If Tom Hastings has his way, Season 3 of 19-2 will be much “warmer” when it comes to storylines, and the relationship between Amelie (Tattiawna Jones) and Ben (Jared Keeso) will be explored more deeply.

That’s the wish of the director of Independent Production for Bell Media, who made the remark at the conclusion of “Inside the Writers Room on 19-2” at the Toronto Screenwriting Conference on Saturday. Bravo just greenlit production of 19-2 for Season 3, but development had already begun, meaning showrunner Bruce M. Smith has put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) on the first four episodes.

Smith participated in the TSC’s inaugural Writing Room Intensive, where he and six television writers spent Friday developing the basic elements of a tentpole episode of 19-2. He and Ian Carpenter, Roslyn Muir, Caitlin Fryers, Amanda Smith-Kolic, Nathalie Younglai and Tamara Moulin put their heads together and came up with an exciting episode that, while just an exercise, was as compelling as any of the stories told on the show. The group’s plot found the cops of 19 dealing with the shutting down of a halfway house and the affect it has on the neighbourhood. Escalating emotions and over-the-top reactions reach a fever pitch when a child is abducted and the men in the halfway house are accused of the crime.

After outlining the episode to the packed theatre in Daniels Spectrum, Hastings joined the group to provide his network notes, a real-life conversation he has with Smith when 19-2 is in production. Hastings made several interesting points about the script, noting it was too soon after key events of Season 2—pedophile and eviction storylines—to revisit those themes again. He also noted the panel didn’t have much for Nick (Adrian Holmes) to do in their script, so that would have to be addressed. Overall, he was pleased with what the group had created in just one day.

It may have been a made-up script, but I’d watch it.

Turns out I’d aimed a little too high in 19 when I thought that Commander Gendron was the mole. I should have gone one level lower to Sgt. Houle. Yes, the man who had the best connection with his officers—not to mention the nicest house—was identified by Ben and Nick as the one leaking information out of the squad house and to the bad guys.

But, as is the case with 19-2, that wasn’t the only news regarding Houle. In a tragic twist I didn’t see coming, Houle is a pedophile who was a participant in the child sex ring that involved the late Mr. Tremblay. The fact Houle had a palatial home was glossed over in Season 1 during the pool party; now it looks like the funds he got from being a mole paid for the place. All it took was a quick visit to Houle’s home for Ben to put the pieces together, especially after he spotted Houle interacting with that young girl in the greenhouse. I actually said, “Oh no!” out loud when everything clicked in my head.

The conclusion of “Orphans” showed a police house shattered when one of their own stood accused of transgressions. Isabelle was rocked by the news and Gendron … the poor bugger. Now he knows why his daughter keeps running away and doing drugs: Houle took care of her several times when she was younger. Gendron was unknowingly offering his daughter up to him thinking that she was in good hands.

But rather than view Houle as a villain I wanted to see bad things happen to, I truly felt badly for him. 19-2‘s writers and actor Conrad Pla have been so good at breathing life into this guy that I genuinely felt sorry for Houle as he spoke in the group therapy session.

Next week is the Season 2 finale of 19-2, and there are a few loose storylines that need to be wrapped up:

1. Will Audrey return to 19, or is she done being a cop?
2. Where is Kaz, and will he turn up as a dead body or arrested?
3. Will Bear book that trip to Thailand and leave Montreal in her rear-view mirror?
4. Will the blonde J.M. attempted to collar return to cause more trouble for him?

What do you think will happen in the season finale? Comment below or via @tv_eh.

Notes and quotes

• “Bad shit happens when we get together.” Truer words were never spoken, Kaz.
• Not to be a stickler for details, but those kids playing street hockey should have yelled “Car!” and “Game on!” once Ben’s car had gone past.
• “If I wanted any lip from you, I’d rattle my zipper.” J.M.’s message to the rookie was funny and pretty disgusting.

19-2 airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.

Monday’s newest episode of 19-2 was called “Babylon,” and a quick dictionary search came up with, in addition to being a city in Mesopotamia, the term “confuse.” That certainly jibes with what happened during the last 44 minutes of storyline.

There was chaos and confusion from the get-go, whether it meant 19 was helping clear out a warehouse occupied by protestors facing off against the police, or the circumstances surrounding Audrey’s two-month paid leave. The poor girl has been at the end of her rope this season and being assaulted by a protester in the dark, shooting a dog charging at Tyler and being doused by a bucket of human waste finally drove her over the edge: she attacked the douser with pepper spray and was given time off.

Confusion settled its claustrophobic grip around Tyler’s chest; the poor dude is afraid of the dark and being in the dim warehouse, lost and choking on tear gas caused him to leave Bear behind where she was kicked in the ribs and left injured. I’m not sure whether cops are tested for a fear of the dark, but I could certainly feel for Tyler; I was sitting on the couch in the daylight and I was having trouble breathing. Same goes for the scene between he and Paul. I rightly supposed the evicted man and his stroke-affected wife would return this week and they did in heart-wrenching fashion. After he pawned their TV, Paul’s wife was arrested trying to take it back, leaving him distraught enough he doused himself in gasoline and readied to flick his Bic. Enter Tyler, who soaked himself down in the liquid and talked Paul into calling off dying.

The Gendron storyline was almost a relief, but no less dramatic as Nick is convinced he is the mole in 19 and, even worse, may have molested his own daughter. That seems a little far-fetched even for 19-2, but then you never know. The show has thrown us shocking stories before.

Notes and quotes

• Who else misses Vince?
• Who else is upset there are only two episodes of 19-2 left?
• Who is afraid that a major member of 19 is going to die by the end of this season?

19-2 airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.