This show gives a whole other perspective to the world of crime and policing. I think it in its own league apart from the vast majority of other crime dramas. Many of the episodes have simply brought me to tears because of the incredibly uncommon empathy displayed by the characters, and thus the creators, writers, and actors, as well. Each character struggles with their own biases, their own clashing and contradicting views, and their prejudices. In order to be a cohesive unit that goes beyond simply SWAT, they continually have to overcome these distortions and oversimplifications of their realities.
Flashpoint also shows the more biased, more prejudiced, more distorted views that people have, which regularly define, color, and filter our realities. They show the full range and potential of human emotion, both good and bad, as well as all the grey areas. They show how good people can do bad things, how all people can be driven and pushed to extremes. Each episode allows you to step not only into one person's shoes, but several people's, as you see intimate and raw moments, both in the most relaxed and tense situations. Love, hate, confusion, contempt, anguish, euphoria; it isn't just both sides of the pendulum swing that is displayed, but the full range and motion of that broad arc.
So... that is when I was surprised by the episode, “Unconditional Love,” and not pleasantly. It started out without surprise: high-strung chronic criminal, car chases, volatile circumstances, et cetera, et cetera... But, then, a new character – Paul – was introduced. He was immediately depicted as the weaker personality, nervous, restless, scared. He was first depicted more as a victim caught up in a crazy situation. Later, however, it is found out that the chronic criminal gun procurer was obtaining a gun for the Paul. They found out that Paul was obsessing over and researching serial killers. They found out he was obsessing over multiple girls who looked very similar to his sister. They started to put the pieces together and steered in the direction of suspected psychopathy.
That is when I got unpleasantly surprised and even a little disgusted. Of course, I saw more than the characters. Being the viewer of a greater narrative, knowing more than the characters, I saw things they couldn't possibly have seen. I saw Paul's demeanor, his expressions (most would say 'lack of expression'), body language, lack of eye contact... I immediately sprang to, “He has autism!” Within the first few seconds he appeared on screen, I got that autism feeling. I thought, “Great! An episode which can show a more realistic perspective of autism and its relation to law enforcement!” For any who don't already know, there are countless cases of autistics getting bullied, brutalised, and berated by classmates, teachers, kids, teachers, parents, strangers, and – all too often – police. The vast majority of these incidences are simply a case of ignorance gone very wrong.
Too often, I see people call autistics 'psychopaths,' which is a radically different condition, but which – to the untrained eye – can present similarly on the surface. I've known several clinical psychopaths, and some of them are really great people. There are tremendous differences between violent and non-violent psychopaths, and its the non-violent I prefer to associate with, of course. But that could be truly said about anyone, any group, right? “I prefer the non-violent men to the violent ones; I prefer the non-violent addicts to the violent ones; I prefer the non-violent religious folk to the violent ones.” It's really a given. But, in a criminal sense, 'psychopath' doesn't include non-violent, or non-criminal psychopaths. In the terms of the law, and of law enforcement, 'psychopath' only refers to the violent, criminal types.
So, yes, I was upset to find out that this wonderful show that I'd grown to love would depict a kid as autistic, yet having their main characters calling him a psychopath! In the context of the crime drama, that obviously pointed toward violent psychopaths. They didn't get all the information right away, and what little they did get initially suggested that he might be a psychopath. Parker, the unit leader, negotiator, and the head of the psychological aspect of the unit, kept saying, 'until we find out more.' He didn't want to jump to the conclusion that Paul was a psychopath before all the facts were in, even when the rest of the team had just about settled on him being one. Most of the characters had taken their biases and jumped to conclusions, but Parker – the real compass and centre of compassion for the team – held out, digging and digging, trying to find out more about the kid.
Eventually, Parker suggested that Paul might have some kind of autism. Jules, a sniper in the tactics part of the unit, pointed out that autistics aren't violent by nature. She pointed out that autistics don't lack empathy, compassion, and emotion. Parker was cautious, saying it was only another suggestion until they get more facts. Paul helped release a baby taken hostage by the gun dealer. He non-fatally pistol-whipped the gun dealer and escaped. He hadn't been making particularly violent decisions. He did show genuine concern for others. Giving a history on Paul, the mother says how Paul didn't take pleasure in others' pain so much as be the sufferer of pain inflicted upon him. He was often the victim, he knew he had trouble connecting with people, he knew he couldn't read people, and tried to study facial expressions. But the fact that he didn't seem to show any emotions with the passing of his father made the mother fear for the worst, yet still clinging to the belief that her son wouldn't hurt anyone. It was the unit's assumption that her son was a psychopath that planted any idea or fear that her son might be one.
But the facts, in the end, pointed to the truth. It became clearer and clearer that he was on the spectrum. Paul had researched his own experiences and symptoms and mistakenly concluded – like quite a few other autistics I've come across – that he was actually a psychopath. He researched psychopathic serial killers, because that was what he believed he was doomed to become. Misinformation, misunderstandings, and miscommunication all turned into this perfect storm of identity crisis. He knew he was different, but didn't know exactly why or how.
In the end, Paul never killed anyone, only injured the gun dealer in an attempt to escape, and even ended up saying to Parker, “I don't want to hurt her [one of the lookalikes of his sister.]” Parker replied with a smile, “No, I know that. I knew that the minute we started talking.” Paul then non-threateningly handed the gun forward asking, “Do you want me to give the gun to you?” Paul, a kid with verbal autism, was good at heart, just like the mother knew, and didn't want to hurt anyone. But in a culmination of confusion, rage, and anxiety, he'd been driven to believe he was a psychopath, and thought he had to follow through like one. He didn't; he couldn't, because he was never a psychopath.
Jules (Amy Jo Johnson): Undiagnosed low-spectrum autism, a little obsessive compulsive...And the show resumes being a dear favorite of mine, also continuing the long line of tear-inducing, heart-warming episodes.
Parker (Enrico Colantoni): Maybe a borderline personality disorder... And a mother who only sees the son she loves. He's brilliant, but different.
Jules: Do you ever get the feeling that we only scratch the surface?
Parker: Hmph. All the time.
Jules: You know, you were right today, though, about digging deeper.
Parker: We do what we can with the time we have, right?
Jules: Yep.
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