
Cypher is absolutely one of my most favorite episodes! I've watched this one over and over again. I just love it when a character is in peril and the other one is frantically searching for him. Not to mention this ep had one of the best bad guys ever.
We get our first instance of the Cascade Jags basketball team on the show, which later becomes a big thing, the focus of two episodes.
I always wondered if Jim's call sign (the only time we ever hear it in the series) 1 Zebra 1 was a nod to Starsky and Hutch (Zebra 3)
I liked Blair's very realistic reaction to seeing the naked dead woman's body in the bathtub and the flashbacks he has. He's really affected by what he saw as anyone would be seeing a dead body for the first time.
Blair has made himself quite comfortable in Jim's place, already having a girl over! LOL!
Blair is learning the hard way how it is to be a cop - "I'm just supposed to check my humanity at the door?" - "If your emotions are in the way you're useless." - Harsh, but true.
Glad Jim defends Blair that he's not the one leaking the info to the press.
Poor Blair, getting all excited he found the killer, making a spectacle of himself at the funeral, blowing the whole thing. Rookie mistake!
Great car chase! Love the music! Awesome stuntman jumping from the Burrard Street bridge.
Again Jim defending Blair when Simon tells him to cut Blair loose. "You really trust this kid?" "Yeah, I do." DAMN STRAIGHT YOU DO, JIM!
Enter one of the best villains on TS - David Lash!
And of course Blair does just the opposite of what Jim says and goes to Club Doom. Holy crap he looks SO hot in that blue shirt that makes his blue eyes just pop.
Way to go Blair, figuring out the whole thing - that the killer trades places with his victims, but unfortunately that puts him squarely on Lash's radar.
Third time we get a glimpse of Henri Brown in this ep though he hasn't been introduced as a character yet.
Dun-dun-dun! Doctor Bates is actually David Lash! Which I thought was actually a pretty cool twist.
Holy cow, how creepy is Lash's father? Not to mention his mother! Gee, no wonder Lash turned out the way he did! Poor dead Homer the duck. :-( "The boy was a devil. I was hoping she would kill him" Yikes!
Nice way to insult Christine there, Blair. You really don't have a way with women. Stick with Jim. ;-)
Love how frantic Jim is when he gets to the loft and realizes Blair's been kidnapped and he's going to be Lash's next victim. "Sandburg's life is at stake!"
OMG, could Lash's "lair" be any more creepy? Not to mention Dennis Christopher's performance as Lash from this point forward. Psychotic!
Blair is scared but also angry and defiant. Not going down without a fight. Loved Blair taunting Lash - "You think you can be me? You can't be me" getting him all flustered "I know more about you. Poor little Homer. Why'd you kill your brother?"
Jim to the rescue! Or not! And there goes his gun again! Wait, he's learned from his mistakes and he's got a backup gun! But wait! He drops that one, too! LOL!
I was sorry to see Lash die. I think he'd have been a great villain to bring back, if he escaped from jail.
I like it that Jim praises Blair for how he handled himself while being kidnapped.
The famous BLESSED PROTECTOR line that fandom latched onto like a leech. :-)
Speaking of infamous dialogue...
"I've been thinking about getting a Cascade PD insignia tattooed right on my chest"
"Above the nipple ring?"
"How'd you know about that?" Yes, Jim how DID you know about that?? The slash just writes itself on this show!
So yeah, SO MUCH to love about this episode.