'Common Law' Episode 1.08 Recap: "Joint Custody"
Common Law never ceases to amuse me and make me smile. While in the past, the shows have seem to center on developing only one of the guys’ characters, this time it was something different. Both Wes and Travis learn new things about each other and themselves, giving the episode a nice accomplished feeling. However, this new episode is possibly the funniest yet. The guys similarities to a married couple is taken to a whole new level when they agree to have joint custody over a dog.
We start off with Wes explaining how the way Travis always loses his staplers irritates him. Apparently, Travis’ lack of responsibility strikes a nerve for Wes. While they talk about the issue in group, everything thinks that Wes is having control issues with his divorce and all, but as the show goes on, we soon learn that the divorce isn’t completely the case.
Randi, one of Travis’ ex and the guys’ colleague, is shot in a chase. Her trained police German shepherd, Hudson, had bit the shooter and got a good whiff of the guy. Since the guys are assigned to Randi’s case, she requests that Hudson stays with Travis while she recovers so the dog can help sniff out the shooter. Travis agrees, but Wes and Randi are a bit doubtful because as anyone can see, Travis is the least responsible person possibly ever.
Wes and Travis start off by talking with the guys that were working the same case as Randi. The group was trying to bring down a drug dealer when a guy randomly walked up and shot down the dealer with his left hand. Randi then chases the shooter and that is how she ends up shot. The guys working the case with Randi give Wes and Travis information about the dealer that was shot and lists possible suspects. Wes and Travis start arguing about their next course of action, which upsets all of the other cops that are friends of Randi in the briefing room. Couples Counseling doesn’t seem to be fixing all of their problems. But the guys get it together and decide to release a picture of the suspect to the press and set out to find the guy. Taking Hudson, Wes and Travis head over to the Lone Wolf Shooting Club for hopefully their first lead. The Lone Wolf Shooting Club is apparently where the dead dealer got his supply from. The club turns out to be full of white racist men. Travis shows one of the guys his gun and suddenly every man in the club has their own gun pointed at him. Wes and Travis notice one of the guys is pointing with his left hand with a gun similar to the gun that harmed Randi. Wes admits their LAPD and they arrest the guy with ease and take him back to the station for questioning.
However, they don’t even make it out of the parking lot with the guy. He timidly admits that he has an alibi, he was singing karaoke at a gay bar at noon the day of the shooting. Hudson, who has been sitting in the car the whole time, sniffs the guy and can confirm that he isn’t the killer. Later that night, Travis brings home a girl. Hudson freaks out because she isn’t Randi, so Travis calls Wes and pulls out the “bro code” on him. Wes agrees to take Hudson, but only if Travis meets his conditions. So, the next day in therapy, Travis tells the group about how he was irresponsible and sent Hudson to Wes and admits that he loses his staplers, a lot. Wes and Travis get into an argument about who should take care of Hudson, which quickly becomes highly comical since they’re arguing about custody like a newly divorced couple over a dog that isn’t even theirs. Dr. Ryan steps in and suggests that Travis takes the dog during the day and Wes takes Hudson at night. The guys have just entered the realm of joint custody.
The next morning, the captain receives a hit on the tip line about the whereabouts of the guys’ main suspect, so Wes and Travis are off on a new lead. They arrive at a house that looks abandon besides the fresh garbage sitting outside. Travis looks through the trash and finds a gun that is the exact type that shot Randi. Wes goes into the front, but the guy inside runs away. He chases him around the house and up the next street and then Travis appears and tackles the guy. They arrest Barrett, claiming that he is the shooter, and consider the case to be closed. But back at the station, when Barrett’s attorney agrees to let Hudson sniff him, Hudson sits back. Turns out, Barrett isn’t the guy. Wes and Travis then begin to believe that Barrett was set up, after all they only found him because of an anonymous tip. The gun turns out to be the exact one that killed the drug dealer and shot Randi, but the guys refuse to believe its Barrett and follow Hudson’s word. The district attorney tells them to close the case and congratulates them on another job well done. However, if you know Wes and Travis at all, then you know that this is most definitely not the end.
Later that night, the hotel manager tells Wes that Hudson has to leave. Apparently, someone is smoking weed on the same floor as Wes and Hudson is going nuts. Travis has the same woman from the night before over again, so Wes resorts to asking his ex wife, Alex, for help. He stays the night over at her house with Hudson. When Hudson gets rowdy and jumps on Wes in the middle of the night, Alex comes downstairs to help out. Together, Wes and Alex talk in calm and mellow tones to Hudson to make him go asleep on the couch. While sitting there, Alex ends up falling asleep in Wes arms and he kisses her forehead. Maybe Wes isn’t over Alex yet?
The next day, Wes shows up at work to find Travis already busy. Travis figured that if the anonymous tipper did set up Barrett, then they should trace the call. The trace leads him to a payphone in front of a gas station. Travis talked to the gas station owner and was able to obtain video footage. The guys watch the video for the guy that made the call. However, the guy is in a black sweatshirt with the hood up and the plates on his crown vic are unreadable. But the raised hood suggests the car is used for racing or speed or something and has a huge engine. Wes and Travis are contemplating the car when Hudson becomes ill. The guys rush him to the veterinarian office. Wes blames Travis and yells at him since technically Hudson is his responsibility during the day. One of the vets comes out and tells the guys that they have pumped Hudson’s stomach and found three tablets of some sort of deadly drug. Someone tried to kill Hudson.
Wes and Travis know immediately that the shooter is now a cop. However, before they begin pointing fingers they have to figure out a way to give the captain more evidence. So they fake Hudson’s death. While the captain gives a beautiful eulogy for Hudson in the briefing room to all of the members of the LAPD, Wes and Travis take Hudson out for a stroll in the locker room. Hudson finds the sniff of the shooter and leads the guys to Jim Hawkes’ locker. Jim is actually a dirty cop that was working with Garza, the drug dealer. When he figured out that Garza was about to get arrested, Jim shot Garza so Garza couldn’t play the whole I know who is the dirty cop card. Wes and Travis put a GPS device on Jim’s crown vic and follow him to the docks, where he picks up a drug shipment every Friday at six. The guys perform an arrest and bring down Jim.
That night, Alex visits Wes at his hotel. She returns one of Hudson’s toys that Weds had left at her house. She then suggests to Wes maybe he should get a dog, it’ll get him out of his head and out into the world. The next day, Wes and Travis both show up to work, even though they don’t have too. Randi is back and she’s brought Hudson. Turns out, both of the guys miss the furry canine and practically beg Randi to let them take him on a walk. The show ends with the guys walking Hudson to the park all the while bickering, as they always do.
This is why I love Common Law. The show successfully provides good lessens and morals while sending the viewers into a fit of giggles. Whether if you need a new and great show to watch, or need something to get addicted to with the family, this is the perfect series and I highly suggest you watch it.