Directed by: Anthony Hemingway
Written by: Jim Leonard
First aired: July 15, 2013
A child goes missing and is later found murdered, making the team suspect a transphobic attack. It turns out that the truth is even worse. Meanwhile, Jack continues to occupy Sharon’s condo as he’s looking for an apartment, and Rusty has to navigate his own identity and what that means for his relationship with Kris.
The case is a true heart breaker, and full of things that make me extremely mad, mainly because it’s far too close to reality. A 13 year-old girl getting harassed by an older teen because she happened to be born as a boy—sadly, that’s not all too unusual. Even the way in which that teen thought his actions were perfectly justified feels way to real. A breath of fresh air is the team, who are all sensitive to the girl’s identity as they investigate her murder. Even Provenza, who admits that he doesn’t really understand it all, does a pretty good job. Sharon even corrects Rios when she talks about their victim as he.
Another great moment is when Julio does Julio things. When their suspect acts like an asshole towards Rusty, Julio “accidentally” lets him walk into a wall. The way he then looks back at Rusty like we protect our own gives me life! Considering that Rusty is not yet ready to share with anyone that he is gay—or possibly even to admit it to himself—this must be a horrible situation. His goal since pretty much the beginning of the show has been to just be a normal kid, and as we learn at the end of the season, he fears being rejected by the people around him if they find out that he is gay. He clearly doesn’t want Kris to know, despite the fact that it would get him out of the awkward situation of her wanting them to date. That makes it extra great to see the team being on his side.
And then there is Jack Raydor… He has been established as a sort of likable character with many obvious flaws. I am very happy that trans- or homophobia is not one of his flaws. We have already seen him during the last episode as someone who is desperate for people to see him as a fun guy, and it kind of works on me. I can’t help but smile at his antics, but at the same time I feel a little awkward on his behalf and possibly even sorry for him, because he’s trying so hard. And then there’s a large part of me that is suspicious of his motives, mostly because I know that Sharon has reason not to trust him. We see more of that in this episode when Jack seems to be helping with driving Rusty and Kris around and cooking meals. He’s obviously being helpful, but why? What does he want now that Sharon has made clear she won’t co-sign for his apartment? Is he grateful she’s letting him stay at her place while he’s looking for an apartment (but the deal there was that he had to call his kids, so one might say that he already “paid” for his stay). or is he simply trying to be nice? Or maybe he’s trying to get something else from her? That’s one question the show doesn’t answer. Since Sharon told him about Rusty’s past, he seems to have made it his mission to help him come to terms (or something) with the fact that he’s gay, a mission that Sharon is violently opposed to, because she knows that Rusty is not yet ready to talk about that. I don’t have any idea why Jack thinks he’s the right person to help him with that, and neither, it seems, does Sharon. I do wonder, however, about Rusty’s reaction to Jack’s rather clumsy attempt to get him to talk about it. Either Rusty truly doesn’t get what Jack is implying when he keeps mentioning “who Rusty is” or he pretends not to get it so that he can avoid talking about it. Either way, that Jack doesn’t realize how inappropriate his attempts are is surprising. Or maybe it shouldn’t be because, as Sharon keeps pointing out, he was not around much when it came to raising his own children, so maybe he truly is just a clueless, bumbling fool in that area.
Another part of that scene in the condo, one that hints more at Sharon and Jack’s relationship, is the fact that he doesn’t know that she only eats one pancake. I suppose that wouldn’t be too remarkable if it weren’t for Rusty, who has only known Sharon for a year or so and is not exactly known for being especially observant about the people around him, knowing about it. Also, what’s with that sad, dry pancake she’s not actually eating? I do enjoy Sharon waving her fork at Jack, though. That moment is perfection, as is the cut between this scene and the next. There are some really got cuts on this show, but in my opinion, this one is among the best.
On the topic of Jack being helpful and nice, we also have the following scene, where he picks up Rusty and Kris from their study session at the police station to bring them home. He seems very understanding and kind towards Sharon as she’s struggling with the way their case developed. His comment about Homicide being even harder than Internal Affairs indicates that there must have been a time when she confided in him about the challenges of her previous job. I love that quiet mood of the scene, the way everyone seems to almost pause in some way for a moment at the news of the girl’s death. There’s almost something like tenderness between Sharon and Jack in this scene, and I am so here for that.
The very last scene of the episode starts with showing us the vulnerable side of Sharon Raydor. We have seen her affected by cases before, but before this, she was mostly angry. This is the first time (as far as I recall) that we actually saw her tear up about a case. I think this is another big step towards giving us a more “approachable” Sharon—for those of us who subscribe to the notion that she wasn’t already approachable on The Closer. So far, we saw her softer side mainly with Rusty, so when she was in mom mode. Here we get to see the Captain be vulnerable. That’s a change, and I think it’s a meaningful one. The character is safe enough in her new role to allow us to see this—both within the story and in terms of what the writers think we as the audience should get to see. Does that make sense? Either way, like Rusty, she does not cry in front of people, so she has to get herself under control when she sees Jack and the kids come towards her office.
Jack once again acts a little like her personal pep squad or something, the way he stomps into her office all smiles and cheerful disposition. I wonder where he gets his optimism, coming to her workplace with a picnic basket and blankets and the kids all psyched up (well, Kris, anyway) to go to the movies without having asked her first if she’s even got the time or the energy. First of all, what if she wasn’t done working yet? I suppose she might have let them know that they’re wrapping up and that she would be home soon-ish, but with a case like that, I doubt that she got a great deal of sleep, so she might just want to crawl into her bed? Or she might not feel like sitting in the grass and watch a movie for several hours in a place where she most certainly won’t find the privacy to have a little emotional breakdown or to just relax. Jack should have at least called first and asked if she would want to go before he told the kids and basically put her in a position where she can’t really decline. She obviously has her doubts that Rusty actually wants to go as she keeps looking at him as if she’s waiting for a cry for help. It doesn’t come, though, because much like Sharon, he can’t really say he doesn’t want to go without explaining his reasons. His argument so far was that he would have to go with a police escort and that would be a) rather expensive and b) not make them terribly popular with the people who like to enjoy controlled substances while watching their movie. Both those arguments no longer work with Sharon as that escort. So all he can do is agree that it sounds like fun, even though he doesn’t look entirely convinced. And even though Sharon seems to suspect that he’d really rather not go, she either isn’t sure enough to rescue him or believes that he needs to learn how to speak up for himself. Considering the conversations they have about his relationship with Kris in later episodes, I’m pretty sure it’s the latter. Sharon definitely isn’t the kind of mother who lets her children get out of doing uncomfortable things if they’re part of growing as a person. And for Rusty to learn how to draw lines when it comes to his personal relationships seems like a very important lesson.
The ending with Jack and Sharon is cute and funny, too, when Jack wants to remind her of the good old days and Sharon gets a little snarky in response. She’s definitely got his number.