'Common Law' Episode 1.09 Recap: "Odd Couples"
Wes and Travis may be in couples counseling, but they’re clearly not your average couple. They’re not even really a couple, just partners or colleagues. So when Dr. Ryan has everyone in therapy go around and talk about how many times a week they have sex with their significant other, one could only imagine how awkward that must have been for the two detectives. But that’s Common Law for you, and it only gets better.
Cooper Williams robbed a bank and stole $5 million a few years ago. He told the District Attorney that he could lead them to where he stashed the money. However, when the armed guard, the District Attorney, and Cooper got there, Cooper revealed a box full of weapons that he used to cover his escape. Since it is believed Cooper hid the money in Los Angeles, the FBI asked the LAPD for help on the recapturing of Cooper. The captain assigns Kate and Amy too look through Cooper’s friends and acquaintances while Wes and Travis go talk to Lisa Clark, who wrote a biography about Cooper. However, she couldn’t provide any useful information. She said that Cooper hasn’t contacted her and probably never will, he’s a genius. She continues to go a bit about why she finds Cooper to be so brilliant before the guys give up and head back to the station to look over the case files. Wes tries to think of all the possible areas while Travis muses over the fact that Lisa wasn’t in to him. Wes and Travis are able to narrow the possible area to where Cooper could have stashed the money to a small block that is now nothing but office buildings. But, Wes figures out that three months before the robbery construction of a new building began. The guys are off following their new lead.
Turns out that Wes and Travis were right. They arrive at the building and head down to the basement where Cooper is already blowing up a wall and trying to get his money out. The detectives chase him as he runs, but lose him outside when he hijacks someone’s car leaving Wes and Travis stranded since the valets have already put up Wes’ car. Back at the station, Travis flips through Cooper’s biography and figures out that Lisa must be in love with Cooper. They go and talk to the captain about their possible new lead. He agrees with Travis, Cooper may try to get in touch with Lisa. So while LAPD techs put taps on Lisa’s phone and email, Wes and Travis act like a real gay couple go across the street and rent out an apartment so they can watch Lisa 24/7. Words cannot explain just how funny it is watching Wes squirm while Travis acts like the girl in the relationship and flicks Wes’s ear.
Lisa leaves her apartment for a doctor’s appointment. Two guys follow her while Travis takes the opportunity to run over to her apartment and plant a bug. While he’s there, he takes a cookie from Lisa’s jar, which of course frustrates Wes, and notices a box full of letters from Cooper. He flips through them, but since the prison guards read the letters there isn’t anything of interest. Travis plants the bug high up on the wall and then runs out in the nick of time since the guys following Lisa reported that she had turned around and was on her way back up. Later that night, while Wes and Travis are watching Lisa, the captain shows up with two six packs and a bucket of fried chicken. He crashes the guys’ stake out, making them rather uncomfortable and confused. Why isn’t the captain at home with his wife? Suddenly, a doorman is buzzing in a pizza guy to go up to Lisa’s apartment, confusing all three guys since she never ordered a pizza. Wes and Travis run over and catch the pizza guy before he gets to Lisa’s door. Inside the pizza box, they discovered a note telling Lisa to meet Cooper at a park tomorrow at six. Apparently Cooper had paid the pizza guy $100 to put the note in the box. The guys send the pizza on his way to Lisa’s with a microphone pen to make sure he doesn’t blow the detectives cover. Travis’ idea about Lisa being Cooper’s love interest, is turning itself into a good lead.
In therapy the next day, Wes word vomits out all of his frustrations that come from living with Travis. He rants about how he does all the cooking and cleaning and how Travis never offers to help, which is a bit comical since Wes sounds just like an overworked wife. However, the rant takes a serious twist and Travis randomly yells back, surprising everyone, and screams that no wonder Alex and Wes didn’t work out because Wes doesn’t talk about his problems. Instead, he just waits for things like therapy where he lets out all of his anger and bashes the other person (in this case, Travis). Therapy is clearly over for the day.
Wes and Travis head back to the apartment so they can relieve Kate and Amy and take over watching Lisa. The apartment quickly becomes a mess since Wes decides not to clean. Wes takes out the batteries from the remote, upsetting Travis who then goes and messes with the thermostat. Wes, who is obsessed with it being a perfect 72 degrees, jumps up and fights with Travis. As they have a war over who can push the button faster, the thermostat breaks. Wes then goes into the kitchen and picks up a plate that he only made for himself. He looks over across the street and notices Lisa leaving early. Travis takes the opportunity to steal Wes’ plate and shove it down. I guess that makes Travis 1 and Wes 0.
At the park, the undercover LAPD members and FBI agents wait patiently for Cooper to approach Lisa. However, the only person that comes up to her is a random jogger. The two chat for a few minutes and then Lisa gets back into her car and heads home. The FBI scorns the guys for following the false lead and head back to the station. Meanwhile, Wes and Travis go back to the stake out apartment so they can keep watching Lisa. After a bit, Kate and Amy show up and are surprised by all the trash around the apartment and the broken thermostat that’s making it feel like a 100 degrees in the apartment. While the guys talk to them, Travis hears a knock on Lisa’s door from the bug they planted. She lets in Cooper. Wes and the girls are running for the door to go catch the guy, but Travis keeps watching and sees Lisa shoot Cooper.
They arrest Lisa and take her back to the station for questioning. Travis thinks that Cooper had asked Lisa to run away with him and she decided to shoot him instead and take the $5 million. However, Lisa doesn’t admit to anything. She only says that Cooper lunged at her and she shoot in self-defense, though that’s not what Travis saw. Wes and Travis give up questioning for now and leave the room. The captain and the district attorney question Travis. The district attorney doesn’t believe him and doesn’t want to press charges against Lisa for killing a felon. He basically tells the detectives he doesn’t care what Travis saw. Travis storms out and gets his stuff from his desk. When Wes tries to stop and tell him to let the case go, Travis yells back about how the entire case Wes hasn’t had Travis’ back. As we have seen in past episodes, if Wes has a theory, Travis may argue but will follow Wes and the theory down into the ground. However, Wes has doubted Travis this whole case. So Travis leaves to follow Lisa and see if she goes back for the money without Wes.
Travis’ idea turns out to be right. While Travis stakes out the area near the pizza place Cooper sent Lisa a note from, he notices Lisa enter a hotel room across the street. Travis walks in to see Lisa pulling out huge bags of money from underneath the bed. He begins to arrest Lisa when a guy comes in and points a gun to Travis’ head. The guy is one of the guards from the prison Cooper was at. As the guard handcuffs the detective, Travis realizes what had actually happened. During all the visits Lisa made to see Cooper and interview him, she saw the same guard. The two got together and came up with this elaborate scheme to steal the money Cooper hid. Lisa and the guard walk out of the room with the money and Travis in tow. They begin to put the money in the trunk of Lisa’s car when Wes pops out from around the corner with his gun pointed at the couple and tells them to drop the weapons. Shots are fired and Travis knocks the guard down. Lisa escapes to her car but Wes chases her down and forces her into a crash. The bad guys have been caught.
The next day, Wes and Travis are back at the apartment cleaning things up. Travis comes clean about why his own home is so clean, even though he made the apartment a mess. After years of being in foster care and going through so many temporary homes, when Travis finally got his own he figured he’d take care of it so he wouldn’t ever leave. Taking care of the home he has now makes it more permanent. Wes apologizes for yelling at Travis and not having his back on the case. The guys leave the apartment with their boxes and that is the end of another fantastic show of Common Law.
This episode had it all. There were many good laughs, a couple of nice action scenes, and heartfelt moments that showed the inner workings of both guys instead of just one of them. As the season keeps dwindling down to the finale (only three episodes left!), the episodes keep getting better and better, making me wish that the season didn’t have to end. Watching Common Law is an excellent way to spend any day.