(S01E03) Reese: You got a pest problem?

Crews: He's not so bad. (Charlie talking about Ted)

I am starting to feel the groove of this show and it is beginning to grow on me. While it is a fairly quiet program, the pace of the story is fast enough not to leave me bored. And, while it is a criminal procedural, there are enough light moments, particularly involving Charlie or Charlie and Reese, to mute the darkness that sometimes permeates these types of shows.

This week the show was heavy on the criminal investigation; yet, there were a number of prime moments that moved the story along. The major moment was Crews' meeting with Carl Ames, the lead detective in Charlie's murder investigation. We learned later in the episode that one of the stipulations to Charlie's legal settlement with the police was he could not confront Ames at any time.

This didn't stop Charlie from finding Ames at his favorite watering hole and presenting him with some new evidence about Rachel, the daughter who survived the triple murder that Charlie was framed for. Last week Charlie discovered that Rachel was actually home when the killings occurred. This contradicts Ames' findings, which said that Rachel was at a sleepover at the time. To Ames' credit, he didn't just take Charlie's envelope of evidence and throw it in the nearest circular file. He took a peek at Charlie's findings.

Another significant moment was Charlie's first meeting with his ex-wife, Jennifer Conover, since his release from the Big House. If you remember from the pilot, one of Charlie's favorite things to do is to pull-over Jennifer's new husband for silly violations. He did the same this week in order to talk to his wife. It wasn't the greatest of reunions for a few reasons. One, Jennifer pretty much abandoned Charlie when he was sent to prison. Two, all Charlie wanted from her was to know where Rachel had moved.

I'm guessing a good many people know what happened to Rachel. But, why would they tell Charlie in the first place? Many of them still think he committed the murders and aren't too sure why he's back out on the streets. Jennifer may be one of those people; however, she doesn't want to give that information to Charlie. If anything, she wants her ex-husband to forget about it all and just move on with his life. If I were placed in solitary confinement for a crime I didn't commit I probably wouldn't want to let it go either.

A third moment that occurred during Life this week was the growing connection between Charlie and his partner, Dani Reese. They are definitely beginning to work better as a team, and are backing up each other. The greatest example of this was Reese's confiscation of Charlie's switchblade; a weapon he pulled on a suspect earlier in the episode, and the fib to her Lieutenant that he didn't use the knife at all.

This is actually significant as it shows that Charlie still has remnants of prison mentality left inside him. Rather than using his service weapon to subdue a perp, he decided to position is knife right next to the suspect's danglers. By removing that knife from Charlie's possession Reese separated him from that part of his prison mentality.

I've talked quite a bit about the character developments that went on in this week's episode, but not about the crime investigation itself. There were just two suspects who could have performed the murder -- the victim's husband and a huge Samoan who carjacked them. At first I did think it was the Samoan, but he was so big I wondered how he was able to fit into the back seat of the victim's sedan without busting the shock absorbers. Then, I thought it was the husband. All he was guilty of, though, was not stopping the Samoan from shooting his wife in the stomach. Turns out it was the big guy, and I like the way that Charlie and Reese used some 'business partners' of the Samoan to catch him in a confession.

Some other items of note this week:

• The only good scene with Ted was when he was putting up a fence -- a chain link fence -- to stop the coyotes from coming onto Charlie's property. 'A fence?', Charlie asked Ted at least twice. Ted finally understood what Charlie meant and took the fence down.
• Charlie watching the cell phone vibrate across his desk.
• Lieutenant Davis -- Is it me or was she much more agreeable to Charlie this week? There wasn't any of that 'If he messes up one time, he's gone.' talk from previous episodes.
• The scene in the body shop. The best part was when Crews saw a car (some kind of GTO, I believe) and asked if he could have GPS installed in it. The upright citizens who ran the shop said that he didn't need GPS because he would be tracked by the man. When Crews repeated what they said Reese said 'But, you are the man.', to which Charlie replied, 'Oh, yes. I am the man.'
• The scene where Charlie spots his ex-wife's husband's car. Charlie's shiny black car with all of the flashing lights reminded me of Mel Gibson's car in Mad Max.
• The only fruit that was eaten this week: caramel apple

If I'm not mistaken next week is a semi-Deadwood reunion as William Sanderson reunites with Robin Weigert on Life.