'The Closer': Homicide report
After a couple of meh episodes, The Closer pulls out all the stops with a character-driven hour that lets some of the supporting players really shine. The squad takes on a case that hits close to home -- and if you didn't get at least a little choked up watching this, you have no soul.
This spoiler needs a hug.
It's an idyllic day off for the Priority Homicide squad... until Sanchez hears shots near his house. He sprints into the street and finds his brother Oscar bleeding, shot four times. Then it's all a blur -- Sanchez tries to stop the bleeding, tries to preserve the scene, tries to interview Elena, the girl who was with Oscar when he was shot, tries to get the ambulance to actually come pick Oscar up. (He has to show his badge to get the paramedics to leave the truck). They get him to the hospital, but Oscar dies.
The entire squad is there waiting for Sanchez. He's insistantly efficient and wants to help with the case, but Brenda tells him to take time off. That doesn't sink in -- he's waiting for Brenda when she interviews Elena, then complains that Elena isn't telling the truth. Brenda sends him home more forcefully this time. Then the squad goes to work checking every gang member who may or may not have a beef with Sanchez. No resource will be spared.
That's apparently not enough for Sanchez -- a bruised and freaked-out witness comes in "of my own violation" to give Brenda info about Elena. Where'd you get the shiner? Brenda asks. I fell, he replies. No one is buying it. The witness directs Brenda to Elena's ex, a former gangbanger called Puppet. When the squad arrives, they find Sanchez having a friendly discussion with him -- one that involves overturned furniture and meaty smacks. Brenda reads Sanchez the riot act -- that's police misconduct! You don't mind when I do it for you, Sanchez snaps. Out, before you scuttle any chance we might have of prosecuting the killer! She takes Sanchez's phone, and discovers Tao had been leaking him information about the investigation.
Fritz finds an undercover ATF agent who was just offered a gun -- one that matches the weapon that killed Oscar. Brenda pulls in Juan, the seller, who refuses to admit anything. His worried mother and young brother Tony wait outside for the interrogation to end. Brenda brings in Elena to identify Juan, but she says he's not the shooter. When she leaves the room, she freaks -- you told me the killer couldn't see me, but he's sitting right there! She's talking about Tony. Sanchez grabs him before he can escape, and Brenda gets the story -- Tony was just driving around with his brother, looking for East 18 gang members to rough up. They couldn't find anyone, but they ran across Oscar and Elena. Tony decided Oscar might be an East 18er -- yeah, there were no obvious signs, and he was in the wrong colors, but he was wearing a hat, and sometimes East 18 members write 18 under the bill of their hat. When Oscar laughed off the demand that he show him the hat, Tony killed him. For as little as that, a man is dead.
Highlights, thoughts and odds and ends
- Oof. This is the caliber of episode I expect from The Closer. It was brutal and heartbreaking, and I cried twice, but damn, it was good.
- Raymond Cruz did an incredible job. His forced, near manic demeanor in the hospital broke my heart and freaked me out in equal measure. The rest of the squad wanted to help him, but he refused to mourn -- not when there was still work to do. It wasn't until the case was over, and he discovered how pointless the murder was, that he let himself go -- and that broke my heart again.
- Bravo to Kyra Sedgwick, too, for the emotion she let show during the final interrogation. Her eyes just start shining with tears, and you know she's trying to keep it together listening to this 14-year-old kid tell her he killed someone and destroyed lives because he didn't get a hat. Sure, people had been telling her folks got killed in that neighborhood for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she didn't want to believe it. Not when she saw how it tore Sanchez apart.
- It was so strange to hear Brenda call Sanchez by his first name -- and I still can't wrap my head around calling him Julio. He's so identified with the title, with the badge, that I have a hard time thinking of him in any civilian context. Fritz and Brenda, Provenza and Flynn, Gabriel and Daniels, even Tao, they all have outside lives or non-cop personality traits. Sanchez, for some reason, didn't. It was terrifying and heartbreaking watching him finally crumble, lose that police calm and weep over his brother, blaming himself for buying the cap that got Oscar killed.
- Tao is so sad and pathetic when he tries to explain why he gave Sanchez information about the case. He's my friend! he whimpers. And do you think he's not MY friend as well? asks Brenda. But I know what Tao was feeling -- he just wanted to do something, anything, to help Sanchez, even when what he did was the wrong thing.
- The litany of slights and indignities was horrifying -- the paramedics afraid to get out of the ambulance, the neighbors who saw nothing, the utter pointlessness of the crime.
- I'm undecided on bit where Ramos comes in to grill Brenda on why Oscar's murder is getting so much police attention -- it's obvious. He's the brother of an officer, and it's easy to assume that his death was related to his brother's job. Hell, the squad WANTED it to be related to Sanchez's job -- at least then there would have been some sort of point, no matter how nasty. But for him to be killed for not taking off a hat? That's true horror.
- At the same time, Ramos was right -- but so was Brenda, to an extent. "Ordinary" homicides don't get much coverage, and they don't get much police attention. They can't -- there aren't enough column inches or police personnel available to give each deatht he attention it deserves. I just wish the discussion didn't seem shoehorned in.
- I'd be remiss if i didn't mention the LA Time's Homicide Report, which tries to list and write about every single homicide in LA County. It's staggering to read. If you're interested, also check out this article from the creator of the blog. Maybe I'm giving too much credit to my profession, but I can't help but hope something like this helps.
During that incredible, heartbreaking scene at the hospital, where Sanchez tried to act like a host at a party, I was particularly struck by the way he kept calling Provenza "sir." I noticed that he did it again at the end before he broke down in Provenza's arms.
Heartbreaking, just heartbreaking. Sanchez sobbing in Provenza's arms? Killed me DEAD.
This is the high caliber writing/acting/directing that I've come to expect & enjoy from ths show.
this was a great episode. Definately worthy of winning an award. I got choked up at the end. So sad that people can be so unhuman.
I got teary-eyed, again, just reading your recap! This was a great episode, well written and well acted. I, too, was struck by Sanchez calling Provenza "Sir." It gave new colors to the relationships withing the squad.
I just KNEW, when the young brother came in with the mother that he would be the "DOER." His nonchalant retelling of what happened was heartbreaking.
I've never lived in a large city (unless you count Oklahoma City, but really...think they have troubles like LA? I think not.), so I can't fathom somebody getting gunned down for no reason other than he wouldn't show some pathetic little botched abortion his hat. I feel good about that, though...because if I could understand why somebody would do that, I would question my own humanity. Shows like this one rip me apart sometimes, because it makes no sense how our species can so easily destroy everything around us with barely a batted eye. Being confronted with that should happen more often, though, because there are way too many apologists who want to find excuses for even the greatest of evils. The worm that shot Oscar is barely human, but I'm sure that if this were a real-life case, there would be community activists, Dr. Phil types and other big-mouthed morons lining up around the block to jump to the punk's defense. Such is the society we live in now, and people like Tony know it. This is why people kill for no reason: they know there are just enough people out there who will either turn a blind eye, or will make sure that his crimes are somehow vindicatable.
I agree that the "we only investigate/report murders if they happen to rich, white important people" polemic was a little forced. Yeah, we who have even a hint of intelligence know this, so we don't need it slammed over our heads. This was the only flaw in what was otherwise a very good episode. I stopped going to church because the sermons got redundant; I don't need more of them on my favorite shows, thanks.
Poor Provenza. For a seen-it-all, sarcastic-as-hell, jaded-beyond-all-reason old fart, even he can get shaken up by something out of his control. Nice crying job by Raymond Cruz, by the way--very, very few male actors can be that convincing at portraying raw grief. Good thing The Middleman comes on after this show, because I needed a good dose of comedy after this harsh episode.
I almost had a hard time watching. I turned it off for a few minutes and then it got the best of me and I turned it back on. I've been so sad lately that I didn't need this, but I was drawn to it. I think Brenda should have come out and given Sanchez a hug, too, at the end. I would have. God, he needed lots of hugs. so sad.
this case echoed the Jamiel Shaw murder in LA a few months back [the Homicide Report's entry for jamiel shaw]. he was a star football with a possible college scholarship in his future whose mom was serving in iraq. similar to the episode last night, jamiel was show when he gave 'the wrong answer' about being in a gang.
Perfection. Bravo to (Cruz) Sanchez for an exceptional performance. The hospital scene where he was trying to hold it together in front of his entire squad, while also being in shock was outstanding.
The show reminds us how horribly awful street/gang violence can be and is. There can be no understanding it, except with the very real phase of "being in the wrong place at the wrong time"
What a great episode! I actually enjoy the comedy stuff, but this was pure drama. Sanchez has never been a very rounded character, but the actor did a great job (did I hear Kevin Bacon directed this one? Guess he knows actors..)
Senseless killings rather than carefully plotted ones are not the norm on The Closer, but this was a very emotional episode. Kudos to all.
Oh, boy. So very very very fine.
Bravo to all--including the director (who sleeps with the show's star. lol) Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick work really well together.