Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Directors: Thomas Carter, Christopher Misiano, Paul McCrane, Peter Weller, Jim McKay, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Steven DePaul, Via Vision Entertainment.
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Ray Liotta, Drea de Matteo, Warren Kole, Dayo Okeniyi, Sarah Jeffery.
Jennifer Lopez’s outing, as compromised NYPD Detective Harlee Santos, features evidence tampering, betrayal and murder. She is anything but cool, calm and collected as was evidenced at the start of Season 1.
She is a single mother, who is forced to work for the FBI’s anti-corruption task force, while dealing with her own financial and family problems.
Lt. Matt Wozniak (Liotta) is the corrupt commander of the 64th Precinct’s Street Crimes detective squad. In order to effectively protect their precinct and their own, Wozniak often directs the team to step outside the boundaries of the law.
Season two’s opening episode titled ‘Unforgiven’ sees Harlee covering up the murder of her abusive ex, while Wozniak makes a deal with FBI Agent Stahl (Kole) to stay out of jail.
In episode three titled ‘Ghost Hunt’, after Wozniak refuses to play ball with the FBI, Stahl turns up the heat on Harlee who lands in the middle of Wozniak’s dangerous plan to free himself from the Feds by reeling in a bigger fish.
In ‘Sweet Caroline’ the mafia seeks revenge on Harlee by framing her for murder.
‘A House Divided’ is the title of episode seven which continues to see some unsettling times in some relationships. Following Harlee’s brave confession to the entire crew that she had been informing for the FBI, the team grapples with Harlee and Wozniak’s betrayal. With their team falling apart, Harlee and Wozniak come up with a desperate plan to neutralise Bianchi (Ritchie Coster). However, their actions have unforeseen consequences because the Mafia fires back.
‘Unpaid Debts’ sees Harlee seizing the opportunity to unite the team around an illegal mission. Not easy. Episode 10, Stahl (Kole), suspended from the FBI, goes rogue to complete his quest to link Harlee to a death.
Events take a tragic turn in ‘The Quality of Mercy’ when Harlee and Wozniak lead the crew on a dangerous mission to steal a secret ledger and take down the mobster once and for all.
Episode 13 is aptly named ‘Broken Dolls’. In a dramatic confrontation, Wozniak faces the ally who betrayed him and makes his most difficult choice yet. Meanwhile, Stahl’s fanatical plan to take Harlee down for murder finally pays off, forcing her to get dangerously close to the man who’s obsessed with her.
In the end, Harlee and Wozniak’s desperate efforts to save themselves and the crew lead to shocking consequences for both.
Bewildering, but engrossing!
