So my brain has been totally stuck on The Code for last week or so, and it is soooooo my happy place right now.  I won’t lie, I pretty much was giving the show a shot just because it was Luke Mitchell in a Marines uniform.  Is that shallow?  You bet your ass it is.  Was it worth it?  Way more so that I expected.  Before I saw the first ep, learning that Philippa Soo and Dana Delany were in it helped me take it more seriously.  I watched the first episode one weekend when I was sick and home alone.  

It was better than I had expected.  Like, a lot.

Basic premise:  It follows a group of lawyer in the military justice system.  Specifically, Marines.  It shows how the military justice system is quite a bit different from the civilian court system.  Which is to say, more than I expected.  

Colonel Glenn Turnbull, played by Dana Delany, is the boss of the group.  Captain Maya Dobbins is in the Defense office.  Major Trey Ferry is in the Prosecution group alone with Lieutenant Harper Li and Captain John ‘Abe’ Abraham.  All of them are super smart, very driven, impressive lawyers.  At their core, they all believe in truth and justice, and serving those principles as best they can.  They are each unique people too.  

Abe is a familiar archetype.  He’s cocky and confident, he knows how good he is, and he doesn’t hesitate to make it known to others.  He likes cracking jokes and teasing others.  He’s a third generation Marine who was injured in combat, and upon being told he could no longer be infantry, had to find a new path.  

Maya is THE BEST AT EVERYTHING SHE HAS EVER TRIED.  (Except one thing she admits sucking at during my favorite scene, which is funny and telling of the character.)   She isn’t taking crap from anyone.  She knows the law inside and out and has proven herself over and over.  She makes sure there is never even the sliver of a chance that anyone could question her skills.  But she’s not the no fun, no personality kind of character.  She is funny and whip smart.  

The competitive tension between Abe and Maya is probably my most favorite thing to watch.  Their relationship (friendship? partnership? colleague-ship?) is based in firm respect and admiration.  They just know each other well enough to have an easy banter and be able to bring out the best in each other.  

Colonel Turnbull is a firm but even handed boss who cares about her employees, and deeply about the Marines.  She is wise and gives a lot of good advice, while still maintaining her own sense of self and storylines.  Trey is a great straight man to Abe’s wisecracker, but he has a sense of humor as well, and knows when to go along with Abe’s pushing of the limits in order to serve justice.  Harper Li hates all the jokes about her name, and is working hard to prove herself to everyone.  She has a ton of sass and my favorite lines of hers are when she’s observing others (usually Abe) and commenting on when he’s acting different.  “Did he just say furthermore?!”  And Rami.  Oh Rami, I adore him.  He’s that quiet observer of everything, anticipating needs and contributing to execution of strategy.  He knows the value of a well place suggestion.  

Let’s be real: this is another CBS military/police/law procedural show.  That sets a certain expectation.  And it really does fit that mold.  But don’t let that fool you.  This show is good.  The stories themselves focus on different aspects of military life, not just combat.  The cases rarely follow the trajectory set up in the beginning of the episode, but when they twist, it’s in a way that is earned and honored.  The ultimate goal is to uncover the truth and find the best outcome for everyone.  Sometimes that means sacrifices or compromises that don’t feel great.  Sometimes that means taking huge risks personally and professionally.  Sometimes it means riding right on the edge of protocol to secure a victory for the betterment of the USMC.  It reminds me a lot of Law and Order, because there is a huge focus on the investigation - just as much as the actual courtroom action.  But in this setting, instead of being very Us vs Them (Prosecution v Defense), there is a bigger team feeling.  That leads to cooperation in ways that you wouldn’t see in a civilian court.  Which makes for a stronger core team of characters.  

Thus far, they haven’t had any stumbles in the storytelling.  There are a couple storylines developing that I’m not a fan of.  However, I have a feeling they are better set up to have Abe fail at something, probably in a really big way.  It sounds like I’m rooting against him, but I’m really not.  Right now his gambles have all paid off.  That’s not sustainable.  And with his personality, it would lead to hubris and true arrogance.  (He’s cocky, but not arrogant.)  He needs to be leveled a little bit, and I suspect the growth that comes from that will be significant.  We’re still getting to know all the characters, but everything we do learn is consistent with what has already been revealed.  Right now, the show is reminding me of The Blacklist in the focus on solid characters and letting the action follow that.   We’re only 5 episodes in (#6 is tonight), which means there is plenty of time for them to screw up.  But for right now, they’re on a good path.  It’s not the most exciting or unique show ever, but it’s solid and it’s not making me yell at the TV, which let’s be honest is way more than I can say for pretty much all my shows right now.