Flashpoint In A Flash: Episode 3

Episode 3 summary after the jump! I'm getting better at blogging the episodes on the fly - I was only two minutes behind the live broadcast this time around (I wouldn't be able to do this if I wasn't able to rewind live TV). Big smiles everyone - and this doesn't mean you people on the west coast get to skip out on watching!



The Element of Surprise

We begin with what looks like an innocent man being held at gunpoint pleading for his life to a guy named Sean. The team is on the scene planning a solution to end this situation. They move in , set up some equipment. Another man in the room tries to swerve the gunman away, but ultimately he shoots... and REWIND! 3 hours earlier! We're at an Italian Deli and the young man is talking to his co-worker, Julia as they clean up. He shows her the big plush clownfish he bought for his niece's 4th birthday. He very shyly says he will swing by her place later. Back to SRU HQ. A mugshot is being passed around of the grand poobah of a drug gang, Sean Keenan. The team stages a raid. Braddock is a little too eager for this job, and tries to ask Jules out for dinner. She asserts to him that she doesn't want to lose what she worked too hard for, and declines. Then we go to a birthday party, where the young man (whose name is Jackson). We learn Jackson is a recovering addict, who has been clean for over 8 months. His sister declines to let him come in, and says that the $680 she gave him were saved up for his niece's music lessons. The team practices at headquarters for the upcoming raid and how they are going to apprehend their man. Jackson calls around to try to earn the money he owes his sister. He doesn't have much luck, but he ends up calling our grand poobah in question who says he can help him out. We have a bad feeling about this! Back at headquarters, another officer gives Ed Lane vague second thoughts about Braddock... ROLL CREDITS! We'd like to take this time to thank a very important person close to Stephanie Morgenstern for his support - we really appreciate it and it totally made our day when he told us we were the best blog for our Flashpoint coverage! We'll keep trying to do our best! Commercials! Dell's new line of computers looks sleek (but I'm going Mac in a year or so! ) Ugh Simply Orange... Back to the show! The team packs up and heads out through the streets of Toronto to an older apartment building. They encounter their gang insider who keeps them updated on what's going on. Jackson is walking through an alley and encounters a couple of gang members who want his shoes. He is rescued by another member who gets him out of the situation. He approaches the same building. We see another man walking though a hall making a phone call. Turns out he is an insider too. The team moves into position. Sean greets Jackson, and the second insider plays it cool with him. The insider is dragged into Sean's apartment along with Jackson, and the team uses a spy ball to monitor the situation. Those of you that heard Stephanie Morgenstern's and Mark Ellis' interview will remember that the spy ball is a remote controlled ball with a camera in it that they deploy wherever they want to monitor the situation. The negotiator wonders where the second insider is. They learn he is inside, and the group countdowns to the raid... and commercials! Gavin Rossdale is going to appear on this coming episode of Canadian Idol and Advil uses some pretty neat acrobats to show it's pain relieving properties. Back to the show! The negotiator notifies the team to hold back as their insider is still inside. Sean tempts Jackson with his worldly possesions, including cocaine. The team figures out a new plan of attack. The insider taunts Jackson so not to give up his alibi. Sean asks Jackson to have a seat, and the team evacuates construction crews below as they execute a more aggressive approach. Sean says he'll help Jackson out if he goes back to being a drug dealer, but Jackson refuses, knowing there is too much at stake. The one who rescued Jackson before calls up Sean and lets him know that there's cops on the scene. Instead of pointing the gun at the insider, Sean points it at Jackson. He pleads for his life, and the negotiator, Greg Parker gets Sean's phone number. This is where our episode began, and we see who Sean shoots - the insider! Commercials! I could go for some KD right now, and there's David Suzuki and his penguins again. The team calls for a silent EMT, and the negotiator and the first insider have an argument. The negotiator wants to negotiate, while the insider wants a full on raid. Jackson reveals that the insider was a cop who had once arrested him. Sean works out an alibi with him. Greg gets on the phone with Sean as he is flushing cocaine down the toilet. Sean tries to help out the insider, who advises him to get out, but Sean wants to stay inside. The team is still trying to figure out who Sean is and why he is in there. In between negotiation, the team learns about Jackson. Jackson watches Sean and waits for the right time to run. He takes the insider's cell phone and calls the first insider... and we cut to commercial. MMM Tim Horton's Iced Capp Supreme and Fitness Depot is having a floor model sale. Back to the show...Jackson talks to Ed Lane because he wants to help. Ed gets the insiders vitals, and tells him to put the phone down and leave it on so the crew can hear what's going on. Ed reassures Jackson that he's not at fault. Jackson hides the phone as Sean comes out of the bathroom and he tries to move the insider. The insider tells his name over the phone and leaves messages for his family. Sean sees Jackson moving the insider and the team raids the apartment. A shootout ensues and some members of the team rescue the insider - but Jackson is shot. Ed reassures him that everything is going to be okay, but unfortunately he dies. Sean is apprehended and taken away. Ed and Braddock have a fight over authority, and we learn Braddock accidentally shot his best friend in Afghanistan while they were on a mission. The episode ends and we see the team recover: Braddock cries looking at a picture of his buddy, Julia sobs outside the deli, Jules and Braddock leave the headquarters together. Ed drives up to Jackson's sister's house, to tell her the sad news that he is dead as she takes the clownfish out of the mailbox. Fade to black... We had read that Amy Jo Johnson was supposed to have a song playing at the end of this episode, but this song was sung by a male. Maybe next week? Next week's episode deals with a hostage situation involving a family with an abusive husband.

This episode was definitely different than the other two. We saw more tension between the team and it's rookie member, which had a big role in how the conflict was resolved. The team members definitely had a sense things didn't go as planned and they were frustrated with it. It seemed as if the wrong person had lost their life and they have given the team a lot to think about. We look forward to next week's show!