Graceland – Pizza Box

  • Title: Graceland – Pizza Box
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“I’ve been asked to train a criminal organization to shoot with military proficiency.”

Graceland - Pizza Box

Mike (Aaron Tveit) sits down with California’s primary heroin supplier, Nigerian drug lord Jeremiah Bello (Gbenga Akinnagbe), who wants Mike’s help to train his men to shoot like real soldiers. Stuck in a difficult situation, especially given Eddie’s (Sheaun McKinney) distrust of him, Mike is ordered by the FBI to “fake train” the drug dealers and killers all while trying to not draw suspicion from his new friend who has a habit of burning out people’s eyes when they disappoint him (just like he did with Eddie).

Paige (Serinda Swan) and Jakes (Brandon Jay McLaren) enlist the help of Tuturro (Manny Montana) to take down the dangerous owner (a very entertaining Mia Kirshner) of a weed farm who is growing more than she’s legally allowed and selling the rest on the street. When it appears the deal isn’t going to happen Paige calls it off and Jakes leaves, but Tuturro (against everyone else’s objections) stays and continues to play on the mutual attraction between himself and the drug supplier. When Johnny’s recklessness puts both her friends in danger it falls to Paige to come in guns blazing and make the save (which she does with a certain amount of flair).

To keep Mike safe Briggs (Daniel Sunjata) and Charlie (Vanessa Ferlito) work to fuel Bella’s recent suspicions of Eddie by painting him as the man who sold him out to his competition putting on death mark on the man’s head and letting the FBI offering him a one-way ticket out of town. The episode ends with Mike’s cover safe, although he and Briggs are forced to miss Graceland’s semi-annual “Sauce Night” which includes Charlie cooking for three days to offer her up her family’s famous recipe to her flatmates. However things don’t turn out so well for Eddie who is captured and forced to kill himself in front of everyone with Mike’s gun.

Although Mike’s investigation into Briggs is suspended for this episode, the show continues to showcase the level of lies deception necessary for those living in Graceland. Sauce Night is another attempt to show the bonding of the group of agents of various agencies all operation under one roof as more than just colleagues but actual friends. The dark turn with Eddie forces Mike to lie in order to cancel his date with Abby (Jenn Proske), miss Sauce Night, and struggle through it all before getting right back on the horse and getting back to work the next morning.