Stumptown Review: ‘Till Dex Do Us Part (Season 1 Episode 14)

Dex, Miles, and Grey each have their own story to tell on Stumptown Season 1 Episode 14, “‘Till Dex Do Us Part” and it makes for another strong episode from the freshman series.

Coming off of Stumptown Season 1 Episode 13, “The Dex Factor,” where the three leads work together to break a case, “‘Till Dex Do Us Part” mostly keeps each characters’ story separate, allowing them to develop more fully in their own right. While both Miles and Greys’ stories connect back to Dex in the end as she doles out words of wisdom, the bulk of the episode is about adding complexity to these characters independent of how they relate to each other.

Dex’s story on “‘Til Dex Do Us Part” revolves mainly around her case of the week investigating a suspicious groom at the request of the bride’s sister. Like any standard procedural, especially one that draws influence from pulp detective archetypes, it’s pretty obvious from the start that there is more to this story than a shady tattoo artist trying to get his green card and that the bride is a little too good to be true.

Even knowing that there is a shoe to drop concerning the bride, the ultimate twist doesn’t feel obvious even if it should. Something Stumptown is very good at is creating twists that surprise you at the moment but feel like inevitable climaxes you aren’t quite sure how you missed.

I didn’t see this week’s twist coming until Dex shares her suspicions with Miles but the clues are there from the beginning, starting with the bride’s sister telling Dex they only reconnected recently all the way through the big red flag when we find out that the bride to be lied to her fiancee about being married before.

Walking that line between making big reveals too obvious and out of nowhere shocking twists that become tired when overused is tricky and I appreciate how well Stumptown consistently threads that needle. It’s one of the things that makes its cases of the week more satisfying and central to an episodes’ success than other procedurals with similar conceits. 

As for Dex, she is once again willing to show a vulnerable side of herself, and one she keeps mostly hidden from her loved ones, to a near stranger. Cobie Smulders kills it in the scene where she talks about Benny. It’s been a while since we’ve seen her cry over him and her guilt like that. It’s good to revisit the rawness of that emotion and remind viewers how broken she still feels.

She also mentions a choice she could have made that would have prevented his death. My guess is that this is more Dex unfairly blaming herself for his choices but it also makes me eager to know more about what happened as we reach the season’s homestretch.

Miles and Grey’s storylines are both hinted at on “The Dex Factor” and both do a lot to elevate characters that felt pretty flat during the first half of the season.

While both stories are quite good and Miles’ story with his parents is the more revealing of the two, Grey’s feels the most gratifying by the end.

The situation between Miles and his father is a pretty familiar one and it’s success really rests on the performances of Michael Ealy and especially the actors playing his parents. Even if we’ve seen this story before on lots of different shows and movies it is still nice to learn more about Miles and see a different side of him.

Miles has been very one dimensional all season. All his complexity seemed to be wrapped up in his love of Charles Mingus’s music. He was in desperate need of being fleshed out and “‘Till Dex Do Us Part” is a step in the right direction.

Grey’s story, on the other hand, delivers on Ansel’s suggestion that Tookie be the chef for the Bad Alibi. It is both fun to watch them butt heads as they test out a partnership and satisfying to see them come together in the end. Tookie’s presence at the Bad Alibi moving forward will also make the show better overall.

While Grey, Ansel, and Dex are family, The Bad Alibi lacks life and character I think it’s meant to have. Tookie’s warm, weird presence will help the bar be an anchor for the show and make it feel more like a home base instead of just one of the show’s regular rotation of sets.

“‘Till Dex Do Us Part” continues a trend we’ve seen on Stumptown since its return from its winter hiatus. It allows the central characters to develop separate from their relationships with Dex and form stronger ties with each other as well as other supporting characters.

It’s a decision that makes the show feel more complete. Dex, and Cobie Smulders for that matter, will always be the lynchpin of Stumptown and the driving force of its success or failure. But, even the best character is only as strong as the relationships they have and the characters they interact with.

Letting the characters around Dex shine will only make Dex’s story better and make her relationships with them more interesting. So let’s hope this is a trend that continues through the end of the season.

Stray Thoughts

• I was glad the groom didn’t forgive his fiancee. Her tearful plea at the end is self-centered and suggests she hasn’t changed much.
• Where does Dex keep all those amazing jackets? Does her closet have infinite space like her car’s mixtape seems to?
• Let’s hear it for Mama and Papa Hoffman and hope it’s not the last we see of either of them.
• Tookie is married? When do we meet his wife?

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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