Lethal Weapon Season 1 Episode 17: A Problem Like Maria Review

If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.

Synopsis: Riggs and Murtaugh team up again with DEA Agent Karen Palmer, and together they gain inside knowledge of dangerous new cartel operations. As Riggs’ attachment to Palmer deepens, so do his impulsive actions, further worrying Captain Avery and Delgado. In the meantime, Trish explores the potential of an amazing new career opportunity. (IMDB)

Writer: Alex Taub

Director: Rob Bailey

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 45mins

Riggs and Palmer have grown very close over the series and this episode was probably the best example of this. When Palmer’s informant named Carlos is found murdered, Riggs automatically fears the worst, going to great lengths to try and find her and after a scare, they of course did. Palmer was really trying to protect a woman named Maria (Daniella Alonso) and her baby who happened to be the baby of a Mexican drug lord. Riggs was technically sidelined by Ronnie after an altercation between Riggs and another DEA agent but that obviously wouldn’t happen. Now everybody knows the connection between Riggs and Ronnie.

They were trying to protect the baby from a trained cartel hitman named Gideon Lyon (Matt Passmore). What didn’t help their case was that the LAPD office had a leak so Lyon always seemed to be where they went. This led to a few fun exchanges with Avery pretending to be on the phone with someone else and Bailey calling him out for it and him saying that he did it because he liked doing it. They eventually found the leak who just happened to be the same DEA agent who Riggs had an altercation with earlier.

Maria felt guilty about taking the baby since it was not going to be given a proper chance on the run so she decided to give him back. She knocked out Palmer and went to give them the baby herself but Murtaugh and Riggs, with an assist from Palmer were there to save the day. Once Murtaugh saved Maria, Riggs chased Lyon outside where Palmer was there to hit him with Murtaugh’s neighbor’s vintage Mustang convertible which Murtaugh believed he got to get under his skin since it happened to be Murtaugh’s dream car.

Back at the station, Avery suspected that Riggs was still involved in the case despite being suspended because he was skeptical of Murtaugh and Palmer being responsible for what had happened. Ronnie reinstated him and told him that he did it to protect him. He knew the lengths Riggs would go to protect the people he cared about. Riggs swore that his relationship with Palmer was different but Ronnie gave his blessing which Riggs was grateful for.

Trish left her law firm a few episodes ago and wasn’t sure what to do with her life. Now she got a basket full of free stuff and a job offer from one of her clients from her former law firm who fired them when she left. Murtaugh and Riana saw all the stuff she got and encouraged her to take the job. A man named Azoulay (Carlo Rota) took her on his private jet for a job interview. She had reservations, however, because of the type of commitment that it would take but he reassured her by giving her free reign on how she would want to work. She decided to take the job. This also meant that she got his private jet for a few days. She kept asking Murtaugh if they can go to Paris but life inevitably kept getting in the way. Trish understood but she reminded him to not miss too much because of his job.

With Ronnie’s blessing, Riggs and Palmer went on their first date (whatever they were doing before wasn’t). It did not go the way that either of them probably intended. When Palmer was in Riggs’ trailer, she recognized Miranda’s picture from a DEA file. That file was on a cartel hits and this file proves that Miranda’s death wasn’t an accident and Palmer believed that Lyon may have killed her. This left Riggs broken and we know he’s going to do something about it.

Overall, this was an exciting episode that started off great, kind of fizzled out in the middle once we learnt what was really going on, and then got better at the end when we learned about Miranda’s death. Let’s see Riggs take on the cartel.

Score: 8/10

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.