I Come on My Knees first aired on 6 November, 1986 and was written by David Milch. There’s a lot going on in this episode, and once again the silly melodrama has been pushed aside. Sure there are fun character moments, but as a whole the series seems to be determined to finish incredibly strong.

Calletano (Rene Enriquez) loses his command following the officer-involved shooting and the racism of both white and black officers that seems to be fermenting in that precinct. Some of those officers are reassigned and find their way to the Hill.

Calletano is determined to have some form of justice and threatens to go to the papers decrying his removal, and Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti) tries to caution him against it. He’ll face a decision before the end of the episode, and he may keep a job, but what about his self-respect.

Belker (Brice Weitz) has a chat with Russo (Megan Gallagher) about the nature of undercover work, and the fact that those who don’t do it, never completely understand it, and make armchair judgement calls. He also finds himself working with J.D. (Kiel Martin), Washington (Taurean Blacque) and another officer to bust a massage parlour that is delivering a little extra in their services, but when the officer makes a mess of things, they may have to dismiss the entire investigation.

Renko (Charles Haid) has his car stolen, and finds himself immersed in an insurance scam, while Hill (Micheal Warren) is less than thrilled to be paired up with one of the white officers from Calletano’s precinct. But opinions change through the course of the day, and incidents will occur that will have a lasting effect.

Buntz (Dennis Franz) has been letting Sid (Peter Jurassik) crash at his place for protection, and it plays like some weird version of The Odd Couple. But things are going to come to a head when a perp, intent on getting rid of Sid for snitching on him, busts into Buntz’s place.

Buntz and Flaherty (Robert Clohessy) sort out their differences, though they may never be friends, and Jablonksi (Robert Prosky) swings by the precinct, in great condition, and asks Furillo to consider letting him come back to work, even though Hunter (James Sikking) has taken over his position.

Phew. That’s a lot, and yet it’s handled smartly, and well. Each character gets their time, and their story, and it works. I’m really enjoying this season so far.

Say Uncle was written by John Romano and first aired on 13 November, 1986.

Renko is in for a rough day because he believes he’s been cursed, and consequently anything bad that happens that day must be a result of that. Something that tires Hill out pretty quick.

Belker and Jablonski, make an arrest involving a knife-wielding crook on a bus, and Jablonski uses it as an opportunity to remind Furillo that he would like to come back to the job. But Belker’s best stuff comes when he deals with Russo. They have a conversation about undercover work, following a brutal day for her that saw her physically and sexually assaulted by the man she’s working for information. It’s a great scene, and it’s great to see the respect that Belker holds Russo in.

J.D. and Washington make an arrest, one that could help J.D. make a name for himself, the perp has copped to multiple homicides, but is he telling the truth or is there more going on here?.

Goldblume (Joe Spano) gets a nice moment on a television interview show where he gets recognized for the good work he’s doing. Not what he thought was going to happen when he agreed to be on the program.

And Calletano is having problems in his new position working with Chief Daniels (Jon Cypher). In fact, he’s started to contemplate quitting.

Sure the curse stuff is goofy, but it plays as a nice balance for the Russo story. I’m loving this season so far, let’s see what happens next time. Until then, let’s be careful out there.