I’ll be honest. This episode didn’t hold my interest (can’t love them all!). When it aired the first time, I kept getting distracted and couldn’t write a decent review. It took me forever to make myself watch it again and write this.
The episode starts off in 1972 in Chicago. During a bank robbery, one of the robbers had a heart attack. His partner Frank is probably one of the noblest criminals ever; he had the guard they were holding hostage go call an ambulance for his friend and then the FBI. Frank becomes Witness of the Week #1. Since it was the 70s (the early days of WitSec) Frank spent 38 years in jail while being in protection. So now he is free and Mary has to introduce him to the modern world as well as make sure he doesn’t get into trouble.
Teaching Frank about cellphones and Twitter
In the beginning of the episode, we see Mary at Peter’s car dealership. I get excited every time we see Peter. Josh Malina, in my opinion, is the only person who could play Peter. He’s also adorable. Mary is visiting Peter because her nasty purple car (a Probe) is officially dead. Peter gives her a loaner (a Mustang) and says that if she likes it he’ll give her a discount.
We find out Brandi still hasn’t contacted anyone in a while and Peter is getting worried because he gave her 20K and never heard from her. After Mary leaves a threatening message [in the quotes section] to have Brandi call her back, she finally does. After getting nothing out of Brandi herself, Mary does a little research and finds out that Brandi is actually in Miami not New Jersey. The plot thickens….
Lois is Witness of the Week #2. She starts off as Mary’s witness. She’s incredibly unhappy with her new life. BUT! We learn something new about WitSec! Apparently you can get mail from family and friends! She also doesn’t like Mary at all. That’s why she goes to Marshall and requests him to be her Marshal instead. Mary takes the news by laughing and wishing Marshall luck. Throughout the rest of the episode, Marshall keeps trying to make Lois happy. She used to be a writer and in her new life she works at a copier store. After attacking a copier with a 3-hole-punch, she decides to leave the program.
Damn those copiers. Always sticking...Mary spends the episode trying to figure out what Frank is up to. There was a great, albeit short, bar fight scene where Mary got to throw a few good punches. Then one of Frank’s prison-buddies Ray gets shot by two guys, Big Mike and Little Mike, and goes to Frank instead of a hospital. Frank tells Mary that the Mikes were going to rob a bank in a supermarket. Ray was shot because he didn’t want to be involved. Mary and Marshall stake out the store and have the Mikes promptly arrested. Ray died of his wounds and Frank was so upset with losing his only friend, he decided to go “back where he came from.” Mary knew what that meant: he was going to attempt to rob that same bank so he could go back to prison or be shot, he didn’t care which. But since Mary is that good, she convinces him that he can make a new life and in the end, we see him at the bar he frequents. He’s putting some golf balls and kisses the bartender. Life will continue for Frank and it’ll get better. Mary successfully saves another witness.
Notable Quotes:
Mary: [about the loaner car] Just give me something like the Probe!
Peter: I don’t have anything like the Probe. I like the cars I sell.
Mary: [to Brandi’s voicemail] If you don’t call me back in the next 24 hours, I’m telling the police you died, having a funeral, selling everything you own, and if you ever show up again I’ll have you arrested for identity theft.
And that's my recap. In my opinion, this week was slow. Lois just annoyed me. I had no sympathy for her. Frank's storyline was confusing and took too long to develop. But every show has its off weeks. Next week, Steven Weber returns and I'm very excited!
What did you think about the episode? Did you love it or hate it?
-Jenna
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I actually enjoyed this episode. I've been having trouble staying engaged in the previous couple of episodes, but although Frank's story sometimes went over my head in terms of details (I guess I just didn't care that much), I actually liked the Lois storyline and the fact that Brandi's been scheming. I thought it was a fairly solid, if overall unexciting episode for IPS.
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