Review: Lie To Me 3.01 "In The Red"

Lie To Me is in one funky period of transition.

The worst part about this is simply the fact that we have no idea what particular events can be attributed to the show's weirdly shifting tone. Is it the revolving door of writers and showrunners? Is it FOX's unusual decision to burn season two throughout the summer while also purchasing a third season? Is there just too much craziness to handle?

Fortunately, despite the weight of constant change, Lie To Me continues to deliver solid drama week by week. Considering the fact that the season two finale was barely a few weeks ago, it feels nice to transition neatly from the dark, emotional tone of season two to the meaty procedural twist-up that appears to be the order of the day for season three.

This week's episode, "In The Red", is about replacing the old with the new. In the procedural case, Cal has to find a new source of temporary income when Foster freezes the company's accounts. This drives him to the bank, where Lady Luck brings him a victim of the mortgage crisis whom Cal immediately recognizes as someone who is ready to rob a bank. What follows is a pretty fascinating take on the old bank heist story as Cal plays both sides of the law, attempting to come out on top with assets unfrozen and a guilty bank manager brought to justice at last.

Which brings us to the second replacement, and one I'm not terribly thrilled about. The fate of Agent Reynolds was left unclear after season two's explosive finale, but the fate of Lightman's connection to the FBI was made perfectly clear: he's out, and now Cal's found a new source for doing the boring crime scene work in the local police department. It's kind of a step down from the FBI, but at least there won't be any conspiracy theories to worry about -- just dirty cops. On the other hand, losing Mekhi Pfeifer is a tragedy -- I really grew to like his character and the actor's presence on the show, particularly in the season two finale when played against Tim Roth to full effect. It's a shame to see him go.

The third replacement is another sad loss: Loker. He's pretty much over Cal Lightman and is interviewing replacements for his graduate studies position at the company. This leads to a particularly humorous scene involving Cal yelling at a deaf girl, "THERE'S NO NEED TO YELL!" (though of course he was referring to her face, as she actually has a very controlled vocal volume)... and then hiring her on the spot. It's a neat shift in dynamic, but also has me worried: is this the end of Loker as well? And what about his relationship with Torres? (And why the hell don't we get more awesome Torres moments like that episode with her sister?)

All things considered, Lie To Me does manage to strike a balance in this premiere episode. The changes could be disastrous or excellent (the same can be said of Human Target -- but that's a whole other blog post sometime in the future), but despite having been written and directed by many a talented hand, the show hasn't lost sight of its core principles -- which still makes it one of the best procedural dramas on television.