Christian Holub | via Entertainment Weekly
This week’s episode of Shots Fired put politics center stage, as we see how the investigations into the deaths of Jesse Carr and Joey Campbell start rippling throughout the community. But DOJ prosecutor Preston Terry gets his first major lesson in the reality of death. While interviewing Corey’s dad in an attempt to find the missing witness, Preston and Ashe hear shots fired. When they go to investigate, they find Lieutenant Breeland standing over the body of a young black boy. Preston freaks, but both Breeland and Ashe are unfazed. Breeland assumes the boy must be a casualty of a drug dealer turf war and wants to know where the cameras and protesters are now that a black boy’s been shot by another black boy (asking about “black-on-black crime” is a common response to investigations of police shootings). Ashe reminds him that no matter what, the boy was somebody’s son (hence the name of our episode).
The next stop for Preston and Ashe is Pastor Janae James, who seems to get shadier by the episode. Even though she’s been the one driving the public conversation about justice in the wake of these recent police shootings, Janae oddly says that her problem with the police isn’t that they’re aggressive but that they’re “ineffective.” Apparently that’s where her patrol squads come in, but when Ashe asks about their efforts to scare Joey Campbell straight, Janae dodges the question. She wonders what this has to do with the Jesse Carr investigation (even though she’s been the one demanding justice for Joey Campbell) and she says she doesn’t know where the missing Corey is (even though she supposedly knows everything that goes down around the houses). She agrees to “ask around.”
Now the politics comes in, as the mourning Alicia Carr gets an unexpected visit from gubernatorial candidate Penn Moder. As we’ve been told in earlier episodes, Gov. Patricia Eamons is vulnerable in her upcoming reelection campaign, which is the whole reason she brought in the Department of Justice to publicly investigate the Carr shooting. She’s not the only one who wants to turn this story into a political tool, apparently. Moder tells Alicia he wants to honor Jesse’s memory by introducing a bill that would require deputies who pull over youth to call parents before demanding the kid get out of the car and escalating the situation. Seems like a good idea, but Alicia is angered at the politics of it all and demands he leave.
Ashe and Preston find a new development in the Jesse Carr case when the toxicology report indicates he was drunk at the time of his death. They bring in Jesse’s parents to explain it, and Alicia says they put Jesse in rehab after a drunk incident. Preston notes that rehab for one incident seems harsh, even after Jesse’s dad clarifies that he’s had problems with alcoholism so they were trying to be careful. Before they leave, Alicia asks Ashe about Jesse’s car, which was impounded and hasn’t been returned. It was Jesse’s high school graduation gift, so Ashe agrees to look into it. That doesn’t satisfy Alicia, who thinks the investigators are now targeting her family instead of the police. She films an ad for Moder and endorses his proposed legislation.
Meanwhile, there’s more political talk when Gov. Eamons meets with Pastor Janae at Preston’s favorite local restaurant. Janae criticizes Eamons for not looking out for the poor and working class in North Carolina, but both agree they think their purpose is to serve their communities. To prove her good intentions, Eamons accompanies Janae on a visit to Shameeka Campbell. Although her surviving son Shawn is bright and amiable, the absence of Joey can be felt throughout the house. Eamons promises Shameeka she’ll tell the sheriff’s office to look into her son’s death, but Shameeka also wants her to stop Shawn’s school from closing, because otherwise he’ll be sent to a much worse school and might lose his chance at academic success. That’s an even thornier issue, but Eamons agrees to look into it.
To read the rest of the recap of “Somebody’s Son,” click HERE!!!
Hour Two: Betrayal of Trust | Hour Four: Trust