Lethal Weapon Season 2 Episode 18: Frankie Comes to Hollywood Review

Keith NoakesApril 11, 20185728 min

If you would like to read my review of last week’s episode, click here.

Synopsis: The duo sets out to unlock a case about a veteran hit man who Murtaugh has followed for years; Riggs struggles to find a connection with his father; Murtaugh scares Riana with his overprotective driving lessons; the team’s trust is tested. (TV Guide)

Writer: David Fury

Director: John Behring

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 44mins

Airs: Tuesdays at 8pm on Citytv (Canada)/FOX (United States)

Finally a Murtaugh episode for once and Riggs’ relationship with his father makes a complete 180.

This episode starts with a flashback of the day that Riana was born. Murtaugh missed RJ’s birth and he would end up missing Riana’s birth as well. He was a police officer then. When responding to a call, he found himself at the mercy of a man pointing a gun at his back. The man ultimately agreed to spare him because he allowed Murtaugh to be with his new daughter.

Fast-forward to today, Murtaugh was teaching Riana how to drive and all his insecurities about her driving were put on display. Meanwhile, Riggs went to visit his father in prison and that meeting did not go as he expected. His father actually apologized to him and wanted more of a relationship with him.

The case of the week was very familiar to Murtaugh as the crime scene was eerily similar to that of the same case he responded to all those years ago. Ever since then, Murtaugh was trying to catch that same man, a hitman named Frankie Kelso (Jude Ciccolella) who would be around 70 years old today and it showed. Once they found him, Murtaugh still considered him a threat but Riggs wasn’t scared of a 70 year old. Kelso ultimately got the drop on them, splitting up Murtaugh and Riggs so he could take Murtaugh hostage.

While driving, Kelso claimed that he was set up before he and Murtaugh reminisced about Riana. He needed Murtaugh to run a phone number for him (he didn’t know how so he asked Bailey for help) and in relaying that to Riggs, he complimented him which alerted him that something was wrong. When going through Murtaugh’s notes, they found one of Kelso’s contacts who just happened to have been in the same prison as Riggs’ father. Desperate, Riggs called his father who was more than willing to help. Kelso took Murtaugh to his contact to figure out who set him up and got a lead which was a blue convertible near the crime scene. Soon after, Riggs showed up and a gunfight ensued.

Murtaugh was so far in Riana’s head that she badly failed her first driving test. No one else believed that Kelso was innocent. It only took Kelso to confess to Riggs to convince him that he was innocent. To explain his motivations, Murtaugh showed a Riana a video from the day she was born. In that video was the same blue convertible. Kelso couldn’t have committed the last murder since he was partially blind in one eye.

Later, a man came to kill Kelso. He set him up for killing his father. The man shot him and left him on display to lure Murtaugh and Riggs so he could fire his sniper at them. Murtaugh and Riggs got to Kelso and Murtaugh took him to the hospital and Riggs dealt with the sniper. While Murtaugh drove Kelso to the hospital, he gave a pep talk to Riana before she retook her driving test. Riggs played dead so he could lure the sniper out and blow him up. Kelso died in the back of Murtaugh’s car.

While talking about his father to Cahill, Riggs got a call from the prison. When he got there, he learned that his father got beat up for helping him. Meanwhile, Murtaugh wasn’t happy anymore for catching Kelso. Riana passed her driving test.

Overall, this was a good episode that skewed more towards Murtaugh for once. The premise of a case involving his past was a fun one but the story behind it didn’t quite work. Maybe Riggs’ father isn’t such a bad guy after all or maybe he just wants something from him? Who knows? Those scenes between he and his father were emotional as you can see him cry when he apologized. It’s definitely great to see this side of him and it will be interesting to see what will happen with him and his father over the last 4 episodes of the season.

Score: 8/10

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