'City on a Hill': The battle of staying practical vs being ideal between Jackie Rohr and Decourcy Ward has just begun
It has been an impressive seven episodes of 'City on a Hill' so far. The gritty crime drama is set in a '90s Boston that is corrupt and fractured. The show's two main characters, veteran FBI agent Jackie Rohr (Kevin Bacon) and district attorney Decourcy Ward (Aldis Hodge) are as different as chalk and cheese. Their opinions clash and the duo have nothing in common, except their desire to mop up the streets filled with criminals and gangsters, and radically change Boston into something better.
The last episode, 'There Are No F***ing Sides' saw Rohr and Ward get into a conflict. The difference of opinion between the two characters regarding the plight of the gun runners is a treat to watch. For Rohr, the move is to just see the end of the criminals, while Ward looks to seize the opportunity of idealism.
Rohr's way is more of the big picture. Ringing in the major changes means making lives easier for themselves as it would help catch the big fish soon; Ward, however, sees that getting the gun runners off the street means saving a lot of people's lives.
There is an instance during the argument when Ward asks Rohr whose side he's on. He also brushes off Rohr's plea of using gun runners in custody to get the head honcho. Ward retaliates saying that the actual change in Boston "doesn’t make [him] naive rather it makes [him] on the right side of history."
At this stage, Rohr fervently begs for him to look at the bigger picture. Typical of Ward that he brushed off the idea saying: "Is that your new approach? Heartfelt? I can’t tell if you’re just a scumbag or if your self-interest is so all-encompassing that you actually believe the bulls**t that you spew."
In a way, both the heroes are right to think so. One wants to clean up the city from scums, while the other wants to change the future of Boston. From what we have seen so far, it isn't hard to deduce that Ward is a DA who is thorough in his research, logical and a man who lives by the rules. But these very traits cause him trouble.
The coke, the clothes, the gait, Rohr is practically a mess, but his street-smartness always helps him out. Add to the fact that the man is a veteran means that he just may be right in using the minions to fry the big fish.
Again, these guys aren't the Swat Kats. They are people who are far from impulsive, but yet feel that their decisions will impact the city in one adverse way or the other.
'City On A Hill' airs on Sundays on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The crime drama is created and written by Chuck MacLean. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jennifer Todd, James Mangold, and Michael Cuesta serve as executive producers.