The Inspectors search for clues that might link various suspects, including Erich Blunt, to Cindy Strauss' death. Meanwhile, Hildy is confronted by a young witness from a past investigation who worries for his mother's safety after she is physically abused by her new husband.
Murder in the First really did take a turn for the melodramatic during "Who's Your Daddy," didn't it? Terry's looking for a new house with a very friendly real estate agent! He finds one but it's a boat house! Hildy interacts with the kid from the pilot yet again and gets caught up in a domestic violence subplot that ultimately makes her shoot the guy multiple times. Now she's on administrative leave. Also, Bill too was once sleeping with Cindy, Lt. Koto and the D.A. have a little something going on and David is interested in a single mom who happens to have information on Erich.It really did feel like the investigation into Cindy's death actually took the back seat for the week. And yet, it was also revealed this week that Erich was both the father of Cindy's baby and the guy she blew before she died and the D.A. officially arrested him for her murder. It's a very weird feeling. But that remains the plot that I'm most interested and engaged in. All the other melodrama feels like stuff given to the characters for them to do while filling out plot for a ten week mystery.
I don't really care how many dates Hildy will go on throughout this season. But seeing her sidelined from the main investigation for a little bit seems like it will become something very meaningful. She's been committed to upholding the law and doing good but now she's forced to take some time off. And she's antsy. She's a great mom to her little girl but she's also really comfortable in the tough world of the police. Plus, Erich's arrest happens after she's on leave. She has a stake in this investigation but she's left out during the most important part of the process. Terry is a good friend for keeping her largely in the loop. But she will also have an opinion on the new circumstances that lead to the arrest and that should prove interesting at the start of the next episode.
Some more thoughts:
- "Who's Your Daddy" was directed by Rick Wallace with story by Steven Bochco & Eric Lodal and teleplay by Alison Cross.
- For a second, I thought Terry was gonna buy Crosby's old boat house from Parenthood. But nope, Terry's is way nicer.
- Bill is miraculously over his cold already too. But I didn't get that comment he made about his wife - she didn't seem like that kind of person based on the one second of screentime she got in the second episode.
- I love how commanding and confident James Cromwell takes over the screen whenever he pops up. You can tell he knows this business and how to manipulate it into his favor. He should prove to be a very fun character as we move more into the legal aspect of the season.
- That trippy opening sequence felt too calculated. With those types of sequences, you just have to go out there and usually it works. This felt too little to be taken as anything other than establishing than Erich also abuses drugs and woman. I'm also calling it as one big red herring.
