Directed by: Sheelin Choksey
Written by: Adam Belanoff
First aired: August 12, 2013
A young woman died after she was thrown out of a moving car. Her killer is ready to give up the man who hired him in exchange for a lighter sentence, only Judge Grove does not accept the deal. Major Crimes has to go back to the drawing board. Can they get their killer to confess again with the help of an enamored FBI agent and the victim’s dead boyfriend?
The case is pretty straightforward, if a little gruesome. The good parts of this episode live in the interactions of our favorite people. First of all, we have Judge Grove, who is pissed at the notion that a coldblooded killer might get off with manslaughter in exchange for information that he is not willing to disclose in the hearing. He shows very little compassion (read: none at all) for the killer, who is afraid for his own life if he discloses too much. When he calls the killer’s lawyer, Rios, and Raydor to him, he also calls the good Captain by her first name. This was his first appearance on the show, but it already establishes that he knows Raydor outside of work. In later seasons, we will learn that she seems to be friends with Grove and his wife. I just find it interesting that he would call her by her first name in his court room and in front of the DDA and a lawyer.
It’s also a lot of fun to study Sharon’s facial expressions while they are in the Judge’s chambers. It kinda feels like she is a little fed up by what one might call male ego. Sure, he has a point. That deal was awfully sweet for a murderer. But did he have to be such an ass about it?
At the end of the episode, DDA Rios can present a new deal to Judge Grove, one that he can accept. When he learns that the victims boyfriend was killed, he once again had no compassion for a man who betrayed his own girlfriend. I love that Rios gets to give him a piece of her mind, though. It’s a risky thing to do, but she stands up for what she believes, even though it makes no difference in this case. As a reward (maybe?), Detective Sanchez offers to buy her a coffee, possibly indicating that he might be willing to let go of the grudge that he held against her for a few episodes. Maybe what she said to the judge impressed him?
The scene that I love most in this episode is the one that follows the first hearing. The team is trying to regroup and rethink their approach to the case now that not only their main source of information is unavailable, but an important clue – the type of vehicle their victim was thrown out of – is off the table as well. In comes the always helpful Assistant Chief Taylor. He is unhappy about the way they are going about the case and tries to tell Sharon how to do her job. He even invokes Deputy Chief Johnson and how she would have gotten their suspect to confess. The amazing thing about this scene is how Sharon doesn’t have to say a thing for most of the conversation. One by one, the team members jump to her defense. You can see how they react to Taylor’s words. Depending on whom you’re looking at, their expressions range from puzzled at his audacity to pissed off or, in Andy’s case, sort of not at all surprised resignation. And that it is Provenza and Flynn who step in first to defend their investigation and their Captain makes it even more beautiful. I mean, just take the moment when Taylor mentions Chief Johnson. All their reactions are fabulous, but the way Amy looks down as if to say “ooooh boy, you’re gonna get killed now, and it’s not gonna be pretty.” And then Andy stepping up, right next to his Captain, saying what, two years ago, he would never have dreamed of saying.
If we look back to the beginning of the show, when Sharon had to fight hard to gain their trust and to get them to work with her, it is so beautiful to see how far they have come. Compared to her, Taylor was on the inside at the beginning. Now, everyone is taking Sharon’s side, not only against Taylor but also, in a way, against Chief Johnson. Just look at everyone’s body language.
When Sharon finally speaks, she not only tells him in no uncertain terms that she fully intends to ignore his suggestion, but she also manages to sneak in a little dig at how Chief Johnson outranked him back in those good old days he invoked, and that she had very little respect for Taylor’s opinions (or the orders of her superiors). Sharon’s tone and facial expressions in this scene are pretty effective in conveying just how ridiculous she thinks his attempts at managing her investigation are. Of course she does it in a way that no one could ever successfully call insubordination.
On a more lighthearted note, we have a few instances of Raydor v. Provenza regarding the rules. Compared to their battles of old, these little fights are much more on the playful, almost affectionate side. More and more, their “old married couple” dynamic is showing, and I could not love that more. The way he complains about her insistence on following the rules without crossing the line into disrespect, and how she knows that she’s annoying him and respects his standpoint without surrendering hers… All the love for that! Also, look at Mike refusing comment when Provenza complains that he always takes the Captain’s side. The man knows who signs his time sheet (and who is right).
In the last review I promised some teenage angst, right? Well, here we go. We’ve had several episodes of the ongoing saga of Rusty and the relationship he doesn’t want to have. For a while now, Sharon has been urging him to tell Kris that he only wants to be friends with her, but he kept putting it off for various reasons. Mainly because he doesn’t know how to do it without hurting her feelings. He certainly wasn’t going to tell her that he’s not into girls at all. But it looks like he finally found a way – telling her about the threatening letters he has been receiving. You know, the ones that no one else knows anything about?
Now, we know that Rusty is a bit of a selfish prick (aka teenager), but this is a major asshole move. I guess it looked like a sure thing to him. You tell her that your life is in danger and, by extension, so is hers. In order to protect her, he has to stop being friends with her so that his pen pal wouldn’t see her as a valuable target. It gets her off his back without ever having to tell her that he’s not interested in her (or girls in general). Sort of makes sense, you say? Sure. If he had told Sharon about all the letters. And if Kris was a grown woman instead of a teenager. Instead, he forces a secret on her that she never asked for, one that, if she tells no one, might endanger his life and if she tells someone, could cost him his home. You didn’t want to hurt your friend’s feelings? Well, this sure as hell isn’t the way to go about it, kid! It is such an immature and unfair action that it makes me angry. And then he gets all in her face because she’s crying and he’s afraid that someone might find out what he has been hiding? Fuck you, Rusty Beck! Seriously!
Again, your review was straight on. Rusty is not my favorite character and this is the beginning of him being so incredibly irritating. His constant disregard for Sharon’s advice or help is so infuriating. He puts on airs as if he is “not a kid” because of his awful circumstances that left him to be street hustler. Yet, he acts like a six-year old that is shutting his eyes and holding his hands over his ears, ignoring anything in his surroundings. It only gets worse as the series progresses.