Directed by: Rick Wallace
Written by: Michael Alaimo
First aired: July 29, 2013
A young man is shot to death as he breaks into the house of a famous swim coach. It looks like self-defense, while the press suggests racial motives, but the truth is so much darker. Meanwhile, Andy is trying to decide if he wants to attend his daughter’s wedding despite having to walk her down the aisle together with her stepfather.
The case is a truly horrible one this week, and if the topic of child molestation is a trigger for you, you might want to proceed with caution. That being said, let me state how much I love and respect the writers of this show for how beautifully they handle subjects like this. If only every survivor of rape and molestation got such caring and respectful police officers to work on their cases.
The scene where they find out the whole sad and maddening history between Mateo and his coach is so beautifully done, and even after having watched it countless times, it still has me in tears. I love that they simply let the video speak for itself and that they allow it to play out without adding any dialogue to the scene. It makes the video all the more powerful. The second, silent conversation that is taking place is mainly between Sharon and Rusty when she realizes that he is still in the room and she looks over at him. It’s that signature, slightly on the nose drawing of parallels in the storytelling we see so often on this show. This time, however, it does feel a little more organic than some of the other times. There will, of course, be a conversation between the two later on. Sharon wouldn’t have it any other way. (Warning: The following video definitely deserves a trigger warning (see above)!)
That later scene, when Sharon comes home and wants to talk to Rusty starts out on a somewhat funny note. We see Rusty on his way from the kitchen to his room, and when he hears the front door, he speeds up, trying to make it to his room before Sharon notices him. He obviously still doesn’t know that mothers can look around corners and through walls. Of course she catches him. He still tries to escape, but he can’t outmaneuver Sharon Raydor. I love it that all she needs to do is tell him in this very innocent voice that she spoke to Mrs. Slater and he cracks. That only shows us how little experience he has at being momed. That he shoots back with this little bit about the state of her marriage is a nice try, and I love that he is at a point where he realizes right away that it was inappropriate and apologizes to her. Sharon’s influence on him is definitely showing.
That is the moment when the music sets in. It is the same music that accompanied Mateo’s video and serves as another, much subtler hint at the parallels in the boys’ stories. It is also the moment Rusty starts to open up about what is really bothering him. There really isn’t a great deal that Sharon is saying in this scene. She mostly communicates through looks, especially once he starts opening up, and I love that. Because there is very little she could say in that situation to make him feel better or to steer him in the right direction. She tries once to bring up the psychologist and all it does is make Rusty anxious. Her final words to him in that scene became a bit of a thing among fans: “Be kind and be safe.”
When Rusty walks away from her, he stops and turns around again, and there is a moment of hesitation. He obviously wants to say something, and it is definitely not the “good night” he settles on in the end. Could it be that Mr. Beck was toying with the idea of saying “I love you”? He already admitted that staying with Sharon was more important to him than his freedom, so it would be a logical next step. In the end, he wasn’t ready for it, yet.
When Kris’ mom first comes in, we see Provenza practically falling all over himself to impress her. It’s a little adorable, but also somewhat creepy, considering that he could be her father. But that probably makes her exactly his type… Once Mrs. Slater is in Sharon’s office, she begins with a rather strange bit about her job in an effort to explain why she’s there. It feels like super unnecessary, forced exposure, because the fact that she’s a jewelry designer has no impact on the story. A simple “I was in the area” would have sufficed if we truly believe that any such thing is needed at all. She obviously came there to talk to Sharon out of concern for her daughter’s safety, which is explanation enough to justify even a long drive.
Of course Sharon is able to calm her down, which sort of trashes Rusty’s plans to get Kris to back off without telling her the truth. That last comment Mrs. Slater makes before she leaves feels sort of arrogant, though? I mean, first of all, I don’t think Sharon feels like she’s sacrificing a great deal in order to care for Rusty. And it also makes it sound as if Rusty didn’t really deserve a good home and is lucky that someone felt charitable enough to take him in. Sharon definitely finds the comment a little odd, herself.
The side-plot (apart from the obligatory Rusty side-plot) in this episode is Andy Flynn and his refusal to attend his daughter’s wedding. We learn about it right at the beginning when he tells Provenza about it at the crime scene. He takes issue with the fact that Nicole wants to walk down the aisle with both her dad and stepdad. I love how Emma Rios almost dislocates her neck trying to catch every detail of that conversation and then, when Andy looks at her, she pretends like she isn’t listening. She seems like she doesn’t want anything to do with the team apart from their professional relationship, but I guess that’s just a facade.
Later, back in the Murder Room, Andy is on the phone with his ex-wife (I assume), being a bit of an ass about the whole situation (Provenza’s words, not mine), which seems to concern Sharon. After Provenza updates her on the wedding situation, she chooses Andy to come with her to talk to their victim’s parents. Throughout the episode, she keeps taking him with her whenever she deals with the bereaved parents, and it is hard to pretend that it is not by design. Seeing how quickly one can lose one’s chance to spend time with one’s children will go a long way in convincing a person to get over their ego. And it works. At the end of the episode, Andy steps into Sharon’s office, presumably to ask if he can take off early to go to Nicole’s wedding.
That Sharon isn’t in the least surprised at his change of mind indicates that this might have been her plan all along. She even came up with a way to make things easier for him. Maybe it was a contingency plan in case he turned out to be more stubborn than expected. It does seem awfully convenient that Provenza is taking Rusty out for burgers that day. Another interesting aspect of this conversation is that Andy’s first thought upon hearing her offer was how he would introduce her to his family. I guess if we want to disregard my headcanon, there are only two reasons why he’d ask. Either he feels weird or pathetic about taking his boss to the wedding and doesn’t want to introduce her as such, or he isn’t entirely sure if this isn’t her way of asking him out. Another possibility is that, being Andy, he knows there’s a high probability of him fucking things up, and he wants to be 100% certain that they are on the same page. Maybe she doesn’t want to be introduced as his boss. Whatever his motivation, the scene is adorably awkward and I love it. I also still remember how the entire Shandy fandom went completely crazy over this scene. Gods, the fanfic world exploded after this episode. Those were the days… There was also some cast talk kinda event at the time where Mary McDonnell shared her own headcanon about that wedding and Andy’s dancing skills. I don’t remember which event that was, though.
Also, please note that Sharon is wearing the Shandy blazer again.