Hector’s Tacos. Review: Graceland - “Guadalajara Dog”

Season 1, Episode 2

Air Date: Thursday, June 13, 2013, 10/9c on USA

Rating: ★★★★★

“If we pulled our badge on every single crime we saw, Graceland would be burned in a week.” – Briggs

Mike learning how to become “New Mike”

Adjusting to life as an FBI undercover agent hasn’t been easy for Mike (Aaron Tveit). Still fresh out of the academy where he was trained to immediately step in and stop crime, now he must step back and weigh the consequences of getting involved. We see how difficult this is for Mike when he chases a thief and Briggs (Daniel Sunjata) sends Tuturro (Manny Montana) after them to stop Mike, not the thief. I’m not sure who was more upset—Mike for having to let the thief get away, or Tuturro because Mike almost blew their cover at Hector’s Tacos, which would have prevented them from ever enjoying their tacos again.

Graceland focuses on the complex relationship between Mike and Briggs, the man he idolized while at the academy. There are so many layers to everything they do, the scenes between them are fascinating to watch—especially since Briggs’ main goal is to teach Mike how to be a better liar.

Briggs: “First thing you got to do, figure out who the new Mike is in this world.”

Mike: “New Mike?”

Briggs: “ Yeah, FBI Mike Warren can’t be seen; that’s for damn sure. They must always see you as someone else.”

Rough night for Charlie

Graceland’s weakness continues to be the female cast. While the men of the house take down drug dealers and mob bosses, it seems the women are reduced to being girlfriends of the criminal element in order to gain information. There’s a glaring divide in how the men and women are viewed and treated. And the dialogue doesn’t help the matter, especially when Charlie (Vanessa Ferlito) asks Mike to join her on a visit to DEA Agent Paige Arkin (Serinda Swan), the one housemate we had not previously met who is singing karaoke at a club.

Charlie: “Grab my ass.”

Mike: “Seriously?”

Charlie: “Seriously, mark your territory and grab my ass.”

With dialogue like that, it’s no wonder the female characters are weak. In this day and age, with such strong female characters as Diana Berrigan (Marsha Thomason) in White Collar and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) in Castle, it’s surprising that Graceland has Swan and Ferlito hanging out in bathrooms, talking about how cute Mike is and spiking someone’s drink while the men are trying to get criminals off the streets. I get that the information the women provide is important, but I would like to see them in action too.

The other problem is too many people live in the beach house. Jakes (Brandon Jay McLaren), Tuturro, and Lauren (Scottie Thompson) are given meaningless scenes as a way, I presume, of showing us they still live there. I’m hoping this will change as the season progresses and they are given more interesting and important identities. Right now, if any of these characters were to be killed off, I doubt anyone would notice their absence.

What does Briggs know about Mike?

The big tease continues to be Briggs’ past. We know something happened that changed him, and we now know Mike was sent to Graceland to keep an eye on him for reasons not even he knows.I know I wasn’t happy about this twist in my review of the Pilot, but I am willing to see where this goes. My only concern is if the writers keep making Briggs’ past and possible wrongdoings so mysterious, while simultaneously portraying him like a Jedi Master type agent, will the audience even care by the time they reveal what Briggs did? Adding to the complexity are the signs we’ve seen that Briggs suspects something is “off” about Mike’s assignment to Graceland. At times, he seems to test Mike, especially in the shocking cliffhanger. I wonder, does Briggs know the real reason Mike is there, and if so, what will he do about it?

That being said, I enjoyed “Guadalajara Dog.” Briggs has that Mr. Miyagi style of teaching from The Karate Kid, which is amusing because Mike doesn’t even realize he’s learning something until the lesson is over. There are also a lot of other things going on that will surely hold your attention. And, since “Guadalajara Dog” is only the second episode, Graceland is still finding its rhythm. So, if you haven’t seen Graceland yet, I suggest you check it out. I don’t think you’ll be sorry.

For more information on Graceland, visit the official website.

Follow Graceland on Twitter.

Follow the stars of Graceland on Twitter: @DanielGRACELAND, @MannyMontana, @SwanSerinda, and @brandojay.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.