Plot Synopsis:
While Marissa and Chuck deal with Cat's case of the fleas, Gary heads to the home of Nikki Porter to prevent a handgun accident involving her two boys, Bryce and Tommy. Initially, Gary plans to go in, get the gun, and get out, but things quickly get more complicated. When Nikki asks Gary if he's the county guidance counselor here to talk to her about Bryce, Gary assumes that role and ends up spending most of the day with the Porter family. Gary goes with Nikki as she heads to Bryce's school to pick up Bryce after he gets into yet another fight, witnesses the tension between Nikki and her ex-husband Kurt when Kurt comes by to take Bryce to a hockey game, accompanies Nikki while she takes Tommy to get a flu shot (and gets one himself to assuage Tommy's fears), has dinner with Nikki and Tommy, and witnesses one of Kurt's jealous rages when Kurt returns with Bryce and sees Gary washing dishes with Nikki. The picture that emerges through all of this is one of a troubled family struggling with the fall-out of a bitter divorce - and of a woman threatened by the violence of her alcoholic ex. As Nikki explains to Gary, she got herself a gun for her own protection.
Gary does in fact steal Nikki's gun before leaving her home - but the next morning, the paper reports that Kurt will murder the now defenseless Nikki. Feeling responsible for this turn of fortune, Gary decides to contact Kurt. They meet at a local bar, where Kurt unloads all of his anger and resentment on Gary, claiming that his ex is trying to turn his children against him. Realizing that he is unlikely to get through to Kurt, Gary meets up with Nikki at the grocery store and offers to take her and the boys out to dinner later that night. Before Gary arrives, however, Nikki discovers that her gun is missing and puts two and two together. She calls the school, discovers that Gary is not who he says he is, and then goes to confront Gary at the Blackstone. She demands that Gary return her gun, and Gary does, reluctantly.
That night, Kurt shows up at Nikki's home. Tommy sees his father pull up and decides to get his mother's gun down from her closet shelf and load it. Meanwhile, Kurt comes to the door and manages to convince Bryce to let him in by offering him a gift. When Nikki sees Kurt inside, she immediately tries to run upstairs to get her gun, and Kurt goes after her, grabbing her ankles, pulling her down the stairs, and locking her in a choke hold. But before this can escalate any further, Gary arrives with the police, and Kurt is arrested.
This, however, is not the end, for while the above is going on, Tommy retreats into his tree house with the gun, muttering for his father to leave him alone. On the front stoop, Gary happens to glance at the paper and reads that Tommy will shoot Bryce in the tree house. He runs into the backyard and stops Bryce from climbing up the ladder just before Tommy fires a round. Gary then climbs up into the tree house himself and coaxes Tommy into giving him the gun. A relieved Nikki embraces both of her boys - and Kurt is carted off to jail.
Overall: 8.8 - This is an almost feature-worthy episode that recognizes that the real world is rarely as simple as a liberal soundbite.
Writing: 8.5
The script is a tad expository in places, but the writers do set up a scenario in which it seems relatively plausible that Nikki would open up about the state of her life. Further, the characterization is quite strong. Kurt's employment troubles and alcoholism seem a reasonable back story, Nikki should please any fan who likes strong female characters, and the boys are genuinely kid-like. The difference we see between Bryce and Tommy is particularly insightful on the writers' part, as Bryce, being the older son, certainly would remember the good times with his father and therefore be more inclined to defend him, while Tommy, being younger, probably would be more attached to his mother.
Acting: 8.0
Performance-wise, this is another average Early Edition episode - which means, of course, that the regulars and the guests were very good. Particularly impressive is little Joe Bianchi (Tommy), who does an excellent job with material that is pretty heavy for a child actor that age.
Message: 10.0 with a bullet, as SABR Matt might say.
To tell you the truth, I have, in the past, considered getting a gun - particularly while I was living and working in East Baltimore (which, for those of you who haven't been there, is a rough place). Back then, I didn't have my own car, which means I sat waiting at bus stops many a night hoping against hope that I wouldn't get mugged - or worse. I have in fact been inappropriately approached by men while walking down the street - indeed, I had to physically push one guy off of me when he tried to grab me in an unmentionable place. Did I - do I - often feel that a pistol could very well be the ultimate equalizer - the ultimate symbol of women's liberation? Heck yes!
It solves nothing, says this episode, for do-gooders to swoop in and take away people's guns. It is, as Chuck notes in the beginning of this episode, a violent and inhospitable world - particularly if you're a girl - or a resident of the inner city, where the police often hesitate to intervene. Robbing the vulnerable among us of a powerful means of self-defense is, as this episode makes clear, likely to endanger lives, not save them. And that's not just a theoretical proposition; in places where strict gun control laws have been enacted - like the UK - crime rates have increased, not decreased. Why? Because gun laws are, essentially, a teeny tiny bandaid applied to our horrifically torn and bloody human nature.
I can't praise the writers of this episode enough for avoiding comforting bromides and, instead, telling an honest story about domestic violence that acknowledges that there are no easy answers. If this were a typical Hollywood project, we would've been presented with a insulting little morality play about the dangers of gun ownership. Early Edition, however, is not a typical Hollywood project. Thus, what we get is a marvelously fair portrayal of what may drive someone - particularly a woman - to arm herself.
The Benevolent Hand:
Providence forces the troubles of the Porters to be a long term case for Gary. Why? Because God does not want Gary to merely stop an accidental shooting. He wants Gary to contribute to the mending of a family.
Highlights:
GARY: Did you ever think about getting a dog?
NIKKI: I got a gun. Took lessons from a retired cop down at the police station. (She sees Gary's expression.) What?
GARY: Nothing. It's just that... you got kids.
NIKKI: Yeah, and those kids still have a mom because I got a gun.
GARY: Don't you, uh... don't you ever worry about them finding it? I mean, when I was a kid, everything my mother hid it seemed like I found.
NIKKI: I appreciate your concern, Gary. Thanks.
GARY: It's just that in the papers, you hear about kids and guns -
NIKKI: I'm not one of your students from school, Gary.
GARY: No, I -
NIKKI: You think I'm happy living the kind of life that means I have to keep a gun in the house?
GARY: No, I was just saying I think you have a choice. If you want -
NIKKI: No, I don't have a choice. The last time he broke in, it took the cops twenty minutes to get there. Time before that, 9-1-1 never even picked up. I'd move if I had the money, but I don't. So don't tell me to get a dog, Gary.
NIKKI: You don't look like a guy who's recently been divorced.
GARY: Well, what am I supposed to look like?
NIKKI: (chuckles) Damaged. Guilty.
GARY: Well, I was the dumpee, not the dumper.
NIKKI: No gray hair... no loss of hair... no wrinkled brow... as far as I can tell, you're not nursing an ulcer... and where are the broken knuckles from punching your fist through a wall?
GARY: Uh, well, believe me, I wanted to.
NIKKI: But you didn't. That's the difference between you and men like Kurt.
TOMMY: You wanna play?
GARY: Well, I don't think I -
TOMMY: You're Merlin, the magician.
GARY: Wait a minute. How come I can't be the Black Knight?
TOMMY: (patiently) 'Cuz you're Merlin, the magician. You can do anything. You can see the future.
GARY: I can see the future, eh?
TOMMY: All you gotta do is look into your crystal ball.
GARY: And what do I do when I find out what the future holds?
TOMMY: I don't know. (A beat.) So - you gonna marry my mom?
GARY: What?
TOMMY: You said you like her.
GARY: Well, I do, but I -
TOMMY: You've been hanging around with us all day. Because she's a great cook, you know. She slices up the hot dogs and puts cheese in them. She's real funny, too. She makes up great stories - not even from a book! She makes them up.
GARY: Well, you know what? You're lucky to have such a great mom. (It's eerie how kids seem to have a sixth sense about Gary.)
GARY: She's like a sitting duck, and it's my fault.
MARISSA: Gary, you did what you could to save those kids.
GARY: Yeah, and because of that, I put her life on the line.
MARISSA: Well, guns aren't the answer.
GARY: Well, that's a nice bumper sticker, Marissa. But tell me this: what's the answer when some guy's coming after you with a baseball bat, huh?
NIKKI: Where is it? What did you think you were doing?
GARY: I was trying to help.
NIKKI: By stealing from me? I could have you arrested, you know that? You went upstairs into my room, you went through my stuff, and you stole my gun.
GARY: Look, I know it sounds bad, but you gotta understand that -
NIKKI: I don't even know who you are. I checked with the school; they've never heard of you. Who are you, Gary?
GARY: Look, I'm the guy that knows that if you take that gun back into your house, one of your kids is gonna get shot.
NIKKI: Where. is it?
GARY: It's in a safe place.
NIKKI: That's not what I asked you. I asked you where it is. Now, give me the gun, or I will call the police. Believe me, I know the number.
(There is a long pause.)
GARY: It's in my room.
(Gary goes into his room to retrieve the gun from his dresser drawer.)
GARY: Look, I know you don't know me... but you gotta trust someone. If you could just trust me now, Nikki.
NIKKI: I did trust you, Gary. But it turns out you're just another guy who thinks he knows better. (Ouch.)
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