Day Break Episode 4 mini-review

If two weeks ago's episode was all about threatening Rita's relationship with Hopper, and if last week's episode was all about establishing Eddie's relationship with Hopper, this week's episode was all about repairing Chad's relationship with Hopper. Lots of action and motion in this episode, including Hopper baring all about the tale while the police listened in -- including representatives of Quarry Guy. In the end, Chad realizes that Hopper's conspiracy theory isn't too far off, and gives the needed information. The following questions were answered in last night's episode:

1. The fingerprint on the hourglass belongs to SomeConWithaLatinName. He has been in prison since 1989 meaning that he cannot have killed Jane Doe or D.A. Garza.
2. Hopper's famiyl had a "history of mental problems" and his father is no longer alive. There is strong evidence that Quarry Guy killed Hopper's father as well.
3. We see the face of the police infiltrator from Quarry Guy -- he is a member of SWAT and uses a .45 as his weapon of choice.
4. According to Chad, he and Rita ended up dissolving their marriage because she loves a man who needs saving, which Hopper is/was and Chad isn't/wasn't.

Unanswered questions go something like this:

1. What information of use can Hopper glean from the Murder Book on the Jane Doe case?
2. Will any of the people who he told about his day that never ends be influenced by his (unknowningly public) explanation of the events?
3. Will Chad's animosity to Hopper be reduced after this episode?
4. Was it really Hopper's father Quarry Guy was referring to when talking about deja vu?
5. The prisoner who bit Hopper seemed to know more than he let on. Is he retaining memories too?
6. What's the significance of the $72.60 (or more, some concealed bills appear to be under the 2nd $20) in the front seat of Chad's car which was highlighted (with scary music no less) to close out the episode?
   Update, 11:04am: The money is the $171.53 that Hopper apparently "owes" Chad because of coffee buying discrepancies.
7. Was Quarry Guy's man in the SWAT team trying to shoot Hopper or Shelton when he was sneaking a gun through the grating? Chad believes the former, but the latter makes more sense if Hopper is to be kept alive in order to be framed for Garza's murder.
8. What is SomeConWithaLatinName's connection with the Jane Doe case?
   Did Garza have him put the hourglass in the envelope? Or did SomeConWithaLatinName do that of his own initiative and Garza and his assistant were just the tools used to send it?
9. What is Quarry Guy's connection to the Jane Doe case? Was it he who murdered her? Was she some sort of threat to his organization?

Firefly fans certainly got their full reward for following this show, as this episode was all about Chad Shelton. On Day 1 he lies about the location of the Murder Book and as his reward is captured on Day 2. One of the funniest lines all season comes from Detective Spivak (Mitch Pileggi) when he discovers that Hopper has taken Shelton as a hostage: "Christmas came early this year". Clearly Shelton's reputation proceeds him. Yet after coming across so sleazy in the last two episodes, Chad is clearly not as gruff at heart as he appears. He seems as emotionally affected as Andrea when hearing about Hopper's tale of watching Rita die over and over, agreeing that he couldn't bear to let it happen again and empathizing extensively with Hopper. Hell, as Hopper has him at gunpoint with a makeshift dead man's trigger, all Chad can do is berate Hopper over Rita. Clearly she means just as much to Chad as she does to Hopper. At the end, even when Chad gets a chance to (unwisely, with trigger-happy SWAT guys around him) beat the crap out of Hopper, his final act is to tell him "and if you're right, the Murder Book is on the front seat of my car)." This whole episode is pretty much, as I said, a redemption of Chad. When he sees the rogue cop trying to kill Hopper he takes immediate action to protect him. In fact, Chad Shelton in this episode bears more than a few similarities to Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Jayne's (Adam Baldwin) captain in Firefly/Serentiy. Why does Chad save Hopper (despite his concern that Hopper's death would save everybody sans one)? "Because we were partners." Why did Serenity come back for Simon and River in "Safe" even though Simon and Reynolds don't get along?

Simon Tam: Captain, why did you come back for us?
Malcolm Reynolds: You're on my crew.
Simon Tam: Yeah, but you don't even like me. Why did you come back?
Malcolm Reynolds: You're on my crew. Why are we still talking about this?

Of course, since Chad is an ass, he has to beat Hopper up a little first.


Update, 11:05am: There's a thread at TV.com asking the question "Is Rita in on the conspiracy?" It is noted that we never actually see Rita die directly...the one time Hopper is physically present for her execution she is taken out behind the quarry trucks and is not shown dying on screen. It is possible that she is helping them fake her death. I'll keep you posted.