‘Hightown’ Recap: ‘Rebellion Dogs’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Normally in crime dramas, the hero, or the villain, or both… are as cool as they come. Which often allows for quite the stylish story to take place. One where the detective in question cannot be rattled by the evil they see, allowing for them to solve a case that puts the fear of God into others. Or we are treated to a story where the villain is so sure of themselves, they’re almost like-able because of the fun they have in committing their crimes and if the story does indeed feature both types of characters, then it’s nothing short of a powerhouse ride, the kind where an immovable object slams into an unstoppable force. But while those elements make for an entertaining ride, they do in fact, create a disservice for their readers or their viewers.

Simply because, crime dramas are designed to help us better understand the human condition and what makes us tick and what makes us overcome the darkness within and that’s why crime stories that abandon that cheesy but fun formula should be celebrated at every turn. Because those are the ones that we connect with and that is why Hightown is of note. For this is a series that presents its heroes in the raw by giving them challenges to fail at, which in turn invests us like never before since we want to see them succeed and grow beyond their goofs and well, for proof that this is how this series operates… then look no further than its next episode. For ‘Rebellion Dogs’ is a story that sees just about everyone stumble and fall and try to figure out a way forward and that makes for one fascinating story. 

One that genuinely informs us of how human and flawed our heroes are in this tale. For this story saw Jackie screw the pooch in court and barrel toward a felony charge and being that in position… motivated her to double down on the idea that she could in fact, right all of her wrongs by solving the Sherry Henry case. Which is why she worked with Junior to travel around the cape to find clues and answers and why she returned to her ex-girlfriend for help. To prove her worth, to show the world she wasn’t a screw up and what’s amazing is that her ‘noble’ quest was counterbalanced nicely by Ray’s in this story. Because he too stumbled hard by letting his emotions and his desire get the better of him. Because Frankie recognized that a guy like Ray can be manipulated through the ‘love’ of a beautiful woman and sent Renee after him to get close and derail the case and Ray fell right into that trap hook, line, and sinker. For he was quick to respond to Renee’s advances and sadly, that means he’s crossed an ugly line and will have to work hard to recover from it.

But there was mention of the fact that just about everyone stumbled in this tale and even our villains made their share of mistakes. For we came to learn in this tale that Junior doesn’t quite understand how serious his situation really is. Because he saw the dumping of Sherry’s body as a done deal. But Frankie didn’t see it like that in the slightest and sent Osito after him via phone and eventually in person, to make it clear that perfection was the expectation this outfit and in order to prove his worth to the boss and Osito, he was asked to do quite the ugly act. In that, he needed to beat the living hell out of an everyday guy to show his toughness and show that he could follow orders and well, that eagerness to make some cash and earn some praise is the stumble in question for Junior. One that could cost him if he doesn’t come to understand how little he matters to these folks and how dangerous they really are.

If anything, this was just a wonderfully low-key character study when all is said and done. Since it really did a wonderful job of teaching us what makes them tick and what drives them and obviously, what their weaknesses and flaws are and that was undoubtedly a calculated choice writing wise. One that really does remind us of the power of the crime drama and what it can teach us, since everything presented here was hyper realistic and relatable and of course, it’s also there to vest us in the story and make us crave more and that’s just fine. Because this series is great, and we really do want to see how everyone comes back from their gross missteps and well, the only way to find out if or how that is going to be the case… is to continue the journey and see where life on Cape Cod… takes us next.   

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