Stumptown Review: Dirty Dexy Money (Season 1 Episode 12)

Stumptown Season 1 Episode 12, “Dirty Dexy Money,” has some fun while setting up some potentially big things to come, both soon and perhaps further down the road.

Dex’s new case on “Dirty Dexy Money” is working for the owner of a local strip club that serves the best vegan enchiladas in town because it’s Portland and why not. Dex’s client, Ginger, seems like a dream client when we meet her, which obviously means she ends up being a nightmare and nearly costs Dex her P.I. license.

Despite the potentially devastating circumstances that the case leads to, things never feel particularly wrought or like it will be a serious threat to Dex in the end. Even if Dex is legitimately concerned, for the audience, the complaint feels like what it is, a petty challenge that Dex will ultimately have little trouble dispatching.

Compared with other cases Dex has taken on this season, this week’s case is light and mostly fun.

Cobie Smulders and guest star Cheryl Hines have a great rapport together. Hines is always a welcomed addition to any show, and she plays Ginger with the right mix of chaos and warmth so that viewers know she’s a mess from the start but still want to like her when she turns on Dex later on.

As much fun as the case is and as delightful as Hines is, “Dirty Dexy Money” is about setting up future plot developments, the most immediate being that Dex will be brought into the case Miles and Grey have been working in the next episode. 

Most of the episode, in fact, centers on the case Miles and Grey are working. It establishes distrust for Grey among the crew, corruption in the vice department that makes them unreliable partners, and ambiguity about whether Max is going to be an asset or trap for Grey, all of which could mean potentially high stakes for Dex and everyone involved.

Stumptown is doing a nice job building up this story and creating investment for the audience. Unlike earlier in the season, when the storyline about Grey’s past felt rushed and rather uninteresting, there is a  sense of real danger that creates legitimate tension and concern for Grey, even if we’re pretty sure he’ll be fine in the end.

They could certainly be doing a better job building the relationship between Grey and Miles, but otherwise, this is a solid story for both characters and mercifully one that doesn’t focus on the main love triangle; at least not yet.

It’s not just the immediate plot developments that “Dirty Dexy Money” sets up. It also does more foreshadowing for the introduction of Dex and Ansel’s parents. I like that both Ansel and Dex are given space to slowly let viewers into their feelings about their parents separately, letting us see hints of Dex’s anger at her parents last week on Stumptown Season 1 Episode 11, “The Past and the Furious,” and Ansel’s hurt and confusion this week.

“Dirty Dexy Money” is a bit of the calm before the storm. Things will be coming to a head soon for the undercover case, and there is clearly some emotional family drama in Ansel and Dex’s future, but “Dirty Dexy Money” is an enjoyable prologue to the drama to come.

Stray Thoughts

• They casually dropped that Captain Cosgrove is married. Who knew? Wonder if we’ll meet him soon?
• The scenes between Tookie and Ansel were lovely and the reveal about the importance of Baked Alaska at the end was an incredibly sweet, and needed, moment for Ansel and Dex.
• We also learn who Miles’s father is and it seems very likely that his relationship with him will be significant at some point.
• I hope we see of the vet support group Dex went to again soon and get a chance to understand that part of her a bit more.
• I’d love to see some more backstory about Tookie and Dex’s relationship.

What did you think of this episode of Stumptown? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Stumptown airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on ABC.

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