With Bright costumed in expensive slim-fit suits and the squad's other detectives mostly dressed in hoodies, leather jackets, and boots, Gil's wardrobe places him at the top of the food chain while still highlighting the class difference between a career police officer and the rich wunderkind. His turtleneck sweaters and hefty overcoats are age-appropriate for a man in his late 50s—and perfect for a show that takes place in a perpetual slate-gray late autumn—but they still afford him the physical freedom to chase suspects on foot or engage in gunplay should the plot require it. (Between Prodigal Son and Knives Out, this is the Winter of Sweaters in American pop culture, and it comes not a moment too soon.)
The only thing warmer and more comforting than Arroyo's wardrobe is his relationship with his protégé, Bright, who is by far the strangest and most unpredictable character on this strange and unpredictable show. Bright throws himself into murder cases as a way to stifle his familial trauma , and Gil—who coaxed Bright to come back to work in the pilot episode—has to balance his duty to solve cases with his sense of responsibility for Bright's well-being.
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