The Closer – Did Brenda get married in the off season?

(Season 4, Episode 11 – “Good Faith”)

When last we left Brenda and the gang down at Major Crimes, there were two big questions left hanging. The fate of Detective Sanchez, who had been shot while saving Provenza, was certainly the more pressing matter. But there was also the ongoing struggle of the Fritz and Brenda nuptials. We get updated on both of those issues right away in the return. I’ll save the spoilery answers for after the jump, and just toss this bit out there to tempt you. The opening shot of the episode shocked me.

Ha, made you look! Seriously though, it couldn’t have just been me. When the episode opened on a picture of Brenda in her wedding dress, I thought, “No way.” They couldn’t have possibly wrapped all of that up off camera. Thankfully, they didn’t, and Willie Ray and Clay were back to help things along. I think those are two examples of recurring characters done just right. They haven’t been overused, and it’s a treat each time they show up.

The marriage seems to be playing out just as it should. Fritz is going to get what he wants, the wedding to actually happen, by giving in a little and letting it go off the way that Brenda wants. I’m sure it still won’t be without its dramas, and I certainly hope that we get to go along for the ride. The wedding planning also offered the funniest line of the night. From Flynn, sounding all serious and offering Brenda his opinion, “I was surprised, but I liked the lemon cream. It held up.”

Meanwhile, Detective Sanchez is going to be just fine. I was a little disappointed that all of that just got shuffled away with the winter break, but it’s probably for the best. The team needs all of the players to really work. And, bonus, the subplot with Provenza working through the therapist signing off on Sanchez returning to full duty looks interesting. I especially like how Pope advised Brenda to just let it play out. You could see her straining to not get involved, because that’s just her nature, but at the end of the day she does trust Provenza.

Getting to the case, there were some classic Closer bits in there. Flynn and Provenza, making eyes at the girls in the sex addiction group, were as inappropriate as ever. And Brenda’s little game, pretending to be an assistant below them, and in the process getting the suspect to sign the papers, was both funny, and classic Brenda.

What caught me by surprise was Morales. He wasn’t having any of it. That came a little bit from left field, but it was fun to see him outside of his lab. The case itself was good, if not terribly unique. They did do a good job teasing the other suspects. I was betting on Pastor Paul myself. The clue of the odd medical bill was tough to suss out for anyone without much experience dealing with such things.

So, a solid case, backing what was a very welcome return for the show. I’m glad to see that Sanchez made it and will remain with the team, and really looking forward to all of the wedding shenanigans.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Jan 26, 2009 @ 22:00 EST5EDT