Directed by: Arvin Brown
Written by: Adam Belanoff
First aired: September 3, 2012

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This episode brings us a case that’s on the more humorous side—at least for the most part. It involves the very outspoken wife of the victim, who has a strong dislike for FBI Agent Morris and his plans to send her and her family into witness protection. She also has a life coach—excuse me, an intuitive life strategist—whose services include spicing up her sex life. Thorn (cute word play ensues when the victim’s cousin and business partner calls him prick) seems ridiculously stupid. At the same time, he is rather perceptive when it comes to the inner workings of our favorite Lieutenants. The family drama that is revealed should be tragic, and it is, but it is hard to feel bad about what happened when the victim’s wife and cousin scream at each other, and Prick—erm, I mean Thorn, of course—jumps over a desk to save himself from the wrath of the cousin, whose wife also enjoyed his services. One might wonder if the way Thorn is written is supposed to be a commentary on that whole life coach industry. It certainly confirms my own opinion on the matter (which, admittedly, has no basis in personal experience or any kind of reliable data), which makes it even more amusing.

What is tragic about the case is the eventual conclusion: A 14 year-old boy killing his own father, because he did not wish to have his life upended by having to go into witness protection. He says that he does not want to change who he is because of his father’s actions, and to some extent that is understandable. It is certainly unfair. However, if you look at it in comparison to Rusty, being compassionate about his circumstances is rather difficult.

I think it is no coincidence that we get this case at the same time as we see Rusty adjust to his new life. In a way, he is going through a similar situation to the one Avi is facing. Rusty might not have to change his name, but he lost the stability he knew at some earlier point in his life and has to adjust to completely new circumstances where he is the new kid. Contrary to Avi, Rusty does not have his parents with him. He not only lost his home, but also his mother. In this episode we see him struggling to adjust to what Sharon expects of him—go to a catholic school, be civil etc.—but he shows a willingness to do so, even if it is hard, and even if he does not always get it right. I think that putting those two kids next to each other like that makes it even clearer how much of an accomplishment it is for Rusty to adapt.

Rusty’s journey in this episode is pretty remarkable. After episode 2, where Sharon makes clear that she will not allow him to walk all over her, and episode 3, where she gains at least some of his trust by keeping her word and finding his mother, he now has to come to terms with the idea that staying with Sharon will be a long-term situation. That is bound to cause issues, and it does. At the start of the episode, Rusty is a bit of a brat about getting up, causing Sharon to arrive late at the crime scene. At the same time, he is very insecure about fitting in at his new school and making a good first impression (insisting on taking a shower, not wanting to be late), which he tries to hide under a good dose of smart-mouthed comments. A later scene deals with the consequences of a fight he got into at school. He clearly enjoys watching Sharon go all Darth Raydor on the priest who wants to expel him—an exchange that indicates that her Catholicism plays an important role in her life—but once the priest is gone, he gets a taste of her ire himself. So, Sharon will stick up for him and fight for him, but that does not mean that she agrees with his behavior. You do the deed, you feel the Darth. She later urges him to consider the fact that she might deserve to be treated with some civility, and at the end of the episode, they make a deal. Rusty gets the silent treatment at the beginning of that scene, which wears him down eventually. He then says something that makes the parallel between him and Avi perfectly clear. He isn’t sure that he belongs at that school, but Sharon points out that he will be the new kid no matter where he goes. But other than Avi, Rusty decides that he can do this, that he can start over, go to catholic school and be civil. All he asks is some advance notice when things change once again. He does not expect that he can stay with Sharon indefinitely, although the way she responds, it would seem that she already plans to keep him around until he is ready to go out on his own. The truly beautiful part about this moment is that she basically promises him that she is in it for the long haul, that she will always be there for him. I doubt that he understands the extent of her commitment yet, however.

We also need to talk about Provenza. While the last episode showed some significant improvement in his relationship with his Captain, he seems to be on the struggle bus once more in this one. He starts out complaining about his life and about how unhappy he is. He seems rather depressed, which is not surprising, given the fact that the career advancement that had been dangled in front of him was taken away from him again unexpectedly. It would not be Provenza, however, if the entire situation were not at least a little funny. Instead of taking an honest, serious look at his struggles, we see him moping around at first, and then trying to get free advice from their life coach suspect. Thorn’s final advice to him is to begin with changing himself if he wants to change the world, and he should start with his tie. Since Provenza is famous for his strange taste when it comes to ties, that is some advice he should take to heart. But also starting with changing himself—or rather his attitude—might not be such a bad idea, and we will see more and more of that, although he will never not be our favorite grouch.
Just like Rusty does in this episode, one might say that Provenza tries to test how far he can push his new boss. It starts rather harmlessly with her having to divert his attention from his interest in Thorn’s work back to their case. When he questions her approach to their case, and sounding rather condescending while doing it, Raydor has to put her foot down hard to get him in line. There is one line that I find very interesting here. She asks Provenza if she has to phrase it as an order, and she would be well within her right to do that. The fact that she does not, even in the face of Provenza’s reticence, suggests that she wants to avoid it, possibly because being ordered around by his younger and much less experienced boss would probably feel demeaning to him. So, even when Provenza is being a little shit, she treats him with respect and compassion.

Before she walks into her office, her look indicates that she is wondering what is the matter with him. I doubt that she misses his strange mood and, given their easier collaboration during the previous episode, she probably assumed that they were over the worst of that whole disobedience crap. We did see her take advice from her Lieutenants before, for example when Flynn told her to call their victims by name, so she is the kind of boss who listens to her team. I think it is safe to say that she also listened to them in this case before she made a decision. What Provenza has to learn, though, is to back off once she has decided on a course of action. She is drawing a line, just like she does with Rusty, and in both cases she is successful.

This episode is another step towards the team coming together in its new constellation. It was never going to be easy—neither getting the team on her side, nor getting Rusty to adjust to his new circumstances—but it is starting to come together nicely. At this point, Provenza seems to be the only holdout on the team, and Amy appears to be a part of the group, too. We are almost at the halfway point of the first season, so it is time for this part of the story to make room for new challenges.

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