One of the things I love most about MEMPHIS BEAT is the immense size of Dwight’s heart. It’s gotta be about as big as that lovely car he drives because he’s always helping everyone he can, no matter who they are. In tonight’s episode, called “I Want to be Free”, Dwight is haunted by dreams about a little girl whose been dead for three years and whose killer Dwight never caught. When he is put on the case of a man who was shot and developed amnesia, Dwight starts putting together some evidence that connects him to the girl’s death. But they also figure out that the person who shot the man was the little girl’s brother and once again, Dwight ends up with another mega moral dilemma on his hands. He then tries to decide how to put away a man who doesn’t remember committing a crime, as well as a boy who was angry over the death of his baby sister.
On this show, it’s not just about catching the criminals. Sometimes it’s also about getting them to admit to what they did and taking responsibility for their actions. Just tossing someone in jail who flat out denies any involvement in a crime is one thing, but getting a person to take a good long look at what they did, and more importantly to admit that fact to themselves and others, that is something else entirely.
With Dwight’s help Zach finally remembers what happened that night, which is that he was drunk and he accidentally hit the little girl with his car. There’s no real “happy ending” here, just a terrible, awful thing that happened, and it’s only when Zach finally admits to what he did, that things get a little better. He and his wife start speaking again, the family of the girl can move on and the brother will have an easier time for his own crimes.
As much as I love a good old fashioned cop show where the bad guys are really bad and we cheer when they got thrown away for life, I really have to admire Memphis Beat for taking a stab at dealing with things on a deeper level than that. The other stuff is fun alright, but this show really makes me think, and I like that.
My favorite bits…
The very eerie dream sequence at the beginning, going from hilarity to terror in (literally) a few heartbeats and ending in a double wakeup. Whew, scary stuff.
Dwight carrying a picture of the little girl in his car.
The verbal tap dance Zach’s wife and Dwight did while trying to come up with the name of the husband’s friend.
Sutton’s disappointment when he saw the other guys trying out for Lightfoot’s calendar shoot.
Between the two of them, Dwight and Lightfoot managing to call Martin about three different forms of the word “ass” in less than sixty seconds. Nice.
The Lieutenant’s little eaglet story and the way she rested her head on Dwight’s arm briefly and wondered who would look out for him when she was gone. So sweet.
Dwight and Whitehead finding the little girl’s barrette in the time capsule.
Dwight taking Zach back to the scene of the crime to get him to remember what happened that night.
Sutton’s thumbs up to Dwight kind of ruining the secret that it was him who made the Lieutenant’s ex give back her money. Then her thanking Dwight before warning him to never do it again.
Everyone looking at the calendar in the bar – Dwight pictured with his guitar (of course), Whitehead in a naughty pose (of course) and Sutton ending up on the cover (and looking pretty darn good, actually).
Well what can I say, really? This series is fantastic, the finale blew my socks off and now I’m just disappointed that we have to wait until next season to see what happens next.
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