McCall is asked to help when it seems someone has too much knowledge of a crime…

This week’s episode is built around the US hip-hop scene, both past and present, and bridges some generational gaps as it tells its tale. Echoes of the infamous Tupac Shakur–Biggie Smalls feud of the 1990s can be found at the heart of it, with the episode featuring no fewer than three rap artists who have turned to acting. The first is Rick Ross as tortured father and famous artist of one half of the deadly beef, Dilemma, with the second a cameo appearance from Darius Jackson (AKA Nastyelgic) as the unfortunate loser of the feud, Dre Bids. It is a cameo appearance due to the show starting with Dre Bids’ untimely timely with the episode focusing heavily on investigation of the crime. Unsurprisingly, Dante operates as the lead support this week and, as has been a regularly established pattern in the show, this directs the episode into more of a police procedural route for the duration.

The third rap artist is none other than Queen Latifah, McCall herself, and in case this was not known to the viewer, you can certainly feel it in some of her dialogue, which could be particularly heartfelt – in particular during a scene in which she speaks with a young female rapper. Her words could easily be construed as Queen Latifah speaking to a younger version of herself, as they deliver nods to legends such as MC Lyte. It provides a very knowing, but personal element to the tale, something which helps to get the best out of the episode.

Although the plot diverges from its real-life roots considerably, there is a suitably compelling hook in that Dilemma is not Dre’s killer, but is keeping a big secret as he serves the time anyway. It is not an action-intensive adventure, with the threat level to Team McCall relatively light overall, though the stakes raise as the story unfolds. For his part, Dante is his usual dependable and honourable self, perhaps somewhat to McCall’s partial disappointment as their strong bond continues.

Elsewhere, the gap between Harry being barred from ever using a computer again to the audience seeing him on a laptop before even half of the episode has passed is too small to be much more than a footnote. The ease with which this subplot appears to resolve, especially by the end of the episode as his figurative powers return without the drawback of having to pretend to be dead, might perhaps be considered too simple, yet the reasoning does make sense. Although it could have run as a continuous subplot, it appears to conclude somewhat abruptly and perhaps misses an opportunity. There may of course be a reason for this yet to be revealed but if not, it presents as somewhat anticlimactic.

Delilah also returns, with her story centring around a sudden change of heart about college aspirations, following conversations she has been having with a rather handsome and highly intelligent young man who believes his future lies away from higher education. When Aunt Vi discovers this, it is handled well, as reasonable yet opposing views are debated briefly and with a grounded sense of empathy each way. Once more, the show writers handle the matter with sensitivity and understanding and although his future plans are not detailed precisely, Delilah’s friend’s confidence that he is on the correct path for him can also be felt by the viewer.

Verdict: After the high-stakes drama of the previous episode, this one moves at a considerably slower pace. It doubtless functions stronger with the background context in mind but the direction taken and motives make sense. Despite some curiosity on the resolution with Harry’s subplot, as a whole the episode’s change of pace invites a more straightforward breather from the multiple strands of previous weeks. 7/10

Russell A. Smith