Sometimes you can’t see what you have until you until someone tries to tear it away from you.
On Stumptown Season 1 Episode 12 Dex was at risk of losing everything that she has worked so hard for, but she wasn’t going down without a fight.
Did Dex come out on top? Read on as we discuss!
Knowing your enemy is a valuable lesson to learn.
Grey talks a big game, but since the moment that he entered the world of working as an undercover CI, he has shown a serious lack in judgment .
Grey is convinced that he can save Max.
Multiple viewers pointed out in the comment section of my review of Stumptown Season 1 Episode 11 that Max comes across like she might also be working undercover.
While this does remain a real possibility, there is something about her reaction to the whole situation that makes me feel like she is really one of the crew.
Most people working undercover, except Grey, do not try to stop the criminals from doing criminal acts. It defeats the purpose of an operation. If the criminals don’t do anything wrong, then the whole operation is a bust.
With a little push in the right direction by Grey, though, Max was pleading with Leo to change his mind about selling the heroin. If she was really working undercover, would she have done that?
As I said, you can’t eliminate the possibility, but after this episode, it feels like what we see is what we get with Max.
If anything, with so much of her life being a grey area, it doesn’t feel as if Stumptown is completely committed to her life of crime but using it to move her into the Grey area. eventually;
With Grey’s criminal past, he can’t have a love interest that is clean-cut and 100% by the book. He needs someone a little rough around the edges, and Max is just that.
The more Max questions what the crew is doing, the further Grey is going to be sucked into her and his determination to save her.
The thing is, though, someone like Max won’t stick around. Grey, especially with Dex at his side, is going to take down the crew. I do not doubt that he will make sure that Max gets off, no matter what it takes.
Her getting out of this situation does not mean her life of crime is over, though. Grey needed to do time behind bars to get his life straightened out. By saving Max from herself, Grey isn’t allowing her to learn from her mistakes.
You can almost see it now. Max getting ready to leave town after the fallout, asking Grey to go with her and live a Bonnie and Clyde lifestyle, and Grey walking away.
Even if Max does turn out to be a cop or a CI, it would be silly to get our hopes up for a future of her and Grey together.
The love triangle may be dormant right now, but make no mistake, it is lurking just beneath the surface, and it will rear its ugly head again. Especially now that the three of them are working together.
Here’s hoping that we’re not alone in seeing how stellar the three of them could be as a team so that the love triangle can rest in peace. Highly doubtful, though. There is nothing TV loves more than a good — or just any — love triangle.
Grey’s feelings for Max clouded his judgement and almost got him exposed.
If Grey wasn’t so focused on Max, maybe he would have seen Scuzzy for the real threat that he is.
I have to hand it to Scuzzy. I wouldn’t have pegged him as smart enough to do actual research on Grey.
Thank God Grey is a smooth talker and was able to talk Leo off the ledge regarding the statement from the guy he knew behind bars. Leo might seem harmless right now, but he doesn’t strike me as someone who you would want to see angry.
Grey wasn’t the only one who’s judgement was clouded on Stumptown Season 1 Episode 12.
Cosgrove showed some serious errors in judgment when it came to Jimmy. You could see from a mile away that Jimmy was bad news, but their history and friendship blinded Cosgrove
There is something about the way that they portray relationships between the police in TV shows and movies that you can’t help but feel like the relationships are toxic.
There is such a big focus on having eachother’s backs and being part of a team that people are always willing to overlook the red flags.
It is understandable that in a profession with such high risk involved, you need a certain level of trust, but to what end?
Hoffman was able to remain objective and see the situation for what it was, but what if he hadn’t been? What if he had toed the company line and obeyed Cosgrove’s orders without any question?
All that heroin would have ended up on the street, right back in the hands of the original owners, blowing up the whole operation.
Hoffman’s one flaw is that he becomes too overly emotional when rattled, and it muddles the message that he is trying to send.
If Hoffman had gone to Cosgrove in a level-headed manner and discussed his concerns with her, Cosgrove might have listened to him much more willingly than when he was throwing a hissy fit.
Hoffman needs to get his emotions in check before they really get in the way.
Dex was also slightly blind to the threat she was up against.
Since Ansel has moved out, the prospect of being completely alone has led Dex to revisit some bad habits.
While her vices seemed to be in check, it must have been tough to turn down a topless Ford. Her loneliness seemed to be getting the best of her.
It was clear that Ginger was a hot mess from the moment she walked into the Bad Alibi. The woman was single white femaling Dex right from the get go.
You could tell there was a part of Dex that was willing to ignore it a little. After all, here someone was, wanting to be her friend, giving her the attention no one else is giving her right now.
Ansel was off busy with Tookie. Grey was mysterious and dodgy. Hoffman was barely speaking to her outside of a professional capacity. Ginger came along at just the right time.
Dex had to learn the hard way that being alone isn’t as bad as it seems. At least when she was alone no one was jeopardizing her PI license.
Ginger and her attack on Dex almost served as a mirror for Dex to see what exactly she wants to avoid becoming.
The dancers who work for Ginger just wanted to help her, but instead of being willing to face her demons, she lashed out.
Dex doesn’t want to become that.
While faced with the idea of losing her license, Dex seemed to finally get just how much was at stake.
Dex may waiver from time to time, but she has come a long way and is building a life for herself, one that should make her proud. She must be able to hold onto that life and the taking control of her life and not leaving it in the hands of people like Ginger is where she starts.
Reaching out to the veteran support group was such an enormous first step. Admitting that she needs help is huge. Dex doesn’t want to be alone, but not being alone doesn’t mean you have to allow toxic people to latch onto you.
It can mean leaning on people with shared experiences who can understand you or understanding that just because the people you love aren’t there constantly, doesn’t mean they aren’t still there.
Dex has spent the majority of her adult life being codependent. It is time for her to find her independence and embrace it.
Other thoughts:
- Ansel making Dex Baked Alaskan to celebrate the 12th anniversary of her taking him in was so sweet and exactly what Dex needed. Dex keeps mistaking him leaving her house for him leaving her, and this was a great way to show her that isn’t the case.
- Can we get a round of applause for how supportive the exotic dancers were of each other? It takes a great group of guys to rally behind one of their own and risk everything to support them.
- Tookie knowing Dex and Ansel’s parents was an interesting twist. Hopefully he can help to shed some more light on them.
- Who knew there were SO many rules to being a PI?
Over to you Stumptown Fanatics!
Did you enjoy this episode of Stumptown as much as I did?
Are you excited for this new dynamic of Grey, Dex, and Hoffman working as a team?
Do you think Max is an undercover cop?
Join the discussion people and watch Stumptown online at TV Fanatic!
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Meaghan Frey is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.