MINORITY REPORT: Repeat of Last Week

S1E2 “Mr. Nice Guy”

This week Detective Vega and Dash try to stop a murder before it happens, with the help of Wally and Arthur.

The show opens with Wally talking to another man, and they are at the PreCrime lab. Wally tells him about the PreCogs, and that Dash sees “the horror.” He is concerned about preparing them for the world outside of PreCrime.

Dash is at a park playing chess when he sees another murder. He goes to Wally’s house to record it.

Blake and Vega are running a test together, and Blake is frustrated that Vega no longer treats him the same. They used to be partners, but Blake was promoted. He is suspicious of her because he doesn’t believe she solved the Rutledge’s case by herself, and the feds are investigating the case.

Vega’s coworker (and friend), Akeela, is also frustrated by her because Vega won’t tell her what is going on.

Vega goes to Wally’s house and they look at the vision together. They see a Club Alpha wristband on the victim’s wrist and decide they need a name. Dash talks to Arthur, but he won’t give him a name unless Vega gets him a copy of a case file.

Vega and Dash decide to solve the case themselves, and they go to Club Alpha. In the vision they saw the victim’s shoes, so that is the first thing they look for when they arrive. Vega goes to the bathroom to check, and Dash sees the woman. He tells her to leave and creates a scene. However, he does spot the man with the tattoo on his wrist from the vision, and his name is Tyson Cole.

The next day Dash talks to Agatha, and she is angry with him because he is helping Detective Vega and because he killed someone. She leaves, and Vega calls to do a stakeout on Cole. They go to one of Cole’s  lectures on love, and afterwards Vega tries to make herself a target by hitting on him. It doesn’t work, so the two decide they have to talk to Arthur.

When Vega arrives at the station to get the police file, Blake stops her to talk. He tells her that Hawkeye is coming to their precinct. It’s a program that will help the Detectives to predict crime.

Vega delivers the case to Arthur, and the only reason he wanted it was to see if he could trust her with Dash. He gives her the name Blanca Garcia.

Dash and Vega go to the club and find Blanca at the bar. Dash wants to tell her to leave, but Vega wants to catch the Cole in the act. Vega sees Blake and talks to him, so Dash scares Blanca off. She gets into the same cab as Cole.

Vega and Dash rush after them, only to find out that Cole is not the killer. They go back to Wally’s and look at the vision again, and figure out the killer is the bartender. They go back to the club.

Blanca goes back to the bar because she forgot her purse, and she can’t remember the bartenders name. He ties her up and is about to kill her when Vega and Dash arrive. Harland, the bartender,  turns  out all the lights in attempt to hide, but with the help of Dash, Vega is able to arrest him.

Dash goes to the park again to play chess, and the episode ends with Agatha having a vision that Vega is going to help reinstate the PreCrime unit.

This week’s episode was almost a repeat of the pilot in terms of character beats. The most development we saw was in Arthur and Lieutenant Blake, and we didn’t get much from them. Dash is the same guy he was last week, saying the same lines… along with Detective Vega and Agatha. Dash wants to save people, Vega wants Dash to know he’s not alone, and Agatha wants Dash to stop working and to come home.  We saw all of this last week, and had to endure it again this week.

On that note, the episode did reveal more about some of the characters. Detective Vega has killed people before – how or when was not revealed. When Dash killed a man last episode, he didn’t really feel anything about it, because he’s already been in a killer’s mind 700 times. Just a little bleak. Dash is a tortured, anxious, and dark character. When he does have lighter moments, its very refreshing and usually a good laugh for the audience.

More of the Aleeka-Vega friendship would put more life into the show, and as the season progresses there probably will be. Vega and Blake, despite being partners for four years, bicker and compete with each other constantly. So far we know that Vega is angry because Blake was given a promotion, but there has to be another reason for her bitterness. Could it possibly be that he apparently takes credit for all there cases? Maybe. Although, Vega doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who cares about glory.

Agatha had a vision at the episode that was meant to shock the audience, and it certainly surprised me. I didn’t expect the writers to have that large of a plot twist until later in the season. The vision Agatha had will either be blown over in the next couple episodes, or Vega will turn into a completely different person by the next couple of episodes. Those are the two possible outcomes I can see from the cliffhanger, and I’m hoping the writers have something better.

The best part about Minority Report is seeing the technology of the future. This week there were wristbands that told you how compatible you were with someone else – goodbye, Tinder!