Air Date: Monday, September 5, 2011, 9/8c on TNT
Chief Pope getting his screen time during the search for Bob Michaels
I must admit, I’m a bit confused by the murder of the week in “Star Turn.” Missy Michaels’ (Skyler Day) dad goes missing, it takes five days to find him, yet he’s not sunburned after being out in the desert all that time. You know that means something fishy is going on, and murder must be afoot. The resulting autopsy rules out foul play, but even if Bob Michaels committed suicide, wouldn’t there have been some other damage or marks on his body? Oh, right… the “sunburn” on his face. This is a tricky one. At least we find out during the autopsy how a man who’s allegedly been wandering the desert for five days ends up with sunburn on his face: pepper spray. The pepper spray incident should not be considered funny, but man did it give me quite the laugh. To see the members of the team squinting and running away from the body is hilarious. Way to turn a somber moment into one of hilarity.
Settlements are never as simple as they seem and tend to point to a person’s guilt. The one offered to Brenda (Kyra Sedgwick) is no different. I don’t like this Peter Goldman (Curtis Armstrong) character at all. He seems to be hiding something and thinks he can pull the wool over everyone’s eyes. He speaks directly to Brenda as if he knows she’s guilty of everything his client is suing the department for. He is a sly fox and I’m glad Brenda has plenty of people in her corner. Think about it: if the lawsuit proceeds as planned, Brenda has the most to lose. Not only will she have to deal with costing the city millions of dollars, she’ll forever be plagued with the guilt of causing someone’s murder.
Bruno Perez (Rick Gonzalez) is one of the most ridiculous, yet hilarious characters. He’s by far the slimiest (and obnoxious) manager I think I’ve seen on prime time television. Gonzalez does a great job portraying Bruno as cool and calm, all the while using his “professional” voice to cover any anxiety he may be experiencing sitting face to face with Brenda. Hey, I wouldn’t blame him for being nervous or twitchy—she can be brutal. But his answers seem well rehearsed, and not only that, he knows how to work people. I guess that comes from being in the music business. I’ve heard it’s tough to break into and you have to be a confident person to shake off the rejection that may come your way.
Brenda trying to figure out how Bob Michaels wound up dead
Funny, but the key to solving this murder revolves around pepper spray. The same pepper spray the team was exposed to at the beginning of “Star Turn.” It makes me wonder if Missy could kill her parent because of the need to be free, the need to no longer have to deal with what he wanted compared to what she needs. I’m happy to say that isn’t the case here, yet it turns out to be worse. I’ll never understand the price of fame some people are willing to pay. Being on television isn’t worth selling your soul.
Observations:
“There’s something here we’re missing. I don’t trust Goldman, and when it comes to this agreement, I don’t trust you either.” I agree with Capt. Raydor (Mary McDonnell) but I don’t know if she’s right about Chief Pope (J.K. Simmons). He’s always had Brenda’s best interests at heart and I don’t think that has changed now.
I love Brenda’s methods for getting confessions out of guilty parties. She uses their insecurities against them to make them crack, or foolishly spill their guts. She’s like a magician when it comes to retrieving the truth. You have to admire a woman who knows her job so well she can make people confess without realizing what they are doing.
Gavin Q. Baker, III (Mark Pellegrino) makes yet another appearance and makes my day. If this civil suit ever goes to trial, I look forward to seeing him in action. He’s such a smooth talker I’m sure he’ll have the jury second guessing why they’re even in court to begin with.
I can’t believe the summer is over and yet another finale is coming our way. I’m sure it will be fantastic, as only The Closer can be.
Tune in to the summer finale of The Closer, Monday, September 12th at 9/8c on TNT. For more on the show, visit http://www.tnt.tv/series/closer/.
All pictures ©Karen Neal/TNT Entertainment.
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