Deep Water



On to Deep Water, an episode that gives us a glimpse into the past life of Jim Ellison. Lots of J/B moments and spoilers ahead.

I'll start with the scene beside the river when Jack Pendergast's car is fished out of the water. You know I almost always skip the scenes that Jim and Blair aren't in. Those scenes usually aren't worth mentioning. Blair is wearing one of my all-time favorite shirts in this episode. It is powder blue with little white and yellow squares. He wears this shirt several more times, thank heavens. Blair looks wonderful in this color and it highlights his hair and eyes. Jim is in an okay shirt, nothing to note, but then, Jim always looks good in whatever he's wearing. .

Jim is quite upset when Jack's car is fished out of the river as Jack happens to be Jim's old partner who up and disappeared one night four years ago. Seems he disappeared with a million dollars in cash after a kidnap victim vanishes. IA thinks Jack killed the victim and ran off with the money, and they think Jim was in on it.

We have a scene set as a flashback when Jim and Jack first meet. Simon is new to the division and Jim is in smartass mode big time. He has a moustache and chin hair (I don't know what to call this hair, it is not a beard, just a patch under his lower lip, like he had in Touched by an Angel.), an earring and a ratty torn flannel shirt. He's bouncing a tennis ball while Simon is chewing him a new one and telling him to get his act together. Jim gives Simon a lot of rotten attitude for some reason. I have a hard time believing that Jim Ellison, ex Special Forces Ranger, is acting like this to a superior. Maybe he was having a bad spell or it was the first time we get to see Pod!Jim (he'll reappear in the last few episodes).

The scene when Simon, Jim and Blair are in the evidence garage is good. I like Jim in that green t shirt. Blair has on a blue paid shirt. The IA BOTW informs our Jimmy that a gun was found in Jack's car and it's Jim's. And guess what? The bullet that killed the kidnap victim whose body is in the trunk is from Jim's gun. Jim is in major trouble. The IA woman takes a hike. Jim and Simon have a bit of a squabble over keeping an open mind and Jack not being guilty of anything. Jim defends his ex-partner and is angry with Simon. Blair watches with a surprised look as Simon and Jim argue. Jim takes off and I like when Simon tells Blair to keep on eye on Jim. Even Simon believes that Blair is the only person capable of handling Jim Ellison. And I agree with him.

Then we are treated to a really nice scene with the guys making a trip across town in the truck. Blair is all concerned for Jim. Jim chuckles as Blair keeps on eye on him. Jim decides to go to Jack's storage locker and look for evidence but the only person with a key is the old girl friend. They also went and questioned the "grieving" stepmother of the kidnap victim, a young woman who married the kidnap victim's elderly father. Imagine that.

On the trip to the storage locker, we meet Emily, Jack's old girl friend. Blair thinks something is up between Jim and Emily but Jim denies it. Our boys are locked in the storage unit when some evil villain starts a fire and tries to fry them. They manage to escape, thank heavens.

The scene when the IA BOTW is grilling Jim is pretty good. Jim looks all put out and he's just about had it with her questions. She accuses Jim of helping Jack kill Brackley, the kidnapped guy, and splitting the money with Jack, who is, of course, no where to be found. Jim looks good all irritated. He's about ready to bite her head off but his lawyer tells him to cool it.

I like the scene when Simon and Blair are very concerned about what is happening to Jim. They are in Simon's office and it's kind of dark. Jim is pacing, a usual JE trait. He looks good in the shadows. Simon and Blair finally get Jim to admit the $50,000 he used to buy the loft with was back pay from his time in Peru, not from the ransom. Simon and Jim explain to Blair that Jim was in covert ops. All knowledge of Jim and the money would be denied.

This leads up to a good scene when Simon questions Jim's next move "if he were on the case". Jim tells the Captain that he would go over Jack's car for clues, but he can't get into evidence lockup. Simon quite nicely puts his key card on the table and says he'll be back in a while. Jim looks really surprised and pleased at Simon, and Blair just grins. I love when Jim is going over the car and takes Blair's hand and moves it back and forth so he can feel where the gunshot pellets embedded in the metal. So they know Jack is dead. Oh, and Jim uses the shop light to see into Jack's car. I guess even Sentinels need extra light sometimes.

It is discovered that Jack's body was buried in an unmarked grave after the body washed up almost four years ago and was unidentified. Now Jim has a pretty good idea what's going on, but before he can investigate, Simon calls him into his office. Blair tries to follow, but Simon makes him wait outside. The look on Blair's face is so sad. Jim is suspended because of the criminal investigation. Then the guys all to for pizza. I love when they are doing normal stuff, like eating. It's just too cute. Oh, and those glasses on the table in the restaurant are the same ones used in the loft scenes. You notice Blair has no trouble eating pizza. Man, I'd be avoiding the stuff myself after BMB.

Well, this is where Jim admits that he shagged Jack's old lady. Yuck, Jim, what were you thinking? Good heavens, men! Sometimes it makes you wonder. Jim is feeling really guilty because when Jack was trying to get him on the phone to come and help him with the kidnappers, Jimmy is sleeping with Jack's woman.

We have a slashy scene when Blair is sitting on the arm of the yellow chair explaining to Jim that while Jim was sleeping with whatshername, the answering machine picked up Jack's message. Jim remembers he called but the message was erased accidentally before he heard it. Blair is just so smart. He figures Jim can reprocess the old memories, filter out his hearing, and "listen" to the message that is stored in his brain. Good Blair!

BTW, Blair has on his red henley t-shirt that always looks nice on him. Jim has on a cream long sleeved shirt that I don't like. I don't like Jim in white or cream. It does nothing for him. Just like that cream cable knit sweater in Killers. Jim needs dark, vibrant colors to bring out his eyes.

I absolutely love Blair in full Guide mode. He's walking Jim through the drill about relaxing, concentrating, etc. Jim is antsy as usual but he finally cooperates and is able to "hear" the message. I like that Blair moves onto the sofa arm next to Jim and keeps touching him while he's giving him instructions. The message leads the guys to the home of Brackley's attorney. He's already left so Jim and Blair follow. No brakes and Brackley's lawyer is toast. It is kind of distracting that in the scene when the Ford is in a skid we have to see the full face of the stunt man. They could have at least cut that part out. Another thing, why don't idiot drivers careening down mountain roads with no brakes turn off the engine? Darned if I know. It would ruin the story because the car wouldn't crash and burst into flames. <sigh>

Well, if you're interested, Brackley's young wife set everyone up and killed Jack for the money, as well as her step-son and the lawyer. The only good part of the confrontation scene is that while Jim is raking her over the coals, he keeps looking back at Blair, just to make him feel like an important part of the conversation. Great, Jim drops his gun in this episode. Oh, well, that makes six so far.

The final scene is Jack's long overdue funeral. Jim doesn't attend because Jack hated formalities. Instead he has a touchy/feely moment with Emily. Good heavens. Blair goes to the funeral wearing an extremely ugly brown plaid jacket. He makes up for it by wearing those sunglasses and his hair looks great.

That's it for Deep Water. Hey, how about a preview? Next episode, A Simon Episode--Reunion!

The End

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