'The Closer': Every bit the bitch we heard she was
This week on The Closer, Brenda teaches several people who think they're above the law that no one -- and I mean no one -- escapes the Wrath of Brenda. It's much like the Wrath of Khan, but with more demure shirts, a little less screaming, and a sugary-sweet "Thank you so much!" as she's booting your butt into jail.
This spoiler expects the customary respect shown to a fellow law enforcement officer.
The Case of the Week at first seems to be a straight-up suicide, but Taylor himself has requested Brenda's help. It turns out the dead girl -- Michelle Clark, age 16, who was found hanging in her room -- had talked to Taylor a week before, alleging she'd been raped Darren Yates, a guy at her school. Thing is, Darren is also the son of a high-ranking official in the sheriff's department. Taylor was treading very, very carefully around this case, but somehow word got to Daddy Yates, and he raised a stink. The next day, Michelle killed herself.
Or did she? Brenda takes a look at the horrific injuries on the body and declares it a homicide. But those injuries were made a week before, during the rape. Her squad is confused, but Brenda charges ahead. She brings in Darren and Daddy Yates, and Dad is the sort of bullying blowhard who pulls rank, belittles his son, and drips condescension as he calls Brenda "honey." He's so going down. I'm going to enjoy this. But it's unclear how his fall from grace will happen, as he gives his son an alibi, and he knows enough about the law to ensure that Darren isn't talking. Schmuck.
Plan B: In her confession, Michelle said she heard friends of Darren laughing in the next room as Darren assaulted her. Brenda and her team arrest the friends in front of all their high school peers. Hah! Kevin refuses to talk without a lawyer, which he doesn't need, as he's a witness, not a suspect. Brenda poses as a lawyer to get Kevin to tell her what happened. None of what he says will be admissible in court, but Brenda's doesn't care. Weird. Kevin tells Brenda about the Cherry Picking game Darren and his friends play -- they identify virgin girls in the school, and the one who has picked the most cherries by the end of the year wins. Lovely. Darren decided Michelle would be one of his conquests. In a particularly charming move, he's posted the pictures of all his victims on his social networking page -- and there's a dozen girls there. One of them, Allie, was apparently plucked on the same night that someone called in a sexual assault complaint, which was never filed because of Darren's dad. Despite a strong plea from Brenda, Allie won't testify against Darren.
OK, Plan C: The cops have security camera footage that contradicts Daddy Yates' alibi for his son. Brenda brings father and son in, acts terribly contrite, then gets Daddy to leave the room with her. She arrests for impeding an investigation, then goes back in to talk to Darren. She comes down hard on him with the murder charges - look at these injuries! Obviously you killed her! No way! Darren says. Those injuries came from sex the week before! OK, maybe she didn't precisely consent, but still, I didn't kill her! And that's when Brenda pounces: I know. But hey, look -- you just confessed to rape! Have fun in prison!
Highlights, thoughts, and odds and ends:
- This is one of those "Oh my god, Taylor has a soul!" episodes. They happen every once in a while, and it's a tribute to the actor that I'm surprised every time.
- I loved the Taylor/Brenda interaction at the beginning: She accuses him of being too enamored with politics to give the case the attention it deserved, and why would he ask her for help? "Speaking frankly [and somewhat heatedly]... you're the last person on earth I'd ever ask to cover my ass." Brenda's got to respect that. And she also respects that Taylor desperately wants to get this kid, and he admires her skills enough that he thinks she can do it.
- After her squad keeps pushing back on the murder investigation, Brenda snaps: "I would appreciate it if the detectives in my own division would give me at least as much support as Commander Taylor!" That shuts them up, to the extent they're hardly in the episode. It's a Brendapalooza, and it works.
- Brenda chews into Kevin when she's playing lawyer, and she tells him what she's doing the whole time: "You cannot trust the police -- they lie about everything."
- The "Cherry Picking" game made me glad I'm old as dirt, and didn't have to deal with anything like that in high school, and made me terrified for my young nieces and nephew. I may have to swear off shows like this until they're 40.
- Allie's description of what happened to her was horrifying: Darren made her think he really liked her, and up to the point where he handcuffed her in the car, she thought "Wow, this is what it's like to be in love!" Oof. That makes what came after that much worse. Plus, when Allie threatened to call the cops, Darren dialed the sheriff's department himself, and Allie heard the deputy on the other end of the line dismiss everything. And then he said this: "Take a good look in the mirror - who's ever going to believe I'd have to rape someone like you?" That's why it was so good to see Allie in Brenda's office at the end, coming in to help put Darren away for a long, long time.
- Pope, at the end of the case: "This whole murder investigation was a strategy to get a sexual assault conviction?" Taylor: "I wouldn't know sir -- she doesn't confide in me." Hee!
- Daddy Yates, at the end of the first meeting with Brenda, spit out "You're every bit the bitch I heard you were." If by "bitch" you mean "person of the female persuasion who is going to nail your ass to a tree for ignoring or covering up your son's multiple rapes, and will look you in the eye and smile sweetly while doing it," then yes, she is.
- Daddy Yates drips contempt when Brenda talks to him and his son the last time -- of course he was read his rights, you idiotic bint, and we don't need a lawyer! His fury when he realizes that Brenda has engineered a way to get some lawyer-free, daddy-free time with Darren is a joy to behold. He demands that either an attorney or himself be present when Brenda questions him. Ah, but Darren is 18, and he hasn't requested a lawyer since you brusquely turned on down. Plus, "the constitution give you a right to an attorney, not a father." Then she breezes into the interrogation room and chirps "Sorry about that, I had to arrest your father." Nice!
TV Trivia: The girl who was Michelle plays Teri Hatcher's daughter on Desperate Housewives and Jon Tenney (Fritz) is Teri Hatcher's ex-husband. Sort of a 2 degrees of Teri Hatcher.
At the end of the show, I called out, "I love Brenda Leigh!" Have to feel sorry for my neighbors.
That comment by Taylor to Pope was delicious. It was also good to see that, in spite of everything, Taylor really does respect Brenda and her abilities.
The other rape victim (Allie) was heart-breaking. I, too, was pleased to see her show up in Brenda's office.
Wasn't Daniel Baldwin convincing as a total PIG??
As with most cop shows, I often wonder just how much of this kind of stuff goes on in real life. I understand that most cases get settled in some manner (usually via plea bargain, which is what Brenda prefers, I think, because it saves her department from having to testify at endless court hearings), but I don't know how much chicanery a la Brenda Johnson would be permitted in the LAPD. True, she does get results most of the time, but there are certain episodes where she skirts the line so much that it might as well not exist. As for the sherrif commander, I didn't like his character for the simple fact that he was a stereotype, and one that I'm pretty damned tired of seeing. To me, a more effective episode would have involved a hard-working, well-respected law enforcement officer who is just trying to protect his son as best he can, rather than an obnoxious throwback to the 13th century who snorts fire and calls women in authority *****es (which, in California, would have likely gotten him suspended...they don't put up with crap like that too often; maybe in Backwater, Illinois, but not in Los Angeles, not anymore). Better yet would have been if the son was just pure evil, with his father trying to understand how a kid from a good family who was raised right could turn out so wrong. Either way, I would have appreciated this episode a lot more if the writers had made the father more well-rounded, rather than Andrew Dice Clay with a badge.
Considering this episode was not supposed to air this week (next week's episode was), I wonder if there was a reason for the switch?
This case actually happened here in los angeles. A high ranking sheriff's official in OC had a son who kept getting in trouble and getting away with it. Until he and his friends gang raped a young gal after drugging her. They eventually did serve time and the father stepped down.
DD--whether or not the father was a blowhard stereotype, the point of the story was the boy was using his father's connections to get away with ***aulting young girls. True--Daniel Baldwin came across hot and heavy-handed but was that the writing or was that the actor? I think it was the actor.
Listening to Allie's account of what happened was horrifying and I loved that even though she couldn't help Brenda at first, she did have enough gumption to point out the sweatshirt was the boy's. She couldn't do what Brenda wanted, but she could give her this one clue. I was glad to see her in Brenda's office in the end too, though I could predicted that.
Great show! Great recap! Thanks!
I think *all* of the Baldwin brothers are all too convincing as total pigs, and I'm not speaking of their obvious acting abilities, lol! (And I am, also, of Irish descent.)
Good episode. The actress who played the other teen victim, wow. It felt so real, I had chills.
Is it just me, or is this simply the best show on television? Period. Great writing, superb acting, gorgeous production values. This show is sublime.
For its genre, I'd say that if it's not the best of all time, it's in the top three. Best thing about it? Unlike NYPD Blue, which had a penchant for showing ***es (both the body parts, and the people) to boost the ratings, The Closer needs none of that: just great, great writing, acting and all-around production values. Sure, they play fast and loose with procedure from time-to-time, but by-the-book is boring. So no, Nate, it isn't just you. :P
Please. Will somebody FINALLY give Kyra Sedgwick an Emmy? Unless they are giving Emmys to actresses who have had multiple cosmetic surgery procedures. In that case, Sally Field truly deserved last year's Emmy.
I don't think Brenda and Commander Taylor will ever be BFFs forever, but, boy, they were sure on the save wave length in this episode.