What I’m Watching: The Closer

The Closer: Season 5, Episode 7 “Strike Three” (B+)

Hooray for recurring guest stars, especially when they include Mary McDonnell! Her continuing clashes with Brenda, on the heels of her appearance in episode three, are terrific entertainment and the two light up the screen when they’re having a discussion/argument. The ending scene where both stress what’s most important to them was a great finish, purposely not resolving the clash so that hopefully McDonnell’s Captain Raider can return again to wreak more law-abiding havoc for Brenda. I love it when Chief Pope takes sides and actually defends Brenda’s abrasive behavior, and in this case he went further in insisting that Brenda hand-deliver all the evidence back to the Major Crimes Unit herself. The episode’s skinhead-centric crime plotline was fine, but things were a bit crowded. I was a bit surprised when Lieutenant Provenza assured Brenda that soon enough, it would be back to just the six of them. With Lieutenant Daniels off the squad, and Chief Pope, Commander Taylor, and Fritz not counting as part of the team, I suppose it is only six: Brenda, Provenza, Flynn, Gabriel, Sanchez, and Tau. It just never seemed that small to me, because I remember when the ensemble was first nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award back in 2006, and I was dismayed that only seven cast members were recognized, since Sanchez, Tau, and Daniels weren’t credited at that point. In any case, it seems that Provenza forgot about Buzz. I guess he’s not necessarily a member of their team, but he is a credited member of the cast who comes with them to record evidence at every crime scene and assists in some way, even if it’s only a technical one, in solving their cases. Regardless of its numbers, the ensemble continues to do a terrific job working together.