Apologies to all, my mother has been visiting over the Thanksgiving holidays and I suddenly realized I was two episodes behind and in danger of being a third. I’ll review episodes 14 and 15 here and tonight’s ep will be up as soon as possible.
Taking the Fall
The victim, Mr. Palmer, this week was found lying by his car, obviously killed as he was leaving for work. The first question is why is
this a major crime? The answer is pretty simple. The police had been called out two days prior to his death for an altercation that involved the broker and his wife. The department wants to protect itself from a lawsuit. Did this man die because the police didn’t do their due diligence?
Palmer’s wife seems to be in a major state of shock, but Provenza and Sanchez manage to get her to the station for in interview. The earlier fight was put down to a case of road rage. But, given we are all faithful watchers of Major Crimes, we know that won’t be the case. It’s quickly clear that Thomas Palmer has enemies.
In my humble opinion, the initial investigators could indeed have done a better job. It doesn’t take long for the Major Crimes unit to find the guy who beat Palmer up. Unfortunately, his other assault victim, Palmer’s wife, can’t identify him in a line up. However, it turns out this is because she can’t bring herself to send an innocent man to prison for murder. They get Mrs. Palmer to admit that she is an abused wife. Mrs. Palmer confesses to taking advantage of the situation to kill her husband. No jury would convict her….until they hear that she stayed for the close to 2 million dollars wouldn’t have inherited if she’d divorced him.
Rusty is looking at the video he recorded in the previous episode. Andy has offered insights on this project over the past few weeks. I am really liking them together. Andy offers to watch the rest of the interview after he brushes his teeth. Rusty finds Andy unconscious on the floor of the bathroom. He handles the situation like a pro. I thank the show runners for not making us wait to find out that Andy did NOT have a stroke. Andy confesses to have a few bouts of dizziness that he never mentioned to anyone. The fall did leave him needing surgery right away.
Provenza has Andy’s durable power of attorney for health issues, which just seems right. Provenza helping Andy fill out the medical paperwork detailing what should happen if anything goes wrong with the surgery was so disturbing (and hilarious) Rusty suggested Sharon be called in to handle the situation. As unique as these two men’s response to the seriousness of the surgery is, Provenza has Andy’s back. Andy asks him to tell Sharon that he loves her…if he dies. Provenza makes Andy write his confession down.
I can’t remember the show ever doing a Thanksgiving episode before. Provenza is a bit sidetracked by acquiring a free-range ham for Patrice. The gang gets together to deliver a Happy Thanksgiving to Andy. Andy is happy they brought food because he hasn’t been given anything to eat all day. Turns out this is because he’s going into surgery right then. As he is wheeled away it’s evident that Sharon loves him too.
The Jumping Off Point
Andy survived the surgery! He’s healing and anxious to get out of the hospital. Sharon is by his side. She confides to Provenza that she’s a little worried that Andy is depressed. “Louie” has complete faith in Patrice and her ability to get Andy to accept the fact that he’s healthy enough to leave the hospital.
I’m not sure if Andy’s self diagnosis of pre-stroke symptoms is because of his reluctance to move back in with Sharon, or just that this major medical fear isn’t really over. Patrice translates the hospital chart for him. She lays it on the line that he
is getting better and that the hospital won’t release him on his own. Unfortunately, he expresses his gratitude by letting it slip that “Louie” is ready to propose marriage! Whoops. Andy gives Provenza a heads up. (The only reason Andy is still breathing, IMHO.) I like Patrice. She faces things head on. No soap opera shenanigans here. I’m not certain, but I think Provenza and Patrice are engaged.
The case this week revolves around Kyle Gillan, who was thrown off an open parking garage. The case belongs to Major Crimes because they’re covering for a division that’s having their Christmas party. They learn that he’s a performer on an XXX website. He didn’t get paid by his customers with money, they sent expensive gifts that he sold for cash. (From Rusty’s reaction to the reveal of the website, it appears that he may have worked in this arena when he was on the streets.) The website leads them to a young up and coming rap musician named Grey Mitchell. They assume blackmail, but it turns out to be the relationship that led to his death.
Grey leads them to Kyle’s roommate, a man named Jason. They discover that previous renters in the same apartment were also hustlers and also knew a “Jason”. One previous renter, they discover, is serving time in County Lock-up. Sykes interviews this guy and it turned out to be, for me, one of the more powerful scenes in the episode. Once they realize that Jason is a violent rapist, they quickly realize he’s their murderer as well. “Jason” is the stolen identity that the manager of Kyle’s apartment building and several others was using with the boys he was keeping. He confesses to killing Kyle because he wanted to leave “Jason” for Grey.
The summons Rusty received from Slider/Greg last week is because Greg watched the video and liked it. He wants to know if Rusty will be in court. I’m a little worried that Greg seems to be attaching to him. Greg seems desperate for a friend, and he thinks Rusty is that friend. I’m heartened that Rusty is as concerned about this as I am. This story isn’t going where I expected it to go. I’m still not really sure I like it or not.
I enjoyed both episodes. I must confess, however, that I was more interested in the personal stories (Andy’s surgery and recovery) than the murders for both episodes. Did you enjoy these eps as well?
About the Author - Prpleight
Prpleight is a screenwriter and senior software engineer with solid geek cred. When not writing code, screenplays, or watching TV (sometimes she does all three at the same time), she uses her broadsword Bessie to battle evil. She's been a frequent contributor to the SpoilerTV discussion boards for several years now.
