Reviewers from The Hollywood Reporter noted that while the episode features a "ballsy and silly" fight scene involving a yakuza sword and a metal baseball bat, it failed to show significant plot progression or character improvement from the pilot.
Critics at Salon.com argued that Bill Paxton's portrayal of Frank Roarke felt more like a "stubbly faced guy with an overemphasized cowboy swagger" than a truly engaging or complex anti-hero. [S1E4] Training Day
Critics generally found the episode—and the series as a whole—to be a "hackneyed" copy of standard police procedurals that lacked the grit and nuance of the original 2001 film. Reviewers from The Hollywood Reporter noted that while