Daddy Issues
Episode 4 of Hightown Season 2 begins with a bang. Osio finds his cell raided by guards that call him out as a snitch and force him into a new cell. He’s no longer their problem, as he’s about to get transferred. Specifically, he’s transferred to the “Emerald Division” for recovering drug addicts. Osito does get close to Vernon, his cellmate, learning about his struggles through Oxy. However, Osito has physical therapy too, run by Janelle. There’s no quick fix in this part of the jail, and here he needs to respect authority and not make lame jokes about third legs. If he can do, and work hard, Janelle is convinced he can recover from his injuries. Meanwhile, Jackie is taken down to see the “Scrodmaster” to investigate the shark-poaching. The name of Billy Moran is brought up but given he’s the competition around here, she scoffs at the intel. Accompanied by Ed, Jackie heads down to see her father. He’s a habitual drinker, which explains where Jackie gets that from. Things are rough between her folks, who don’t exactly see eye to eye. Jackie’s estranged relationship with her father is plain to see too, as she’s awkwardly encouraged to hug him. Back in the office, Jackie lets her angst out on Leslie, sleeping with her in the locker room. However, they’re interrupted by intel confirming that Daisy’s real name is Britney Chin. She has a record and actually happens to be out on probation too. First though, Leslie and Jackie head up to meet Renee, who’s still feeding them info. There’s no love lost between her and Jorge, with Renee throwing him under the bus and claiming if anything like that is happening then it’s not on Frankie and Renee’s watch. Ray, unofficially working undercover OF COURSE, shows up at a group therapy session. His target here is Coco’s mum, whom Ray uses to find out who’s dealing drugs. She mentions a “black girl”, which Ray realizes could be linked to the girl over on Wayne House, Charmaine. When he feeds this back to Alan, he sets to work learning more. Alan heads into see Osito next and questions him about Charmaine. Now, given Charmaine has struck a deal with him for when he gets out, Osito lies and claims he hasn’t seen her. The visitor log that Alan checks next, says otherwise. Renee feeds back the situation about the girls to Frankie, who in turn speaks to Jorge. He promises to tone it down but his words are hard to take seriously when he pads it out with talk about not taking orders and doing what he wants. Leslie and Jackie set to work trapping Daisy, using Ron Starks to enter Xavier’s and learn how far this goes. Ron takes her out into the car, putting her in a rough spot as Jackie and Leslie both show. Given Ron was wearing a wire this whole time, they have video evidence of Daisy selling herself and, in turn, violating her probation. The gang give her 24 hours to make a decision, but this very clearly rattles Daisy. Meanwhile, Ray and Alan head off to meet Charmaine, who nonchalantly mentions meeting Osito in prison. She doesn’t give much away but it’s clear that Osito seems to have tipped her off. The title of this episode is called “Daddy Issues” and it links back specifically to Leslie and Jackie. Jackie’s situation comes from her father, whom she doesn’t really have anything in common with, despite them both sleeping with women. Jackie’s issues with him though stem from childhood, and specifically how she’s still torn up over how he treated her mum. Midway through their chat, Daisy (aka Britney) requests to meet Jackie out on the coast. As they sit together, she opens up and mentions how she has a kid called Valentina. Her parents currently have custody of the child though and have done since she was in prison. Now, a nasty bruise across Daisy’s eye is clearly Jorge’s doing, although she shrugs it off and claims she’s partly to blame for this. Jackie refuses to use her child as leverage, promising not to speak to her probation officer either, and simply wanting to know about the drug. Daisy corroborates what Alan has been learning all this time, linking the drugs back to Charmaine. As the episode closes out, we’re left with lots of questions as the noose begins to tighten around Frankie and Jorge’s neck.
The Episode Review
Moat of this episode is taken up by two different investigations, the one done legally by Jackie and Leslie, and the unofficial, off-the-books work by Ray and Alan. Seeing the latter together, along with that cheeky Stansky and Hutch reference, helps to reinforce just how far they’ve come together. Despite all the flaws and issues Ray has, he’s undoubtedly got a knack for talking to women. Here, he learns about Charmaine, with Osito clearly in on this whole mess. Meanwhile, Jackie and Leslie navigate through their daddy issues while simultaneously tracking down info on Daisy and learning about her history. It’s a nice touch and the whole investigation is nicely paced here too. Compared to the first season, this one is actually doing a pretty good job of making Jackie and Ray likable, which in turn makes this a far more watchable prospect. Hopefully next week can continue that good work, as the show leaves things resting precariously on a knife-edge.
