(S02E05) "It's always the popular ones who think they can get away with murder." - Loker

Easily the best episode of Lie to Me to date, I have to wonder -- I can't be the only out there who's just dying to know more about Cal's past, right? Lennie James guest-starred as Terry Marsh, one of Cal's old crime pals and his arrival created so many questions that have just pushed aside anything else going on at The Lightman Group. Unless Gillian or Loker turn out to be serial killers from past lives, nothing else really matters right now besides Cal's history.

That's saying a lot, if you think about it, because the case that Loker, Torres, and Gillian handled by themselves was really very interesting. Finding out that the gym teacher condoned the hazing that was taking place was predictable, yes, but it still worked well since Loker found so much in common with Stacy, the student who was at the brunt of the class' ridicule.

My only complaint? She still made a "I'm gonna kill you all and blow up the school" video, yet by the end of the hour, that seemed set aside since everyone felt so bad for her. Sad story? Certainly, but we were left with the impression that her actions were going to be unpunished, despite the circumstances, and that didn't seem right.

Anyway, Cal and Terry were the real story here. Not only did Roth and James play off each other very well, but the muted contempt that each man had for the other left me wanting much more of the story. They used to run scams with each other. Terry went to jail for Cal for a few years. Terry's family took Cal in. All little details, but we need bigger picture here. With Shawn Ryan running the show now, it'd be great if we got a flashback episode showing Cal's origins and how The Lightman Group was founded -- similar to the season two ep of The Shield, "Co-Pilot."

A few more thoughts:

• Terry made one very good point -- if Cal knew that he was lying, even before the poker game, then why did he bother helping him? Because they're "best mates?" Because of loyalty or because Cal owed him? There's still more to this. Is it possible that Terry actually has something on Cal?
• Gillian misread Stacy's suicidal intent as homicidal intent and that's not the first time that Gillian has misread someone. If it happens again, something bad really needs to happen or what's the point?
• I did have a little trouble buying into the FBI sting at the end. Fine, Cal knew that the bodyguard was an undercover agent but beyond that everything seemed way too rehearsed. How did Cal know to take a dive when he was shot with the blanks? Had Reynolds been in contact with the undercover guy? Lot of holes...

If we do see Terry again, it likely won't be for a while, but the episode did leave us with a bigger issue for now -- Cal doesn't trust his team. Same as my argument with Foster, this isn't the first time Cal has done this and once again, he skated by. If he's going to keep going rogue, something bad needs to happen. Not necessarily to Cal, but just in general. He can't always win for this plot device to keep working.

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