Flashpoint in a Flash: Episode 6

Sorry it's a bit late - I just came back from our translator, White Tiger King's wedding reception. On behalf of the readers and staff, congrats Tiger! And thank technology for PVR's! Summary can be found after the jump!


We begin with a shot of Toronto's financial district on Bay Street, and eventually focus on a bank. Ed Lane is ready to shoot and we see a robber, clad in black exit the bank with a female hostage. Gregory Parker shouts to the robber not to do it, as he with his gun forces the hostage to her knees. Greg wonders what to do next... and REWIND! 2 hours earlier. Braddock is learning how to negotiate in a parking lot in a hypothetical scenario being played by the other SRU members. He fails to resolve the situation, and pretend gunman Ed Lane pretend kills a hostage. Greg tries to help Sam learn what he did wrong, but he avoids it. Next we are taken to a man talking on his cell phone in a car, asking for a few more days to get something done, but eventually he relents and says he will have it tonight. He loads up a gun and puts on a mask. This is our bank robber! Back at SRU headquarters, Greg tries to teach Braddock a thing or two about negotiating. Now we're at the bank, which is celebrating it's rise to the 2nd best performing branch in the downtown core from it's last place position. The bank's manager hands out some employee awards and everyone gets back to work. She takes aside a worker named Paul, and says he has to pull his own weight despite his personal troubles. Paul moves back to his work, and the manager makes mention of an error code with the door in the morning. She retreats to her office, and there's our gunman waiting for her. He demands $500,000, and he wants her to withdraw it and bring it back up to her office. He will leave, and no one gets hurt. She leaves to get the money as he moves to a window to watch. The manager calmly tells a teller there's danger, and the teller gets the message that there is a robbery. Another sounds the alarms, and people pilfer out the door... some don't make it as the robber heads down to the floor and takes the manager hostage at gunpoint. ROLL CREDITS! Hmm. It seems Kohl's is sponsoring Flashpoint now (but without that horrible Avril line plzplz) Worst Week looks a little stale. Back to the show - the SRU is called into action and heads to the bank. We learn our robber , the Monday Morning Bandit, had an override code and cut the video and audio security, and that he knew tellers were trained to be quiet and hand over the cash. They are dealing with a pro here. Greg assigns positions, but Braddock wants a higher one. Jules tells him to wait, he's not ready. The group gets into position, as we go to the inside of the bank where all the hostage are sitting up against the bank's counters with their hands behind their heads. Greg gets on the phone with the Bandit, who demands that the team get him a car by noon so he can escape. He gets the bank manager on the phone who pleads that they do what he says or they will all be killed.
Ed talks to another officer who reveals something about how these robbers work and use the subway to escape. Greg works with Braddock on negotiating, and he calls the Bandit again. Greg says that he will have what he wants if he cooperates and gives up the hostages. Greg realizes that he doesn't fit the typical antisocial profile, and the SRU has to change their plan of action. The hostages worry in the bank. The manager gets up and says she has to go to the bathroom and she tries to bargain with him. The bandit makes her sit back down again. Some SRU members head down to the subway. Greg notifies the Bandit that the alarm is going to go off again and that he should stay calm. Jules sets off the alarm and the team sets off a bomb in the subway that leads to the bank's basement. Greg realizes that this is not our Monday Morning Bandit, and the bank manager starts off a frenzy when she tries to get help for an asthmatic teller. The team is now face to face with the robber, who fires some shots in the air. Some team members get some hostages out, but the robber still holds the manager. They ask him repeatedly to put the gun down, and he won't. The SRU moves closer, but the robber drags the manager upstairs and reveals his face... It's GEORGE! Commercials! J.C. Penney is having a sale and who knows if Spray 'N' Wash is really that strong... Back to the show! The SRU now has feed from the security cameras but n sound. They find the unmasked George talking to the manager... a security guard tells Greg he was a former head of security until he was fired 2 months ago. Greg gets a file of information about him, and the forensic psychologist lets him know what to look for in the robber's psyche. Another teller tells Jules that the manager is a horrible boss, and a lot of people hate her for how she turned the bank around. Greg goes off to negotiate with George, and Braddock goes with Lane. George gets mad and says the team has half an hour to meet his demands or else the manager dies. He gives them an account number and that the manager is going to take him to a computer to verify the money has been received. Greg tries to take his mind off the manager, but it is futile and he hangs up. He tells the manager that it's not looking good for her... Commercials! Sears is having a sale and Harold and Kumar's latest hijinks are on DVD! Jules learns he has a wife, and another SRU member learns that the money is going to some business. Greg is on the phone with George again, and the psychologist heads to a nursing home for more info. The manager shows a different side to her ruthlessness and talks about how she doesn't like to fire people. She worked hard to only have to fire 7 people over 62. George hangs up and says "no more talking". He gags the manager, and Greg tells the SRU to prepare to act. Ed gives Braddock more guidance on the job behind the rifle. The psychologist calls Greg and we learn George's wife has Alzheimer's and will be kicked out of her care home because she does not have the money to stay there. We have a motive for the robbery now. Greg uses this to empathize with George, and it looks like he is ready to listen and give in. He asks to talk to his wife, and Greg doesn't know if he should or not. Greg allows it, and Mary and George start talking. Mary tells George she doesn't like to be alone and she feels like she is at fault. George says he has to go , and they tell each other they love them. He lets the manager go free, but she doesn't want to go. She wants to help him with his wife's situation. He puts on his mask and heads out with her out of the bank. Greg runs out of the truck to the front of the bank and the team materializes... Commercials! Kiefer is on Letterman and Swingtown looks creepy. And we are taken back to where the episode started. Greg talks to him to put the gun down and let the manager go. George stands up and points the gun to Greg. Lane tells Braddock to shoot, and George falls to the ground. Greg is stunned, the manager is left in tears as some soft, sad, and harrowing vocal music plays in the background. Braddock is stunned, and Greg walks over to unmask George. The psychologist tries to tell Mary that George is dead, but she does not understand. Back at HQ, Ed Lane tells Braddock it's all procedure when he was questioned. The attack may have been planned as George's insurance did not cover suicide, but did pay out if his death was caused by a third party. Greg asks Braddock if he is okay, and Greg himself is confused because he doesn't know where he lost the connection. Braddock offers to help, and Greg takes it as they go through the log together. End Episode! Next week is Episode #4 Attention Shopper - a woman with a gun has run astray in a shopping mall.

This episode was a little complex, and maybe because I'm a little tired I can't quite wrap my head around everything that happened. Next week's episode finally features cast member and former Power Ranger Amy Jo Johnson's Dancing in Between playing at the end.