What happens when McCall’s client is… McCall?

As “the one you call when you can’t call 911”, the show’s history tells us that Robyn McCall typically resolves cases with a cold ruthlessness. However, she is dangerous when angered – and at times as much to herself as everyone else. This is perhaps the most personal investigation she has undertaken yet in the show, and that only serves to endanger her both personally and professionally.

The episode begins at The Brass Spoon, a favourite restaurant of Vi’s, which previously featured as part of a subplot. It is Vi’s love and care for it which has led to the revival of an old gumbo recipe, which in itself served a purpose of being restorative of the soul. It would be easy to dismiss that reference, but Vi notes how much the place has been thriving since her intervention. We can soon see that the juxtaposition is intentional, as for all her good work, the mysterious circumstances of Robyn’s father’s death, ultimately a major backdrop for the path she walks today, continue to flood the Equalizer with guilt. The pain caused by his untimely death clouds her judgement, as no matter how many times Vi and others remind her that it was not due to her, she still thoroughly blames herself for that fateful night, and this is almost her undoing.

A message is delivered to her informing her of the whereabouts of his old car, a relatively familiar sight to that of many television and film scenes in the shape of a black Camaro Chevelle SS. Such an iconic vehicle is not chosen lightly, and so it proves: it is an embodiment of memory, and a cue for a flashback-laden tale.

Ultimately the essence of McCall’s character is reflected across every part of the episode. Much like a certain legendary masked detective, her success in the episode emerges only when she is able to separate her desire for vengeance and her underlying quest for true justice. As referenced earlier, her entire calling is defined by that need for true justice. In some ways justice is drawn to her, as one of those complicit in her father’s carjacking and murder, Demetrius Young, finds his own guilt too much to live with and through religious enlightenment, finds himself compelled to make amends. Not only does Demetrius act as a catalyst for the investigation, he also serves as a warning for McCall, who is driven for much of the episode by anger; sometimes quiet, at other times blazing for all to see. Despite his own wrongdoings, he vocalises exactly what will happen to her if she continues about her path consumed by rage.

Yet he is not alone. Those close to McCall cumulatively add their voice to this; Melody and Harry are supportive but note this is not the way she would ordinarily go about a case. Vi shares McCall’s grief and lends a vital solidarity to not devouring herself alone, as well as the need to remind her of her importance to the rest of the family. Finally, Dante, who himself is treading a similar path with his obsession with seeing the attackers of his friend Manny successfully brought to justice, is on hand at a critical moment of stopping her doing something she will definitely regret and voices her importance to him personally.

Demetrius also serves another purpose in the episode. One half is a shadow for McCall, her possible wrong choices manifest. But the other half, he wears the consequences of better choices made after his original association; a man desperately seeking to make amends and earn a second chance. As if visited by ghosts of his own (indeed his family suffered from threats as well, not least from the real killer), his path of atonement acts as a mirror to the path taken by the killer, who had a choice at the time he was about to shoot John McCall, and continued to make himself even less redeemable with every further breath. Indeed, he embraces his choices and revels in it, becoming a powerful crime boss in his own right, yet one savvy enough to protect himself in the eyes of the public and law enforcement.

With regards to that institution, Dante’s attempts to bring LoLo to justice for the attempt on Manny’s life saw the shooter jump a roof to escape the relentless detective. However, LoLo failed his jump and ended up fighting for his own life in hospital. This sequence of events came back to haunt Dante as although the truth is known to us, unsurprisingly, LoLo sees an opportunity to accuse him of the push. This leaves Dante, outside the inevitable suspension whilst the authorities investigate this, in a precarious position with his job dependent on the strength of legal representation (and to that end, criminal connections), LoLo can bring to bear. However, the reveal of this development is timed perfectly to the episode themes – the system is flawed, and may yet betray Dante, despite his determined efforts to be a force for good within it. That arrangement has complemented, and aided, McCall’s way many a time, but there is a very real threat of that connection being severed.

We see much of young Robyn McCall in the flashbacks, and the powerful influence her father John had on her. In that, at least one scene offers a similar moment of reflection on an anger Delilah felt at her school previously. Through these flashbacks we have a clearer picture of John’s words to Robyn’s echoing hers to Delilah almost perfectly.

In case it had not been clear since the very first episode, the show exists through the premise of the system not being perfect, a system failing a number of the people who fall through the cracks who come to Robyn McCall for help. That does not change, even when one of those people happens to be herself. It is a fitting end in which she manages to get the justice that not only she needs, but also her family, including the memory and honour of her father, which makes this episode extremely effective. There is physical reward for this too, in that the recovered vehicle comes back home, an embodied manifestation of her father’s spirit, given the time he put into keeping it running, which is not going away. 9/10

Russell A. Smith