Sanchez (Raymond Cruz) found tracks where two men disturbed the killer. He chased one of them and he got close to the killer, who then called 911. Grand tells them he was at a restaurant when his phone was stolen and that the coat, glasses and pen doesn't belong to him. Gabriel (Corey Reynolds) finds it strange that he knows the boy's age but not his name. Provenza adds he's surprised he left the teen behind. His name is Rusty (Graham Patrick Martin).
Flynn (Tony Denison) finds Karen bought perfume and they have a video from the store. A man approaches her with his back to the camera and doesn't show his face. He gives Karen his card and Brenda recognizes him as Phillip Stroh (Billy Burke). She recognized his walk from behind. He never went near the CS in his own car and she stayed away from him for 7 weeks.
DDA Hobbs (Kathe E Mazur) is only here to observe and Raydor (Mary McDonnell) agrees to sign off on Brenda's investigation. Fritz (Jon Tenney) tells them how Anna, another Vic, was also approached by a man whilst shopping. Flynn says they should get a search warrant as the MO of the women fits Stroh. He also adds no one would tell Stroh about the warrant since Gabriel isn't around. Brenda doesn't want to listen to that. Taylor (Robert Gossett) tells them Gabriel isn't a suspect today and Sanchez declares he didn't say anything about Gabriel. Flynn can't wait to also posit that if he did what Gabriel did he'd leave.
Rusty's last name is Beck and he's only 16. Taylor says they won't be able to get a warrant on Stroh cos of what he can tell them. He will help if Brenda finds his mother. Gabriel tells him the killer saw his face. Brenda wants Tao to take a photo of Rusty as if he's out in the night and she will give it to the press. Fritz will go to Washington to see if he can expedite the case. Brenda tells him Rusty said two things which made her think about her own life. Her mother isn't coming back. That's Brenda. Also she makes her living listening to bad men. Brenda thinks she won't get to arrest Stroh anyway. She was right about that.
Tao et al conduct surveillance on Rusty and Taylor comes to look at their licence recognition system. Gabriel has to sit in the van with Tao and Buzz (Philip P Keene). There are 7 hits on the same car, belonging to Stroh, who is arrested as he approaches Rusty. Brenda tells him they have a witness and DNA from his cap but they'll need a sample to confirm it. Brenda will discover his mistakes overtime with the "entire justice system at my back." Which he doesn't think much of. Stroh tells her the killer considers trouble foreplay. He's sorry about her mother. Brenda beats him up in the lift and knows she's suspended pending an investigation. She has his blood on her hands for DNA but they can't use it. She did that cos she knew she was leaving and wouldn't be back so she had nothing to lose but to get this killer off the streets, being the last thing she does at Major Crimes. The one that eluded her thus far.
She tells Morales (Jonathan Del Arco) she's not here officially but he needs to put the hair follicles from under her nails and the DNA onto the cap so they can get Stroh back in for an interview. Hobbs tells him they can't use the evidence in court. Hobbes also makes Brenda a job offer, her chief would like to make Brenda the new Chief for the Bureau of Investigation. She'd only be in an administrative position but Brenda wants to bring along her own own team member.
Brenda feeds Rusty and he wants to prove to his mother that he can change. Then accuses Brenda of only caring about dead people. Brenda notices the open window and finds Stroh has Rusty hostage. She doesn't have any DNA on Stroh but he doesn't listen. They fight and Brenda manages to shoot him. She stops herself from finishing the job.
SID can clear Brenda for the shooting but Brenda objects to the reprimand for beating Stroh. Taylor wants to restructure Major Crimes and wants Raydor to be a part of that. Gabriel will be transferred as Brenda's LAPD Liasion officer as Brenda states in her letter where she says goodbye and thanks them for letting her carry out her work as Deputy Chief.
Fritz thinks it's better if Brenda leaves whilst taking confessions rather than giving her own. The only gift she wants from them is their friendship, as she names each one of her former team by first name. Tao asks if she has to leave? They give her a new bag as she shot through her old one, filled with her fave treats; Ring Dings. Brenda thinks the bag "looks like love." Cue her final scene in the lift where she eats with a smile on her face.
"Looks like love" where Brenda's first words spoken in the Pilot and her last words spoken in the series finale. At least the show left off on a good note without any animosity or ill feeling shown towards Brenda. She also managed to get a job out of the entire situation only down the street. Though Flynn and Sanchez won't be best buds with Gabriel again, she made sure she took him with her.
Brenda: "I came here to arrange surveillance of the suspect not me. This is what comes of settling lawsuits putting my name on a Special Order. We have to worry more about what the suspect will do to us than what we're gonna do to the suspect. Didn't think of that, did you?" No they didn't.
Brenda moving to the DA's office, they thought they could do better with her there, well she was good at what she does and if the LAPD don't want her. Anyway she was taking a leaf out of what she told Fritz and that it's time she lived for the living and thought of them, instead of the dead.
No goodbyes from any of the senior officers though since well she was closer to her team anyway so it's understandable. What could they have said anyway? Brenda attacking Stroh may have been a little out of character but as I said she was going so she may as well have taken him down with her, especially since she let all of her pent up anger out on him, which turns out to be a good thing, instead of bottling it up and holding onto it. Also Brenda not shooting him in the end, even if she would have gotten away with it reinforces her strong character. After everything she's been though she wasn't going to let him have the last word or be the stain on her conscience. And the way she told him she didn't want to hear what he had to say; again it was about the dead so she didn't want to hear it.
Seven seasons later and The Closer ended as it began with Brenda walking away this time and taking Gabriel with her, the only one she got on with as soon as she arrived. Her right hand man, so to speak.
Liked the way she drove up in the beginning looking at her team's faces one by one, as if she knew she was going to say goodbye to them and then calling their names out at the end, except for Provenza's first name of course. Shame the only thing Pope (JK Simmons) could only do was order her to stay away from the case not wanting another lawsuit on his hands and wanting a smooth transition to his new position.
Brenda having the last word.
No comments:
Post a Comment