Directed by: Stacey K. Black
Written by: Mike Berchem
First aired: October 8, 2012
A police officer from Las Vegas is found dead. Major Crimes tries to find out what he was doing in Los Angeles and who killed him. Meanwhile, Rusty is supposed to spend a weekend with his father. What could possibly go wrong with that?
First of all, the beginning of this episode is nothing for squeamish people. It’s not blood and gore this time, but rather the victim of the week marinating in a puddle of his own vomit. And no, that’s not all of it. Kendall has to shovel the vomit into a container to be analyzed by Morales, who doesn’t seem to mind getting a good nose-full of it. He recommends a Mojito or a Kamikaze with your anti-freeze, although the health benefits are extremely questionable, to which our unfortunate victim can attest.
We also learn—for the first time on Major Crimes—that Lieutenant Flynn has some experience with alcoholism. Those who watched The Closer know that he is a recovering alcoholic, of course. He also seems rather invested in the case, which becomes especially apparent when the victims partner shows up with a box of their case files and a sack full of secrets. Andy isn’t the only one whose patience with Detective Connor is wearing thin. Captain Raydor is obviously not a fan of being lied to, either. I love how she can communicate her displeasure so effectively without ever raising her voice, and in this particular scene, it comes across perfectly. There’s also Andy right by her side, ready to put Connor in his place for his Captain, even if she doesn’t need it. Her little smirk when he repeats her question doesn’t make her appear unhappy about Andy’s temper being on her side for a change, though.
Side note: This episode is full of Sharon and Andy working together, like the interview with Laura Elkins, where they do a flawless bullshit ballet without even the slightest warning or preparation.
Detective Connor isn’t the only guest who makes the team suspicious this week. Rusty’s father is supposed to pick him up for a weekend together, but he is late, which makes Rusty angry and doesn’t exactly endear him to the team. When he finally shows up, we once again see some genetic markers appearing that we have seen and will see in Rusty. While Sharon shows quite a bit of patience and understanding for Rusty’s egotistical moments, she doesn’t seem ready to excuse the same behavior in his father. In the previous episode, she helped him out in his attempts to communicate with Rusty, but this time, she steps aside when he asks her how to fix things and lets him figure it out on his own.
We’ve got a little bit of foreshadowing in this scene when Sharon warns Daniel that usually, people who tell her that she doesn’t understand their situation end up under arrest. He only narrowly avoids being among those people in the upcoming episode.
I thoroughly enjoy watching her rip him a new one in this uniquely Sharon way. Her tone of voice alone makes my blood run cold, and the way she looks at him… I definitely don’t want to be in his shoes.
In the end, Rusty decides to go with Daniel, leading to a sweet scene between him and Sharon before he leaves. I think it is safe to assume that what we see is the first hug they share. If you think back to only a few episodes earlier, when Sharon even hesitated to put her hand on his back, this is a very big step. Since the whole Daniel Dunn thing started, we have seen more and more hints of the growing closeness between those two. It will be another half season before we hear the first I love you, but in this episode, they get as close to that as possible, without saying the words.
I also love how she starts out saying “be good” only to correct herself to “have a good time“. It shows how much more she trusts him now, and maybe it hints at how suspicious she is of Dunn. She certainly gives him the stink-eye before she lets go of Rusty.
The hug and “I wish I could come with you” are only the start. Can you imagine Rusty writing I miss you to Sharon or accepting the same sentiment from her a few episodes ago? Sharon obviously can’t either, judging by her very pleased expression.
It’s all cute and perfect until Sharon comes home to find out that Rusty has returned early. Once she sees his battered face, she goes into full Darth Momma mode, and at this point I most definitely don’t want to be in Daniel Dunn’s shoes. Sharon obviously started planning his demise before the end of the scene, an event for which we will have to wait until the following episode.
While she tends to his injuries, Rusty reveals the last bit of his traumatizing past—the reason why his mother and her boyfriend left him at the zoo. It’s a show of trust that I am very sure isn’t lost on Sharon, even though she doesn’t make a big deal out of it, which would only serve to embarrass him.
There is this one completely insignificant thing about this scene that keeps bugging me. It’s when she wants to put something on his split lip but decides otherwise at the last moment. Her words aren’t quite in sync with her actions, and it drives me nuts every time I watch this scene. And yeah, I realize that it’s a stupid thing to get hung up on, but I can’t help it.
Fun fact: Most of the season 1 gag reel consists of scenes from this episode.
As always, your review is spot on. This is one of my favorite episodes because of the scene in Sharon’s office. I love that she allows Andy to come to her aid and gives him the slight pat on his arm to calm him. I don’t know if it was designed in the scripts or a personal touch Mary McDonnell brought to the character of Sharon, but I absolutely love her caring, playful, and concerning touches she gives all of the cast members throughout the entirety of the show.
I would like to play devil’s advocate with Rusty’s incident with Daniel. Perhaps, Rusty goaded Daniel to assault him in the hope that Sharon could find a way out of the custody issue. Just a thought…
YESSS! I love, love, love how she is so tactile with those she cares about, and I think that, apart from Rusty, Andy is the first who experiences that. Also, the way she directs her team with nothing but glances is perfection and shows how far they have come since the start of the season.
As for Rusty goading Daniel…I absolutely agree that he might have hoped that telling Daniel and his fiancée about his past might solve the whole father problem. Not sure he was aiming for a physical response, exactly, but I do think he might have figured that one or both of them would decide that they don’t want him in their lives. Guess it worked out quite nicely.