All Rise Review: Safe to Fall (Season 2 Episode 9)

All Rise Season 2 Episode 9, “Safe to Fall,” gives us not one but two love triangles, including familiar awkwardness for Luke, Sam, and Emily, and a whole new set of complications for Mark, Amy, and Rachel.

The former gives us interactions we’ve seen before, but this time breaks up Sam and Luke for good. It’s both inevitable and something most of the audience has been waiting for, but poor Sam gets the short end of the stick, wondering if what they had was ever real.

We do know that what Mark and Amy have is real, but when Rachel arrives at their house for a few days, it’s clear there’s something there, too. Mark spends most of the episode avoiding her, so it’s difficult to say exactly what—or who feels it most.

There is an established history between these two, and by the time we do see them alone together, Rachel is struggling both personally and professionally. When Mark comforts her, she leans in to kiss him, and a pile of too-familiar drama lands on our doorstep

Things do turn out less messy than they could. Mark pulls away a moment later, Rachel is vulnerable, and they both immediately regret it. At the end of the episode, Mark tells Amy he loves her. That’s a big deal for anyone, but especially considering his history with commitment.

Still, he needs to tell Amy what happened. I dislike most love triangles, and I’m seeing why both with both of these situations. We’re always going to be rooting against someone. Worse, it’s easy for there to be a character everyone dislikes for disrupting their ship.

The good news is that this show is above making anyone a bad guy. All the same, we’re left with a painful muddle. Luke’s a good person, but Sam doesn’t deserve this doubt. What should be a huge step for Mark and Amy will be stymied until the truth comes out and is discussed openly.

Then there’s Emily and Joaquin. It’s shown well here that he’s a good guy who’s good for her, yet again most people are at least casually hoping their relationship ends. We just want Emily to be happy, but these developments can feel tiring, too.

I hope that if or when they do break up, Joaquin gets the same respect that Sam does. I hope we find out what happened with Lemily in the first place. I hope, Mark, Amy, and Rachael all find closure. All Rise is great at real, adult conversations, and we need to see a lot of them happen.

Outside of Love Drama Land (Sort of; Sam is very personally determined to outdo Emily for much of the episode,) the central episodic case dives head on into issues of mental health and the stigma against those with diagnoses like schizophrenia.

Plenty of shows have taken the important step of acknowledging that stigma at the societal level, but this episode goes further in making it more personal. Alfredo’s father, the victim of his attack, is both his most ardent offender and someone who struggles desperately with the truth.

It’s why this case is so complex from the start, with a father both loving and in denial and a sister who turns on her family until her eyes are opened, too. Alfredo’s struggles are real, especially when he falls victim to his delusions in front of Emily.

I do wish there’d been more effort to point out how rare acts of violence are even for the most extreme disorders, but there’s a lesson there, too. So much of what happens here does so because of people’s fear. It’s a fear many families share.

Finally, while we don’t get developments in the restorative justice storyline for this episode, we do see Mark’s work with police brutality cases broadening in scope. It’s an encouraging development, especially because it suggests we’ll see Tony Carver in a greater capacity.

Like August Fox’s mentorship of Luke, Tony can help Mark work to challenge the system while being unafraid to call him on his own privilege. There’s likely to be crossover between these two storylines, and the “Callan Army” may wind up stronger than ever.

Other Notes

• I knew the theft of the deer head would come back to haunt us. Seriously, Sherri, even if Mark hadn’t been the one to steal it, how was he not your number one suspect?
• Sara hanging out with Judge Campbell was adorable. I’ll reserve judgement on that unofficial job offer until we see how it pans out.
• We are seeing far too little of Lola on what is arguably her own show. At least give us more cute shots of Bailey!

 

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

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All Rise airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.

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