Good Cop/Bad Cop season 1 episode 5 recap: Who stole the genetically engineered apple tree?

Episode 5 of Good Cop/Bad Cop season 1, titled Family Trees, goes further back in Lou's (Leighton Meester) history, and the result is an emotionally intense episode that splits the time between fast-paced undercover activity and highly intimate revelations.

Now that the pilot and the following few episodes have set up the premise of the show and established the rapport between its lead players, this one focuses on Lou's history.

Good Cop/Bad Cop season 1 episode 5 begins with Lou and Henry (Luke Cook) being tasked with an undercover mission to steal a genetically modified apple tree. Their task is to infiltrate a ring of corporate spies who have been hacking into valuable agricultural technology and selling it on the black market.

Once again, the pair's different approaches come into play—Lou is meticulous and follows instructions to the letter, while Henry uses his wilful charm to get around the black market.

Good Cop/Bad Cop season 1 episode 5: Lou's troubled past comes back to haunt her

As Lou and Henry investigate further, leads take them to a biotech firm that has just experienced a significant breach. Undercover, Lou meets a prime suspect who knows much more about her troubled past than she anticipates.

This person, an old associate of her estranged father, makes Lou relive painful memories she had long suppressed. It is disclosed that her father used to be involved in corporate espionage himself, something that eventually culminated in them falling apart as a family.

This discovery unsettles Lou to her very foundation. So far, she has taken pride in being the opposite of her father—respectable, ethical, and dedicated to justice. But the prospect that her present case could somehow relate to her father's past transgressions makes her wonder if she has been fleeing from the truth instead of confronting it.

Good Cop/Bad Cop season 1 episode 5: Undercover tension and twists

As Lou works through these demons, Henry detects her distraction but is unable at first to break through to his partner. He sets aside his typical playful demeanor as he desperately attempts to come to the rescue of his better half. The dynamic shifts toward the emotional, with Henry demonstrating more than comic foil; he becomes an unshakeable friend when Lou needs him the most.

As the case develops, Lou and Henry can install surveillance devices in the headquarters of the suspect, but just when they are convinced that everything is under their control, their cover is blown.

There is a tense confrontation, wherein Lou is compelled to use the skills her father taught her to outwit the perpetrators. In a heart-stopping sequence, she applies her insider expertise on deceit and duplicity to flip the tables on the corporate spies, culminating in their arrest.

A moment of closure on Good Cop/Bad Cop season 1

Now that the case has been resolved, Lou sits back and considers everything she has learned. Though still angry at her father, she starts to realize that where she came from does not have to determine who she is.

In a quiet yet powerful moment, she shows vulnerability with Henry and admits that though she cannot alter where she comes from, she can decide the type of cop—and person—she wishes to be.

Episode 5 of the show, Family Trees, weaves together a good undercover mission while Lou's psychological arc delivers a journey of emotions. As Good Cop/Bad Cop season 1 continues, it will be interesting to watch how this new self-knowledge impacts Lou's handling of future cases.

Will she get closure with her father, or will she keep pushing him out of her life? One thing is for sure—this episode has laid the groundwork for even more compelling twists to come.

Catch the latest episode of Good Cop/Bad Cop season 1 streaming on The CW.

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