(S02E13) Well, I'm glad this season has come to an end. While I loved the first half, the second half just seemed to lose its steam. It's as though there were two teams of writers or something. The culmination of the season came tonight and it wasn't that great. Sure, we got to see more of Fritz and some of the minor characters got a few good lines in (Provenza's "Miss Scarlett to the rescue" line was great), but it was just like any one of the last 4-5 episodes. Nothing special. And the end? Well, although I didn't solve the case, I did see it coming with the Crown Royal bag and that's what the entire episode built up to, wasn't it?
Fritz and Brenda are called to the same case, which surprisingly does not cause any tension in their relationship. An FBI agent is killed at a safe house but so is the wife of a protected witness. The FBI and the LAPD are at odds over who gets to investigate. The agent is FBI jurisdiction but apparently the wife of a protected witness is under the LAPD's jurisdiction. Brenda gets pushy and 'Fritzie' gets the uncomfortable luck of being in the middle of it. Even Chief Pope shows up to the scene and aggressively takes Brenda's side against Fritz and the FBI agents, although his reasons are questionable considering his season-long crush on Brenda.
Brenda gets the protected witness in her custody but only for 48 hours until he has to testify against a crime family. Poor Fritz becomes the FBI liaison as Brenda and the team investigate the murders. He gets pushed around by the detectives, even though he's trying to cooperate, although it seems clear that he's only cooperating because Brenda is his live-in girlfriend.
Brenda gets to question the mafia guy who is about to go on trial and, as she's obsessing over his cannolis, she learns that FBI Agent Tim Hecht has been communicating with the mafia fella that was identified as the shooter. Brenda calls Det. Flynn on his cell phone and he lures Hecht into the kitchen, where he pulls a gun on him and arrests the agent. I totally got a kick out of Provenza's relationship with the witness, DeLuca. They're like a couple of good ol' boys together. Anyway, the investigation points to Hecht and things get super uncomfortable for poor Fritz. And how about when he gets shut out of the interview? Brenda says, "You better sit this one out. I'm gonna do a little bit of what I do to you at home." In other words, she's blaming Fritz and the FBI for the agent's arrest and is pretending to be on his side. When she questions him, he can explain why he went to Flagstaff for 48 hours but he can't explain why he's been in contact with the mafia guy's attorney.
As Brenda and Fritz are leaving the police department to check on their missing cat, they learn that the witness's wife had an abortion and didn't miscarry her baby like her husband said she did. Oh, and the kitty came back and Fritz made a comment about having their backs turned, which leads Brenda to solve the case.
In order to get her confessions, Brenda puts DeLuca and Hecht in the same room together and gets Hecht to admit that he helped DeLuca's wife get an abortion. And here's where it gets confusing. My head was spinning as Brenda unraveled it all, but let's just say that Marty DeLuca set up the hit because the FBI trusted him too much. He ends up grabbing Provenza's gun (gee, who didn't see that coming?) and shooting Hecht dead and taking Provenza hostage. But, Det. Sanchez is behind DeLuca as he leaves the investigation room and shoots the guy to death.
We don't have to wait another year for new episodes of The Closer. It returns in December.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-05-2006 @ 2:40AM
imdennycrane said...
I agree - last 2 eps have been good but not great. I must have missed something w/ Sanchez - he seemed very tense at the end..before Provenza was taken hostage.
Glad it's back in December though - always a good watch!
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9-05-2006 @ 7:06AM
Chris W said...
Well, the way I see it, Sanchez was tense the whole time. He was like "this guy [DeLuca] is a killer and you're treating him like a prince". I agree that it wasn't the best episode, but the characters are great and it was still enjoyable. Pope got some great lines in, too. JK Simmons is awesome (anyone see Thank You for Smoking?).
I was just a bit confused about why DeLuca did it. It seemed that Brenda suggested that DeLuca didn't order a hit, he actually did the shooting in hopes of framing Tom(?) Cali (the hitman he identified) and Hecht. Was this only about the abortion or was DeLuca having second thoughts about testifying? Where did he know Cali from?
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9-05-2006 @ 7:23AM
Christina said...
You are so right!The series started out so well that (maybe) the writers had a hard time keeping the momentum going.But it's still one of the best shows out there.
And a note to imdennycrane...remember the scene where Sanchez was complaining to Fritz about how LAPD/FBI gave special treatment to the mobster because he was a"white guy in a suit"? Apparently Sanchez thought there was too much of a good-old-boy atmosphere in the squadroom.Turns out he was right...
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9-05-2006 @ 10:08AM
Greg L said...
TNT had originally called the upcoming December episodes the "2-part Season Finale"; now, from their website:
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THE CLOSER is set to return to TNT in December with a two-hour special event, the second hour to be directed by Sedgwick’s multi-talented husband, Kevin Bacon.
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So I guess this episode was at one time NOT going to be the season finale, eh? That may explain some of the "lukewarm" reviews. In any event, my wife and I were riveted at the end, even though Provenza's gun was telegraphed early on.
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9-05-2006 @ 12:31PM
Jimmy said...
I agree with the sentiment expressed by nearly everyone: this was not the best episode and the last two especially were less than great. I'm getting a little tired of Brenda getting these "light bulb" moments where some insignificant even in her life leads here to solve the entire case in two seconds. I also thought this episode was a but unrealistic. The animosity between federal and local law enforcement is a tried and true plot devices and I know it exists, but the level of disrespect was just a bit over the top. In this day and age when the Federal government takes control in the name of national security when someone farts wrong, I can't see them allowing this childish behavior to happen. I also thought the ending was just silly -- as if we couldn't see it coming from 100 miles away.
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9-05-2006 @ 1:22PM
Paul Ham said...
Does anyone remember that a television show is meant to be entertainment? Who cares that there are holes in the plot? Some of the best movies ever filmed made no sense and stretched the imagination like a bungee cord. Can anyone explain what is going on in the Bogart film, "The Big Sleep"? Of course not; but, it is a very entertaining movie and the fact that it is full of loose ends and has more holes than swiss cheese without the cheese is part of the fun. It is the same with the endless police and medical dramas. If you can't suspend judgement for sixty minutes and enjoy the shows for what they are then pick up the remote control and go "CLICK".
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9-05-2006 @ 2:11PM
kip said...
I want more Sanchez. He is a great actor and though they have expanded several other characters he and LT kim seem to have gotte the shaft when it comes to character development and even then LT Kim is always there with the techinical answers/forensic informaiton ala Spock of Star Trek.
Sanchez represents the darker Closer, the one I hope they will attemtp to go to when the Chief's old job catches up to her hopefully next season.
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9-05-2006 @ 9:45PM
Dani said...
Umm, I'm a first time watcher to this show and I can't tell you how hooked I was when I saw this episode last night. And to think I missed an entire's day worth of repeats of the show before discovering it. I could just kick myself. Anywho, if this episode was only "good" and not "great" by your definition, I can't wait to see the others.
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9-05-2006 @ 10:35PM
Barbara P said...
For all those women out there who care about the really important matters of this show: What was that wonderful shade and brand of lipstick that Brenda wore at the beginning of the show? I'd kill (not really) for it. How do we find out these production details?
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9-06-2006 @ 1:26PM
Gordy said...
Such a ho-hum episode. I was dissapointed. I enjoyed the last two [the 'by the books' coroner & Pope's ex were highlight scenes] but this one was just okay.
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9-06-2006 @ 3:01PM
Deborah said...
I think what makes the show great is the chemistry within Brenda's team and I want to see more of that. They are all great. I think the person above meant Lt. Tao, not Lt. Kim. Tao had his moment in the episode about the immigrant and the man murdering his wives.
I think what causes the show to lose steam is, as comments about the last episode mentioned, is too much Fritz, with whom I don't think she has ANY chemistry, and too much Pope (although I finally liked him in this last episode, crush or no crush).
I think it's highly unrealistic that an FBI agent in a relationship with a cop would be assigned to work on the same case, and he ALWAYS seems to be hanging around the headquarters with nothing to do.
The plots themselves are good but the annoying sidelines detract. Take a leaf out of the old Law & Order formula and focus on the investigation.
If they want to build up more and new tension, consider Flynn and Johnson. Does anyone remember Anthony Denison (Lt. Flynn) from the TV shows Crime Story, which takes place in the 50's, where he is a mobster and Dennis Farina was the cop after him? There's untapped potential there.
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9-07-2006 @ 5:17PM
Caitlin said...
I love The CLOSER! I must agree though, the season finale wasn't that great. I did like seeing Brenda/Fritz together more. I love the CLOSER, but hopefully next season will be just as good as this past one, minus about 2 episodes!
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9-07-2006 @ 7:15PM
Alyson said...
I think the last two episodes should have been switched. The second to last episode was more of a season finale. Though I though somebody from the PMT was going to get shot, not the bad guy. That would have been a season finale. A does he/she live cliff hanger that would have to wait for next season.
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9-20-2006 @ 11:13AM
Diane said...
I think the CLoser is one of the best shows on tv. All of the stories are great. There is always a little twist, and you say "WOW". I love the suroprise ending where the mother shots the doctor who killed her son. I was speechless.
The cast is great because you have a mixture of ages and personalities. The baseball episode was so funny. I don't know why we have to wait until December. Can't that show reruns. I have the dvd of the first season, so I guess I'll have to be satisfied.
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9-20-2006 @ 12:09PM
Susanne Lee said...
I love The Closer! There has never been a TV show I thought worthy of purchasing DVD's; but this show is worth the buy. I'm just sorry that I missed the season finale. If it had been at all possible, I would have cancelled my trip to Israel just to watch it. Unfortunately, that was not possible. Guess, I will just have to look for the reruns.
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10-03-2006 @ 6:45PM
MARIA said...
The closer has been one of those few tv programs that make you feel excited to see the new episode. It is so well presented, the characters are extremely well performed. I hope that this program substitues Law and Order soon...Puerto Rico
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11-10-2006 @ 12:16AM
D. Bliss said...
Finally! I am assuming from reading all of the past comments that the closer WILL be coming back this December??? This seems to be the only place that has that information...I couldn't find it on TNT's website. I have emailed TNT several times, but they have yet to answer any questions. I finally asked why they had a website that had a place for questions if they never answered them?? They didn't answer that either... Oh well. Anyway, thanx to this website, I will be looking forward to seeing The Closer in December!
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