Two Takes: Graceland “Savior Complex” 

Paul versus the Sarkissians is still on. Meanwhile, Mike is seriously off his game. A “dead” Charlie must rely on Amber and Jakes to nail Germaine. In other news…Gusti is the most awesome criminal to ever criminal. A lot went down on the latest Graceland. So let’s get right to our Two Takes for “Savior Complex.”

Vin: It’s very hard to find balance when you’re addicted.

Mike: I’m not addicted.

Tina: Once again, there’s so much to talk about. I’m calling this right now. The MVP for the week is Gusti. Mike was so preoccupied with his withdrawals and getting that next fix. It opened the door for Gusti to become a voice of hope and reason. What did he get for imparting his words of wisdom? He got shot, Cortney. By Mike. Poor guy!

Cortney: I could not agree with you more. While this was overall a pretty stellar episode and everyone really stepped up, I think Gusti’s character development was definitely the most revealing. It was like peeling back the goofy, child-like outer layers of an onion to find a surprisingly insightful and emotional center. Gusti’s revelation that “nothing is what it seems, no one is who they say they are” was exceptional (and potentially foreshadowing?) and I loved the revelation that he came to America to make money, albeit shady money, so he could give his family a chance to vacation in the resort where they work. And let’s be honest, all in all, he was doing pretty well for himself until Mike came along! That scene in the meth-house was kind of terrifying…..I’m curious to see how and if he trusts Mike moving forward.

Tina: I can only imagine what Mike was thinking when Vin was telling him like it is. That’s how far Mike has fallen. Vin fired him. And then he “un-fired” him, of course. But even having the shakes I can’t believe Mike actually shot the gun. Before that, Mike let those two meth-addicted yahoos get the best of him. That would never happen normally. Thankfully, he was able to come up with a plan while being held hostage. He resurrected Odin Rossi. I loved that development. Odin came riding in, no ransom money, no 2 L-bows and took care of the situation. A situation that never should have happened in the first place.

Cortney: He didn’t ask for money. He didn’t ask for drugs. He asked for Odin! I loved that! And love that Mike and Briggs know each other well enough to know what that means. Speaking of those two, I was really glad to see their relationship repaired a bit this episode (until the end, of course, more on that later) and once again getting to see how much Briggs truly cares for Mike.

Tina: Agreed. And after it was all said and done, Mike’s birds came back into play, which helped him make a big decision.

Cortney: It definitely did and watching Mike detox was ROUGH. I love how each roommate had their own approach to distract him…Johnny with the Six Flags story, Paige with kind words and was Jakes reading an instruction manual?! Lol. And then the ice bath! While it was brutal to watch, I am glad that we finally got to see some of Mike’s “dream.” Because I’ll be honest, I was having a lot of trouble picturing how red birds, sticking clocks and moving trees were coming together in my head. Oh and is it just me or did you almost forget what Mike looked like clean-shaven?!

Tina: I have to admit I was a bit sad to have to say goodbye to Scruffy!Mike. Can we have a moment of silence in honor of him, please? (Silence) Okay, that’s enough. He still has the longish hair, so I’m totally cool with that. Yes, witnessing the detox was rough. How much time went by? Was it like a day? Sometimes time on this show is so vague and fluid. Like during the detox, Charlie and Jakes are a part of it. And I thought they were still in Florida! For a moment I thought Mike was hallucinating Jakes reading the manual.

Cortney: Briggs said this would be the toughest 72 hours of Mike’s life and then Logan made reference to him not getting back to him for a few days, so I’m thinking it was more like three days.

Tina: Hmmm…totally missed that. I think I would have liked them to spend more time on this withdrawal portion. Not a lot more but a little more. Much like the intervention, they blew through this phase of Mike’s drug addicted journey. I would have appreciated a more slowed-down approach. I know that’s saying a lot. Graceland is a pretty fast-paced series. And it should be. All in all, I’m happy Mike decided to get his life back on track and that Briggs was there to help him and share his withdrawal experiences. Sounds like he didn’t have a Briggs in his life to support him. Mike’s lucky. Speaking of support, Jakes got to be there for Charlie in “Savior Complex.”

Cortney: I agree, it was over and he was back to running pretty quickly, but with so much ground to cover, I kind of get it. And yes, while I’m pretty PO’d that Charlie’s whole operation was a bust, I love that the secret is out and she has someone besides Amber to confide in and to comfort her. What this means going forward, I’m still not sure. But back to the op, does this mean it’s over? That it was all for naught? And can we discuss how awesome and “reasonable” undercover-Jakes is?!

Tina: Poor Jakes was stuck there with Germaine trying to stall long enough for the bust to go down. Felt bad for him. Felt worse for Charlie considering Germaine became untouchable since it was revealed he’s a CI for the ATF. That totally sucks given what this operation cost her. She took it out on Amber. What did you think of Charlie sending her back to prison and basically telling her she didn’t do s–t for her? And how glad are you that those idiot Windgates were busted?

Cortney: OMG, so glad. The swamp and the crocodiles are better off without them. And while I can’t blame Charlie for what she said to Amber, it did feel a little harsh since it isn’t her fault that Germaine is an informant. And I think Charlie realized that too, which is why she sent her an origami frog. I kind of love how they tied that story back in and used it as a button for Charlie and Amber’s relationship. Honestly, I have to say, while I didn’t love Amber to start with, she did grow on me a bit the past few weeks. And her interaction with Jakes at the hotel definitely gave me a chuckle…but I didn’t smile, I swear I didn’t smile 🙂 So again, I ask, is this the end? Is Germaine just free and clear and Charlie is left with no closure?

Tina: Who knows if he’ll be showing up again in the future. I kinda sorta hope so because this time around, he was played by a new actor, Hal Ozsan. He’s recently done several episodes of NBC’s The Blacklist but I know him best from two gigs — he was the slimy teacher who clashed with Naomi on the 90210 reboot. And he played the bad guy in a Season 5 episode of the CW’s Supernatural, “The Curious Case of Dean Winchester.” He was also on ABC Family’s Kyle XY.

Cortney: Hmm, I thought he looked different…aka handsomer! Odd to get a whole new actor if only for one quick scene, no? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Okay, so now is it time to talk Briggs? Because I don’t mean to brag, but I TOTALLY called that he seemed way too comfortable getting in to Ari’s car at the end of last week after the supposed bust…he’s the mastermind of masterminds and I don’t know where he’s going with all of things, but I’m totally on board.

Tina: Because today’s your birthday I’ll let you brag away. But you were right, he was way too comfortable getting in that car. I am a tiny bit surprised he didn’t let Paige in on this portion of his undercover op, however. But whatever his game is, he’s totally the puppet master. When one plan goes bust, he slides in another scheme. It’s effortless with him. I’m not worthy. I’m like you, though. I have no idea what he’s up to. His mind and my mind do not work in the same way. I did not see the whole kidnapping Special Agent Sean Logan part coming, even when Mike spotted the license plate number that Briggs says he put a tail on. I knew something was up but kidnapping him? Nope.

Cortney: Agreed, he’s totally out of our league, but for someone so smart, WHY wouldn’t he wear a mask while driving a kidnap van?! What’s the point of the “grabbers” wearing masks if he’s not going to?! I know, I know, it’s TV and if he had been wearing a mask, Mike wouldn’t have been able to ID him, but still, that bugged me. That being said, is this another part of the plan?! Is Logan the “set-up guy” that Briggs said he needed to bring in to feed Ari and Toros fake info? Or does Briggs really think Logan is dirty and this french-fry-run-turned-kidnapping is actually an attempt to rat him out? I’m guessing it’s part of the plan….but then again, I’m not totally trusting Logan either.

Graceland airs Thursdays at 10/9c on USA Network.