The Job - Recap

Henry Reagan and the rest of his family are enjoying a football match on the television. Clearly supporting the Jets, their sessions ends on a happy note. While Nicki finds her mom’s interest in football weird – what can she do, she was born in a house full of guys. When Frank comes back, he looks stressed out, but is not saying anything except where can he find some beer around here. Later that night, when Danny and Linda are driving with their kids, he almost runs over a man – and as he steps out to attend to the wounded man, a masked gunman tries to scare Danny. However, Danny pulls out his gun from the ankle holster, and fires back hitting his arm. The man takes a couple of shots, which enter the car. When he gets back, his kids are lucky enough as the bullet missed them by a few inches.

Detective Jackie arrives at the scene, when Danny tells her to take the spilled blood for DNA procedures. As Danny continues driving, he cannot stop talking about nabbing the man. Linda wants him to stop, but Danny doesn’t see the problem. Linda is worried about the kids, but is so exasperated, she doesn’t have to explain. The next morning Frank calls her up to ask if she is okay. She is, but the kids have been scared, and Jack is keeping quiet. Linda wants to know if he would have done anything differently, but Frank replies he would done exactly the same. After that, Frank leaves his office surprising his secretary who is briefing him about an important schedule. Meanwhile, Danny is giving Jackie grief about why she cannot make the investigations faster than they are moving. She must tell the lab rats this is high priority NYPD stuff. Does Danny think she hasn’t told them that? Then tell them again! When Erin arrives, she manages to calm Danny down by asking him out for coffee.

She tries to explain why Linda has a reason to be worried. She is not a cop, she is a mom before anything else. Danny replies he is a dad as well. Doesn’t she understand – of course she does, she is his sister. And so she should realize what Danny means – if someone takes a shot at his family, he is taking him out. Meanwhile, Jackie has found out that the man he hit with his car is a child molester. When Danny visits the man in the hospital, he lays into him for whatever he had done. He has paid his debt to society, and the dad of kid whom he molested has been after his life. While he was in prison, the dad sent him letters about killing him. And now he has sent him black roses. So he suspects the same man for being the masked gun man that night.

Meanwhile, Frank is visiting a psychological therapist. He has not been under unusual stress, but he has been through major changes in the last five years. Losing his wife to illness, giving up being a cop for the civilian position of commissioner, and may be much more. Besides, something about his dying partner is bothering him. They were at the north tower on 9/11, and his partner – McKenna – is dying from an illness induced by the gasses. Somehow, the gasses have not affected Frank. However, he is not willing to answer all the questions as a therapist. Besides, Reagans do not do drugs, even for sleeping. And they do not see therapists either.

When Danny meets the father of the molested boy, he wishes he was the man to have used his 9 mm after knowing it from the newspapers. Danny wants to see his arm, and it is clean. He is not the one with the mask and the gun. Later, when he is canvassing the halfway house, where the molester was staying, the neighborhood folks are out demonstrating with ‘Not in My Backyard’ placards. They do not want molesters and the kind living close their homes. Before long, Linda calls up to tell Danny that Jack has run back home from school. The gun shot incident keeps flashing in his memory. When Danny gets back to his place, Jack looks scared, but all he can do for now is give him a hug. Later, he teaches Jack to handle a gun with responsibility. Linda is livid when she discovers, but Danny tries to explain he is doing the right thing – it is time.

Back at work, Danny discovers that the man who could be the masked gunman is Wayne Rivano - the dad of a guy who plays football with his son. His daughter was mugged by the molester, and so maybe he decided to go after him wearing a mask and carrying a gun. When Danny and Jackie get to the Rivano house, they ask a few questions. His wife confirms Wayne was home – they were at dinner. When Danny tells them they need someone apart from the kids to corroborate what they are saying, Wayne’s wife wants to know if they need a lawyer. Danny returns the question to Wayne – who only smiles back shrewdly and asks the detectives to get off his lawn. Danny gets back to office demanding a warrant for arresting Rivano, but without proof, Erin is not making a move.

Later, Wayne’s wife and Linda have an altercation at the fruit market. The next time Danny better come to their place with a warrant. It is four in the morning, and Henry wants to know why Frank is staying up. Henry sees Frank is killing himself over the death of his wife, his partner McKenna and all the other problems, and tells him that he sees God’s light in this home every day. He doesn’t know what it means, but surely trusts God’s plans for their family, in spite of the losses, and in spite of everything bad that may have happened. The next day at dinner, the family discusses if Danny should give up the case to another detective. Linda thinks it is getting too close to home. So does Erin. However, her daughter disagrees, and so Jamie. Danny is the best, and he should see this through. Linda leaves the table livid. Meanwhile, Frank is with his dying partner – McKenna as he dies in the hospital. All he can do is talk – there is one thing harder than being a cop – that is being a cop’s wife. He feels sorry that he wasn’t there to see him through the painful years. Before long, McKenna’s wife arrives with a priest.

When Danny spots a trash man clearing the bin at Rivano’s place, he hurriedly stops him and empties out the garbage. When Wayne comes out running to know what he is doing, he shows him the coffee glass, which he intends to take in for a DNA test – whether or not the sampling matches with the blood sample on the street. Wayne tries to get friendly, but when Danny threatens him at gun point for showing whether his arm is bandaged, it is. Danny takes him away into the car in handcuffs. Later, Danny gives Linda his badge. They share an emotion-filled moment, and Danny admits that being a cop means more than just a job to him. He is proud of being one, and Linda deserves the same honor that the badge means to him.

At McKenna’s funeral, Frank anchors the condolence meeting. In his speech he reveals McKenna’s dedication to police service. On the morning of 9/11, McKenna was about to leave on a well-deserved and long awaited vacation, but as the first plane hit the tower, he knew Montauk will have to wait. He goes on to elaborate on the courage of every responder that went to ground zero on that day.

Written By David Sibert

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