Graceland - Episode 9 - Recap - Smoke Alarm

Graceland - Episode 9 - Recap - Smoke Alarm

We're nearing the end of this first season on USA Network's shiny new FBI agent drug crime series, Graceland. Last we saw them, Agent Mike Warren (Aaron Tveit) and Agent Paul Briggs (Daniel Sunjata) were completely unaware that they are adversaries, with Mike investigating Briggs and Briggs maybe being a druglord called Odin. Their housemates in the undercover homebase nown as Graceland are also in the dark about this secret conflict, but no worries; there's more than enough obvious conflict to go around.

The cartel butcher known only as "Jangles" (named for the sound of his keys) has made his presence in town known by taking some shoes (feet still attached) from Bello's biggest dealer. I'm sure Bello won't let this stand. He's going to want to get a leg up on the competition... Walk a mile in his shoes? No not that one. I guess I'm outta puns. Anyway, Bello seems hardly phased when Mike meets him later at a safehouse. Probably the big-ass guns he's got for his dealers are helping make him feel so safe. Later, Mike and Bello are discussing the coming violence between his men and the cartel, when the sprinklers go off outside. While Mike is out to check what's going on, Bello is chained up by a dude in a mask (presumably Jangles) who is clearly the same dude that Charlie ran into in the secret hotel (see the next paragraph). The situation rapidly heads south, with a gunfight breaking out, an armored FBI squad arresting Bello, and Jangles stabbing Mike. Jangles gets away, though, which Paul is not happy about. Later, when he wakes up at the hospital, Mike confesses to Paige that he's been sent to Graceland to investigate Briggs (since she's keeping Mike's secret about bringing Abby over). She accuses him of being a rat and excuses herself from the room. Mike drifts back to sleep.

For some unknown reason (before all the Bello stuff from the last paragraph), Briggs gets a secret hotel room. He heads there in his secret hoodie, secretly installs a secret camera in the smoke alarm, and then heads back to Graceland for some secret tea. Charlie notices the charge to the hotel on an old account associated with Odin, and so she goes to investigate. While there, she finds the camera hidden in the titular smoke alarm, and meets a man claiming to be a Mexican federal agent. Being an undercover agent, Charlie is reasonably hesitant to show her ID, but eventually relents. Later, the two meet up to combine resources. Also, this dude is incredibly suspicious. He's probably Jangles. That would explain why the camera was removed before his arrival... Plus, uh, Jangles had the same hair and clothes. So yeah.

After the hotel stuff but before the Bello raid (yes, I know, okay, just follow me here), Briggs asks Johnny what's up with Charlie, under the pretense that she seems uncomfortable about something. I mean, Briggs is clearly just fishing because of the hotel thing, but Johnny spills the beans that Charlie thinks Briggs and Odin are connected somehow. Quickly changing the subject, Johnny and Paul head out on somewhat unrelated business, looking for a lead on Jangles. They discover through the grapevine that Jangles is going after Bello, and rush off to intercept, knowing Mike may be in danger.

Before any of the Bello stuff goes down, Mike heads to talk to Juan Badillo (his secret FBI superior) who has him investigating Briggs, and notices he uses almost verbatim the same language as Briggs for Briggs's methods. This prompts Mike to check the photo he was given by the Bureau a few episodes back, and sure enough, there's a little chip in it (a wireless transmitter I guess). He cuts himself by mistake opening the frame. Paige hears the crack of the frame and knows Mike is hiding something. Mike heads back to Badillo, and learns that Graceland is not the first house of its kind, not even for Briggs. Apparently, the last time, the house burned to the ground killing five agents while Briggs was conveniently on vacation (right after being pulled from a high-profile case). Finally, the really real reason Mike is at Graceland has come to light! Well... Probably! I wasn't expecting this! I'm very eager to know how many items are real on the ever-growing list of crimes Briggs might have committed. He's got to be either guilty of all of them or none of them, right?! After the kerfuffle at Bello's, Badillo goes solo to scare Briggs into a confession. Drunk on the beach, Briggs is easily fooled by a bandana over the face and any old set of jangling keys into thinking his adversary is truly here. Briggs maintains the story about being kidnapped by the cartel, against Badillo's theory. In an ensuing struggle, Badillo is accidentally shot by his own gun! Ah geez. Next week's episode is going to get even more complicated, with even more secrets (if such a thing is even possible).

The twists and turns are starting to make this series hard to follow! They're also serving to make the show good, so it's forgivable. The only thing I'd like to see to really bring this show to the next level is to have better attention paid to how it looks and sounds. Part of the success found by other basic cable dramas like Breaking Bad or Mad Men is due to a unique aesthetic, making each episode feel like a movie instead of a television show. This series is almost there, but it just needs that extra little push to really reach the next level. I like this show, and I'm looking forward to the end of this season! Check out the preview below and come back next week for another recap!