#29 "Orpheus 3

#29 "Orpheus 3.3" (AKA "The Convenience Killer") (Season 2 #16)

Original Air Date: Feb. 28, 1988

Writer: Bill Nuss

Director: James Contner

Production Code: 16225

Things To Note: Last episode featuring Amy Pearson, Hanson's girlfriend. Also, Orpheus was a poet/lyricist, one of the heroic Argonauts, whose lyre is immortalized in the constellation. The myth is that Death releases his love but forbids him to gaze again at her, but he does anyway.

Opening Theme:

Closing Theme:

LOD:

Regulars:

Friends, Family & Guests: Dorothy Parke [ Amy Pearson ], Frank Annese [ Unknown ], Brent Jennings [ Unknown ]

Episode Summary from The 21 Jump Street Episode Guide:

NOTE: Stop with this one if you don’t want spoilers.

Hanson blames himself for failing to prevent the shooting death of his girlfriend in a convenience store robbery and becomes obsessed with revenge.

Detailed Episode Review (contains spoilers!):

(NOTE: I am doing these from the FX repeats. Email me with missing scenes & I’ll add them).

Commentary:

Cyndi Glass: Well-done. The episode continuity within the season lends is done well, too - I can see Hanson’s mental state being a little fragile after what he went through in the previous episode! This is one of Depp’s most intense performances, as Hanson’s guilt almost gets the best of him. You can tell that he wants to dump Amy - it’s pretty much over for him - or it would have been, if he hadn’t gotten his way in their argument and indirectly caused her death. I think that his inability to protect her (which is Hanson’s natural instinct - watch him with Hoffs all the time), combined with his knowledge of things that he might have done differently from his police training, cause much of his reaction here. However, I think it also taps into unresolved feelings about his father’s eerily similar murder - a sudden shooting in an armed robbery. Instantly, Amy is equated with his father, and Hanson’s self-image as a police officer becomes shaky, rocked by the realization that he can’t protect everyone all the time and sometimes the bad guys are going to win. Hoffs is so affected by Hanson’s emotional pain that her tears make me cry, too.

I kind of got lost for a second - he had that dream, then for like 3 seconds he was in the hospital bed, and then suddenly he was back in the bar in the same clothes. The guy asks if he’s the cop, and he goes "I used to be." For a second I thought it was another dream. Then I saw his hurt arm. Great episode! It looked like it required too much footage that then had to be severely edited to fit - and of course we’re seeing repeats here. Argh. Depp is just so good.

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