"You ran. You never run." With those five little words, The Closer (once again) managed to do what it does better than any other crime drama on television: inject wit and personality and heartbreaking human connection into the midst of a thrilling investigational rollercoaster.
And I use the word "rollercoaster" very deliberately. Think about the speed at which the twists and turns arrived in the concluding 15 minutes of last night’s season finale. Consider the emotional blind curves that kept popping up: Who else got choked up as the team wished each other "good luck" while checking their ammo and heading out onto the dangerous rooftop? Or when the team stoically carried Sanchez to the rescue helicopter? Or when Brenda ordered Sanchez to keep breathing? And let’s not forget the pure adrenaline rush of the final confrontation — from the moment Daniels spotted the shooter (decked out in his full body armor, looking like a vision from a nightmarish videogame) to the slo-mo shot of Sanchez using himself as a human shield to protect dear, old Provenza. I’m surprised I didn’t throw my hands in the air, close my eyes, scream wildly, and feel the wind blowing in my face — that’s how rollercoaster-y it all was.
And indeed, at the end of the hour, there I was, perched at the edgeof the highest peak, bracing myself for a conclusion — gut-wrenching?joyous? — when TNT cut to the credits and another egregiously noisy adfor that total piece of crap, Raising the Bar. GAH! I should’veexpected the writers to leave Sanchez’s survival as a cliffhanger, butI was so wrapped up in the total awesomeness of the episode, I neversaw it coming. (Kind of like creepy suspect John McFadden’s mom,floating around obliviously in her white nightgown.)
Oh, can we talk about that McFadden kid for a second? Seriously, there’snothing worse than a smug, privileged teenage perp, and you could feelhow Brenda wanted to smack the chocolate right out of John’s mouthduring his interrogation, as he chewed deliberately and refused tooffer any useful information about where the bombs were set todetonate. Too bad she didn’t, since his candy bar, combined with abottle of prescription pills, sent him into cardiac arrest. I’m notsure if I was supposed to feel any sympathy as the team applied thedefibrillator paddles to the kid’s chest on the floor of the interviewroom, but I’d be lying if I said I did. I think maybe that "You willlearn about Evolution’s End as you line up to die" shtick blocked myempathy receptors or something.
The one thing that bugged me was the fact that Brenda and hercolleagues didn’t suspect the creepy manager of the home-improvementshop as an EE collaborator, not until the dude had outfitted himselfwith a bulletproof bodysuit and a cache of weapons. But then again, asPope noted, it’s not every day you end up with two dead teenagesuspects, one who gets BIPped (along with Babs!), and one whoessentially pops a poison pill right under your nose.
Speaking of that slow-moving machine, was anyone else delighted withhow quickly Brenda came to appreciate the bomb-sniffing robot — "Babsis a she." — after realizing how close she’d come to a brush withdeath at the original suspect’s house? The whole finale, in fact, waschock full of funny moments. Brenda’s shrieks of "my purse!" as Sanchezcarried her from the apartment like a sack of potatoes, not to mentionher outrage at having to wait for a bomb squad before getting herprecious evidence. Provenza’s comment about the bomb suspect havingbeen previously arrested for defecating on his high-school principal’sdesk: "Which means he’s been dropping bombs his whole life!" And yes,Sanchez’s "You ran. You never run." When you can score a laugh line onwhat might be a pivotal character’s final words, you know you’restrapped in for a ride that’s well worth taking.
I’ll be holding mybreath till January, how about you? And while we’re talking about thecliffhanger, what did you think of the season finale? (My sister Kathy* informs me that if I hadn’t been fast-forwarding through the ads, I’d have caught a Soy Joy commercial that tied in a little too closely to the snack-time product placement that had happened on Brenda’s desk only moments before.) And will anyone be outraged if we don’t get ourselves a lovely Closer-style wedding between Brenda and Fritz (the quietly terrific Jon Tenney) at some point next season?
* Also angry that I missed last week’s recap due to DVR issues.
Comments (1-30) of 60 Add your comment
Michael – You should be glad that you missed the recap. It showed so many scenes from the episode where Sanchez’s brother was shot that one could only surmise that something bad would happen to Sanchez this time.
That being said, I really enjoyed last night’s rollercoaster ride. My favorite funny part was when Brenda and her team were hightailing out of the garage and she yelled, “And somebody call Babs!”
I thought it was a great episode, and I thought it was especially touching that Sanchez went to protect Provenza. In the episode where Sanchez’s brother was killed, you could see the deference he showed Provenza repeatedly, like even though Sanchez was the one grieving, he wanted to make sure *Provenza* was ok. So even though I would have expected any member of the team to try and protect another, that particular pairing had a bit more of an emotional resonance.
I so hope Sanchez makes it – they’ve really been letting him develop more as a character this season, and I’d love to see what more they can do with him. January is to far away!
Absolutely devastated that Sanchez has been shot. Can’t even speak right now. I love these characters so much and don’t want to lose any of them. I sincerely hope that he doesn’t die. Absolutely brilliant episode. Brilliant show. I miss it already. January seems a long way off.
ps I ff through the commercials and still noticed the soybar! Talk about blatant product placement.
She’s been eating soy joy bars this whole season. The commercials have been there the whole season too.
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! knowing that someone was going down at the beginning of the episode only made the ep. more suspenseful. can’t wait to see how this ripples through the team next season–i hope they don’t skip over that part and i hope we see wedding too:)
Great recap. I was also devastated that Sanchez was shot. I thought it was going to be Daniels, probably the least developed one of the bunch – she’s just the other woman on the squad.
I can’t imagine that there is actually a product called SoyJoy, so I’m assuming that the commercial was actually part of the episode. The Closer truly is one of the best shows on television, and these last few episodes have been brilliant. So many funny spots last night without being too goofy. Even the running poop gag didn’t make you gag too much. Interesting to see Taylor sitting down in the crew’s work area (will he become an active part of the team next season?). Also interesting to see Pope a day after we saw him in Burn After Reading.
I kept looking for last week’s recap because they are so enjoyable to read. Can’t believe they said there was a whole pound of poop on the principals desk! Eeek!
The humor at the beginning of the show didn’t flow as naturally as it usually does, so I was a bit worried. By the end, though, I was biting my nails. Terrific episode.
I love Brenda and the whole crew…I was so scared that Provenza was going to be shot…and then when Sanchez took the bullets for him..it was so sad. I wonder if after seeing that kid die fromeating a candy bar right in front of her will that finally cure Brenda of her chocolate addiction.
Provenza is so adorable…I love the shows that have Brenda’s mom in them and the way that Provenza flirts with her and ticks off her dad. I hope that Sanchez doesn’t die…of all the cast members probably Pope is the one that I like the least. Can’t wait for next season…be seeing you Brenda, Fritzie and all the rest!
WOW! What an ep. I was watching the final minutes through my fingers knowing someone was going to be shot and didn’t want to see it.
I was shocked that Sanchez would throw himself in front of Provenza like that. I figured it would go the other way. The old man saves the kid. Great episode.
Craig, there IS a product called SoyJoy!
I thought it was a strong episode. It’s not really my type of humor, but I have to admit I laughed aloud at Provenza’s ‘dropping bombs’ joke, and even the subsequent comments. Didn’t notice the SoyJoy commercial (did notice the shot) because I flip during commercials.
Patrick’s right, the initial recap gave away the later victim.
I kept waiting for something bad to happen the whole episode. First I thought the kid took something to make him explode and the defib paddles were going to blow him up. Then Pope going to the school – thought he was going to get blown up. I was getting a little teary at the end.
BTW – 30 Rock pimped Soy Joy last season, Don Draper must be working on their product placement.
Also wanted to say that Daniels used to be more than just a presence in the room, even if she hasn’t been as fleshed out as the others. This season, basically all that’s happened is post-break-up arguments with Sgt. Gabriel. I swear, some episodes she hasn’t even been there. Sad. Would like to see more of her.
Also, I have wondered if, with the announcements of a spinoff, Det. Sanchez would be leaving. Maybe he’ll retire to be a PI? I’ve puzzled over who’s strong enough, individually, to helm their own show, but not wreck the original flavor with their departure. Seems like a good opening, on the heels of his recent (and terrific) episode.
I was thrilled at the thought that someone was going to die. From the moment i saw them go up to the rooftop i knew sanchez would be the one to get shot. but seeing it sent chills down my spine. it so cool that he tried to protect provenza and that last line. this was truly an amazing episode love this show
To alex26–nice, thrilled for the death of a good guy, and I call bullsh*t on you knowing it would be Sanchez that would get shot.
CraigC–Google is free.
I’m probably one of the few in TV land that doesn’t care about product placement–unless they pull a Carol Merrill, stopping dead in the middle of the scene, addressing the camera, fluttering their hands all around the product–then that would blow goats.
Sanchez hauling Brenda out over his shoulder was hysterical.
Camera work for the roof-top shootout–excellent. Being able to see each ammo shell as it floated downward after it was expelled, catching the sunlight, very good work.
And yet another anti-kid episode. Interestingly enough, soy is supposedly something to avoid if trying to get pregnant. I find it funny that she’s eating that sort of thing, and not just because of the possible bad for pregnancy bit.
All around excellent show and January is too far away, bastards.
All mentioned in recap, I agree with, wholeheartedly.
What a great and horrible finale! Yes it was awesome, but why Sanchez? They cannot kill him off – he’s too good of a character. I did like the circumstances of how he was shot – of course he took bullets for Provenza, he’s always respected him so much. I also liked how they book-ended the show with Sanchez carrying Brenda out of the suspects house and then the team carrying him into the helicopter where Brenda held him. That was really great.
Michael, our esteemed recapper:
I was relieved to see that you had dvr issues, because I was convinced that EW was being a pissy little b*tch and punishing us for daring to complain about the previous recapper.
And same thing last week with Burn Notice–we totally got hosed.
If there is a shortage of recappers for non-fluff shows at EW, why don’t you run a contest for the commenters who know the shows, and are able to impart insight and understand nuance, etc?
Is there a comprehensive index somewhere on this site where we can see what shows actually merit recaps?
Yay Slezak’s back!! Great ep. I loved all the slow mo shots at the end and Daniels being in the line of fire made me so nervous. The whole episoding kept me guessing. I figured out that the hardware store kids were part of it with their hestiation about knowing John. Love this show and love charaters. I don’t one to loose any of them. I hope Sanchez comes back and is ok. Man this is one of the best shows on TV!
I was worried about the same thing. I thought how rude of EW to take all our praise for Slezak and then just take him away. I was so happy to him back. I take back all the nasty things I was thinking about EW. They are in my good book again. They just better not forget us in Jan. I am fickle LOL!
Last night’s episode of The Closer was amazing!! The rooftop shootout scene was fantastic. I can’t believe we have to wait till January to find out what happens to Sanchez.
PS Glad to have you back Michael, I missed you last week!
I’m a big fan of the Brenda/Fitz relationship but I’m getting tired of the will-they-or-won’t-they soap-style obstacles. If they choose to have an off-screen, city hall or Vegas ceremony, I’d be fine with that. Being married will be enough–I don’t need to see the wedding.
I love this show, but didn’t think this ep was one of their best. I have to say this team better spend the off-season at the shooting range. They fired a gazillion shots, hit everything around, and didn’t even clip the guy’s ear!! Reminded me of True Lies! Hope we don’t lose such a great character.
Sadly I would bet Slezak will go all American Idol come January. If you remember, he used to do the Ugly Betty recaps until AI came back, and he never went back to UB. What a great boost to his ego though that we all love his recaps so much, we want him to watch and report on every tv show.
Like everyone else I thought this was a great episode and can’t believe we have to wait til Jan to find out if Sanchez lives. About the squads shooting – Brenda ordered the team to aim at the bag that contained the explosives. That’s why no one was hitting the kid. They were all aiming for bag – their ammo could not penetrate his body armor & the bag was a bigger target then his head.
I was disappointed they didn’t wrap up the Priority Homicide is breaking up storyline and the deal with the reporter. Loved the slow mo but yeah – head-shots people! Or feet.
And just how bad is Raising the Bar. Every episode is the same. The characters are all one-note. The only thing that could save this show is if they brought Dennis Franz in as an investigator. It is lacking a single dynamic character.
I was very happy to see this TV watch this morning. I also thought we Closer supporters were being punished by the EW editorial staff for being so vocal about the quality of the previous recaps. Just wish we were given a little PW note as to why there was no recap last week. Last night’s episode was so good and I was stunned on how they left us hanging. Like the rest of you, I can’t wait till January!
I think this was the best episode of television I’ve seen in years. It was breaking-taking, heartingbreaking, terrifying, surprising and riveting. The only thing I was thinking about was (and when I say thinking, I mean half-covering my eyes while chanting…) “Don’t kill Fritz…don’t kill Fritz…” That last episode was a masterpiece, and I hope Kyra gets her Emmy on Sunday.