Stumptown Review: The Past and The Furious (Season 1 Episode 11)

Stumptown is back in top form with Stumptown Season 1 Episode 11, “The Past and The Furious.”

After the less than stellar episodes, Stumptown Season 1 Episode 9, “Dex Education,” and Stumptown Season 1 Episode 10, “Reality Checks Don’t Bounce,” “The Past and The Furious” finally gives us an episode that hits the mark.

Starting with another bittersweet case of the week all the way through the scenes of Ansel bonding with Grey, this is what an episode of Stumptown looks like when it’s meeting its potential.

“The Past and The Furious” lacks a little of the fun of previous episodes, but it more than makes up for it in compelling and emotional storytelling, starting with the case of the week.

As soon as they mention that the adoption agency is defunct and that Dex’s client was taken from a supposedly unfit mother, it is clear this is a case about children being kidnapped from their parents and the tribes they were born into. Knowing what’s coming, though, doesn’t lessen the emotional punch the case delivers. 

One of the saddest aspects of the case is not directly shown or stated but clearly implied.

We learn early on that the birth mother of Dex’s client died of a drug overse but hadn’t been a drug user when she had her child, meaning that she became one after they stole her baby and likely because of that. Thinking about the way this church destroyed this woman’s life for its racist, self-righteous reasons is heartbreaking.

Given some of what we’ve heard in the news lately and U.S history more broadly, this case also feels like the most relevant the show has tackled so far.

As sad as the case is, the more hopeful note it ends on, with Sue Lynn introducing Dex’s client to his long lost family, is lovely. You can’t help but be moved when his Aunt says they’ve been waiting for him.

Even though the episode could benefit a bit from more Sue Lynn (which is an evergreen statement about any episode), seeing Sue Lynn and Dex start to right this wrong, at least in part, is one of the episode’s best moments.

“The Past and the Furious” is an emotional episode for Dex beyond her case, but not in the way that might have been expected from the episode description and previews.

Because the episode centers on a vet and Sue Lynn gets involved, the assumption going in is that the emotional baggage Dex would deal with would be about Benny and her time in the Army.

There is a little bit of that as small signs of Dex’s PTSD make their way to the surface, and her client encourages her to join his veterans’ group. But, the bulk of the episode centers on Dex struggling with Ansel’s decision to move out and some hints about Dex’s parents.

The way they handle Dex’s feelings about Ansel moving out in the “Past and the Furious” feels much more impactful than it does on “Reality Checks Don’t Bounce.” “The Past and the Furious” relies on character moments to bring the audience into Dex’s vulnerability much more effectively than the last episode.

Whether it’s a simple scene of Dex sitting in Ansel’s room not knowing what to do with herself in a quiet house, alone with her thoughts or her apology in the church for having said she didn’t want to take care of Ansel one time, the intensity and immediacy of Dex’s emotional state are higher and feel truer than on “Reality Checks Don’t Bounce.”

“The Past and The Furious” is exactly what this season of Stumptown needs to remind viewers why we care about not only the central characters of the show but the clients and people involved in the cases Dex takes. It is a reminder about what the show is at it’s best and what makes Dex’s story one we want to see.

Stray Thoughts

• Miles is pretty insufferable through most of the episode. Hopefully, his talk with Grey at the end means he’ll be less of an ass moving forward.
• I’m excited that the story of Dex’s parents is being introduced. It’s something I’ve been curious about for a while.
• If I had one complaint about this episode it is that I didn’t like Max. She’s more irritating than intriguing.
• I am absolutely on board for an Ansel romance.

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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