Life (Episodes 101-103)

I practically groveled at Michael's feet to let me recap Life because 1) it's an amazing show and 2) I'm trying to save up to...pay my bills. He relented, if only to shut me up, so here I am with a super-sized recap of the first three episodes. Because I don't want my fingers to fall off, I'm not going to be as detailed with this as I will with individual recaps, but I will do my best to cover all of the pertinent plot and character points.

Merit Badge (Episode 101)

A film crew is making a documentary about Charlie Crews, a policeman who was wrongly imprisoned for 12 years for murder. We're told by his ex-wife, Jennifer Conover, that the evidence was overwhelming and the jury convicted him after deliberating for only an hour. His former partner, Robert Stark, says the case was reopened and it was discovered that none of the physical evidence could be connected to Charlie. Constance Griffiths, Charlie's attorney, tells the camera that "life was his sentence, and life is what he got back."

Four months after being released, Charlie, with quite a few new prison-influenced personality quirks, is back on the job and meeting his new partner, Detective Dani Reese. She has to call his name several times because he's enjoying basking in the sunlight. They're investigating the murder of a young boy who was shot under a highway overpass. The kid's dog sits nearby, refusing to move, but Charlie is able to soothe it enough to discover that the bullet passed through the kid and lodged under the dog's skin, and that the dog bit off the killer's finger.

Documentary: Charlie's colleagues think he's crazy for wanting to come back to work after what he went through, especially since he got a multi-million dollar settlement from the city. How much did Charlie get? Constance and Charlie's financial advisor, Ted Earley, refuse to disclose the exact amount because of a court gag order, but the cops gossip that they heard it was $50 million.

Charlie asks Dani if she wants to talk about how she doesn't want to be partnered with him but she does not, nor does she want to talk about what she did to get assigned him as a partner. Charlie's agreeable, happy that he's at least learned Dani isn't a big talker. And speaking of talking, they go see the victim's stepfather, who says he adopted the boy, John, and that the biological father is in prison. The man acts a little fidgety and Charlie stares at him intently, but says nothing as the man says John belonged to a scout troop made up of boys whose fathers were all in prison. Dani asks about a robbery reported the previous month and as he's explaining that some cash and jewelry were taken, Charlie starts vigorously sniffing the dude, who is all, "WTF?" Charlie figures out the man is a pot smoker and advises him to go flush the goods before the house is crawling with cops investigating John's murder. He leaves and Dani, aghast, demands to know what Charlie is doing. He says it would be pointless for the guy to get arrested for some pot and is sure he didn't kill John: "He's got all ten fingers and he seemed really sad." Heh. A phone rings and Charlie looks around, until Dani has to tell him it's his cellphone but the caller hangs up before he can answer his tiny, futuristic phone.

Dani questions John's mother, Alissa, about her ex-husband, Mark. Alissa says Mark was a good husband and father even with his drug problems, but he changed after his first stint in prison. When he was arrested again and sent back, she knew she had to end the marriage. Charlie projects in a major way when he accuses Alissa of dumping Mark via divorce papers in the mail. Dani looks embarrassed and angry and later in the car, she bitches him out and he apologizes. He says he wasn't "in the moment" because he was distracted by where they're going next. And that would be prison to see Mark, the same prison where Charlie was incarcerated. The guards hassle Charlie as they head down the hall, until Dani tells them to shut it. In the yard, Mark is angry because he's not allowed to go to John's funeral, but he says none of his prison enemies would have gone after John. Dani doesn't understand it but Charlie does. Everyone in prison has family and it's understood that loved ones are off limits. Hey, wait a minute, that's not what I learned from Oz! Mark also says the last time John visited him, he kept saying his father didn't deserve to be there, and Mark let him believe that. As they walk out, the same obnoxious guards confront Charlie again, saying they know he had something to do with the death of another guard. Charlie gets up in their faces but, rather than responding to the accusation, he quotes them a zen saying and leaves, baring his teeth as they leave. Dani raises an eyebrow and follows him, asking him why "it is the universe that makes fun of us all." He nonchalantly replies that maybe it's insecure, which stops Dani in her tracks. Hee.

Charlie drives down the road in his settlement-funded car, eating grapes, listening to a zen tape, and trying to convince himself he's not attached to the car. He sees another car and pulls it over. The frustrated driver tells Charlie that it's not a crime that he married Charlie's ex-wife and asks if Charlie has anything better to do. "No, sir," Charlie responds with a smirk. "Not at this moment."

At the station, Dani is trying to talk to John's friend, Tyler, but he's nervous and not saying much. Charlie, munching on a pear, tells Dani out of nowhere that it must be hard for her to be a woman in the department and gives her a hug. Her irritation and his silliness make Tyler laugh, and Charlie takes the opportunity to talk to a more relaxed Tyler. Tyler says a man IMed John and said he had information that could free his father, but John would have to pay for it. Crying now, Tyler says he should've told someone because John might still be alive. Charlie hugs Tyler, then turns to Dani and whispers, "What exactly is an IM?" Heh. Dani just glares at him and stalks off. He follows her, still wanting to know, but they're interrupted by Charlie's former partner, Stark, and some other cops. Stark wants a picture with the "celebrity detective" and Charlie is fascinated that it can be taken with a cellphone. There's a lot of laughter and joking around, but it's clear that Stark is pissed off that Charlie made detective because of a court order. Stark's new partner asks Dani if she's worried about her partner and Dani asks if he's worried about Stark, who let his last partner go down for a crime he didn't commit.

Documentary: Stark says he feels bad about what happened to Charlie, but he doesn't feel guilty because he did his job.

Dani goes to see her boss, Lt. Karen Davis. We get a lot of exposition in this scene: Dani's dad is an ex-cop, Davis used to be his partner, and Dani is a recovering addict. Davis asks about Charlie and Dani says she knows she got him as partner because she screwed up, but Davis says Dani has a chance of moving up by reporting on Charlie, who she feels only wanted to come back to make trouble and get revenge. If he messes up badly enough he could be removed, which means Dani would get a different, less troublesome partner. Dani is angry and conflicted but when Davis asks if Charlie has done anything wrong yet, she admits that Charlie allowed a suspect to dispose of drugs before a search was conducted.

Charlie's about to get busy with some random chick in his huge, unfurnished mansion when he's interrupted by Ted, who has papers for him to sign regarding an orange grove he wants to buy. Charlie tells Ted it's not a good time because he's "meditating." Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

Documentary: Ted admits that he met Charlie in prison, where he was serving time for insider trading. After Charlie was released, he contacted Ted about managing his settlement. That includes his giant mansion, including the garage, over which Ted currently resides.

In a motel room with beer and liquor bottles strewn all over the tables, Dani crawls out of bed and gets dressed. A man still lying in bed asks if she wants to know his name but she flatly tells him she does not.

Charlie and Dani drive to see Alissa again and Charlie reads Internet For Dummies, excited to learn what an IM is. Dani warns him not to take out his issues with his ex-wife on Alissa. When they arrive, the maid says that Alissa won't talk to anyone, including her husband and daughter, and Charlie gently but firmly pushes past her to find a distraught Alissa sitting upstairs. She tells Charlie that she knows what happened to him and wants to know how he survived the worst time in his life. He has no answers for her and when she demands that he tell her something meaningful, he says that John's killer is still free. Dani tells her what Tyler told them and Alissa, after finally realizing what it was for, admits John stole the money and jewelry. She reported it as a random robbery because she wanted to protect John after everything he'd been through.

At home, Ted explains the wonders of Google to Charlie. Charlie asks Ted to Google Mark and when the information comes up, he realizes that there's enough that would trick a kid. Then he asks Ted to Google himself and Ted disapproves, but obeys. Charlie is stunned to see how much information about his case is available online. Later, Charlie drives to see Constance, his attorney, where he eats cantaloupe and she drink a glass of wine. She wants him to talk to his father, who's been calling twice a day, but Charlie isn't interested because he thinks his father killed his mother by refusing to let her come visit him. He's also not happy that his father is getting ready to marry again, to a much younger woman. "No zen for daddy?" she asks. "No zen for daddy," he confirms. He zones out a bit and she takes his hand, asking where he went. He asks her if she ever feels like what they did, working to get him freed, makes her feel like they're in one place and the rest of the world is in another. Constance tells him she feels that way all the time and they gaze at each other, until he breaks the intimate moment by telling her it's late.

On his way home, Charlie gets a call from Dani and he's a little alarmed that his car tells him he has an incoming call. Heh. Dani tells him that the finger came back to a junkie named Lonnie Garth, and she sends the mugshot to his phone. Charlie marvels at this new technological wonder and starts rambling about how there is no future or past, only now, but Dani has already hung up on him.

The next morning, Charlie and Dani get vested up to find Lonnie in his crackhouse. She asks him if he ever thinks about finding the people who set him up and put him in prison for 12 years and he says no, that he's only thinking about "a nine-fingered crack addict." They find Lonnie easily enough but arresting him is the hard part, since he's firing at them with a shotgun and screaming that he didn't kill John, someone named Arthur did. One bullet hits a bag of drugs and it douses Dani, blinding her. Charlie ascertains that Dani is okay, then moves forward and puts two bullets in Lonnie's chest before he can get off another shot. Charlie soothes Lonnie as he dies, the notices that Dani has been awfully quiet. He calls her name and finds her stumbling towards the shower, still half-blind and completely freaked out. Charlie helps her get in the shower and rinse all of the drugs off her, and she momentarily lets him care for her. But once she's been washed clean, she pushes him off and, as they walk outside later, he asks if she wants to talk about what happened and she ignores him. Following her cue, he says he doesn't think Lonnie killed John, because he didn't seem with it enough to run a scam. They wonder about the Arthur that Lonnie named and Charlie suggests they look through John's scout registry, since all of the kids have convicts for parents. Dani gets the file and they find their Arthur, who did two years for credit card scams and was paroled several months ago.

Later, Dani and Charlie talk to Arthur in the interrogation room. He's smirky and disrespectful, knowing that even with phone records showing he talked to Lonnie Garth, they don't have anything concrete to connect him with John's murder. He gets up to leave but he's arrested and Charlie tells him he committed a parole violation by talking to Lonnie, a convicted felon. He laughs as he'd led away, taunting that he can do another year, no problem. When he's gone, Dani says she needs a drink but Charlie has a better idea. His better idea involves snacking on mango and gazing at a pretty view of the city. Charlie starts rambling about how everything is connected and Dani notes that that's zen. "Is it?" he asks. "That's zen, too." "Is it?" "Say 'is it?' one more time and I'll shoot you." Hee.

Charlie and Dani stand outside the prison fence, watching Arthur being taken off the transport bus. He heckles them but Charlie ignores him and faux-casually points to Dani that Mark, John's father, is in the prison yard. Arthur starts to look freaked out, because he knows Mark will kill his ass less than an hour after he gets inside, and starts begging for protective custody. Charlie and Dani wonder why Arthur would need it, and Arthur confesses that he killed John when John refused to hand over the money until he saw the evidence clearing his father that Arthur promised. "It is all connected," Dani tells Charlie.

Dani is jogging when she sees Karen Davis, who tells her that she's prepared to move forward with removing Charlie for the pot thing. Dani plays dumb, saying she didn't see anything illegal and that she may have been confused about what happened. Davis is frustrated and reminds Dani that she's still on probation, even though she's been clean 21 months, and that she doesn't have a big settlement to fall back on if she loses her job. Dani understands that she needs to make sure she sees it the next time Charlie screws up.

Documentary: Constance is asked what she thinks Charlie should do with his life now that he's free and she, with some sadness, says that's up to him.

At home, Charlie runs upstairs with a briefcase. He opens it and pulls out a folder, which contains a photograph. Charlie walks over to a large walk-in closet, three walls of which are covered in photos, news articles and Charlie's own scribblings about the triple murder and investigative conspiracy for which he was falsely imprisoned. Oh, Charlie, I don't think it's very zen of you to lie to your partner.

On another day, Charlie is happily looking around at his new orange grove, which also includes a big red tractor. Ted wants to drive the tractor so Charlie gives him the keys while he basks in the sunshine. Ted can't get the tractor out of reverse and he backs over Charlie's car, but Charlie simply smiles and bites into a piece of fruit.

Tear Asunder (Episode 102)

Ted is complaining about having to drive Charlie to work, but Charlie reminds him that Ted squashed his car with a tractor. Charlie's most recent hook-up wanders in and says she'll give Charlie a lift. I suspect she already has.

Later, Dani and Charlie pull up to a hotel that was hosting a wedding. The bride, naked but covered by her dress, was murdered on her wedding night. The evidence indicates she was thrown against a wall, fatally hitting her head. Because she was covered, they think whoever killed her probably knew her and could be one of the wedding guests. Dani finds an envelope of cash wedding gifts next to the victim and thinks it might have been a robbery gone wrong. She tells Stark to round everyone up while Charlie kneels down next to a pair of men's shoes next to the bed. He picks up one and finds a wallet and set of keys, indicating the missing groom is probably still close by. Out by the pool, Charlie and Dani are looking for Jake Silvers when they hear sobbing from one of the pavilions. They enter and find Silvers, who's soaked with blood, not to mention drunk. He's dazed and Charlie calmly tells him he'll take Silvers to see Anna, the victim, but when he pulls out cuffs Silvers loses his shit and tries to bolt. Charlie grabs him and they fall into the pool, struggling underwater until Dani takes a stun baton from a security guard and sticks it in the water, zapping Silvers and Charlie into unconsciousness. "Get 'em out of there," she orders Stark, who stares at her warily like she's going to zap him too. Hee.

Documentary: Retired detective Carl Ames was the lead on the case against Charlie and he still believes, despite the DNA evidence, that the right man was convicted. He explains that Tom Seyboldt, Charlie's best friend and partner in a bar they owned, was skimming money. Ames is sure Charlie murdered Tom, his wife, and their son. Only the daughter, Rachel, is still alive because she was at a friend's when her family was murdered.

Anna's body and room is being processed when a young girl, Tiffy, comes by with a pillowcase full of disposable cameras from the wedding. She tells Charlie that she was a bridesmaid and knew Anna through her brother, who is friends with Jake. She gets overwhelmed when she sees the blood on Anna's dress and faints. Charlie catches her and tells Dani that Tiffy's brother, Bradley, is in the hotel. When Bradley is found, he says that he gave Tiffy a beer as a cheap sedative after hearing about Anna's murder, but she's not used to drinking.

Charlie and Dani talk to Jake, who says he got so drunk on his wedding night that he passed out (classy!) and Anna was dead when he woke up. He covered her up but he says he didn't kill her. But when Dani points out that he has a history of violence when he drinks, Jake starts to wonder if he killed Anna and doesn't remember it. One of Jake's groomsmen, Eddie, enters the room and says he's Jake's attorney and tells Jake to stop talking.

At Charlie's house, Ted is doing some work when the doorbell rings. He answers it and it's a young, pretty woman who says she's looking for Charlie. She recognizes Ted and flirts with him a little, but Ted collects himself enough to ask who she is. She says her name is Olivia and she doesn't know Charlie, but she hopes to become his friend. Ted's too. Ted looks confused.

At the station, Charlie pulls out a weird-looking piece of fruit and Dani struggles not to ask what it is, then finally caves. He says it's a horn melon, then he starts musing about how being shocked was like a near-death experience but he experienced nothing, no white light or dead relatives or anything. Dani just thinks he should be happy it wasn't a full-death experience. Davis walks over and asks about the investigation. Dani is sure Jake killed Anna but Charlie is convinced he's innocent. He says he met a lot of men who killed their wives over the past 12 years and can tell by Jake's eyes that he didn't do it. Davis doesn't think it's a good enough reason and tells Charlie that Jake is their lead suspect, so it's his job to prove Jake did it. Later, Dani works at her desk, studiously ignoring Charlie, who keeps trying to talk to her. He apologizes for not backing her up and she glares at him, grabs her jacket, and stalks off. Stark, who has seen the exchange, comes over and tries to commiserate with Charlie about how those icky girls are ruining the department. "Remember what it used to be like?" he asks. Charlie does not reply, "You mean the good old days when I was set up for a crime I didn't commit" but he totally should. Stark has another reason for chatting up Charlie: he says his wife insisted he invite Charlie over for a barbecue over the weekend. The camera cuts away before we see Charlie's response.

Charlie and a still (perpetually?) irritated Dani head back over to the hotel and talk to Bradley and another groomsman, Mason, who are getting trashed in the middle of the day. My people! They have a hilarious exchange, which I have to recap verbatim:

Mason (to Dani): "You're pretty."
Bradley: "Shut up, Mason! She's a cop."
Mason: "A pretty, pretty cop. And you (to Charlie), that dude! Dude, you are so torn from the headlines!"
Charlie: "Thanks, dude."

And then Charlie bumps fists with Mason. HEE! Anyway, Mason and Bradley said Jake gave up his violent ways when he met Anna, whom he completely loved. They also reveal that Anna dated both of them, but it was just hooking up, nothing like what Jake and Anna said. Dani wants to know if Anna also hooked up with Eddie, but they laugh and say Eddie only makes sweet, passionate love to the law. Speaking of Eddie, he arrives and chastises his buddies for getting drunk when Anna is dead and Jake is in custody. "It's a...wake?" Mason responds. Hee. Later, Charlie and Dani talk to the bridesmaids, who say they all, except Tiffy, hooked up with Jake. Mighty incestuous group of friends here, but I have to admit my college crowd was almost as bad. The girls say that before she met Jake, Anna was quite the wild girl, doing drugs and hooking up with lots of guys. One of the bridesmaids said it was less like partying and more like... "Punishment?" Dani asks, which gets a sharp look from Charlie. The girls agree that Anna seemed to be punishing herself before she fell in love with Jake. Tiffy wants to know if it's just as bad for Jake if he remembers it or not and Dani says if they prove Jake killed Anna, he'll go to prison even if he doesn't remember it.

Night. Davis calls Dani and puts more pressure on her to find a way to get Charlie removed from duty, saying it's better for everyone involved. Dani snaps at her in reply and Davis asks if Dani's backsliding but Dani assures her that she's getting ready to go to a meeting. She hangs up and heads into a bar, where she wastes no time in singling out an unhappily married man and tells him to buy her a drink. If you look like Sarah Shahi, you can get away with that. Elsewhere, Charlie visits a house and tells the owners that he's a prospective buyer. Even though the house wasn't on the market, he asked his realtor for an appointment. The couple, who are now living in the house where the Seyboldt family was murdered, don't recognize him and let him wander around. He has a folder with crime scene photographs and inside what used to be Rachel's bedroom, he looks at the crime scene photo and notices that her bed is unmade. He says to himself that the kids always made their beds, so Rachel must've been there the night her family was killed. The wife finds Charlie, having finally recognized him. He apologizes but she just wants to know why he would want to re-visit the scene of the crime after everything he went through. He has no answer for her but back at his house on his crime wall (I need a catchier name for that - suggestions welcome in the comments), he writes "Removed Rachel from report" next to Carl Ames' picture.

At the hotel, Dani and Charlie talk to Anna's parents and learn that Eddie was Anna's friend, not Jake's, and that he was in love with Anna. They head to Eddie's room and Charlie munches on an apple he took from a basket of them on the front desk. Dani shoots him a look and he's all, "What? They want you to take them." Heh. When Eddie answers his door, he's in his robe and claims he was in the shower, but Dani notes his hair isn't wet. They see a pile of tissues by the bed and, followed Eddie's squirrely looks, Charlie lifts a corner of the mattress and discovers a folder filled with porn, pictures of Anna's face taped over the girls. Oh, now that's just wrong. Down at the station, Eddie knows his kinky little collection is gross but he says he didn't kill Anna and he has an alibi for the night she died. Later, Charlie and Dani talk to a prostitute, who confirms Eddie's story. He hired her to wear a blonde wig, a wedding dress, and answer to the name of Anna.

Documentary: Constance says Charlie had been in prison for 8 years before she took his case. She's asked what his emotional state was when they met and she says they'll have to ask him, so the interviewer asks, hypothetically, what would someone be like who was wrongfully imprisoned for that long. Constance says someone like that gives up on life.

Charlie is riding the bus home from work when a couple of young girls recognize him and start chatting him up. He's all for some threesome action but I hope he checks their IDs because they look really young. He hops off the bus with his dates and Ted, who has been waiting at the bus stop with Olivia, calls his name. Charlie's surprised to see him and Ted says Olivia wants to meet him, but when he starts to explain, Charlie's phone rings. Before he can answer, Ted blurts out that Olivia is going to be Charlie's new stepmommy. Charlie looks like he's been punched in the gut so for distraction he answers his phone, only to hear that Jake tried to commit suicide and when he wakes up he's going to be charged with murder. And now Charlie looks like he's been punched in the face. Ted tries to get him to say something but Charlie just says he has to get back to work and hops on another bus, leaving Ted alone with Olivia and Charlie's two bimbos.

Documentary: Stark tries to claim it didn't bother him that Charlie is now his superior until the interviewer asked him. He's asked if there's support for Charlie in the department and Stark says there is. "He's got a shield, he's one of us."

Charlie has come to Stark's barbecue and Stark is happy to see him, but despite the excuse he used to get him there, Stark's wife is not at all happy that Charlie is there. She says that for years after Charlie was convicted, her husband was tainted by association and nobody would ride with him. Charlie needs to remind this bitch that he spent 12 years in prison, so her husband get the better end of the deal. Feeling unwelcome, Charlie tries to leave quietly but Stark intercepts him, and says he's got something to show him in the garage. The music gets all tense and menacing like Stark's setting Charlie up for a beatdown, but all he does is give Charlie his old badge and gun, which he's kept for all these years. I really can't get a handle on Stark, which is a compliment to the complex writing on this show. Charlie is touched by the gesture and he agrees to stay for a burger. As he's eating, he looks around and sees kids taking pictures with a disposable camera and gets an idea.

Back at the station, Charlie pulls out all of the wedding photos and spreads them over his desk, Dani's desk, the floor, etc. I need to point out that Charlie's wearing a t-shirt and jeans in this scene and Damian Lewis is looking brutally hot, moreso than usual. Dani comes in and demands to know what the hell Charlie is doing and he just says it's all here, except what isn't here. Dani has no idea what that means.

Bradley and Tiffy are on a shuttle leaving the hotel to go to the airport when Dani and Charlie hop on. Tiffy's wearing big sunglasses and Charlie asks to see her eyes, but she says she's got a headache and prefers to keep the glasses on. Charlie apologizes to her, saying she asked him to help save Jake when she brought the cameras, but he didn't listen. He thinks she can still save Jake and he knows how. Dani tells Tiffy that Charlie wants her to look at some wedding photos and she flips through them. Bradley belligerently asks what Tiffy is supposed to be seeing but Charlie thinks Tiffy knows. He says all of the pictures show Tiffy taking photos, but none of the cameras she delivered include the photos she took. Quietly, Tiffy admits that Bradley smashed the camera, and Charlie lifts her sunglasses to show she has a large black eye. Bradley glares sullenly at Tiffy. The shuttle is stopped and everyone but Charlie, Dani, Tiffy and Bradley are unloaded. Tiffy says she was drinking in Anna and Jake's room but passed out on the bathroom floor. When she came to, she heard Anna and Bradley talking. Bradley tells Tiffy to shut her mouth and Charlie warns him off. Tiffy continues, saying Anna and Bradley were arguing and Bradley was getting mean, like he does when he drinks. Bradley tries to shut her up again and Charlie gives him another warning. Tiffy says Bradley was trying to steal the wedding cash and Anna caught him. They argued and Bradley pushed her into the wall, killing her. Tiffy took a picture of Bradley standing over Anna's body and Bradley smashed the camera and threatened her, but Tiffy defiantly tells Bradley that she saw what he did to Anna. Bradley lunges at her and Charlie tackles him, forcing his hands back and cuffing him.

Later, Charlie goes to the shooting range. As he practices with his old gun, he listens to a zen recording about vengeance. "Revenge is a poison meant for others that we end up swallowing ourselves."

Let Her Go (Episode 103)

The crime: A car ran off the road and the body of a woman, who was shot, is found in the passenger's seat. Charlie uses his Spidey Sense to find the woman's husband hanging out in the ravine. He's suffered a bump on the noggin and thinks Charlie is the valet. Also, Charlie wants to go to space. Or perhaps just buy a jetpack. Can you tell I'm kind of half-assing it for this last episode of a three episode mega-recap? I apologize. It's after 4:00 AM and I just want to crash. Maybe I need some of Charlie's fruit.

...That was not intended to be as dirty as it looks.

ANYWAY. Dani and Charlie check out the car, determining that the shot came from the back and Shelby Stylman, the victim, was turned around facing the backseat when she was shot. They go to the hospital to talk to Shelby's husband, Peter, but he claims he has no memory of anything that happened after he and his wife had dinner until he woke up in the hospital. Charlie is skeptical and he presses Peter, but the man insists he doesn't remember anything.

Documentary: Ted says he met Charlie after Charlie had been incarcerated for 8 years (same time Constance took his case, which could mean something) and after Charlie got out, he found Ted and offered him a job managing his settlement. The interviewer asks what Ted means when he says Charlie found him, and Ted admits he was in rough shape after he got out of prison and before he started working for Charlie.

At Charlie's house, Ted takes a dip in the pool but he's trapped when a coyote wanders onto the patio. Later, he calls Charlie to complain but Charlie is more interested than concerned. When he hangs up, Dani asks if he has a pest problem. "He's not so bad," Charlie replies. Hee.

Dani and Charlie learn from the car's GPS (something else Charlie finds fascinating) that the Stylman's stopped at a gas station after dinner, but they didn't get gas because the tank was almost empty when the car crashed. They head out to the station and talk to the clerk, who remembers seeing the Stylmans talking to a large Hispanic guy with a lot of tattoos. The clerk got another customer and the next time he looked, all three were gone. He didn't think anything of it because he sees a lot of suspicious activity in his line of work.

Documentary: Carl Ames is asked if he's seen Charlie since his release and Ames asks why he would want to.

Ames drinks in a bar when Charlie enters and sits next to him. The bartender refuses to serve him so Charlie gets right to the point. He shows Ames the photo of Rachel's bed from the crime scene and says he knows Rachel was home that night.

Dani and Charlie talk to Peter again and he still insists he doesn't remember anything. Charlie pushes harder this time and Peter finally starts talking, saying he and his wife were carjacked at the station. Peter says he fought the guy and the gun went off, hitting Shelby, then their attacked jumped out. Peter tried to drive Shelby to the hospital but when he went to hold his hand over her wound, he lost control of the car. "Why would you want me to remember that?" Peter sobs.

Prints in the car have been matched to Manny Umaga, a Samoan with a record for carjacking. Davis is skeptical that Peter just happened to remember everything, but Charlie and Dani say they're going to find Manny and see what he says. Manny hasn't checked in with his parole officer in weeks but they've got a list of known associates. Davis sends them off, praising their teamwork, which pleases Charlie.

Charlie and Dani go to a garage to find Maldito, an associate of Manny's, but Charlie is distracted when he falls instantly in love with Maldito's tricked-out muscle car. Charlie asks if it has GPS but Maldito, echoed by his sidekick, says he doesn't want GPS because it allows "the man" to track him down. Charlie agrees, saying that's bad, but Dani reminds him that he is the man. He remembers that he's there for a reason and is all, "Right, I am the man." Hee. Maldito says Manny owes him $11,000 and he knows where Manny is, but can't get to him because Manny is armed. He gets an idea that he should flush Manny out; once he sees Maldito he'll go for his gun and the detectives have an excuse to shoot him. Dani assures him they can handle it. Heh.

A SWAT team surrounds Manny's house and move in, and he responds by throwing concussion grenades. As he moves towards the back of the house, Charlie follows and Manny throws another concussion grenade, deafening Charlie. The pursuit heads out the door and through the streets, Charlie hearing nothing but his breathing and the faint clomp of footsteps. After a long chase, Charlie catches up with Manny, who throws him against a wall, a knife to his throat. Charlie smiles and indicates Manny should look down, where he's got his own knife pointed at Manny's crotch. Dani comes running with her gun out and tells Manny to drop his knife. He does and he's cuffed and arrested.

By the time they're back at the station, Charlie's hearing is back to normal. However, his temporary deafness has been for nothing, because Peter claims he can't positively identify Manny as Shelby's killer.

Documentary: Jennifer, Charlie's ex-wife, says she used to wonder what it would've been like if she had believed him and not walked away. But she's learned that it's better not to think that way.

Dani pulls Charlie aside and demands his knife. If he doesn't hand it over, she'll report him for not using his service weapon. She tells him that she needs to know he's a cop and not an ex-con. He puts the knife in his hand and turns around, letting her take it from him. In a rare moment of levity for Dani, she teasingly asks if he's carrying anything else from his prison days, like maybe a sharpened toothbrush or a lightbulb full of bleach. They twinkle cutely at each other and then Constance calls Charlie's name. He's so surprised to see her that he fails to introduce the two women, so they do it themselves. They size each other up, then Dani leaves to let Constance talk to Charlie. He takes her to a private room and she says he made a mistake by talking to Ames. Not only could it jeopardize his settlement, it wouldn't take much provocation for Ames to shoot him and he'd have plenty of LAPD friends who would cover for him. She asks Charlie why he won't just take his money and go somewhere. He asks if that's what she really wants him to do and she can't give him an answer.

At home, Ted and Charlie listen to coyotes howling outside. Ted is freaked out and wants them gone but Charlie appreciates them because they're survivors. He points out that domestic dogs have killed lots of people but nobody's been killed by a coyote. "Yet," Ted says grimly. Hee.

Documentary: Jennifer says she re-married three years after divorcing Charlie, and she has two children with her second husband. The interviewer asks what she tells her children about her first husband and she says they don't talk about him.

Charlie's bought Maldito's muscle car and he's enjoying a drive around the city when he spots Jennifer's husband's car. He pulls it over and this time Jennifer is in the car, so he orders Conover to step outside, and when he does Charlie gets in the driver's seat and locks the door. Hee! He asks Jennifer what happened to Rachel Seyboldt and Jennifer says she changed her name, got a new family, and nobody knows where she is now. Jennifer also can't believe that's what Charlie wants to talk about in their first conversation since he got out of prison. Charlie plants a big kiss on Jennifer, which I notice she doesn't pull away from even the slightest bit, then hops out of the car.

Interrogation. Manny admits he was in the car but he was hiding in the backseat and Peter shot his wife. Dani is skeptical that the Stylmans wouldn't notice a 500 pound man in their backseat and Manny gets belligerent, so Charlie shoves him back in his seat and Manny's head bounces against the table, bloodying his nose and Manny starts screaming for help, saying Charlie pulled a knife on him. Later, Davis asks if the knife thing is true and Dani lies for Charlie, saying he didn't pull a knife, but Charlie admits he did and that Dani is covering for him. Davis understands they're acting like partners, but says they need to let Manny go since they don't have anything to tie him to Shelby's murder and he could now sue them for brutality.

Charlie arrives home to find Ted directing a work crew, who are installing an 8-foot chain link fence around Charlie's property. Charlie, clearly distressed, has to ask, "a fence?" a couple of times before the oblivious Ted finally catches on that building a fence around the property of someone who was in prison for 12 years is maybe not such a good plan. Gulping, Ted tells the workers to take the fence down.

Charlie and Dani discuss the case while Charlie snacks on a caramel apple. He thinks there's something Peter's not telling them and they need use his strength against him. Dani wants to know what Peter's strength is and Charlie says it's his weakness. "His weakness is his strength?" "Exactly." "Are you really zen?" "I'm zen-ish." Hee.

Shelby's memorial service is ending when Dani and Charlie arrive at the Stylmans' house. Peter tells them that his kids are going to go live with their grandparents, which surprises Charlie. But he also thinks it's a good idea, since they're there to arrest Peter. Peter leads them into a room where they can talk to him and Charlie accuses him of hiring Manny to kill his wife. Peter denies this and Charlie keeps pushing, verbally and finally physically, under Peter responds with a stinging slap to Charlie's face. That causes a breakthrough and Peter shamefully admits that when Manny carjacked them, he was prepared to give up everything. He even told Manny about $10,000 he had in their house, where their kids were sleeping. That's when Shelby started fighting back and Manny shot her, then jumped out of the car. Peter says he tried to drive Shelby to the hospital but he screwed that up too. "She died knowing I wasn't even a man." Peter leaves and Dani tells Charlie that even if he IDs Manny, he's changed his story too many times for a jury to believe him.

At night, Manny walks down a sidewalk when Maldito intercepts him and strongly advises that he get in Maldito's van. Inside, Maldito asks for his money and Manny says he knows where he can get $10,000 from a couple he recently carjacked and he'll split it with Maldito. Maldito reminds Manny that he owes him $11,000 and Manny threateningly says he killed the woman for no reason so imagine what he'd do to Maldito. Maldito tells Manny to check out the new sound system he put in the van and he plays back what Manny just said about killing Shelby Stylman. The van pulls to a stop and the back doors open, showing Charlie and Dani waiting to arrest Manny.

Charlie drives his muscle car but he's forced to stop when a coyote walks across the road. He and the coyote stare at each other, Charlie quirking his head to the side in a way that's more like a feline than a canine, until the coyote drops its gaze first and scampers off.