RJ Decker Season 1 Episode 2 Lays the Perfect Trap and Captures Our Hearts

Critic’s Rating: 4.3 / 5.0

4.3

I’m just casually throwing out there that RJ Decker may be my new favorite series.

While the pilot battled with the usual struggles of having to establish a universe and its characters, RJ Decker Season 1 Episode 2 got to fully dive into the series at its core to give us a well-rounded feel for what we can anticipate.

And what we can anticipate is deeply funny, entertaining, and endearing television.

What I get from this hour is that RJ Decker knows exactly what it wants to be and is confident in what it sets out to do, and that level of confidence is as magnetic as Scott Speedman is in this role.

The series feels unapologetic in letting its freak flag fly, but it’s the warmth that ties it all together.

One minute, you’re slightly horrified by the notion that a guy got ground up and fed to flytraps, and the next, you’re totally having an allergic reaction (from all the dust in the air, you see) because Wish gives a young woman a fresh start.

RJ Decker leans into its fun; that’s unquestionably true, but it’s the heart that sneaks up on you about this show.

And damn if I don’t love a show that isn’t afraid to show its heart and its humanity.

It’s both that seems to drive Wish, and he’s quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. He’s a guy who seems to think a few steps ahead, and he’s intent on spreading some kindness, cutting some breaks, and helping people he cares about.

I love that for him. Yes, RJ is an ex-convict, and that’s one of the pulls of this series, but we can also place his time in prison on him slipping through the cracks in an unfair system after a bad break.

Wish is more in line with a traditional career criminal, but even with that background, he has a heart of gold. And I like that the series dispels some of the negative connotations that surround ex-cons like Wish.

He’s also driven by this sense of loyalty, which is admirable. I love that he felt committed to Marcus because his father was the man who helped him navigate prison and kept him out of trouble.

It’s a complicated brotherhood, and Wish takes that seriously. He could also throw RJ a bone, since he knows he needs the money, but he also trusts RJ to no end.

And then we met Marcus, and even if Wish wasn’t who he was, you’d want to protect Marcus. He was genuinely a sweet, smart kid who ended up in a rough situation.

I appreciate a series that’s adjacent to the law, as far as being a bit procedural, but takes a different approach. Here, we have so many characters who fall on the opposite side of or outside the law.

It was evident that Marcus wasn’t responsible for Clem’s murder. But with no one else to pin it on, he was the best suspect.

And who the hell wants to go down as not only a murderer, but someone who ground up and fed a body to flytraps?

I mean, as far as ways of disposing of a body, that’s absolutely outrageous and admittedly pretty clever if not tedious and time-consuming.

Who comes up with this stuff? I love it!

Without Wish and RJ, Marcus would’ve gone to prison for half of his life, and that’s just a scary thought.

And Remington would’ve gotten away with murder and selling his Venusian extract that gave false hope to people like Clem’s sister and had folks thinking they could cure terminal cancer.

Some people watch shows like this for the procedural element, and others for the characters. Me? I’m game for both, and I’m pleased that RJ Decker delivers well on both fronts.

I actually love the entire process of RJ investigating. This hour, he really had to put his feet to the pavement to piece everything together.

His gift isn’t just what he sees through his lens, but his ability to really listen to people.

So much of the progress he made in this case was just him really listening to all the small, seemingly innocuous details that Marcus or others told him and figuring out how to use them to piece things together.

If he hadn’t noted Marcus’ comments about the body in the freezer having missing biceps and butt cheeks, and he hadn’t noted that Clem had tattoos on all those areas thanks to that pedicure with Clem’s ex, he never would have pieced together that Clem was the dead guy.

And hell, the cops probably wouldn’t have figured it out either. Little moments like that made a world of difference.

This show is one of the rare few where half the fun is trying to solve a case alongside RJ.

It’s going to seem like an out-of-left-field comparison, but RJ Decker has some similarities to the criminally underrated iZombie, and if you have ever watched the latter, I need you to share below if you see the vision with me!

RJ is just so good with people and great with details, and this hour really highlighted that and sold us on why he’s a great investigator even when he’s just starting out with this. It’s a natural talent.

I also loved how he tapped into his relationships and resources for this, and it happens organically.

RJ and Mel have settled into their dynamic a bit more, and they really are so damn sibling-coded that it’s amusing.

They strike the right balance with one another, which is something I had the pleasure of speaking with Bevin Bru about in our exclusive interview.

Even Mel isn’t truly immune to RJ’s charms, and as much as he gets under her skin, she doesn’t hesitate to help, especially when it comes to a murder investigation.

I mean, in what other universe would a cop let an ex-con sit in on an interrogation of a suspected killer?

Everyone plays their roles in this series, and it suits them all. It was equally as amusing that he dangled a huge story in front of Cath’s face, and she was game.

Not only did she expose Venusia Health, but she also got the breaking story about Remington. And we actually got to see Cath in action, and she’s a force!

I’m already excited about more team-ups between RJ and Cath. She has that hard-hitting, old-school vibe to journalism that’s refreshing.

Hell, even Darius’s return was enough to make me smile, and if anyone can help RJ hone in on some… untoward skills, it’s that charismatic kid.

As for Wish, this time around, he was bankrolling this investigation, but his strongest arc in the hour was the grace he extended to Kelly Ann.

The moment I found out she was lying to poor Marcus about her pregnancy, I was enraged. She was almost designed to be a specific archetype that can teeter on aggravating and misogynistic.

I’ve been struggling enough with Dixie on 9-1-1: Nashville.

But just when you’re on the cusp of frustration, the show flips the script, not in switching up anything about Kelly Ann but in using Wish to reaffirm what this series is about in the first place.

It’s a series about second chances, not judging books by their cover, and genuinely seeing the best in people.

Wish has a knack for cutting through all the noise and getting to the core of a person. When he looked at Kelly Ann, he saw beyond a bratty, entitled, manipulative gold digger.

Instead, he saw a survivor—a young woman who wanted something more out of life but felt stuck by circumstances.

And instead of judging her harshly or casting her out, he helped her. It was so unexpected that Kelly Ann didn’t even know how to take it. As she mentioned, she had been nothing but bad to him, and he was just genuinely being good to her.

I’m sure life taught her that good things don’t happen without a price to pay — everything comes at a cost or with a string attached.

And then here comes Wish, teaching her differently.

He could’ve just stopped at protecting Marcus from her, but he did what was best for her, too.

Yeah, Wish most certainly has my whole heart right now, and I didn’t anticipate this show triggering my allergies, but here we are.

And maybe a girl is warming to the idea of RJ and Emi, after all. I’m prone to a grudge, but the chemistry is there, and they’re starting to feel like star-crossed lovers.

I don’t know if there is ever any real making amends for what Emi did, but she’s sincere in wanting to do that.

It’s something I had the pleasure of speaking with Jaina Lee Ortiz about, and I hope you guys return tomorrow morning for that exclusive!

If RJ asks, Emi is willing to take the call and do what she can. There’s an intriguing element to that and how far they can push it.

It’s like they’re from two totally different worlds, but Emi doesn’t mind immersing herself in RJ’s world without sacrificing who she is to do it, and I’m fascinated by that.

However, the great Ochoa family and its presence loom over everything that Emi and RJ could be.

It’s evident that her powerful family is likely keeping her from pursuing what she could have with RJ, and she is settling for what’s attainable.

Right now, her father feels like this mysterious figure lingering in the shadows of the series, and my interest is piqued. I need to know what happens when Emi’s two worlds collide.

There’s already an interesting conflict between who Emi may actually be versus who she feels she has to be because of her family, and I look forward to the series exploring that more.

Over to you, RJ Decker Fanatics.

I’ve discussed my thoughts, now I’m dying to hear all of yours! I’ll see you in the comments!

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