Quick Take: Southland, "Maximum Deployment"
"You think you're a cop? I'm the cop… I'm a cop." – Chickie 
Review: Southland, "Maximum Deployment"
(S0206) They've been setting it up for a long time: you knew that John Cooper's (Michael Cudlitz) back was going to become an issue at some point. After multiple episodes of watching this otherwise stoic supercop buying pills at bars he doesn't want to be seen in, we see him here charming (for John) a friendly nurse for pills, as well as lifting a car to save a trapped victim in the initial "flash forward."
Ben Sherman (Ben MacKenzie), no dummy even though he's a rookie, has know about what's been going with John for a while, and when he and Chickie (Arija Bareikis) have to help John back to his house after the flipped car incident, the trio all know that each other "knows" (John, in urgent pain, refuses to see a doctor).
The dynamic is juxtaposed against John reaming Chickie for letting Officer Billy Dewey's (C. Thomas Howell, whom I wish we would have seen more of this season) alcohol addiction go unchecked for so many years. And the even deeper/darker level is that John has been absolutely brutal to Chickie in telling her it's time for her to ride a desk in the communications division – and we've seen evidence to lead us to believe he's right – while she maintains that she's always been a beat cop and that's where she wishes to remain.
At the end of the episode, bringing perhaps the biggest resolution to any storyline we've seen during this short second season, Chickie makes her move on the on the Canyon Rapist suspect while off duty. Her initial pursuit makes you think she's going to get killed or at least extremely messed up, though after a fairly nasty struggle she subdues him.
"You think you're a cop? I'm the cop… I'm a cop," Chickie pants. She's talking to her suspect and John and herself there.
Meanwhile, Russ (Tom Everett Scott) is out of the hospital finally! I guess that explains the (seemingly) strange removal of Rene Cordero (Amaury Nolasco) from being Lydia's (Regina King) partner last week. However, he announces that he's through with being a cop at the end of the episode. It will be interesting to see if they bring him back… maybe as a romantic interest for Lydia? They were quite cozy at the end there, and we've seen Russ and his wife be kind of vicious to each other at times.
After two short seasons, I feel like Southland is just starting to crank things up. I'm looking forward to more.
More thoughts on "Maximum Deployment":
Video: Southland, "Maximum Deployment"
Interview with Michael Cudlitz, check it:
Recap: Southland, "Maximum Deployment"
John gets an unexpected request from his ex-wife just as he, Ben and Chickie are sent out as part of a maximum deployment.
From Around the Web: Southland, "Maximum Deployment"
