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Episode Summary

There are two brothers assigned to Mary, one of which develops a gambling addiction.
8.7
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Great
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  • Ten years before this series Mary's first witnesses two young brothers came to her charge. Now grown up the younger one has a gambling problem and is destroying his life and possibly his brothers too. This brings up issues in Mary's life as well.moreless

    9.0
    "Superb"
    A very powerful episode with a powerful performance from Mary McCormack. She should have been nominated for an Emmy for this episode if she wasn't.

    We learn about Jinx's situation and how she ended up raising two daughters on her own. We also learn even years later how much damage and grief addiction of any kind can cause even the strongest of people. The scene at the meeting at the end was very moving.

    The main plot involved a college basketball player involved in points shaving. This happened at my Alma mater a number of years ago and I understand it is quite common. Kids get involved in gambling and end up owing people they don't want too substantial money. This ends up driving them to do things they normally wouldn't and putting their loved ones and themselves in physical danger.

    We learn about enabling from the older brother and how he does what he thinks he needs to do to help his family. Luckily Mary's experience says that you can't really help them by enabling them so finally she gets him to stop.

    Marshall and Mary work with the locals to nab the guy who is behind the point shaving scheme and in the end the younger brother does get punished but lives to play another day and hopefully he will get help for his addiction.

    A very real and troubling issue handled in a straight forward way. I thought the loan shark and the way they caught him was a little strange so that's where the 9 comes from. Other than that a strong emotional episode.

    Thanks for reading...moreless

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  • A brother gets into trouble for Gambling

    9.0
    "Superb"
    In this episode of In Plain Sight, the following happens. Over 10 years ago 2 brothers witness a murder and are put into the Witness Protection Programme. We soon learn that the brothers were Mary's first ever case, working for the Witness Protection Programme. We soon learn that the younger brother, Chris, is in trouble with a local bookie. He said that he only needed $3,000 but he later reveals that that amount is his weekly pay back and that he actually owes closer to $30,000. Soon at the basketball game, we see that Chris's brother has been taken. But Marshall manages to track down where he has been taken too, and they manage to get him back. He manages to make it back before the end of the game and he gets to see his baby brother win the game for his team.moreless

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    1 1
  • Personal, Soft-sided, Fun

    9.5
    "Superb"
    This was one of my most favored episodes. It clearly shows how much Mary really cares about some of her witnesses. It seems as though her level of interest depends on their personal deeds though, these two witnessed seemed to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She's doing what I believe is a routine check-up and finds one of her charges in some trouble. I would surmise that once a witness starts blending back into society, they're rarely looked in on, especially after they've testified. It's in Mary's character to keep up with her peeps. I love the way the writing sort of goes back and forth between 'tough' Mary and 'soft-sided' Mary. It's fun to watch her juggle the issues.moreless

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  • Mary's first witnesses get into trouble and Marshall goes back to school.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    In this episode, we find out that years after she relocated them Mary is still in close contact with the first witnesses that she helped. In a strange twist, the ghost of Mary's father is haunting her, Jinx, and Brandy. His gambling problem reflected in what was happening in the life of the younger witness. she tries to help him and his older brother Scott deal with his gambling addiction and a mounting debt to a bookie that threatens to ruin the kid's future. Marshall meanwhile runs into a former TA of his and jumps into a hot romance with her. Mary doesn't seem pleased. It was hilarious how jealous she was when Marshall first ran into her and they acted as though she wasn't even there. Also funny, when she ran into Marshall on campus and gave him grief about seeing his former TA and that half laugh of his. Third show of cuteness happened when they were having lunch and she finally understood his back to the future reference and he told her "and people thing you're just a pretty face." She was so tickled by that, you could tell that she was grinning while she was sipping at her drink. Loved the end when she was finally addressing why she was the way that she was.
    Great episode.moreless

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  • Best Episode so far!

    9.5
    "Superb"
    I loved this episode. There wa such a nice relationship between the brother that made the story more interesting.

    We just met Mary's first case. I guess as Marshall said she could not let go of them and no wonder.

    This episode was about a gambler who was under the witness protection. We can see that the little brother almost gambled the relationship that he had with his big brother. The big brother felt that he had to suport hisbrother no mater wha and we can see how much many he gave him to support him.

    I think this was the best episode so far and I loved it!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Junior mentions Chris is playing Division II basketball but Vegas does not place spreads on non-Division I games for any sport. Edit
    • Goof: Chris shoots the second of 2 free throws at the end of the first half. As soon as the ball hits the rim the buzzer goes off ending the half. The next scene shows the other team take the ball up the court and shoot a last second shot and the buzzer goes off again. Edit
    • In the scene when we see Scott changing oil to a car it is clearly seen that the oil has clear brown color, which means that the oil is fresh, and not worked out. When oil is used and needs to be changed it has a black grease color. Edit
  • Notes

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    • International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Sázím na rodinu (I bet on the Family) Edit
    • Original International Air Dates: - Denmark: August 12, 2008 on Kanal 5 - Finland: February 15, 2009 on MTV3 - Czech Republic: January 19, 2010 on Prima Edit
  • Quotes

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    • Mary: (speaking to the gambling support group) I loved my father more than anything in the whole world. He was a warm, loving, funny, generous man. And he loved me more than anything in the whole world. I know that he did. And he was also a, um... a serious, serious gambler. And more than anything that's happened to me in the last thirty years, for better and worse, he's the reason I am who I am today. My father... dad... daddy... he was my whole world. And he, um... he, um... walked out of my life two days before my seventh birthday. Edit
    • Mary: What's the spread on tonight's game? Marshall: The Tigers are favored by a half point. Mary: So in order for Chris to keep it inside the spread, the Tigers would have to lose. Marshall: See? And everybody thinks you're just a pretty face. Mary: Really? Edit
    • Mary: (voiceover) We've all had the experience of talking about a long-lost friend with someone, and then out of the blue the phone rings and it's that same long-lost friend. Famous psychobabble quack Carl Jung called these occurences "synchronicity." Skeptics regard these synchronicitous events as mere coincidences. Others posit a pie-in-the-sky cosmic connection linking all things. Take a guess on which side of the argument I fall. Edit
  • Allusions

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    • Pete Rose In the meeting at Witsec Scott references Pete Rose when they are talking about the gambling addiction Chris has. Pete Rose was a baseball player and manager that bet on baseball games and some believe his own team's games. He was banned for life from baseball and cannot be elected into the hall of fame. Edit
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