We’re back for the second half of The Closer‘s last season, and I’m left a little underwhelmed. I love the way the episode started out – with Captain Raydor taking control of the scene with Brenda nowhere in sight. It was a nice preview of what Major Crimes could perhaps be. However, everything just kind of went downhill from there.
I understand court cases take a long time – especially when the city of Los Angeles is being sued for tens of millions of dollars, but come on. I didn’t think we’d have to watch it in real time. I feel like this case has not only been the focus of attention forever, but that every single episode asks one question: who is the leak?
In the first half of this season, I enjoyed the mystery. I still think the leak is Chief Pope, but it was fun watching all of the characters and guessing their potential motives for wanting to hurt Brenda. However, maybe it’s just the lingering effects of the Thanksgiving food coma that I put myself in, but now that we’re starting the second half of the season, I kind of don’t care anymore.
Raydor told Pope and Taylor that she was retiring, in hopes of sussing out the leak. It didn’t work though, as Major Crimes is full of gossipy bitches, just like every other office in the world. Sure, she told Taylor and Pope, but they both immediately went out and blabbed the news to everyone, so nothing seems to have been really accomplished. Yes, Raydor further cemented her belief that there is a leak, but since there was never really any doubt from the audience’s perspective, it just seems like a waste of time. I can’t even tell if Provenza’s comment about Raydor saying the news in front of Taylor was meant to be a genuine clue, or a fairly obvious red herring.
Even Brenda doesn’t seem to have her heart in it anymore. Yes, she got a little feisty with Raydor at the end, but for most of the episode, she just seemed to go through the motions, carefully submitting to Raydor’s requests in hopes that everything will be over soon. She’s still approaching her job in the same brilliant, reckless way in which she always has, but the spark seems somehow gone. Unless they tell us who the leak is soon and move on with the story, I’m afraid the spark is going to go out of the show as well.
Clacked by Kona Gallagher 
on Nov 28, 2011 @ 22:02 EST5EDT
Raydor obviously thinks either Taylor or Pope are the leak, and I can see it being either of them. I would be disappointing if it was Taylor as that is just too easy.
I don’t mind that it is taking a long time but I do not want it stretched and then just dumped on us in the last episode.
I hate how they have ruined the Brenda character with this storyline. They spent all last season on the selection of the next chief ending it with Brenda being bypassed in favor of Delk which set up perfectly a storyline for this season of Brenda having to deal with a new boss. So what do they do then? Dump that whole storyline of course and replace it with this stupid, dreary lawsuit story. Yes, Brenda breaks rules and uses unconventional tactics to get her cases solved. And yes, the things she does would not be allowed in real life. But so what? I watch the news for real life. I watch TV for the fantasy of the bad guys getting taken down.
As for this episode, the last scenes made no sense. Brenda treated the coach like a suspect because he WAS the most obvious suspect. And it turns out he was harboring the real killer who was obviously a much more troubled teen than this coach was able to handle and help. But then they have her APOLOGIZE to the coach for suspecting him? What?? Really??? Then, to make it even worse, they have the coach arrogantly LECTURE Brenda about the poor, poor teens who will not get help from him now because of her while Brenda stands there and takes it. A MURDER was committed because of the actions this coach took so why in the world does he get to talk down to Brenda? Surely there were many ways this coach could have helped these kids other than just bringing them into his home. Getting them some tutoring to bring their grades up instead of installing a home workout room would have been a good start.
Then, to top it all off, at the end they have the lawsuit lawyer talking to the coach apparently to get him to join in on the lawsuit against Brenda. WHAT??? On what grounds would he be able join the suit? Rader was there every step of the way making sure every procedure was followed but I guess the writers forgot about that or, more likely, they just saw another opportunity to further neuter Brenda.
I have watched every episode of this series but I’m not sure I can watch anymore because I just can’t stand seeing them continue to tear Brenda down.
@ The Real Me – Couldn’t have said it better myself!!
I wish they ended the stupid suit when they did before the break and brought back the one that got away (lawyer rapist) for some interesting Brenda character studies instead of this dumb never-ending thing.
I can’t pinpoint if it was something that was said or gesture but at some point in tonights episode said ”could it be POPE/what if its POPE?” I GOOGLED AND LOW AND BEHOLD I’m not the only one. If tptb do go that route it could be the most compelling closer episode EVER and brilliantly beffitting a series finale; it would not be a stretch for POPE to be a lowdown snake in the grass.Can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.
It is Pope. I thought it was too obvious at first, but if you watch him interact with Goldman, you can see it. How else would he know to ask for the names of the killers on a piece of paper on his person? He was way, way to pissed off at Goldman to make any sense. He is angry because his plan has gone awry. Either that, or he has to act angry at Goldman to make it look good in front of everyone else. No matter what, Julio knows and so does Provenza, thus their eye contact in the electronics room.
It is totally Pope! He wants to stay chief and sees Brenda as a liability and his competition. His whole life is based on being chief and he hates that Brenda only applied because of Radar and her being female. If they write the episode correctly, we should see the hated lawyer of the actor and who represented Brenda during Pope’s custody hearing! So much to write in so little time. (The writers need to make it worthy of the final season!)
I like this on-going mystery to solve. After all these years of watching Brenda solve crimes, it’s finally up to us to solve how it’s coming to a close. We’ve become the closers. At first I was sure it was Pope because she turned from being his star closer to a threat/for his job. Taylor seems too obvious. Now Gabriel would be the big heartbreak that believably would cause her to leave her job. It also fits his character. He’s gone over her head before. And because the writers have made the characters three-dimensional — with Sanchez going wingy when something happens to Hispanics, with Gabriel going wingy when injustices are done to blacks, and with Brenda particularly nuts when it comes to children and women — well, it would fit that Gabriel would have been very sensitive to a young black gang member left by them to be killed. And it would fit that Sanchez would be the one in the car to agree with her to let it happen. I think these writers have fully developed characters and I don’t think they’ll throw us something out of the blue but will do justice to their years of brilliant work.
Is there a leak?
Who is the leak?
It is irrelevant. The show is finished.
Well I would think its provenza because he might be retiring