Directed by Liz Friedlander – The Stop Button

Despite being a general improvement over the pilot and seeming to trend up in general (Adam Goldberg’s not obnoxiously bland this episode and Liza Lapira’s improving a little so maybe she’ll hit that level by the next one), this episode of “The Equalizer” has a lackluster, pseudo-cloying finish. The show tries to do a bunch simultaneously, which just draws attention to it not being able to do any of the things well on their own. It’s montaging for cover.

And it also seems like Chris Noth is going to be less of a costar as a regular guest cameo, popping in for a couple scenes with Queen Latifah to hit that audience demographic without contributing anything of substance.

The episode also introduces the origin of “The Equalizer” moniker—and makes no sense when it does—but it dashes my dream of Latifah actually being Edward Woodward’s daughter too. And they still don’t use the song, though the opening titles desperate needs it.

This episode has Latifah rescuing a kidnapped kid from a bunch of Eurotrash human traffickers. Well, they say Eurotrash but they all seem to be French. It takes a while to discover they’re Eurotrash; for a while it just seems like they’re nondescript mercenaries, same as last episode. The show having originality problems on its second episode is not a great sign.

Also there’s still no Covid, just lots of people standing in groups—though not when they should be. There’s a pseudo-big Times Square sequence and it seems like they shot it without permission with a dozen people to make up a crowd.

Latifah’s got some family drama with kid Laya DeLeon Hayes hiding something from her because Hayes doesn’t want Latifah to disappoint her again. Lorraine Toussiant has to deal with it because Latifah’s too busy, which gives Toussiant and Hayes decent (albeit bland) dramatic material and delaying having to do any for Latifah.

Meanwhile cop Tory Kittles is still on Latifah’s trail, which… doesn’t seem like a particularly good series subplot. There’s also a big ground situation change, seemingly to give the show potentially different settings for Latifah to go after the same nondescript mercenaries instead of New York City.

Still, the draw remains Latifah kicking ass and the show delivers. Even though the soundtrack accompaniments remain loudly disappointing.

They don’t use the song.

The movies didn’t use the song either, did they? I love that old “Equalizer” theme song. Stewart Copeland.

Anyway.

“The Equalizer: 2021” is Taken with Queen Latifah only she’s an altruist and not only using her very particular set of skills to help family members in danger. She’s got a teenage daughter, Laya DeLeon Hayes, and an aunt, Lorraine Toussaint, so undoubtedly they’ll be in danger at some point in the show should it go on long enough.

Latifah’s also got sidekicks because it’s 2021 and everyone’s got to have their team. She’s got former CIA mentor Chris Noth (fully embracing the silver fox thing finally), hacker Adam Goldberg, and sniper Liza Lapira. Lapira and Goldberg are married because they never met anyone else with so little charisma in an easy caricature part (it’s particularly sad to watch Goldberg miss trying to recapture the depth of his Dazed and Confused stoner). She’s got a trendy Manhattan bar and he’s officially dead but lives in a Lex Luthor converted subway lair. It’s not a good lair, unfortunately. It’s pretty boring, in fact.

The pilot has Latifah saving Lorna Courtney from being assaulted and finding out Courtney’s on the run after being digitally framed. Could it somehow involve self-driving car tech bro Michael Rady?

Also there’s cop Tory Kittles, who’s after Courtney, but is actually a good guy—even Latifah thinks he’s a good guy after his lengthy monologue about being a good guy actually. Presumably the series will do something with Kittles and Latifah’s chemistry, which isn’t great, but isn’t non-existent like Goldberg and Lapira’s.

It’s interesting to see a very standard eighties not cop cop procedural done in 2021—though, not really because it’s pre-Covid and feels very dated—but the script’s not good. Co-creator and co-writer Andrew W. Marlowe wrote some truly godawful scripts in the late nineties and hasn’t improved. So there’s nothing creative in the writing, but Latifah’s fun to watch beating up shitty dudes. And Noth’s, you know, Noth.

Maybe Goldberg and Lapira and the writing will get better.

Also maybe not… Probably not. Marlowe’s a curse.