Line of Fire Season 1 Episode 3 “There Are Two Wolves” might be the messiest episode yet. But I also feel like it’s actual magic that it’s only taken three episodes for this show to get into its groove. And I’m talking about from cast to story and the overall mystery. I’m invested in this. So much so, that if I look away from the screen to do something else, like a lot of us do nowadays, I will miss something that I know I’d like.
This episode also allowed for the exploration and understanding of so many different family connections without it feeling overwhelming or like info dumping. And then at the same time, I was surprised to find out that Micah, my least favorite child of the family, is the most sensitive one. And God do I relate to him.
MORE: Need a refresher of the previous episode? Read our review for Line of Fire Season 1 Episode 2 “A Bigger Picture.”
Micah, the Sensitive Child
Although I love all the cast members on Line of Fire, I will admit that Micah is probably my least favorite. That doesn’t mean I don’t like him. I do. But I connect with him and his woes less. But after the events of this episode, and everything that happened with his dad, I understand him in a way that I don’t even understand Russ and Clare. And that’s saying a lot because I understand those two from the jump.
All that Micah wants is to be heard. And on the surface it just looks like a grumbly kid not wanting to work with their dad. Also, they want to go on vacation with their secret girlfriend who is also the president’s daughter. Messy stuff. But Micah’s anger at his dad is also about him carving out a space for himself here and then having his dad bulldoze through it because “he knows better.”
I’m not going to lie, I do think Mike was right in a lot of ways. If you’re going to be an agent of this caliber, you need to know the buildings you are securing and be in peak physical shape. But Micah was also right. Times have changed and talking at someone doesn’t make them feel like they’re part of the team. It lets resentment grow. And I think it took Micah confronting his dad, for Mike to realize he was doing just that to his work colleagues and his son.
Back to Micah being the most sensitive child. You could see it in his eyes during the kitchen scene. Micah holds onto things with an iron grip because he feels too much. And I like the juxtaposition of him at work, him with his dad, and then him with his siblings. It allows me to see different sides of him that somehow fit together thanks to good writing and stellar acting. And it makes him all the more human and relatable because of it.
That Investigation Scene
There came a moment in this episode of Line of Fire where all of them came over to help with the case of “There Are Two Wolves.” And as Clare acted as lead, more and more people poured into the house. Some of them to help. Some of them to complain. And some of them to just have a drink. But it was the most delightful chaos that reminded me of a stage production and the dinner scene that we got in Episode 1.
MORE: Line of Fire Season 1 Episode 1 Review: The Best Procedural We’ve Watched in Years
While all of this is going on, we’re learning so much about these characters. And it’s messy. Russ apparently has a girlfriend that he didn’t tell anybody about. Jane is using her assistant to flirt with her boyfriend’s assistant to get information. Mike wants to come over because he’s had a hard day. But Jane is having dinner with her senator boyfriend at their family home. And somehow Micah snuck over while no one was watching because his sister needed him and he needed an escape from dad.
In anybody else’s hands this would have been an unfortunate disaster. But everything is done with clinical precision that makes this mess feel like a dance with zero wasted moments in between. And it goes back to what I was saying in my introduction about not being able to look away from the show. Because if I do, not only am I going to maybe miss out on important details. But I’m also going to miss out on the little micro expressions that they share, like the one when Russ introduced his girlfriend and his family looked at each other like, “Wait, what? Since when?”
All of this to say that I love how Line of Fire keeps me on my toes and feels like it’s working hard to earn my viewership while also not pandering to me. Crazy how something so simple is something that doesn’t happen anymore in Hollywood. But it’s happening with Line of Fire.
Additional thoughts about Line of Fire Season 1 Episode 3:
- What’s going on with Jack? Because the mystery surrounding him is super intriguing. But I need more information and I need it nowwwww.
- Not because I’m not following along. But because I can feel Line of Fire is building the emotional weight of his loss while not reuniting him with his family in the present. Meaning, when the reunion happens, it’s going to hurt.
- At the same time, I like how it isn’t just up to the parents to keep Jack’s memory alive. The kids do it too. And I loved the conversation Russ and Clare were having where Russ shared the connection he felt with Jack.
- Also Jack is messy for getting a job at a grief group that is next to the headquarters of the people that are investigating him. Oh they don’t know what’s about to hit them!
- This show also hasn’t forgotten that Clare just lost Logan. The grief is present.
- I like it even better that this grief isn’t destroying Clare. She’s a strong woman and she’s using it to fuel her. Because she has a job to do.
- Can we talk about Clare and Russ’s little outfits during the investigation. Same outfit basically but different color. Super cute. Love their bond.
- But also, oftentimes it feels like procedurals haven’t found a balance where women look feminine yet comfortable and not sexualized but also powerful. It’s like they have to pick one side or another as to who we are. Not Line of Fire.
- Shout out to the wardrobe department!
Line of Fire airs new episodes on Mondays at 10/9c on NBC, with episodes streaming the next day on Peacock.
