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Wanted

Shoot to Thrill
Episode 1.9 - Dec. 5, 2005

This episode was the first of two episodes airing Dec. 5 to mark the "winter season" premiere of "Wanted." 

"Shoot to Thrill" originally had been on TNT's schedule as the fourth episode in the series. Not sure why the show was delayed, but it was a lively choice to open the second round of "Wanted" episodes.

The show opens with Eddie and Carla walking through a scenic upscale neighborhood lined with canals and lush gardens. Eddie pauses to admire a scene inside a particularly beautiful home where they can see a mom serving her family at the dinner table. Eddie gushes, "Aw, that is righteous!"

But Carla scoffs about it being "Norman Rockwell's wet dream."

Eddie scolds her for knocking it and launches into a riff on how women's lib killed the American family: "Working mothers lead to day care and day care leads to latchkey kids. And latchkey kids start munching mom's Vicodin, cruising Internet porn and hanging out at the mall, which we know is society's sexual Petri dish. If I had more time I could prove that working mothers are responsible for higher street crime."

Carla's not buying it. "Blow me," she suggests.

"Rain check," Eddie snarks.

Moments later, Eddie and Carla come upon the perp's house -- the very opposite of a Norman Rockwell scene. Carla mentions he's number 90 on the list. 

Which leads Eddie to voice a thought I'm sure many watchers of "Wanted" have had: "Ninety on the list. Who made this list anyway? What's the criteria?

"The worst of the worst," Carla reminds him. The guy they're after is a homicidal rapist and a drug dealer. The chase is on, and they catch him when the perp tries to hide under one of the little scenic bridges over the neighborhood's canal.

But this lively little scene is just the warm-up to the real crime.

No. 89 on the list is Esteban Soledad, wanted for murder, drug sales, extortion, etc. His latest crime rocketed him to the top 10 on the list. After running through a school zone in an SUV loaded with cocaine, Soledad killed a rookie cop who pulled him over for the traffic violation.

To add another note of poignancy, it turns out that the dead rookie is the son of Lt. Rose's favorite training officer.

The pursuit of the wanted man starts with a shootout at his former address, and the team winds up killing a bad guy -- the wrong bad guy. 

Next, the chase leads them to San Diego. Eddie is dismayed. He had other plans. "I was hoping to close a deal with a waitress I met in Santa Monica," he explains.

Soledad's trail eventually leads them to a village in Mexico. Eddie and Jimmy are sent, with orders to get in touch with the local authorities and bring Soledad back to face U.S. justice. An NO GUNS. Yes sir. We'll keep it clean sir, Jimmy promises.

As soon as they get to town, Eddie's plan is to take care of business, go to the local authorities, grab a beer. Jimmy's plan is to go to church. Eddie goes with him but complains, "You can't pray every day. It makes Sunday less special." But apparently there was more to Jimmy's plan than prayer because after an hour in the church, a villager shows up with guns, which Jimmy has somehow arranged to buy. 

So much for keeping it clean. A gun deal in church. Against orders. And Jimmy disparages Eddie for his sins?

Eddie and Jimmy next head to the hotel and bar that Soledad is known to frequent. Eddie orders tequila and beer -- in Spanish -- explaining to Jimmy, "I can order booze in eight languages." Next, two charming ladies approach the gringos. Eddie lays on the charm. Then his lips. But Soledad enters and the lawmen swing back into business. They chase him into the street, but they're quickly stopped as local authorities arrest Eddie and Jimmy for waving their illegal guns around and endangering the public.

The two wake up in the open sewer that is the local jail. One brawl later, they are let out the back door to join up with Rose and Rodriguez, who had ridden into town to try to spring Eddie and Jimmy from jail. 

The foursome finally capture Soledad and pop him in the trunk for the ride back to the States. But with just a few miles to the border, the Mexican Federales pull them over. It looks grim, but the local police captain arrives on the scene. He's on the gringos' side, but has to put on a show to save face among the locals. He orders Eddie, Jimmy and Tommy off into the scrub and shoots them one by one. Impressed, the Federales depart. After they drive off, the shooting is revealed to be a terrific fake-out. Eddie, Jimmy and Tommy stride out of the brush, and the team resumes the extradition of Soledad.

Back at headquarters, Tommy starts a replay of their experience in the desert, but Eddie objects. "That's thinking with the volume up. Turn it down!" Tommy calls Eddie an asshole. Eddie calls Tommy a whiner, and worse. Jimmy tells them both to shut up. Etc.

The near-death experience certainly wasn't a bonding one. 

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Video Clips

Opening repartee

Closing the deal

Mexican heat

 

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