I was sure I had last night’s mystery cracked before the first commercial break, but they faked me out. Love that in a cop show! And even better, while the episode lacked dreamy Jason O’Mara, it was otherwise so much stronger and smarter than last week’s fizzle of a season premiere.
Is it my imagination or are the writers trying to steam things up between Brenda and Fritz? I’m still not really feeling it, but I admit it was fun to see Brenda with a major afterglow, tramping around the scene of the hit-and-run in that radioactive fuchsia trench coat, in case we missed the point.
The dead guy was a dirtbag, which is always fine with me. As soon as I heard Roy Wilkinson’s sordid backstory, I thought for sure we were getting a classic revenge narrative. He killed a girl — he didn’t just kill her, he strangled her during sex! — and only served eight years? Well, duh, someone wanted him dead. When the Mayhans walked into the office for the courtesy visit with the cops, I disliked them on sight: Rich, entitled, resentful. I know, I know, they lost their daughter, but I thought the writers worked overtime to make them unsympathetic. And so even when Brenda visited the frumpy caregiver bearing the goodlife-insurance news, I was sure this was but a sly red herring. Thatthe devious Mayhans had somehow rigged the policy to implicate a sad,lumpish prole…
So was I the last person to figure this one out?
Click through to the jump for the rest of my recap, and a burning question I need answered.
Least favorite moment of the evening: Brenda twitches her behindwhile leaning into the candy machine and talking on the phone to Fritz– then notices slimy Pope smirking about a foot away. Ewww.
Favorite moments: Provenza gunning a car over the dummy in the alleylike a little boy with a new Tonka truck. Tao sashaying down the streetrepeating, "Walk with me!" like he stepped out of a David Lynch movie.What was that about?
But, of course, the real highlight was when Brenda finally headedinto the box to work her stuff on the suspects. Here, I felt the showhit its stride for the first time this season. The Closer is best whenBrenda is working her stuff — her professional stuff. Sorry boys, Ilike her vastly better in the interrogation room than in a camisole.
Finally, a question: I glanced away from the TV for about 7 secondsand missed whatever it was that happened with the bottle of booze atthe very end. Had Fritz been drinking? Or was Brenda thoughtfullymoving the alcohol out of easy reach? If you caught what I missed, do share (along with your thoughts on last night’s episode) in the comments section below!
Brenda got the wine out to celebrate while Fritz was asleep on the floor, but instead put the bottle back and laid down beside him… How sweet (gag!)
brenda grabbed a bottle of wine, a glass and a wine bottle opener to go have a drink alone in the bedroom before bed (presumably sleeping alone in the bedroom), but decided instead to put it all away and bring out her bedding to sleep with fritz on the floor.
Brenda had offered Fritz some Vicoden for his back. He told her that wasn’t a good idea for an alcoholic. When she came home to relax and have a glass of wine and saw him still on the floor, she put the wine away and joined him on the floor. Now we have seen a small glimmer of why Fritz loves Brenda.
Loved the septagenarian fight scene at the end! The interrogation sequence was certainly a nice contrast to the usual efficient way Brenda breaks folks down. And I definitely think they needed to give Brenda & Fritz a little spark, as otherwise why would that hunk of a man stay with a cold, workaholic sourpuss? I also hope they finally leave the Brenda-Pope June-late November relationship thing behind in the dust once and for all, as it was just creepy. I didn’t think the season opener was bad, btw. It was fascinating to see the Brenda-Pyro (ice-fire) dynamic in full action, and it served as a catalyst for her thawing a bit.
I think part of it was also that Fritz told her she dismissed addiction as a problem. The perps (!) kept saying alcoholic are so easy to pull back to a drink. Maybe she actually realized that her drinking around Fritz and even having the wine in the house really isn’t fair to him.
There was more to the returning of the wine than Brenda just being sweet. The underlying story here was alcholism and how easy and alcoholic can drink again. The case helped Brenda see that and out of respect and caring for Fritz she put the bottle back.
Okay, maybe it’s just me, but there was something that really bothered me….This happened over several days, right? At least two….so…I’ve been laid up with back problems, but I still needed help getting up and down to go to the bathroom. I can’t believe he laid flat for more than a day and never used the bathroom. Plus, he rolled over at the end of the scene, which means he definitely was feeling better and had movement. It just was a glaring inconsistancy to me, and I love this show.
Who was the actress how played Patricia Simmons? Where do we know her from?
I agree: last night was The Closer at its finest. Loved Tao, Provenza, and Flynn. Oh! Is Daniels pregnant? She looked like she’d gained weight.
OK best interrogation scene ever! (or maybe it’s just been so long that I’m fiending for a good Closer interrogation). Loved the “older lady” fight scene, great! Side note though, why if they’ve been murdering and writing policies on these deadbeats for years, would they just give it up to Brenda like that?!?!?!? Heck, she didn’t even work that hard for it! lol. Keep your criminal, murdering mouths shut! But, of course that would be no fun for us, huh?-) Also, I’m like the reviewer not so hot on heating things up btwn Brenda and Fritzy. I could actually care less about their relationship. I would prefer to know more about the relationships of her detectives than theirs. Fritz is hot, but his character’s a dud. Sorry for those who love him. I love this show and it was definitely better than the premiere episode. the Closer is officially BACK!
I think it was a great episode last night! I really had to think about who was involved with the murder. The fight at the end was so funny and I loved it when Provenza ran over the dummy. Did you notice that they had his ex-wives named taped on them? It is such a great show!
I think it was a great episode last night! I really had to think about who was involved with the murder. The fight at the end was so funny and I loved it when Provenza ran over the dummy. Did you notice that they had his ex-wives named taped on them? It is such a great show!
For djs: the actress who played Patricia Simmons was, I believe, Wendy Phillips, who played Gerald McRaney’s wife on the show “Promised Land” (spinoff of “touched by an angel”)
Thanks for the info on Patricia Simmons as I kept trying to figure out whare I had seen her before. I actually figured out when Brenda went to see her that she was the killer, never thinking that the other lady was involved. I knew the couple were the red herrings. So I guess I had it 50% right. My question is was that Paul Michael Glasser playing the husband? LOVE Provenza! He makes me laugh and I too loved it when he was driving the car but I also loved it when he was waiting with his crosswords for the others to come back around the block. The look on Brenda’s face was priceless.
thanks, George! Now that I’ve looked her up, I realize that I see her on Big Love. and my favorite canceled-before-its-time show, Homefront. (also, with Kyle Chandler). I think she played his mom on that show.
Jennifer, it seems like you and I are watching different shows b/c I’m absolutely loving this season so far. Why the lukewarm response? The premiere was fantastic. And last night’s ep was great too. I like that we get to see Brenda and Fritz get frisky. She’s not just a cop. She’s a chick, too. Seeing a little bit of her homelife works for me. Also, I like that in the past two eps, there are hints that Gabriel & Daniels are having romantic problems. Tao was hilarious sashaying down the street. And Provenza of course was classic Provenza. The chemistry between the cast is fantistic, and the writing and acting couldn’t be better. At some points I even feel like I’m watching a really good movie. So what’s to complain about? If you barely like the show, then please stop writing the recaps. Yours tend to be short already, plus they’re mysteriously critical and glaringly omit the best bits (e.g. the hilarious fight at the end).