Bull Review: Keep Your Friends Close (Season 2 Episode 14)

On Bull Season 2 Episode 14, “Keep Your Friends Close”, a team member nearly loses everything – but still doesn’t come out unscathed.

Until now, we’ve gotten bits and pieces of the personal lives of everyone outside Jason Bull himself, but they haven’t really shaped the context of an entire episode. Yet when we see Cable trust an old friend who just happens to show up in her midst after her boyfriend is arrested, we know it’s not going to end well for anyone.

To be fair to her, and to the ability of the writers to invoke sympathy in less than a minute, I want to believe Sarah, too. She’s likeable for what we see of her (or perhaps only for what she chooses to show us), and it sure would be nice to believe the case against someone like that is all a conspiracy.

Sadly, it’s not, as we all learn soon enough. Cable, of course, learns as she’s watching a government server be wiped before her eyes. At that point, we know the fallout from this is going to be much worse than some brief inter-team tension.

At first, it looks like we won’t have to worry about this work family turning its backs on each other at all. Everyone rallies around Cable instead of blaming her for their tense situation. They discuss plans, make jokes, and assure her everything will be okay.

And then she gets hauled off to prison.

It’s distressing for her, for us, and for the case… which is essentially ruined. We all want it to end as quickly as possible, and yet the solution that arises seems almost too convenient. A new crime that leads to a new charge, all with solid proof? I’ll take it, but it sure happened quickly.

As it turns out, though, what seems too good to be true actually is, and it comes back to bite us when Dr. Bull fires Cable, sending her stalking away from their shared cab.

Unfortunately, we cannot say this choice is unjustified. Cable’s actions, however well-intentioned, go behind people’s backs, break federal laws, get people (temporarily) fired, and nearly set a terrorist free. We can all relate to her, but Jason is also right to suggest that just because she isn’t going to prison, she shouldn’t face consequences for her actions.

Yet the entire scene seems forced. Cable is understandably hurt and angry, but at no point does anyone acknowledge the decision as one that had to be made, however painful it was. Instead, Bull sits back, seeming mostly unaffected by what he has just done.

That makes for a nice, dramatic ending as we take a few-week hiatus for the Olympics, but it doesn’t line up with how deeply we’ve seen Jason care for his team over two seasons. It especially doesn’t line up with his near-fatherly handling of Cable throughout this episode.

I have no doubt that Cable will be back, so I’m guessing the outcome of this will be that anger we saw very little of from the team tonight. Everyone else will remind Bull that they need their tech genius, and, like with so many other things, the drama will be quickly and neatly wrapped up.

I just hope we also get to acknowledge that, however justified, Bull’s choice hurts to make – not only for Cable and his team, but for him as well.

 

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Bull airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS.

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