DoghouseCharlie and Rex go undercover in prison to investigate the murder of David Aziz.
Note: This episode contains unmarked spoilers for the episodes "Haunted by the Past" and "Rex to Riches".
Tropes:
- Blackmail: Draper threatens to reveal Charlie to be an undercover cop unless Charlie able to get him parole. Charlie eventually tells him that the only way that could happen is if Draper gives up who it is he's working for, and even then he would never be eligible anyway due to spending less than six years in prison. The detective then turns the tables by threatening to reveal that Draper is doing time for killing a child, which will get Draper blacklisted amongst the other prisoners.
- Back for the Dead: David Aziz makes a return since his arrest back in "Rex to Riches", only to become the Victim of the Week from being fatally stabbed trying to break up a prison brawl.
- The Bus Came Back: Ben Draper makes a return since his arrest all the way back in "Haunted by the Past".
- Continuity Nod: The respective events of "Haunted by the Past" and "Rex to Riches" are discussed in regards to Draper and Aziz's incarceration, although the former would prefer to keep his crimes a secret from the other prisoners lest he become blacklisted amongst them.
- Dirty Cop: The mastermind behind the drug ring is Tom Macnamara, one of the prison guards whom was involved in the brawl that Aziz died in. He had been smuggling in drugs from his cousin's workplace at a long-term care facility via delivered laundry bags and selling them to prisoners with help from those under his payroll. He's also the one who killed Aziz, who had discovered the operation and threatened to unravel it by telling the warden.
- Drugs Are Bad:
- The prison is currently experiencing rampant incidents of drugs somehow being smuggled in, with no clues as to who is behind it or how. Turns out they’re being smuggled in through laundry bags delivered from a long-term care facility, with multiple prisoners being involved in the operation. Aziz had plans of telling the warden after discovering it for himself to protect the other prisoners, only to end up murdered by Macnamara.
- Vic Mason hates drug dealers with a passion ever since one sold his nineteen-year-old daughter drugs that killed her. He doesn't get along too well with Charlie due to the latter's false backstory of being arrested for possession, but eventually changes his mind after eventually learning that Charlie is an undercover cop investigating the death of Aziz, whom Vic was close friends with.
- Even Evil Has Standards: As Charlie points out to him, most prisoners don't take too kindly to child killers like Draper, who will become blacklisted amongst them if they find out.
- He Knows Too Much:
- Some of the prisoners involved in the drug ring try to kill Rex after the latter gets close to discovering the source of the drugs. Fortunately, Charlie manages to foil the hitman’s attempt at the cost of a bloody arm. Draper is revealed to have been the one who organized the hit, having threatened a fellow prisoner with death if they didn't.
- Aziz stumbled upon the operation and had plans of telling the warden to protect the other prisoners. Unfortunately, Macnamara learned of this and had his men stage a prison brawl to kill Aziz while everyone was too distracted by the chaos to know who did it.
- The Infiltration: Aziz had plans of meeting with the warden to try and tell her something important, only to end up murdered before he could. To figure out what it was and who is responsible, Charlie decides to go undercover at Deer Lake Correctional as a prisoner while Donovan and Rex respectively disguise themselves as a guard and a drug-detecting dog. To keep Charlie's cover, Donovan orders all prisoners whom Charlie and Rex put away there be relocated. Unfortunately, Ben Draper is transferred shortly after Charlie's arrival and threatens to blow the lid off the operation unless the major crimes team agrees to his demands.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Aziz's cellmate Vic Mason lost his daughter to a drug overdose when she was nineteen, which drove Vic to murder the dealer who sold her said drugs in retaliation.
- Papa Wolf: Vic Mason is in prison for murdering the dealer who sold Vic's daughter the drugs that killed her.
- Pariah Prisoner: To try and get Draper to confess who it is he's working for after he refuses to budge from his demand for parole, Charlie eventually threatens to make him one of these by making public that Draper is in prison for killing a child, which he points out is something many prisoners consider one of the worst crimes someone could commit. Draper's response is to inform Vic that Charlie is an undercover cop, leading to Vic almost murdering him in their shared cell until the detective reveals the circumstances of why he's there.
- Spanner in the Works: All the prisoners whom Charlie and Rex put away were supposed to be relocated so as to decrease the chances of Charlie being found out. However, things become complicated by the overnight transfer of Ben Draper, who immediately recognizes Charlie and threatens to rat him out to the other prisoners unless he's allowed parole. Charlie and Donovan are at a loss as to how the warden could let this happen, only for her to claim that it did without her being informed about it. While she offers to have Draper removed, Donovan decides against it out of the possibility that it will blow Charlie’s cover. Turns out his arrival was no coincidence. Draper was hired by Macnamara whom was the one who transferred him in to help oversee the drug operation and keep tabs on Charlie.
- Taking the Bullet: Charlie takes a prison shank to the arm saving Rex from being killed by a prisoner involved in the drug ring, leaving the detective with twelve stitches after profusely bleeding.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: David Aziz. A man who was sentenced for committing the altruistic crime of stealing to recover funds from the corrupt stockbroker who scammed him and countless other people out of their money. Even during his time in prison, Aziz had only ever looked out for his fellow prisoners' wellbeing, with his death coming about from trying to protect them from the drug ring. The major crimes team lament the loss of such a generous and kind-hearted soul, while the many prisoners whom Aziz befriended considered him one of the few who never lost the kindness he had when he first came in, with Vic even offering his help with finding Aziz’s killer after learning that Charlie is an undercover cop investigating his former cellmate and friend's murder.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Aziz's sister Layla blames Charlie for her brother's death due to the detective being the one who personally had David locked up even when his crimes were non-malicious, considering everything that happened to him to be undeserved especially when he had less than a year before being released and that his daughter will now have to grow up without a father. She goes a little easier on Charlie after the case is solved when he presents to her a series of letters written by the many prisoners whom David befriended, showing that her brother never lost his kindness and still looked out for those around him even during his incarceration.
