We just passed the 30th anniversary of the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase, during which an entire nation was glued to their TV sets, waiting to see if a disgraced NFL superstar could elude the cops on the Los Angeles freeways and side streets.
And now, three decades later in Kingstown, a gang of drug dealers huddle around their police scanners, listening raptly as the KPD conducts a citywide manhunt for the two Aryan Brotherhood members suspected of blowing up a fleet of police cars. These Crips enjoy the sport of it all, in part because for once the local law isn’t after them , and in part because, well ..
. car chases are riveting. Like “Guts” two weeks ago, this week’s Mayor of Kingstown — “Rag Doll” — is also pretty riveting, and for much the same reason.
Once again, nearly all the powerful factions in Kingstown have one goal: that focus drives an episode that moves briskly, confidently, and intentionally. In a show filled with characters who like to pontificate at length about what they do and why they do it, it’s good sometimes to stick these dudes in situations where they can be purely reactive — where who they are is revealed by what they do, not what they say. Let’s start with our main Kingstown cops: Ferguson, Sawyer and Kyle.
Two-thirds of these guys act according to form. Ferguson takes charge of the city’s roadblocks in his usual rough-and-ready way, trying to beat every crook he stops into giving up the names of the bombers. After the KPD does .
