Cal's plan unfolds as Megan competes in the pageant under her mother's competitive gaze. She loses—and is clearly happy that she did. Laura is devastated—but not as devastated as she will be when her daughter tells her she knows about the diary and what happened to her mother. The extent to which Laura needs the pageant to avoid her own feelings is illustrated as she plaintively responds to her daughter's refusal to do any more pageants by asking, "Did he do this to us?" Megan finally calls her on the use of "us," and Cal leaves the two separated by space but finally communicating with each other. In tune with this delicately nuanced story, there is no sense yet of catharsis, just of two people finally bringing painful secrets to the surface.
Loker and Torres have their own subtle dance they do with each other. Lightman and Foster's relationship has the two sparring with each other, each daring the other to come out and say things usually buried deep in their teasing and arguments. In contrast, Torres circles Loker much more delicately, torn between her own loyalty to Lightman and her desire to help Loker feel appreciated by his boss. Loker reacts to Cal's insulting gift of his desk to Sarah by not only joining Cal in the field without asking, but also by stepping up his search for a job. To Torres' consternation, she realizes Loker is very serious as he contemplates taking a job at the Pentagon, not coincidentally Cal's previous employer.
Loker is passive aggressively working out his anger at Cal and Torres suggests he may be misreading the entire situation. She thinks Cal's actions with the desk were a signal to Loker it was time for him to join Cal in the field, that he was ready to give up the desk. It's not clear whether Loker is open to her reading—he may need to hear from Cal what his plans are, rather than having to infer them via newly hired staff moving into his space.
That newly hired staff is a joy to the viewer, if not to Loker. I'm really enjoying all the new additions, from the harried office administrator to Sarah's calm and swift repartee to all Cal's jabs. Not only does she pass his teasing test with aplomb, she passes the red dot test, too, correctly knowing not only the number of dots but also what they represent. She's getting a crash course of the kind of hazing Loker is undergoing, but she's much more unfazed by it. Cal is, of course, intrigued rather than annoyed.
Article comments
1 - Mike
This show did not appeal to me when it was first introduced. Just seemed a little too "gimmicky". However, after looking at it in a little more depth, and discovering that there really are these rare "human lie detectors" in the world, I now find it fascinating. I hope it continues for many years.
2 - Gerry
Mike, I had the same concern when it first aired. I knew I really liked Tim Roth but thought the show might be a bit too high concept and have a hard time spinning out the focus on the science once the novelty wore off. I think the writers have come to grips with the problem and found a nice balance between the science and the character driven plot. Let's cross our fingers the show gets a back nine order.