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Recap
Alex ends up experiencing quite a bit of trauma in this episode, from one man jumping off a roof to watching a cop nearly die due to a homeless man stabbing him with a syringe. But, while shaken, Harmon may be more trustworthy than her peers push her to seem.
However, whether Alex is an exception or not is hard to say. You can’t deny Harmon’s skillset or lean towards safety and playing by the book, doesn’t push the idea she should be more than a patrolman, training new kids for who knows how long. I mean, even the guy who trained her, Sergeant Tyson Koyama, knows she is meant for more and better, but it seems her superior, Lieutenant Bishop, for one reason or another, wants her at the bottom of the rung, not even part of a task force to drive home the season’s big case.
Though, lest we forget, Harmon is resourceful, and even if not given the resources she wants, she can use varying means to get the information she needs. But, as Sergeant Lasmon reveals the department is getting sued, and it seems he is rallying the troops to blame her for the madness that happened on the streets of the last episode, it looks like Lasmon’s bone to pick with Harmon still has fresh meat in his mind.
Episode Details
| Category | Details |
| Episode Title | South Of Heaven |
| Originally Aired | January 8, 2025 |
| Network | Prime Video |
| Director(s) | Brenna Malloy |
| Writer(s) | Molly Manning |
| Actor(s) Introduced This Episode | Rich Tang, Lori Loughlin |
New Character Descriptions
Sergeant Tyson Koyama (Rich Ting)
Sergeant Koyama trained Harmon to be a cop.
Lieutenant Bishop (Lori Loughlin)
Lieutenant Bishop is Harmon’s boss, who seemingly has less of an issue with her than Lasman but seems to be holding her back.
Review
Trajectory (82/100): Plateau
Thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV+, dramas have increasingly abandoned the need to be 45+ minutes and settled into being a half-hour, which used to be exclusive to comedies. Now, as shown by shows like “Before,” this can be terrible if the time isn’t used right. However, with “On Call,” the formula hits just right.
Take this episode: there is progress in the season’s case, we get a handful of day-to-day scenarios, Alex gets tested, we get a peek beyond the badge and get an idea of Alex and Harmon’s life beyond patrol, and all around 25 minutes. To me, this is what binge-watching should be. Give me the highs, cut the fat, and have me speeding through like each episode is cut as it is to give you a break if you need it.
Heck, I’d even say I love the fact this episode referenced something that happened in the last, in terms of a case, which means the cases should be paid attention to, and the civilians part of them, rather than just look at them as a means to differentiate Harmon from other cops and show Alex’s walk to the crossroad.
With all that said, though, I do wonder if part of cutting the fat means not developing much of the cast. There is a reason we’ve only really talked about three characters thus far, and that’s because they are the only ones who feel like they can be described beyond one line.
Yes, we met Harmon’s trainer and mentor, Koyama, but beyond the role he played in her life, there isn’t much to say about him. Then, there is the guy Alex saves with Narcan who seems to be his peer, somewhere near his years in, but who is he? What is his name? I couldn’t tell you. I know Lasman probably got to him, and with the assumption, skin folk is kin folk, he takes his word on what he says, but let me say, that shot of him foaming at the mouth, potentially dying, did nothing for me. He just seemed like he’d become yet another example of how dangerous it is to be a cop and perhaps why people are so disturbed by the homeless.
Highlights
- While The Episode Is Quick, It Ends At Good Points
- Hints Of Alex and Harmon’s life Outside of work
- Referencing What Happened In Past Episodes
On The Fence
- Not Getting A Grasp On Everyone’s Name
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