(S02E02) I just adore the Brenda character. She is such a disaster in person, isn't she? Even though she rubs people the wrong way, she still manages to get them to talk. Remarkable. I love the irony that she is so socially retarded, yet she can totally read people when it comes to interrogating them about crimes.
The first half of this episode was more about the personal side of Brenda. She's all on edge about Fritz moving in and her mother coming to visit. Her mother, you probably noticed, delivers a similar sugary-sweet 'Thank You' to Brenda's, although Brenda's can mean a million different things. It was an unusual departure for the show and I expected the crime to remain in the background but, at about the 30-minute mark, the focus of the show changed to the crime at hand. Her mother disappears into the background-- only appearing in order to be hit on by Lt. Provenza-- and Fritz completely disappears until the very end when he's properly introduced to Brenda's mother. Bummer about the story shift, because I love the walking wreck that is Brenda's personal life.
So. The crime Brenda is investigating this week is the apparent murder of a juror on a high-profile case. I was floored when Brenda started asking the victim's husband questions without even telling him that his wife was dead. You can't blame the guy for his anger with her. She's so socially inept that, if this show took place in a hospital, she'd be House.
She pursues the son of the man who is on trial because he is the most logical villian. He's the one who actually committed the crime the father is accused of, after all. He also killed an eye witness. Bad dude. However, I found it unbelievable that the jury consultant and the lawyer were so quick to assist Brenda's investigation, considering they were both working for an Armenian who was known for his brutality. Granted, Brenda played to the lawyer's ego and to the consultant's professionalism... but still. I did enjoy her interrogation of the Armenian's son, whom she led to believe that he was going to die. She got him to confess to his crimes-- but not to the murder of a juror.
Brenda ends up figuring out who killed the juror when she says, "There's no substitute for sugar." She realizes someone replaced the juror's vitamins with 16 pills'-worth of her heart medication. The episode ends with Brenda interrogating a little old lady and getting her to confess to killing her daughter-in-law. Her mother watches the entire exchange from the surveillance room and tears up a bit when Brenda says she would never put her own mother in a nursing home.
Overall, a good episode. The weird thing about this show is I watch it for the personal interractions and for Brenda and not for the crime storylines. The storylines are usually rather weak and predictable but the characters are just too enjoyable so I forgive TNT for that weakness.
Did anybody else notice James Pickens, Jr. as the coroner? He put in a lot of face time on Grey's Anatomy last season but still found the time to play a minor role in The Closer.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-20-2006 @ 9:50AM
Dani said...
My favorite line: Don't lie to your mother!
I like how the cast works so well off of each other including the guests.
As a side not someone had mentioned that the actor who plays Provenza was also on Mash and last night I kept expecting him to whip out a cigar and start chewing on it!
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6-20-2006 @ 10:11AM
Whitney said...
Hey Anna! That wasn't James Pickens as the coroner. That was James Avery (Uncle Phil on the Fresh Prince)...
I love this show! Seeing Brenda Lee's mom and learning the source of the "Thank you." And I really liked that she followed Lt. Flynn's instinct that it was murder, even if he was wrong about who done it.
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6-20-2006 @ 1:48PM
Robert said...
I recenly tried to watch this show because of all the buzz surrounding it. I couldn't get past Kyra Sedgywick's crappy Southern accent, and turned it off after 5 minutes. This may be a silly reason for not giving the show a chance, but suspension of disbelief is pretty important to a viewing experience. Am I the only one that has a problem with the fake accent?
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6-20-2006 @ 2:16PM
Diana said...
I haven't had a problem with the accent at all...frankly, I enjoy it! But then again, I have no personal experience with southern accents, and hence, no expectations.
I agree with Anna, the author of the review. I watch because I really enjoy the characters. This cast works really well together.
And yup, that was Uncle Phil. And yup, that was Gamma/Bunny playing Brenda's mom. Thoroughly enjoyed her here!!
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6-20-2006 @ 5:09PM
Whitney said...
Bad southern accents are one of my biggest pet peeves, and hers doesn't bother me. Dunno why. It could be because on occasion I have thought that the character was playing up the accent on purpose, so the fakeness seemed part of the story.
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6-22-2006 @ 9:06AM
lurch0773 said...
i love the show and i love the cast- i am not one of the people who likes the "i can't tell my mom about my boyfriend" storyline-i find it a bit absurd-a forty something year old woman who can't tell her mom about her boyfriend? come on-A guy like Fritz would never stay around for that-still i love the cast.
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6-22-2006 @ 6:30PM
emilee said...
Does anyone know the brand/designer for the bag Brenda has? It is fabulous!
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