June 18, 2007: Slashes 'N Cuts
Welcome back to Red Herring Central, aka a new season of TNT's
The Closer!
For any newcomers to the superb series, we are glad to have you here to break down the week's episode, twists and turns and double-backs included. You've chosen a real crackerjack of a show to test-drive, and you shall be rewarded for your expenditure of brain power every Monday night. For the regulars from Season 2... here, have a pastry.
Let's start with a show of hands: Who thought the Wallaces' son did it? Yep, my hand is up. I know, I know, it's
rare that the prime suspect proves to the be culprit in Brenda Leigh-land, but I thought for sure this was going to be a "he did it/no, he didn't/oops, yes he did" reveal. That is, until they unveiled the secret second family. You know, early on I was pondering, "The dad spends a lot of time with this unseen shrink, maybe they are one and the same?" I see now I should have stuck with that. That whole cell-phone-behind-the-wet-bar clue threw me, too. I thought, "A-ha! Dad and doc had identical phones, the killer grabbed the wrong one on the way out" - until I realized that made little sense. (Yes, newbies to this blog, you will see that though I truly believe I should have been an ace private eye in this life, I actually kinda stink. But I do try. And note that not once did I hop on the "secret wife [aka
Herman's Head's
Molly Hagan] did it" bandwagon.)
Interesting cold open, by the way, with a camera crew documenting the crime scene walk-through, and the assorted PHSers grumbling over what they are and are not allowed to say/deduce. I thought that was going somewhere, but I realize it must be residual and regrettable fallout from the assorted trouble the Priority Homicide Squad got into for last season's indiscretions.
Nice parallel (as
The Closer oft does) with Brenda and Fritz's matching yet separate cordless phones. As we all know, when the camera dwells just an instant too long on something from Brenda's personal life or workplace doings, it's a bit of a clue, a tip in the right direction.
As we heard
last fall from series creator James Duff and in the recent live TVGuide.com webcast, this season is about
family, both the ones we have at home and the "families" we have at work. And damned if Brenda was going to let one of her team members go. I liked the twist that Gabriel let us/her think he was going to transfer back to regular homicide, only to then show us his secret meeting with Pope to lay out a very sneaky solution to the budget crisis. Wannabe politician indeed!
Speaking of the "Financial Crisis Guidelines," how about Provenza glimpsing that memo and then semi-subtly sucking up to the boss lady by manning the dry-erase board? That gave me a chuckle. And then admonishing Flynn for being a rabble-rouser/asking to be the team's casualty? Ha.
As for the season premiere's guest casting, I thought
Kyle Gallner (aka
Smallville's "The Flash") did a fine if predictable job as the doped-up son/prime suspect. But
Kevin Sheridan (
Veronica Mars,
American Dreams) was the one who really impressed me and pulled me in, showing how increasingly distraught Dr. Reichter's "other" son became as he first "visited" but then took in the cushier digs of his dad's secret family. You could see that he affected Brenda, too, making her realize that sometimes even the guilty have their "justified" reasons for doing what they do.
The weak spot for me this week was the Brenda-Fritz stuff, frankly. Their relationship tensions just get me riled up, make me "uneasy," because Brenda doth protest
so much every step of the way, I wonder if she is slowly busting the Fed's heart into pieces. Especially in contrast with her ever-slightly warmer/fuzzier moments with Pope.
That said, an overall terrific episode - grisly crime scene notwithstanding - and a taut, twisty tale!
For more on the new season of
The Closer, read our recent features on
Kyra Sedgwick and
J.K. Simmons, and check out series creator
James Duff's TVGuide.com celebrity blog.
