S1 E6; The Hawke

Review - Spoilers

Nolan's mentor and friend, Hawke, goes off the rails after his wife asks for a divorce. He assaults her boyfriend after finding him half naked at his wife's. Nolan and Bishop try to bring him in to talk, but when he runs, the dept issues an arrest warrant for him.

This one is tough for Nolan. He and Hawke bonded while Nolan was at the academy, probably partly because they were of a similar age. Nolan appreciated Hawke's insight and Hawke actually admired Nolan for having the fortitude to start his life over. They both had sons and since Nolan's was older he was able to offer some advice.

You can see Nolan's determination to be a good cop. He doesn't let his feelings for a friend get in the way of his job. Nolan of course does his best to talk his friend down, but Hawke runs. The cops talk about what move they think he will make and everyone has their own equally valid ideas. In the end they corner him and while Bradford and Nolan try to muscle him down, Chen and Bishop pepper spray and tase him.

The lesson running throughout this episode was that in order to be a good cop, you have to be able to think like a criminal. Bradford tried to teach Chen that while searching an apartment using the DEAR method, Deceptive, Elusive, Access, & Repulsive. Of course Bradford gives Chen 'repulsive' checking the toilet, sex toys, etc. He neglects to inform her that he found the stash shortly after she started her search. She was repulsed and mad then. She got him back in a great way at the end though.

I have to say I already miss the sweet, romantic moments provided by Chen and Nolan.