The pilot was mostly spent introducing the characters, setting, and central conflicts.
Javier, for his part, is getting fed up with the conflict.
Ashe decides to follow the time-honored method of forgetting your personal problems by diving headfirst into work.
Credit: FOX
She and Preston arrive in North Carolina and immediately interrogate Beck at the police station.
Beck says that the kid belligerently refused to answer questions.
When he opened the car door, the kid grabbed for the gun and Beck shot him in self-defense.
As we find out later in the episode, thats literally true in Becks case.
Beck shuts up after that, which enrages Ashe.
She clearly doesnt think much of Preston at this point and tells him to leave the questions to her.
One of the first people they meet there is a boy on a bike wearing a Panthers jersey.
Preston reveals that the kid is actually wearing the jersey of Prestons NFL star brother.
That works as an icebreaker, though the kid flees once an intimidating-looking car drives by.
Next up is the mother of Jesse, the boy who was killed.
He preferred comic book t-shirts.
He declines for now, so Janae heads to Gov.
Patricia Eamons (Helen Hunt) press conference.
This earns him some respect from Ashe, who acknowledges he must not be a sellout after all.
They flirt a bit, but Preston says he wants to focus on the job at hand.
But Campbell and her son are black, so the case is not receiving nearly as much attention.
In fact, its not being investigated at all.
Campbell has even heard rumors that the police themselves may have been responsible for her sons death.
This revelation is really where the pilot kicks up a notch.
The reverse Ferguson premise couldve been gimmick-y, but Prince-Bythewood and Co. immediately complicated it.
Preston stays cool for now, noting that the accusations of police involvement are still unfounded.
From there, the show swings back into more soap-y web connection drama territory, a.k.a.
That will certainly make all their jobs that much harder.
Janae decides to do some catharsis, and she brings the two moms together at her church.
Something tells me we have a lot more to learn about these cases.
Shots Firedis fascinating and thought-provoking so far.
Its indulgence of quasi-soap opera dynamics hasnt undermined the seriousness yet.
It will be very interesting to see where the rest of the series goes.
