"Controlled Burn"
I've said it in seasons before, I will say it again: I love The Moment.
The Moment, of course, is the seemingly innocuous happening - usually a comment, and I believe often from Fritz - which turns on a light bulb above Brenda's head and points her (and thus us) toward the resolution of the latest mystery.
The Moment for this season's premiere came when Fritz spoke of "dropping the cat off, and then picking her up later." Ding! And like that, Brenda realizes that the killer/firestarter would be found trying to reclaim the victim's car.
What did you think of the opener? Despite my "rocky past" with his wife (Paige Turco), my fandom of Jason O'Mara is well-known, and he really rocked this guest-star role (and had some great lines, like, "I'm carrying a little torch for you" and, "It's all fuel.") Stephen Martines served nicely as the nosy, overly aggressive
Times reporter.
As for the reveal... it was a little "eh," if only because they kind of telegraphed it with fireman's first scene and Brenda's subtle but apparent scrutiny of his story. Still, it's a better outcome than having reporter boy do it, which for a second looked like where we were going.
Catching up with the squad at the start of each season is always fun. For example, Daniels and Gabriel seem to have hit a rough patch, and Brenda is none to happy with how it's affecting the murder room. I liked how Flynn's contempt for Croelich was revisited. Tao relishes his forensic sleuthing as much as ever. Not much Provenza, barely any Sanchez (with whom the writers still don't seem to know what to do). Pope's still cracking the whip.
And then there is the Brenda-Fritz romance, still saddled by niggling. And toilet problems. ("How many more mornings are we going to rush to work to pee?") Er, turns out Fritz has found elsewhere to "go."
And last but not least, mad props to Kyra's banging bod, as evidenced during her strip-down scene.
All told, a solid episode.
