This week starts in Beta’s version of Law & Order as two cops investigate the deaths of two Vex-Cor execs and a member of something called “The Hard Livings.”  During the cop’s descriptive flashback of what might have happened, we see Charlie’s face.  Cop thinks one Vex-Cor lady was pushed and someone (Charlie) shot the other two men.  Her Lieutenant says, “You’ve been watching too much CSI.”  Har har.  Lieutenant also mentions a tip off that 01 Boxer is back in his club.

Over to Karl’s place where Charlie says he thought the woman murdered was Gemma.  A month’s gone by since her disappearance.  Karl asks the big question, “What are you fighting?”  He gets all manifest destiny on Charlie and Jade goes into shouty denial, says he shouldn’t have come here.  Karl taunts him about life in Beta coming to an end and Charlie wanting his woman back.

Which we flash to in a nice sexy ankles and elbows shower, scene followed by some kinky fetish attire being donned.  Apparently Jasmine’s gone back to her old job of dominatrix or she’s going to a cosplay convention.

Galt is giving a scientist a hard time about seepage between the dimensions and orders holding off tests of The Link for fear of blowing all mankind to smithereens.  Porter and Galt walk and talk right in front of Reena who overhears them discussing the murdered Vex-Cor exec and Charlie’s intervention.  Galt tells Porter to find someone more competant.  Reena bumps into Porter (don’t know why) and then is seen in a closet with a flashlight look at classified documents.  Karl comes over to Charlie’s place to apologize.  (These guys do kiss and make up a lot.)  Charlie is scanning some spying bugs.  Karl is fairly forthright again asking why 01 couldn’t take Charlie back to Alpha, after all he did take that one lady through.  (See the pilot episode.)

A spy bug sneaks into The Glass Door.  Princess tells 01 the cops are asking about him, then she strips to the music.  Woo!  The spy bug catches all the romance until 01 accidentally steps on it.  He takes a moment to consider the glowing red battery but moves on.  The Lieutenant from earlier comes into the club, 01 tries to go out the back where Charlie is waiting.  Charlie pulls a gun, 01 goes back into the club where the Lt. arrests him for the murder of the Vex-Cor exec.  Charlie’s dreams of going to Alpha appear to have been handcuffed.

Reena is sleeping in an RV, I guess having moved on from the dead lady’s house.  She draems of her time in the crappy hostile, about being deathly sick.  She wakes up to another dream where she’s wearing the latest Gamma/Hawaiian fashion and talking to a bald guy who moves like he’s in a Peter Gabriel video.  The bald man says, “You’re in the belly of the dragon, China.  You better get out of there.”  People are going to figure out who you are.  01 is handcuffed to a chair.  Karl and Charlie try to figure out how to get him.  The cops have nothing on 01 but he plays with them a little.  Porter tells Galt 01′s been caught.  01 pours out a pitcher of water, then asks for more.  Porter and Galt have an oddly cinematographic arguement and Porter becomes insubpordinant, Galt tells him to get it done.  (“It” being eliminating either 01 or Charlie, don’t know yet.)

Lady cop with the perfectly noir name of Blues Paddock asks 01 some questions.  He acts like a dog and quotes Wizard of Oz.  Karl and Charlie intercept a call from the police to some special task force (or they faked the call.)  Karl fakes being a member of this special task force saying 01 is a terrorist linked to Al Qaeda.  The Lt. (Will Archer) complies with silence.  (By the way, I don’t know if he’s actually a lieutenant, but isn’t that what all cops shows have?  A detective and their lieutenant who always busts their balls?)  Charlie puts on his FBI disguise, Karl gives him pointers as though he’s been in the agency.

More Reena dreaming with the floating bald guy AND a surprise visit from the crazy one-eyed guy from very early on.  He tells her to go back in time, it’s easier.  She’s gone to another universe she should be able to go back in time.  He then sticks a knife in his head and re-blows-his-brains-out.  Not a good dream, really.

Agent Charlie jade waits in the police office as the “Inspector” (ah HA!) tells him he thinks it sucks that the FBI just runs around acting like they run the show.  Charlie says, “Who’s side are you on here?”  Blues is pissed they’re taking him, 01 says he has a big wee wee.  (His words.)  Charlie introduces himself as Agent Tom Anderson (Neo?) and Blues says he needs to check in his weapon.  She then tries to pick his brain about the Agency.  She shows them some of the spy bugs they’ve been finding all over town, then sneaks in the fact that it’s The Bureau, not The Agency.  She calls his bluff but his paperwork checks out.  He tells her Vex-Cor makes the bugs but denies working for Vex-Cor saying he’s a freelancer.  Some police come into the precinct saying 01 needs to be transfered.  Blues asks another cop to runs prints on Charlie.  01 is set to go when Blues pulls the old “If you see that guy at processing, tell him I’m still up for a date.”  They say ok, Blues says she was talking about a woman, they all draw guns.  Lead fake cop pulls out a phone that’s a sound bomb, all the cops drop.  Luckily Charlie knows and is able to down the cops, taking 01 in the process.  They get into Karl’s car and scram before the fake cops can respond.

All bloody eared and nosed, the cops check the surveillance cameras.  Karl and Charlie are in a warehouse where they’ve got 01 bound in chains.  Blues has to go in for an MRI but she wants to keep working.  Surveillance was out the whole time and Blues says to get sketch artists in and find the press.  The cop she talks to got a half second too long on the camera to be a regular cop and she may be the blond cleaner from a while back.  Blues says Charlie will answer all her questions, so she’ll be in more episodes.  Charlie hangs 01 upside down.  He passes out, they hang him up right ways and 01 says he knows Charlie, had him checked out.  Karl tries to cut through the bullshit, 01 tries to be cute but Charlie starts beating on him when he mentions “a high class hooker to be your slave.”  Which apparently is Jasmine.  Charlie excuses Karl.  01 and Charlie talk about nothing in particular.  01 says he can’t take Charlie back, Charlie asks for a reason not to blow 01′s brains out.  01 says he’ll give him twelve.

Blond cleaner lady shows meets fake cop and she karate chops him in the throat.  She then uses some acid to dissolve his body to “Good Morning” by Judy Garland.  Charlie let 01 go telling Karl that 01 told him a lot of things.

Action!

So here’s why cop shows are popular, they’re fun to watch.  They’re fun when you’re trying to figure out the mystery of the crime along with the detectives.  They’re fun when the bad guys get their justice.  This episode was like being in the studio when Chicago decided they’d sound better with a horn section.  The addition of Paddock and Archer to the cast was fantastic and paralleled the same idea we see from The Sarah Conner Chronicles where there’s a cop who’s following the criminal, but somehow identifies with him.  Charlie let loose a lot of information and I felt he was a too open about who he was (even if he didn’t actually say anything critical) but it’s a useful tool to get that cop on his side.

And now we have 01′s twelve secrets that were enough for Charlie to let him go.  What are these twelve things?  Are they other universes?  Are they the fake Vex-Cor board members?  Are they members of the Colonial Quorum as…wrong show, sorry.  But now we have a bit more of the mystery to chew on but we also have some answers.  01 can’t take Charlie back.  Jasmine’s a hooker.  Karl drives a crappy car.  Vex-Cor manufactures the spy bugs.  And Porter’s henchmen are incompetent.

“Choosing Sides” really gave you the impression that the show is gaining momentum toward something.  The constant threat of The Link being made and it causing the universes to collapse, the sudden transfer of water and the various players all seemingly working toward the same goal have really ramped up the intensity of the show.  At least this time it didn’t feel like it was wondering around like a reveler leaving an all night club into the bright morning sunshine.

And just because Blues Paddock has the coolest cop name on Sci-Fi, I’ll give this episode four shiney blue stones.