Stumptown (1×15) At All Costs: The Conrad Costas Chronicles Review

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

Synopsis: Dex and Grey venture to Los Angeles to help a client who believes her Hollywood script has been plagiarized by a former classmate. Reluctantly, Grey leaves Ansel and Tookie in charge of The Bad Alibi, and against his wishes, Tookie hosts a birthday party at the bar. Panic sets in when they discover a valuable is missing. (IMDb)

Who would have thought that a long episode title and moving the action from Portland to Los Angeles was all it took to make the best episode of Stumptown so far? It should have just stuck with the A subplot (or A1 and A2) rather than introduce a B subplot.

At All Costs: The Conrad Costas Chronicles started with a flashforward of Dex and Grey escaping a house in Los Angeles that had caught on fire. Going back four days earlier, back in Portland, Tookie tried to convince Grey to allow him to host events at the bar but he refused. Dex’s latest client, a woman named Camille Costas (Mary Passeri), was a scriptwriter whose script was stolen and was being made into a film. She asked Dex to head to Los Angeles and steal a copy of this new script so she could compare it to hers. This was all that Camille had so she was concerned about leaving a legacy so her life would mean something. Dex was hesitant to go as there was clearly some past history there. However, Grey was also looking to go to Los Angles to look at a car from his younger years that he wanted to buy. Meanwhile, if they were going to go to Los Angeles, someone would have to watch the bar so it was up to Ansel and Tookie.

While packing, Dex found a 5-year-old letter from her and Ansel’s aunt in Los Angeles left her shook up (Grey noticed). Living in LA, Grey considered himself an expert (he didn’t like Camille’s script). A meeting with the man that stole Camille’s script, as Dex posed as a desperate screenwriter, went nowhere. Her next attempt involved getting on set as a background actor. Once on set, it was clear that whatever film that was being shot wasn’t all that good and this was all the troubled veteran lead actor had. In the end, Dex got a copy of the shooting script and it was identical to Camille’s. Meanwhile, the car that Grey was looking at happened to be the exact same car from his younger years which implied that his estranged father was in LA (the wine stain on the seat sealed it). He wanted to go but Dex convinced him to stay (in exchange for Dex meeting her mom).

Grey’s reunion with his father probably did not go the way he expected (he was much better off). His father was surprised to see him. Grey’s father had a new family (but had no pictures of him). They seemingly talked it out before Grey left. Back where they were staying, their heart-to-heart moment got interrupted once a molotov cocktail came through their window. However, Dex and Grey had a plan to flush out the suspect which was the actor whose future was riding on the movie.

Hoffman needed a venue for a party he was going to throw for his mother (his father had to back out at the last minute for work) at the last minute so Tookie offered the bar. Despite the questionable choice in entertainment by Hoffman’s brother, the party was going okay. Meanwhile, Grey’s prized heirloom pistol was missing, leading Tookie and Ansel to believe it was stolen. Tookie asked Hoffman for help but he didn’t want to ruffle feathers with his family. Ultimately, Grey knew that they were going to host an event anyway and put the pistol in his safe.

With their ordeal behind them, Dex negotiated a deal for Camille to get paid and get the rights she deserved, with the film getting the same title as this episode. The episode finally ended with Dex meeting her aunt who told her that her parents died decades earlier. She came to terms with the fact that she may not get to say what she wanted. Dex and Grey chilled on the beach as Cobie Smulders and Jake Johnson did what they do best. This episode was a real showcase for them.

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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.