Carol Riley has it in for Bill Hollister and anybody else who gets in her way, but if she thought it was going to be an easy sell to Bill's team to shove him out the door, she's going to have to rethink that position.

On Deputy Season 1 Episode 11, the deputies under Hollister got even closer when a member of the Japanese drug cartel brought a ferocious fight right to the Sheriff's Department.

Riley's timing couldn't have been worse deposing Bill's team to uncover dirt related to the Johnson case. She got nowhere.

Nothing that Riley said made much sense. 

She's basing her entire run for Sheriff of Los Angeles County on a hunch that Bill operates like the good old boys club that came before him and uses personal feelings to drive his decisions, to boot.

She's got it all wrong.

It seems unfathomable that the woman didn't do some research into Bill pre-Sheriff. Not so much his reputation, but how the brass saw him. Bill was an outsider to the powers that be. He was a friend to other deputies.

So choosing to run against Bill based on her belief she could sway deputies who, for seemingly the first time in a long time, have one of their own leading the department is incredibly bad timing and shows poor judgment.

Joseph: Then why did you offer Johnson a deal?
Riley: Because he offered me something much more valuable.
Joseph: The white boat?
Riley: Names. Links to other cases that I've had sitting on my desk. I promise you, when this is all over, L.A. County will be a much safer place.

• Permalink: Names. Links to other cases that I've had sitting on my desk. I promise you, when this is all...

I was embarrassed for her running those depositions or whatever they were supposed to be. Every person who sat before her was openly defiant and wouldn't have turned on Bill for anything.

Jerry and Charlie have yet to meet her in the conference room, but Charlie has turned a corner. She's not going to turn on Bill. And Jerry is so afraid that he could be working under someone without any knowledge of the department, he won't give her anything she needs, either.

Well, maybe he would since it could help his run for the office if Bill got canned before the election.

It's a great use of Bill's dad (whose name I can never remember -- apropos since the man has dementia!) to swoop in and offer Bill advice. 

Bill respects his dad's opinion because the man has decades of experience within the department. He also enjoys his father expressing faith in him, something it seems wasn't always at the ready before he became infirmed.

Bill treats his deputies like family. But he doesn't favor his family any more than he favors his deputies. Everyone gets a fair shot to state their case on any given issue.

With all due respect, what you see as a personal motivation was, in actuality, a sheriff believing in one of his deputies and having the courage to fight for justice regardless of political backlash. That's why this is HIS department, and that is NOT going to change.

Joseph

• Permalink: With all due respect, what you see as a personal motivation was, in actuality, a sheriff...

It might seem to an outsider that Bill favors Joseph and his dilemmas over anyone else's because of their relationship, but after spending some time with Bill, his fair treatment of everyone is apparent.

Still, Riley is gunning for Bill, so she tried to get all of them to see the error of Bill's ways. Bill warned Joseph that anything Riley asked of him wouldn't be personal but merely a power play.

And she dug her heels in good without getting any results.

So when Bill considered not running for Sheriff, it was terrific that his dad gave to him the same advice Bill had earlier given Joseph.

Bill is running, and if Riley thought she'd spook him by doing after him so close to the election, she was wrong. This should be fun!

Now we need to talk about Joseph. He's getting a little bit cocky, and his friendship with that burly deputy is worrisome. 

First, the guy is drawing Joseph in the wrong direction. He's a rule-breaker who prefers to fly by the seat of his pants.

Charlie already warned Joseph about him, but on a day he gets kudos from his TO and the responsibility of finishing a heap of paperwork, he bailed for a night with the guys.

I don't normally say things like this, and I'm not trying to get all up on my feelings, but I'm proud of you, boot. You did good today. You're making a lot of progress.

Charlie

• Permalink: I don't normally say things like this, and I'm not trying to get all up on my feelings, but...

There is something up with that deputy. He's not good at his job. He brought in the suspect that had a gun for Kito. How does a suspect get tossed into holding without the arresting deputy checking his pockets for a gun? 

He doesn't.

And did anybody else find it odd that those dudes had no problem shooting anyone in their way, but they didn't finish of that deputy when they got outside? Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it seems like he might be in with some bad people outside the department, too.

It will be quite disappointing if Joseph blows a very good thing. He's eager to lose his training wheels, but his decisions are poor, proving he's not ready to fly solo.

Another noticeable event from the episode is that we were, once again, left with a dangling storyline with Cade and Teresa!

Grandmother Carmen wants custody of the kids. That's a shame, but Cade has no intention of letting them go back to the world that created their problems in the first place without one heckuva fight.

In the shootout at the station, we lost track of Cade and whatever message Teresa left for him with the latest news, and the hour concluded before we checked in with him again.

There are only two episodes left to Deputy Season 1, and it seems like there will be a lot of dangling stories as it concludes.

That's too bad. The show got off to a rocky start, but it's perked up quite nicely, and the characters quickly became favorites. 

Don't forget that you can watch Deputy online, and drop a comment below to chat about the race for Sheriff and the blowout at the station.

Do you think Joseph is gliding into troubled waters?

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.