In my previous post, I maintained that there were two break-ins at Sammy's house. One organized by Ben, using Elena's brother to steal the incriminating tape. The other organized by Strokeface's gang, after Sammy had an altercation earlier in the day with said bad guy. I alleged that these two break-ins had somehow converged, ending in an assault on little Nate's babysitter. I also alleged that Ben was being a true friend to Sammy by the end of the episode, helping him to defend his child and his home.
Well, I could be all washed up in that opinion. I admit it. But herein lies the difficulty. Elena's brother, frankly, does not seem like the sharpest tool in the shed. So, after Ben witnessed Sammy's argument with Strokeface, he would have had to, in a very short period of time, arrange with the pretty girl's male relative to imitate that specific gang -- right down to the perfection of the graffiti. Could Elena's sibling have handled that? I'm not sure. And Ben obviously was planning the tape heist before Sammy encountered Strokeface. As I recall, we see Ben talking on his cellphone at basically the same time as this encounter -- probably with Elena's brother. He said something to this effect: "If you have any questions, give me a call." It seems as though the plan was already formed and in motion. So, the addition to the plan of using Strokeface's people as the fall guys would have had to be made at the last minute.
It could have happened that way, though. Elena's brother could have been in the house, stealing the tape and spray-painting the walls when the babysitter unexpectedly arrived with Nate. Elena's brother may have freaked out, knocked the sitter down, and run away.
Morally, does it make that big of a difference if the situation happened one way or the other? Not in my opinion.
Logistically, though, having Elena's sibling imitate the Strokeface gang is going to create a lot more problems for Ben in the long run. Because Sammy is now going to go after Strokeface. And that's going to make everything more difficult for Ben than if he had just asked Elena's brother to go into the house and steal the tape along with a few other items (to make the incident look like an actual robbery). After all, if just the tape went missing, Detective Bryant would know what was up. Ben is smart. He would realize this. Therefore, it still seems to me that Strokeface had a hand in the whole incident. And I think Ben is genuinely scared for and worried about Sammy and Nate.
Many people are saying today that Ben has finally gone over the point of no return. They are saying that he is now a bad cop. Personally, I think that happened at the end of Season 4, when he murdered the pimp. And I do think it was a murder.
Might he be redeemed? Many say, "no." I think it is still possible. I think there is still some heart in him. What will it take to redeem him? Well, it will most likely involve some action or actions of his that have devastating consequences for which he cannot deny responsibility. He will have to "face the music" in a pretty life-altering way.
It could also be that Ben continues as a law enforcement officer -- sometimes being the hero, sometimes the crooked cop. And that could be very, very interesting for the show if he ends up as a detective. After all, it is unlikely that his involvement in the break-in at Sammy's house will be discovered, at least by anyone in any official capacity. Sammy might figure it out -- thus ending any kind of positive relationship between them. But, Sammy is unlikely to report Ben through official channels, as his part in the whole tape business would be found out. And I'm not sure he's ready to face the consequences of that. We'll see, though. Sammy does have a good conscience, and it's eating at him.
So, buckle up. Episode 9 is coming our way.
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