Directed by: Paul McCrane
Written by: Michael Alaimo
First aired: August 27, 2012

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Once again, we see the team present at the crime scene without their captain, further establishing a pattern that gives Provenza more authority and leaves Sharon room to take care of her ward. Provenza even warns Flynn not to take a shortcut in searching the driver’s handbag: “We need a truce with Ray… Captain Raydor on this case.” So, not only does he make sure the rules are obeyed, but he also corrects his initial impulse to leave out her rank when talking about her. I would call that progress. Of course, she later asks Flynn if he got a warrant when she sees him go through the purse. His reply is hilarious because, only moments earlier, he suggested claiming that the purse spilled during the crash to avoid having to get a warrant. Raydor’s expression clearly says that she knows him well enough to picture all sorts of scenarios in which he did not, in fact, get a warrant.

The change in the relationship between Raydor and Provenza is even more noticeable later on in the episode. First of all, he works with her instead of against her, and there is no eye-rolling or other signs of dislike or disrespect. Even more significant is his understanding when it comes to Rusty. He takes a moment to reassure her that it would be okay if she wanted to take the time to go with the boy to meet his mother instead of Flynn, making sure that his words are not misunderstood as criticism for utilizing one of her detectives to run a more or less personal errant. Towards the end of the episode, when they think that Rusty ran away, it is Provenza who volunteers himself and Flynn to stay at the office until the boy shows up, and he tries to reassure her that he will turn up. So, while they might not be out of the woods yet, as far as Provenza’s dislike for his new boss is concerned, he seems to be over the worst of his misgivings or, at the very least, he decided to keep whatever complaints he has to himself. He does seem to be amused by her temper, however.

We also see a change in Amy Sykes. Apart from one moment where she is a little over-eager, trying to explain the background info she gathered to the Captain, she does not try to suck up to to anyone, nor does she mess up in any way. We get to see her as the capable officer she is, and so does the team. When she takes down their suspect’s boyfriend, Sanchez puts it in words: “I’m beginning to like Sykes.” Later on, she jokes around with Sanchez and Provenza, suggesting that she is settling in nicely.

This episode also shows Flynn as a true ally to Raydor when it comes to Rusty. In the initial hospital scene, he teases Rusty about his whining that is clearly wearing on Raydor’s nerves. I bet this is not the first time she has heard him complain about having to get up early to accompany her to work. Flynn is also the one to whom she gives her phone when she goes to interview their suspect, because she is expecting a call regarding Rusty’s mother. Later on, Flynn is the one who collects money for Ms. Beck’s bus ticket from the team, and he is the one who volunteers to take Rusty to the bus station to pick up his mother (Whose idea was that anyway? I can’t really see the Captain asking her team for money. Did Flynn come up with that? I would have loved to see that conversation…). Their cooperation is emphasized by the matching colors of their clothes—Raydor’s purple dress and Flynn’s purple shirt and tie. We already saw the same last episode, when Flynn wore a teal shirt and tie that matched Raydor’s shirt.

Flynn’s role in helping Rusty with his mom makes complete sense, considering that, as an alcoholic, he has some idea what kind of issues she might be having and what to look for in order to make a first determination of her fitness for taking care of Rusty once more. Arguably, Captain Raydor would have enough experience for that, too, given that her estranged husband is an addict as well, but as she mentioned to Provenza, her presence might make things uncomfortable for Rusty and his mother. I suppose she fears that his mother would see her as competition or a threat, and she does not want to put Rusty in the middle of that.
The scene between Flynn and Rusty at the bus station is beautiful and heartbreaking. Rusty is trying so hard to avoid anything that might make his mother flake out on her responsibilities again, like the minibar (“She hates minibars.”), suggesting that the alcohol might tempt her, or urging Andy to be nice and welcoming. Of course, Andy knows what Rusty is really saying, and you can see that he feels bad for the boy. He is sixteen years old and should not feel responsible for his mother’s sobriety. This is the first hint at a bond between these two that we will see much more of later on.

We also see some development in the relationship between Sharon and Rusty. When she reveals to him that they found his mother, he seems surprised, which makes sense, considering that he bitched about them not making enough of an effort only two scenes before. His sour mood vanishes instantly at the thought of his mother coming back for him, and he only gets angry for a short moment when Sharon tells him that they would have to wait for a judge to decide whether or not he would be able to live with her again. Once he calms down, he thanks Sharon for what she’s done for him, and I think this might be the first time he calls her by her first name. The small smile she gives him certainly makes it seem that way.
By the way, let’s talk about that for a second. Why did they think it was a good idea to give his mother and his foster mother the same name? It gives us a dramatic moment at the end of the first episode when Sharon tells him her first name and Rusty thinks that she is playing some weird game. Later on, it will be a fun little gimmick to have Sharon and the other Sharon and then his mom and his other mom, but I’m not really sure all that is necessary. It seems a little forced to me, as if we wouldn’t catch the potential and the parallels otherwise. I guess it does foreshadow their future relationship, though.
Speaking of parallels, let’s look at the ones between Sharon and Rusty. It becomes especially clear in the last couple of scenes of this episode. First, we see Sharon struggling not to show her emotions in front of her team. She tries very hard to make her escape before she loses that battle. When Rusty later explains that he ran away from Lt. Flynn because he started to cry and he doesn’t do that in front of people, it is clear that they have that in common. Before he retreats to his bedroom, he says that he thought his mother loved him and “letting go of that is what’s hard.” Sharon’s response gives an insight into her own personal experience: “But holding on to someone when they’re gone is even harder.” At this point, we do not know a lot about her history with her husband, but we do know that he is an addict and left her, so it is easy to imagine that she would know exactly how hard it is to hold on to someone when they are gone. And maybe helping Rusty deal with the issues he has with his mother helps her see how unhealthy her relationship with her husband is? We are beginning to learn that Sharon might be the perfect person to take care of Rusty. This scene also hints at a technique that will be used many times throughout the show—revealing information about Sharon and what is going on in her life through Rusty.

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