Translate

Friday 3 August 2012

The Closer 7.8 "Death Warrant" Review

Brenda (Kyra Sedgwick) and Gabriel (Corey Reynolds) meet with an inmate in prison and Brenda is leered at.  Gabriel hates being here.  Brenda adds, "without a gun too."  They meet with Ray Diamond (Jon Sklaroff) who is a pro per, i.e. he represents himself and he wants to give them info on a hit in exchange for a deal.   Problem being he lied about a previous hit.  The murder hasn't happened yet.  He gives them a case number he's memorized.  It concerns Robert Curtis, (Andrew Polk) the banker for the Garcia cartel.  DDA Hobbs (Kath E Mazur) is the prosecutor.  Pope (JK Simmons) doesn't want them investigating since the city can't afford to and it's an LA County case.

Sanchez (Raymond Cruz) comments on how high powered prisoners aren't able to have access to calls etc.  Flynn (Tony Denison) says they've been investigating the Cartel for years.  Tao (Michael Paul Chan) adds Curtis is their banker and manages all their money.  Fritz (Jon Tenney) believes they can use Curtis's testimony to track the Garcia's money.  Brenda finds ways to keep on the case by asking Raydor (Mary McDonnell) to investigate the complaint made by Ray of being beaten by the LAPD.  Raydor can interview him.

When Raydor arrives, Ray is found dead.  Stanton (Sean Carrigan) tells her how they all like to kill people inside and Raydor asks how he could have been killed in such a facility.  Coroner's assistant Kendall (Ransford Doherty) says he was stabbed at least 6 times so how could he have told them he wasn't beaten up.  On the surveillance they see Ray was visited by a female and she kissed him.  Raydor wants to watch the video again and see them exchanging a kite.  Her name is Maria (Lea Loren) and Buzz (Phillip P Keene) says she's half Ray's age.  Provenza (GW Bailey) replies, "the heart wants what the heart wants."  Raydor focuses on Ray telling her about the high speed chase he was involved in and so she still has a case.

Gavin (Mark Pellegrino) arrives and shows them his billing hours.  He needs to interview the entire team.  Raydor says he's here cos of the leaked info.  Gavin defended Flynn and Provenza steals his punchline.  Gabriel asks if this has been cleared with their Union reps. Taylor (Robert Gossett) offers to go first.

Hope tells them the hearing is in secret in a police sub-station.  Fritz thinks someone could know about it seeing as the Cartel has sources which the judge doesn't.  Brenda wants to join the security detail and if she's going, then Fritz is too.  Brenda adds last time a murder wasn't prevented, they were sued.

Taylor has nothing to add to the deposition and Gavin asks what the detectives said when they returned.  Gabriel said it was a lousy day which he explains ended with them letting off a murderer.  Gabriel's name keeps cropping up a lot and clearly he wasn't happy with leaving Turrell alone out there, even though he was  a murderer.  Also he's the first one to ask about Union reps and everyone is asked about him.  As if the writers are focusing our attention on him being the mole, which is unlikely.  I mean he saved Brenda last episode and he was one of the first people she met when she arrived in season 1.

Curtis likes Brenda but not Fritz.  The Cartel runs a business and Brenda adds they also kill people.  Brenda asks about Maria who is on Garcia's payroll.  Nick (Brian Howe) his lawyer says he shouldn't be questioned without him.  Liked Brenda's bright pink shoes.  Now where was I  Raydor calls to tell her Maria is on Alvera St, the location of he hearing and is driving around.  Brenda doesn't want her to lose her.  Raydor: "why would I lose her?" Hope wants Nick to represent Curtis at the hearing and Fritz goes with them.

Tao has nothing to say either and no one spoke to him.  Though he says he told the lawyer something, which we don't get to hear.  In fact there's plenty we don't get to hear in the questioning, cos it'll probably give something away too soon if we did.  Sanchez has his own questions for Gavin, as does Flynn when he asks what happens if an officer finds small bills, is he obligated to look for the owner?

Curtis is the only one who knows where the Garcia's money is kept.  Maria picks up a passenger. Hope is shot at through the coffeeshop window and Fritz saves her.  How did they know where she was?  It had to have been Nick.  The passenger makes a run for it and Raydor shoots him with a bean bag gun.  Tao found money and photos of the location of the hearing in Maria's car.  The team have a new found respect for Raydor after her shooting demo and so do we.

Why go after Hope when she could be replaced with someone else?  Brenda tells Curtis he wasn't the target and Nick told Curtis the address of the hearing.  He denies it since all the cartel are in lock-up, they knew the location since Nick was there as his counsel.  If they killed Curtis they wouldn't get their money.  Nick was trying to get Curtis into jail and Curtis signed off on the money.  Nick told him what to do with the money  so he's part of the criminal enterprise.  Which means Nick isn't protected by privilege.  Fritz arrests Curtis as Curtis confessed he gave money to Maria.

They need to get Nick and Brenda tells of how she put a man on the street.  He already knows of Turrell and claims she isn't different from him.  Nick wants a deal.  Brenda says he paid Maria and she can arrest him on 14 counts of murder.  She's not bothered about the money but only about the people who were almost killed, including Fritz.  She can send him to lockdown.  Where Brenda adds, "when you see Turrell in hell, you ask him what I wouldn't dare to do."  Hope says she can put Nick in protective custody.

Buzz says Brenda did speak to him and asked him for Ding Dongs.  Provenza is asked if he discussed the case with anyone outside Major Crimes and he doesn't answer.  He instead says the questions imply one of them is cooperating with Turrell's attorney and he finds it insulting.  As does Brenda.  Taylor concludes there's a leak in the Division.  Gavin posits everyone here all talk to each other about everything, so if everyone talks about it, everyone knows.  SO they should tell Goldman if the case gets to court Gavin will win.  So now everyone knows about the leak.

Hope offers to put Nick in protective custody and yet he was the one who wanted her dead and he knew where she was.  Though Maria probably could have followed her when she left the hearing.  Was this meant to be in stark contrast to Brenda and not keeping Turrell in protective custody when she knew what would happen to him.  Brenda does threaten Nick and mentions Turrell and what she did, which the team find intriguing.  Also she doesn't really care what she says or does at this point since she almost lost Fritz and he was more worried about Brenda getting hurt.  Ah true love.

Still we are kept hanging concerning the mole.  Isn't the whole point of the mole's purpose defeated now that everyone knows and Gavin declares he will win regardless of anything Goldman can do.  Yet we are still kept hanging as to the leak's identity.  Catchy title as Brenda signed off on Turrell's death warrant when she released him and here she's willing to do the same thing to Nick.  Again without hesitation, so much for mentioning being sued for not preventing a murder this episode and in a few earlier ones too.

No comments: