Recap: Under the cover of night, a meowing cat is the only eyewitness to a group of shadowy figures who break into a minority-owned building, plant a bomb, and then rush away and squeal off in their car - just as the building explodes. Across town, the Riptide trio are out on a triple date in Chinatown...and Murray, who's not bespectacled and is rocking an unflattering flattened 'do, makes corny jokes about how Chinatown is a place people want to return to after half an hour [perpetuating the trope about how Chinese food only fills you up for half an hour...though personally I'm usually stuffed after eating that kind of takeout]. Nick urges their lady friends to head over to a nearby shop so they can ask Murray what in the royal fuck is up with his dorkier than usual behavior, flat hairdo, and the 'no glasses' thing. Murray giddily says that his date (Kimberly) told him he had sexy eyes - hence the decision to go without glasses for the evening - and that he's trying really really hard to come off as young, hip, and happening. When he adds that he went to the library and researched all the current slang so that he'd have an ample number of colloquialisms in his back pocket to draw from, Nick and Cody urge him to spread his "happening hipness" throughout the evening and maybe not try to cram all of it into a single conversation. A block or so away, a father and son (Kyle and Chad Jennings) have just enjoyed a scrumptious Chinatown meal and are ambling along the street when a van suddenly pulls up next to them. Three men spill out of the side door and attempt to grab Chad and drag him away with him - but the Riptide trio witness the attempted abduction and jump into the fray to protect the hapless teenager. After a successful beat-down, the three men flee back to their van and squeal off...and Nick, Cody, and Murray dust themselves off and ask Chad if he's OK. He assures them he's fine, then glances over at his father, who pretends he has no earthly idea who the men in the van were, and why they would want to snatch his son. The next day, the trio heads over to police headquarters to report the abduction attempt they witnessed in Chinatown, and Lieutenant Quinlan bitches about how their description of the crime doesn't include enough details for him to do anything with. He grumbles that his hands are full, 'cause some nutcase is blowing up various buildings all over town, then puts in a pin in that and opens the window blinds to the adjoining interrogation room (with a two-way mirror) and asks them if they recognize the woman sitting at the table. The trio tells him they have no idea who she is [other than she played the uppity Felice Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210], and that they're 100% certain they didn't see her in Chinatown last night. Quinlan tells them her name is Sally Jennings, and that she's Kyle's ex-wife, and an alleged "bad head case". He tells the trio he suspects her of having something to do with the attempted kidnapping of Chad - but that since he has no evidence, he has no choice but to cut her loose. As the trio leaves police headquarters, Sally rushes over to them, freely admits that, yep, she did try to have her own son kidnapped, and wants to hire them as PIs to help her. Nick declines to take the case and advises her to talk to Kyle about a formal custody arrangement, to which she cries, "Pleeeeeeease help me!" and explains that her son is being kept away from her and that she has no one else to turn to. The trio (+ Sally) head over to a nearby restaurant to fully discuss the sitch. Murray chides, "You know, kidnapping is not the solution to anything", to which Sally says she had no choice...not least 'cause trying to get through to her ex-husband is like talking to a brick wall. She then sheepishly confesses that at the time Kyle asked her for a divorce (four years ago), she was a pill-popping, stressed out, drunken mess...but is doing much better now and would like to have access to her son. She adds that Kyle is doing everything possible to keep her from Chad, who she barely knows anymore. Nick chews on that for a few seconds and remarks that the school day is about to end...and Sally moans, "Kyle will kill me if he finds out", but then eagerly leaves the restaurant with the trio to see about paying her son an impromptu visit. Over in the schoolyard, Chad has provoked a fight with a black classmate (Kevin) ... and the two are going at it when the Riptide trio (+ Sally) arrive at the school. Nick and Cody quickly determine that this punchfest looks serious, and race over to break it up - just as Principal Goldstein appears and orders all of the onlookers to disperse. Kevin tells the principal that Chad started it...and when the principal gives him a sympathetic nod, Chad growls, "Are you color blind or something?" He then notices his mother standing there, agape, and asks her why she's here...and Principal Goldstein interjects and informs Sally that her idiot son has been causing a lot of racist-fuelled ruckuses lately. She orders Chad to report to her office and tells Kevin to go see the school nurse, and Chad glares at her hatefully and snaps, "I'll tell you what the problem is: you, Goldstein!" and stomps off while Sally stares after him in incredulity. Murray, meanwhile, picks up the pile of books that Chad left behind and finds a folder filled with brochures touting white supremacy bullcack that was published by a Nazis in America group...and the trio (+ Sally) are all, "The fuck is he doing with that kind of garbage propaganda?" Kyle Jennings learns of his son's detainment in the principal's office and storms over to the school to rail at Goldstein for hassling his son. When the Riptide trio expresses disgust at the Nazi literature they found among Chad's things, Kyle just shrugs and says, "It's a free country. At least it used to be when I was in school." He snarkishly reminds the principal that a judge awarded him sole custody of Chad, then makes a beeline for the door - just as Nick stops him and tells him that earlier he heard a whole lot of hatred and bigotry spilling out of Chad's mouth. Kyle's all, "Well duh" and says it's no doubt the result of teaching his son about how the world really is, snarlingly adding, "I teach him all about the commies, and the homosexuals, and the Jews, and the Blacks." Sally stares at him ashen-faced, somehow looking as though she had absolutely no idea that her openly racist ex-husband harbored these views...and when Kyle eggs Chad on to agree with his hate-fuelled rhetoric, the teen half-heartedly says, "Uh, yeah..? We can't let them take over the white race." Kyle announces that he's pulling Chad from the school...and when Sally implores Chad to get a clue and realize that the way he's talking and behaving is so ass backwards wrong on every level, he yanks his arm away from her and toddles out after his father. Back at the Riptide, Murray does some computer research on Kyle and learns that he's been with the same employer for ten years and was honourably discharged from the U.S. military. He remarks on how shitty it must be for Sally to watch her son be indoctrinated as a Hitler Youth, and Nick concurs and says if they can pin some kind of criminal activity on Kyle, Sally might have a case for filing for sole custody. As Murray researches further, he learns that Kyle is the director of an organization called the Peninsula Boys Institution. Nick says he's heard of it, and describes it as a detention camp in which runaways and juvenile delinquents are housed. Murray points out that if Kyle is teaching underage boys (other than Chad) to embrace the notion of white supremacy, they might actually have a criminal case against him. Cody concurs and says they're going to need to infiltrate this boys institute with someone who can pass as a youngster - just as Dooley climbs aboard the Riptide and chirps, "Anyone home?" Nick tells their boneheaded sidekick that they need someone his age to perform an important task...and when he asks Dooley if he's capable of cutting the bull and carrying out an important undercover mission, Dooley says that, despite his staggeringly low level of intelligence, he's pretty sure he'd be able to pull it off. Nick, Cody, and Murray arrive at the headquarters of the local Nazi party, glance disdainfully at all the swastika flags flapping around, and find Commandant Kefler in his office, engrossed in footage of Adolf Hitler spewing out one of his spittle-laden, hate-filled speeches. Kefler finally shuts it off, stares reverently into space as he says, "One day the world will see what a genius the Führer was", and asks the trio whassup with them stopping by. As he waits for a response, he opens his drawer, pulls out a pistol, and lays it on the table, explaining that he's merely putting it there to protect himself in case they try to shoot him first. Nick's like, "Whatever, fucktwat. You know damn well we're unarmed" and hands him the white supremacy brochures he found among Chad Jennings' things, and Cody explains that the lad was handing out these stupid things at his school. Kefler informs them that his Nazi group does not accept juvenile members - but that he's very familiar with Kyle Jennings, adding that since Kyle doesn't like to follow their policy of operating within the law, they have no use for him. He tells the trio that this weekend they plan to protest the upcoming deportation of an alleged German war criminal at the federal building and look forward to going toe-to-toe with the various church groups who want the cretin barred from ever returning to the U.S. Nick and Cody roll their eyes in dismay and call him out for always baiting people into making the first move, and then reacting to that reaction with violence...and Kefler just kind of shrugs and smugly pronounces, "If provoked, we will defend ourselves." Over at the Peninsula Boys Institute, Kyle shows Chad one of six bombs he's planting inside a van, cackling about his nefarious plan to level an entire city block. He says he'd like them to commit this act of terrorism as kind of a father-son activity...and that he's delusional enough to assume that the world will interpret the mass carnage of innocent civilians as a statement of strength and power, and not the actions of a deranged lunatic who's considered too stupidly radical for even the local Nazi party. He then abruptly changes the subject to Sally, and assures Chad that she's not going to be able to harass him again anytime soon. Across town, Sally is walking home with her groceries when one of the Peninsula Institute boys grabs her from behind, warns her not to come near Chad again, then presses a button on a detonation device that triggers the bomb they planted inside her car, blowing it to smithereens. After that, they give her a hard face smack. The Riptide trio drops by the hospital to look in on Sally and inform her that the police don't have much to go on, in terms of catching her assailants. She's like, "Seriously?" and says that since they're clearly connected to Kyle, the police should just go arrest the mofo. The trio informs her that Kyle has an airtight alibi during the time she was attacked, and that he's claiming she staged the assault for the purpose of framing him. Cody suggests that if they can prove her attackers came from the Peninsula Boys Institute, it could be the key to nailing Kyle...and then informs her that they've placed their doofus sidekick inside the organization to see what kind of criminal activity he's able to expose. Back at the Peninsula Boys Institute, Dooley provokes a spat with a black teen, who looks like he'd be more than capable of smashing Dooley's head in - but backs off when he sees Kyle enter the cafeteria. An intrigued Chad stares over at Dooley...and when Kyle nods approvingly, Chad follows Dooley out of the cafeteria and compliments the way he harassed the black teenager for absolutely no reason. As the Riptide trio listens in on the conversation, courtesy of the secret wire Dooley's wearing, Chad offers to introduce Dooley to people who buy into the kind of white supremacy nonsense he and his idiot father espouse, and Dooley's like, "Kewl. Why not?" Nick says he's thrilled and more than a little surprised that Dooley was able to convincingly pass himself off as a potential Nazi recruit, and Murray remarks on how it looks as though Kyle is using Chad to build a Hitler Youth army from among the inmate population at the Institute. Chad gives Dooley a tour of a super secret area where young Nazi-ified hopefuls train in karate and do target practice. Chad says his pa allows only the whitest and easiest-to-manipulate young men to use these facilities, and Dooley pretends to look impressed and is all, "Whoa, dude. I definitely want in." LOL. As Chad hands him a pistol to see how good of a shot he is, the Riptide trio looks visibly appalled by the way Kyle is training these kids for combat. Murray, who's been continuing to research Kyle on his computer, says he's just discovered he was an explosives expert in the the Navy, and Nick points out it's pretty non-coincidental that Sally's car was just blown up as an act of retribution for visiting her son. Cody agrees and says they're going to need to find out what type of bomb was used in that explosion so that they can cross-check it against the kind of bombs Kyle used to tool around with during his time in the military. Commandant Kefler drops by the Peninsula Institute to alert Kyle Jennings about a trio of detectives asking about his white supremacy activities, then snidely asks him if he's operating on his own again. Kyle openly confirms he is, and that he's doing it "for the good of the movement". Kefler warns him to keep his Nazi-ing within the parameters of the law...and when Kyle refuses and smugly points out, "You can't control me", Kefler gives him a face smack and dismissively calls him a weak coward. A few seconds later, Chad appears with a pistol pointed at Kefler, followed by a large group of fellow Hitler Youth. Buoyed by the support, Kyle barks at Kefler to get off of his property...and once the commandant is safely out of earshot, Kyle whines about how miffed he is that Kepler called him a weak coward, and that he needs to be taught a lesson. To that end, he orders Chad to have the bomb-filled van ready to go tomorrow. Eeeeeek! The Riptide trio alerts Lieutenant Quinlan about a possible new bomb attack, and that they strongly suspect Kyle Jennings of being the King Harbor bomber, not least 'cause he's a white supremacist radical who has military training in explosives and was most likely behind the blowing up of his ex-wife's car. Quinlan decides to depart from his usual 'fuck off, you useless beach bums' attitude towards the trio and puts out an APB on Kyle Jennings, and reminds them that in a few hours there's going to be a demonstration at the federal building protesting/supporting the deportation of the German war criminal. Nick races over to the airstrip to get The Screaming Mimi airborne, while Cody and Murray drive around in the Jimmy, attempting to get within range of Dooley's wire. Back at the Peninsula Boys Institute, Chad asks Dooley if he'd like to come along on a mission to bust some non-Caucasian heads, and Dooley's like, "Sure, I'm totes into it" - just as a number of other Hitler Youth gather round. Chad hands him a Nazi shirt to wear, and Dooley (who's visibly nervous about the hidden wire underneath his sweatshirt) says he'll get dressed in private and meet them outside. The Hitler Youth order him to change into the Nazi shirt now...and when Dooley tries to make a break for it, they grab him and in the process rip open his sweatshirt, exposing the wire that's taped to his chest. A concerned Murray, meanwhile, reports to Cody that the transmission from Dooley's wire just went dead. Dooley is marched over to Kyle and outed as a spy, and Dooley's like, "The DEA made me do it!" [Er...huh?] Kyle glares back at him and orders the other boys to shove him into the van so that he can get blown up with the rest of them...and a few seconds later, the zombified disciples dutifully climb aboard while Kyle gets behind the wheel. From aboard Mimi, Nick radios to Lieutenant Quinlan that he just saw a bunch of people from the Peninsula Institute climb into a van, and that he can only assume they're en route to carry out the bomb threat. Quinlan's like, "Roger that", then stares worriedly into space. Commandant Kefler and his Nazi men arrive at the federal building and start arguing with people in the church groups who really really want the German war criminal raus from their country. Nick spots the bomb-laden van heading downtown and gives Cody its specific location. Cody tells Murray they're going to have to somehow stop the van...'cause, for whatever reason, the entire King Harbor police force has decided to leave the work of preventing a catastrophic explosion in the city center to three PIs who run their failing agency out of a tiny boat. Chad informs his pa that there's a fugly pink chopper hovering over them that looks to be tracking their route. Nick radios Quinlan, Cody, and Murray to share that he has the van in his sights and that everyone should be gravely concerned that it's headed for the federal building and that someone may want to, uh, do something to stop it from mowing down and/or blowing up a whole lot of people. Cody's like, "On it!" and maneuvers the Jimmy as close to the van as possible, then tells Murray to take the wheel so that his stunt double can leap into the driver's window of the van, punch Kyle in the face, and take control of the wheel. Kyle reacts to Cody's assault by activating the many bombs wired throughout the vehicle, and when Chad reveals to Cody what Kyle just did, Cody's all, "Ack!", drives the van to an abandoned area near the pier, then barks at all the Hitler Youth to get out and flee. A few seconds later, the van explodes into a huge fireball...and as that's happening, Kyle shoots Chad an extra squinty stink-eye before Dooley grabs him and forcibly steers him away, leaving Chad staring after him in perplexed contemplation. Cody radios Nick to report that everyone who was in the vicinity of the explosion is A-OK, and that he should pass along the good news to Lieutenant Quinlan that Kyle's plan literally "went up in smoke". Har har. The Riptide trio drives a now de-Nazified Chad to the hospital so he can visit his injured mom. An anxious looking Chad says he has no idea what to say to her, given all the white supremacist shit he's been embracing lately, so Cody urges him to just come clean and tell her whatever he's feeling...and Nick hands him a bouquet of flowers, so that he doesn't arrive for the visit empty-handed. A few seconds later, Chad tiptoes into his mom's hospital room. She looks visibly happy to see him...and as he hands her the flowers, she reaches for them while the camera zooms in on their hands touching. Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Riptide homepage
Recapper: Isabel K. French
Your contributions help keep the site ad-free
|
|