to save Cole. Harlee must torture Cole in order to save his life. He timidly hands Harlee a blow torch. She apologetically accepts, ties him up and gets cookin’.