William Osterberg

The first season was pretty good as a fast-paced drama but once the serial killer Paul Spector was close to being caught the show began to meander. Although this is probably a minority opinion I found the juxtaposition of Stella (Gillian Anderson) and the men with whom she worked and of course Paul Spector exaggerated, nauseating, and ultimately too much to bear. John Lynch plays an officer (Jim Burns) with whom Stella previously had an affair at a different officer; he clearly has not gotten over her yet protects them from the secret of their past which quite possibly should disqualify her from the current post. She toys with him and he cannot see it, showing up at her hotel room to be tearfully consoled which she tolerates. When she decides to interview Paul alone Jim pleads with Stella to not but herself at risk and this is when she makes it clear that she sees Jim as not much different than a male serial killer preying on women. Of course he has no answer for this. She then coolly interviews Paul who cannot help but confess to her all of his crimes although he has hidden his activities from others for years. She has softened him up by having a younger female detective talk to him while dressed seductively. Earlier in the show Stella has a one night stand with a male police officer who dies shortly thereafter. She suffers no consequences from this and defends her behavior as being no different from that of male officers. Of course the male officers dealing with this are virtually speechless at this defense. Where can I throw up?