Rizzoli & Isles - 7.01 / 7.02 - Two Shots: Move Forward / Dangerous Curves Ahead - Advanced Review

Rizzoli & Isles premieres Monday, June 6 on TNT at 9/8 C.

This is the final season.

Summer time is here and that means new Rizzoli & Isles. Woo hoo! The double episode premiere picks up where season 6 left off. Korsak and Kiki's wedding is beautiful right until the reception ends in a hail of bullets. Jane sees the shooter in the distance and she runs after him/her but can't get a good look. The shooter escapes, leaving behind no physical evidence to prove it was Alice Sands or tied to her. Meanwhile, back at The Dirty Robber, one person is shot and Maura suffers a concussion. Maura insists on going back to work over Jane's objections, so Kent keeps an eye on her. Jane, however, gets reckless in her frustration over the lack of leads to Alice's whereabouts. She talks to the press, deliberately taunting Alice to make another move. Let's just say it doesn't go over well with either Korsak or the Chief of Police. The rest of episode 7.01 and most of 7.02 are focused on trying to bring Alice Sands to justice and especially on finding any physical evidence that can tie her to the crimes. After all, finding her does no good if they can't prove her guilt.

The second episode also has Frankie leading the investigation into a fatal car crash. While the focus remains on Sands, the stand-alone case has enough twists and turns to make it interesting as well. In particular, the case makes Frankie grow as a cop and a person. When things lead to a surprising conclusion, Frankie has to decide exactly what spin to put on the case and how to handle the victims in the most humane way possible.

Highlights:

1. Alice Sands - Alice has the two main qualities needed to make an excellent villain. She's smart and she has a personal connection to one of the leads. Granted, Jane doesn't even remember her but Alice more than makes up for that in her targeted hatred of Jane. Because she's so smart, she really makes the BPD work for every step closer they get. Just when they think they've made progress, something else happens to change the game again. Plus she's got the manipulative charisma of a cult leader with people going against their best instincts to follow her commands. It doesn't hurt that she's played by Annabeth Gish either.

2. Angie Harmon - This doubleheader gives Angie Harmon several intense scenes and she does a fantastic job with all of them. The confession scene is chilling. The argument with Korsak is fantastic with both actors giving it their all. However her best scene comes towards the end of the second episode. From the tremor in her hands to the pleading in her voice, Angie Harmon encapsulates all the emotions Jane is feeling and it is mesmerizing to watch.

3. Romance - While this is NOT a highlight for me, my guess is that it will be for some others. In the span of 2 episodes, 2 relationships end while 2 more get started - one in fact and the other in strong hints.

4. Long-Range Consequences - Depending on how they play up the end, there is a potential for season long consequences for both Jane and Maura. I don't expect these particular consequences for Jane to last long, but they could..especially if Alice is more manipulative than I thought. It's a pretty good bet though that the consequences for Maura will stick around for at least part of the season. If they do, she'll have to depend more on other people and that in itself could make her vulnerable.


Grade: B+ / B

Most Interesting Quotes:

"A home is a refuge, a place where you're supposed to get away from your problems." "Until some psycho burns it down."
"Are all patients this ornery?" "The food makes them angry."
"Careful." "Careful's my middle name." "I know your middle name. I wish it was Careful."
"If you don't take it easy, I'm going to have you arrested." "On what charges?" "Failure to listen to me. Clinical stubborn…I don't know. I'll think of something."
"It's a torture device. You want me to show you how it works?"
"Okay, do you always stare at her like that 'cause that's just creepy?" "I can stare at you instead if you'd like."
"So he's too boring to be involved."
"So stubborn! You're the best cop I know but sometimes you do the stupidest things." "Well, we all have our gifts."
"The chief of police seems to think that I'm not camera friendly…or just friendly. I don't know." "You are plenty friendly." "Thank you." "Most of the time." "Okay."
"This stool taken?" "Why? You want to throw it at me?"

Episode Awards:

Best Reason to Watch - Angie Harmon
Best Scene - the scene towards the end with Jane
Best Brother-Sister Moment - Jane hits Frankie before he can say anything / Frankie calls Jane out on what she'll do if they find Sands
Best Threat - Kent
Best Choice - Frankie's decision at the end of his case
Best Criminal - Alice Sands, who is smart and manipulative enough to make her a good villain
Best Plan - Jane takes off her shoes before running after the assassin
Worst Plan - Jane deliberately taunts Alice via the news
Worst Way to Start a Relationship - assassin at your wedding
Worst Timing - Frankie
Most Bizarre - seeing Maura eat…..
Most Emotional - the confession scene
Most Expressive - Jane's lifted eyebrow that calls everyone on their lies
Most Awkward - Maura pranking Jane
Biggest What the Heck? - Alice's threat
Biggest Twist - standalone case ending in episode 7.02
Biggest Overreaction - Angela
The "Who Knew?" Award - DNA is resistant to high temperatures
The BFF Award - Jane knows Maura so well that…..
The "Welcome Back" Award - Annabeth Gish from The X-Files and The Bridge

Check out the premiere Monday, June 6 on TNT at 9/8 C.

Screencaps by TNT and SpoilerTV

About the Author - Dahne

One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she recaps, reviews, and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, The 100, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, live tweets a multitude of shows each week, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Currently she writes a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

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