Stumptown (1×10) Reality Checks Don’t Bounce Review

For our review of the last episode of Stumptown, click here.

Synopsis: Dex is hired by a famous TV judge to help find his prodigal brother but soon finds that she is not the only one looking for him; Hoffman enlists Grey’s help to track down carjackers; Dex isn’t prepared for Ansel’s unexpected news. (TV Guide)

This pretty uneventful midseason premiere of Stumptown decides to ease us back into things after the events from last month’s midseason finale. Another case for Dex would be a distraction from her issues with Ansel but it would also mean that the awkwardness between Grey and Hoffman had to be addressed, setting up an interesting partnership (and giving their characters their own thing to do).

Reality Checks Don’t Bounce started with Dex appearing on a TV court program, presided by judge Antonio Price (Mike Epps), seeking payment from a client for finding her cat. After getting the upper hand on Price, she won her case but afterwards, he hired her to find his deadbeat brother for whom he did not get along with. Hoffman gave Dex a lead which would lead her to Price’s brother who in turn owed money to a lot of people because obviously. Wanting to make sure that Price’s brother was okay, she remained on retainer while looking into it.

Checking back in on Price’s brother, Dex found blood and there appeared to be signs of a struggle. What made things worse was that Price got a ransom demand. However, he was skeptical and thought that his brother was just trying to get more money out of him. Meanwhile, Ansel wanted to talk about moving out but Dex kept putting him off (she didn’t think he was ready). Grey supported Ansel’s choice since he was an adult after all (he was over the whole Liz thing).

One of Price’s brother’s business partners, a pet store owner, wasn’t on the best of terms with him and was also looking for him (he didn’t know about his famous brother). Meanwhile, the time apart from his brother led Price to reassess his relationship with his brother. Things got more dire once he received an ear with an earring matching his brother’s a note asking for the ransom sooner. The car that delivered the ear, led them back to the pet store where Price’s brother was indeed being held in. An altercation (and fun fight scene that) saw Dex take down the pet store owner but not before his son and Price got shot (both survived). In the end, the Price brothers couldn’t reconcile as the deadbeat refused to change his ways, not wanting to live in the other’s shadow.

As a prank on Hoffman, Cosgrove volunteered him to chaperone Captain White’s (John Posey) wife to a Matchbox Twenty concert. Of course things wouldn’t end there as they would be carjacked, leaving Hoffman with the responsibility of getting the captain’s wife’s car back. Seeing that Grey owed him a favor, Hoffman asked him to look into it (because of his criminal past). Grey found the car with one of his old acquaintances. Knowing that it belonged to a police captain, Grey and Hoffman waited (leading to an awkward conversation about Dex) until the car was returned to the thieves. Once apprehended, one of the thieves hinted that the car thefts were perhaps a front for something bigger.

The episode ended with Ansel moving in with Grey while Hoffman enlisted a reluctant Grey (but he still owed Hoffman) to go undercover within the earlier crime ring which could be something or could just be nothing at this point.

Everybody appears to have moved on for now but we will see how long it will last. Cobie Smulders was great here and Jake Johnson and Michael Ealy have decent chemistry so hopefully that pairing works out.

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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.