Crackle's "The Oath": A Gritty Cop Drama Worth the Watch

Given that this is a paychannelpremium cablestyle show made by G Unit Film ampamp Television thatamp8217s executive produced by 50 Cent himself I feel like one could be forgiven for expecting it to be Poweresque amp160Initially it seems things are going that way especially after the highenergy bank robbery scene in the beginning amp160The armed robbers were precise and professional and the danger felt all too real a la the movie The Town amp160The reveal is that the thieves are actually our leads a group of dirty cops who run one of the many coprun gangs in their city amp160They call themselves amp8220The Ravensamp8221 and are led by Steve Hammond Ryan Kwanten pictured top right the son of their currently imprisoned exleader Tom Hammond Sean Bean top left amp160Their crew is rounded out by his brother Cole Hammond Cory Hardrict and fellow officers Karen Beach Katrina Law and Ramos Joseph Julian Soria who I guess doesnamp8217t get a first nameMy first problem is more of a question What are the rules This may seem like a weird thing to ask but hear me out Every network has rules amp160On HBO I know to expect fbombs and private parts on FXX I know Iamp8217ll probably hear the word amp8220shitamp8221 a lot and the content wonamp8217t be kidfriendly and I know I can safely watch Disney Junior with my daughter but when using The Oath as a compass I canamp8217t seem to place Crackleamp8217s policy amp160I definitely heard at least one straight up fbomb but the dancers in the strip club scenes were mild at best which felt like a mismatch amp160Starzamp8217 Power wouldamp8217ve proudly checked off both of those boxes no problem amp160I mean we do get guns violence and murder but were we sold a grittier idea than what we gotA similar problem plagues the Ravens as well amp160At first I assumed given their disregard for the law theyamp8217re sworn to uphold that if forced theyamp8217d double down on the whole bad guy thing and really get their hands dirty amp160Instead they mostly fall into the goodpeoplewhodobadthings category which is still cool but not as much fun amp160Also why is Tom Hammond important amp160Maybe it was just the camera work and music but he was kind of built up as a formidable character and yet no real evidence of any badassery on his part manifests at least not during the first five episodes amp160Heamp8217s a lot of sizzle but not a lot of steak You have Sean Bean use himAbout halfway through the first episode the crew gets bagged by the FBI and of course they narrowly escape hard time at least for the moment amp8211 by helping the feds bring down the rest of their corrupt brothers and sisters in blue amp160Naturally they canamp8217t be trusted yah know amp8216cause theyamp8217re criminals so theyamp8217re given a baby sitter Damon Byrd Arlyn Escarpeta amp160This brings me to my second problem Byrd is the worst amp160Iamp8217m not a cop Iamp8217ve never been in the FBI and most of what I know about law enforcement I learned from TV but nothing about Byrdamp8217s behavior or demeanor seems fitting or appropriate for someone in his positionAs one of the few characters with some sort of backstory I half expected him to learn and grow as he went along but all he ever really does is be all pissy because he canamp8217t be home with his wife and kid amp160His supervisor and the person running the Ravensamp8217 RICO case obvious companywoman Agent Aria Price Elisabeth Ramp246hm flat out tells him almost immediately that amp8220relationships can be rebuilt careers not so muchamp8221 amp160Essentially if you want this then man up and tough it out or go home nowByrd chooses to stay eliminating any nonagency he had in the situation and making any future consequences his own but he continues to let his feelings cloud his judgment amp160I only mention cloudy judgment because that must be the only reason that every time he goes anywhere with these cops theyamp8217re like amp8220Donamp8217t do this or weamp8217ll be found out and dieamp8221 and his response is usually something like amp8221You have to listen to me Iamp8217m in charge hereamp8221 followed by him doing the exact thing they warned him about amp160To his credit during the Ravensamp8217 less altruistic moments his comparable levelheadedness can be an asset amp160I just feel like he always forgets rule number one Donamp8217t die stupidAll of that said at no point was I able to stop watching There are betterdeveloped characters that really do The Oath justice no pun intended namely Karen Beach Cole Hammond and Ramos amp160Beach has a sordid past involving abuse and her mother Cole is the black and therefore assumedly adopted son of Tom and Gwenn played by the scenestealing Linda Purl and has a serious amount of loyalty for his pops and Ramos is apparently as good at being a father as he is bad at lying to his wife which is very good indeedThe archetypey nature of some these characters works well for the series amp160Agent Price is a nononsense hardass which is really all she needs to be and Ramp246hm pulls it off well amp160Kwantenamp8217s Steve Hammond is your typical rebelstyle cop right down to his aviators daddy issues and Americanmade car amp160Neckbone Kwame Patterson is a hardcore criminal and a damn psychopath and honestly his character passes the point of no return atrocitywise pretty early so trying to humanize him later on would not only be pointless but damaging amp160These characters arenamp8217t the deepest per se but with so many moving parts itamp8217s refreshing that the writers let some of them just play their roles amp160Sometimes you need the person on tambourine to just be on tambourineThe Oath aimed for the stars and besides the aforementioned gripes and some tonal stuff I think it managed to get pretty damn close amp160Hereamp8217s hoping a second season sees this series as its best selfClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Crackle's "The Oath": A Gritty Cop Drama Worth the Watch

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Ainsley Andrade

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Crackle's "The Oath": A Gritty Cop Drama Worth the Watch

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