Graceland - Episode 8 - Bagman - Recap

Graceland - Episode 8 - Bagman - Recap

The preview for this episode of USA Network's new hit crime drama Graceland promised the most action-packed 42 minutes of the season, but... not quite. While there's some gunplay with the bad guys and some wrasslin' between FBI Agent Mike Warren (Aaron Tveit) and his boss (who he is secretly investigating) FBI Agent Paul Briggs (Daniel Sunjata), this is a show where someone drove a truck through a barn earlier this season. So. "Most action-packed"? No. But read on, you lovers of television, for there is much to talk about here!

Picking up on last episode's twist upon twist upon twist ending, Mike lets everyone know Bello somehow made the deal with Odin. Through the art of dramatic irony, we learned why this is the case last week when we learned of Briggs's secret identity as the druglord Odin (whose name I misspelt "Oden" last week). The machine of the Odin-Bello arrangement is shown in full, with a blind drop made in a gym locker. The drugs then make it to a basic cable friendly version of the naked lady drug processing house (in a tent, itself in an abandoned bank) we're used to seeing in other shows and movies. On a delivery some time after this, Mike brings up the security risk of not knowing Odin's face, which is coincidentally followed immediately by armed gunmen busting up the place, killing all the drug packing underwear ladies. Mike injures one of them, and Bello picks the injured dude up to take away for some good old-fashioned enhanced interrogation. Mike's outside a shipping container listening to the guy get tortured while debating with Paul over the phone whether to blow the mission or keep cover and try to save the guy. In the container, Bello is pouring hot metal onto left hand of the guy (a cartel enforcer). Bello cuts the hand off with a machete, and Mike suggests they keep him alive to send a message to the cartel, so he dips the stump in the rest of the liquid metal, cauterizing the wound and stopping the bloodflow. There's a thing with violence in media where it's sometimes better to not show gore, that it's worse to have it just on the outside of the frame. This is definitely the case here! The torture scene is uncomfortable without being made unsuitable for basic cable, a censor dodge that actually enhances the experience.

Agreeing with Charlie on how the case has been taken too far, Mike calls an audible on a delivery, saying the drugs weren't at the drop. This prompts Bello to call up Paul (who, again, is secretly Odin) and ask what's up with the missing drugs. They set up a meet. The whole team is on surveillance for the mission, so Paul's got to juggle the meet with Bellow from both identities. Via a clothing store dressing room with a false wall leading into a warehouse, "Odin" and Bello meet. The Graceland team isn't far behind, and after Bello leaves from a different exit, they have OdinPaul trapped in the warehouse. Paul sneaks up on Mike and chokes him out, then fires a round into the air and calls in an officer down as if he's just found Mike there. He tells the others he saw Odin running off, which he didn't because he's Odin. The team regroups and heads back to Graceland.

Charlie and Paul butt heads over how far Paul's taking his risks on missions. Later, Charlie acts on her suspicion, having Johnny tag along to snoop on Briggs. She takes them back to the apartment where Briggs had her holed up during her heroin adventure. They find it empty, but the camera show us Briggs hiding behind a wall rather terrified. This is the first of a few plots that don't get much screen time and really just serve to fill time between scenes involving the Bello case, but I don't mind it because I like these two characters and this is a good plot to pursue with them.

Before any of the Doin case gets messy, Mike and Abby wake up together, discussing their relationship. Specifically, exclusivity; she suspects there's someone else, as Mike is awfully secretive about his house. When he gets back to Graceland, Paige calls him out on his walk of shame (or "got laid parade" in her parlance). Mike lies about his sexy times partner having been Abby, since his housemates told him to dump her. After the torture scene with Bello, Mike shows up at Abby's house (she comments that he smells like a barbecue, yuck yuck yuck), He unloads some feelings on her, then invites her to Graceland, a big no-no for an undercover agent. Luckily, everyone is out when they get there. There's some goofy TV antics where he has to cover up his real job (Abby still thinks he's a pilot), like throwing a jacket over his gun on the dresser. On a quick pee break, Abby catches sight of more suspicious stuff, then spies Paige in trashy clothes with a gun. The two explain it away, but when Abby finds his gun, she's just more confused and upset. Mike and Paige clash over the relationship. It comes out that Mike doesn't feel safe in the house, that everything is built on lies. While I like the Abby plotline, it feels kind of dumb. Obviously if she learns he's an FBI agent, he's going to get fired or reassigned or whatever. That can't be where this plot ends up, so either they'll split or Abby will get killef and both options are, frankly, boring.

DJ and Johnny have a disagreement on how friendly the agents should be with one another, with DJ saying it's just a job and Johnny saying the team is like family. This plot is pretty much immediately dropped though, so I have nothing else to say on it. Well!

So this episode ends up kind of a mixed bag. It's just as good, in parts, as the best stuff this season. Other parts, though, are dull (Mike/Abby romance) or underdeveloped (Charlie investigating Briggs). While I would like for everything in the episode to be good, it's a hard balance. The stuff I want to see most gets very little attention, and the stuff that's done excellently and gets all the screen time is well-trod ground for a crime drama. It's a good show for sure, and I'm hoping the inevitable second season will fix some of the growing pains we're seeing here! Check out the video preview below and come back next week for another recap!