The parade of fantastic guest stars just keeps marching along for The Closer. This week, none other than Tom Skerritt made a run through the major crimes division. Just landing Skerritt is a pretty big win, but when you can pair him with a really good role, then you have a winner. At first glance, it seemed he would be the latest in a string of law enforcement officials to rub Brenda the wrong way. But there was so much more to it than that. In addition, we also got some pretty good confirmation that Stroh is coming back.
Let’s kick things off right there, with Stroh. As we’ve moved through this first half of the season, there have been a number of small, but recurring, references to that case. I took it to mean that he would be coming back, but they were so small it was hard to really count on it being anytime soon. After tonight, I think we can be sure that it will be this season. Brenda is now bordering on obsessed with the case. I take that as good for the viewer, and very, very, bad for Stroh. That point was driven home very well by the opening.
The obsession also worked very well with the story of Joey O. (Skerritt), who had quite an obsession of his own. I didn’t suspect him at all at first, thinking he was there to provide a roadblock for Brenda. As his actions became more and more desperate, though, it became pretty clear that he was behind the murder. They did do a good job throwing us off the scent, though. At various times I bought into the girlfriend, and the brother. It’s also worth noting that the interrogation of the girlfriend, played by Georgina Cates, was also very well done.
The real story, though, came in those exchanges between Joey O. and Brenda. It suggests the idea that Brenda could follow down that same path. She’s as sure as Joey was that Stroh is her man. And it’s now to the point that she’s having nightmares. Could Brenda cross that line? The knee-jerk reaction says no way. But if you stop to think about it … Maybe? Just a little?
Brenda has never been what anyone would call a stickler for the rules. Sure, she does lay down the law with the team from time to time, but that usually serves her own purposes in the end. It is a long shot, and I think her relationship with Fritz is a huge point against the possibility, but this did just enough to get the possibility out there. I think. Am I out of my tree there?
It all made for another great episode, complete with a couple very quotable lines. Why did Joey do it? “The Make-A-Wish Foundation refused to do it for me.” And what did we learn about Provenza this week? He has “the prostate of a teenager.” They also managed to find an actual use for Ramos, but I still don’t like him. All things considered, things are going just fine with season five, and I can’t wait for the Stroh revelation.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Jul 28, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
