Moment of Goodness: Charlie sticks up for Ray, Breakout Kings “There are Rules” 

First of all, I love, love, love A&E’s new series Breakout Kings. It’s a fast-paced, action-packed and yes, humorous hour of television. It’s not a bad way to spend a Sunday night. The cast instantly clicked for me and the cons are quirky, messed up and fun. Charlie and Ray, the heads of this crazy task force that uses cons to catch other cons, are cool, but they don’t usually get to have the great moments on this show. In “There are Rules,” Deputy Douchebag Robert Wendell (played by veteran actor Gregg Henry), is introduced as a foil for the group. It’s clear he has a beef with the Breakout Kings from the get go when he threatens to shake things up. But is he just being a tool for tool’s sake or is there a reason behind his douche-osity? Regardless, the cons (Lloyd, Shea and Erica) are super nervous. They don’t have time to dwell on said nervousness, however, because the case-of-the-week is a doozy involving five cons who break out of Attica.

After every single criminal is apprehended (dead or alive), Wendell returns and makes it known the cons are safe, however, he wants Ray out. Ray’s a dirty cop who shouldn’t even be part of this task force and if Charlie won’t get rid of him, he’ll make sure he’s back on desk duty. This scene solidifies my love for Charlie. Not knowing the rest of the team is listening to him on speaker, he sticks up for Ray in a big and awesome way:

“There are rules and I’m not going to leave one member of my crew hanging. So come Monday morning, please make sure my desk is waxed; every pencil on that desk is sharpened; because I’d rather be there than spend another day here without Ray Zancanelli. We closed that case in less than 48 hours. Five convicts that had escaped from Attica were no longer at large. So if you want to talk to the Feds and explain to them that you decided to break up this team, fine. Go ahead. I’m gonna get my two cents in too. From behind my desk.”

How awesome was that monologue? And I think it cemented Charlie’s status as the leader of this team. I feel like maybe everyone had doubts. That’s why I think it’s great that this moment came in the penultimate episode of the season. We’ve seen the group dynamics all season long. And we’ve seen them slowly becoming a formidable team. However, there was still mistrust there. Charlie needed a moment like this; Ray needed to know what Charlie was willing to do for him; and the cons hearing his speech will probably cause them to trust Charlie more as well. And then I loved how Charlie came out and lied about what went down but Ray didn’t let him get away with it too much. He went into his office and shook his hand. Yeah, I totally adored the whole Charlie standing up to the deputy scene. It was important for the show. Laz Alonso simply nailed the scene. By the way, he’s even better in the big screen flick, Jumping the Broom. You guys should see it. Now, if A&E could renew Breakout Kings, I’d be a happy camper. We so need a second season.