What I’m Watching: The Closer (Season Finale)

The Closer: Season 6, Episode 10 “Executive Order” (B+)

I’m very pleased that this show has been able to tackle large-scale, gravely serious cases without making them sensational like lead-out series “Rizzoli & Isles.” This episode was particularly exciting because we got an early omniscient perspective, seeing who the killer was before we realized that he was actually a bad guy. We still didn’t know exactly what he was planning, which helped give this episode exactly the right level of suspense. Matthew Glave, who I mistook for Dominic West during the opening scene, did a great job of playing the layered villain. The pairing of Brenda with her newly introduced rival Tommy Delk was fun, and Courtney B. Vance is a perfect fit for the role after his management experience on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Flash Forward.” He brings a proper humorlessness that’s much more tempered than Pope’s outbursts at Brenda’s blatant disregard for respecting politics and procedure. I particularly liked the scene where they both seemed to be on the same page and then Tommy told the FBI to take control before filling Brenda in on his plan. It was very interesting to see Brenda react to the news that Welk got the job, and her gracious passing out of chocolate to all of her team, including the potentially unemployed Pope, was both touching and funny. Maybe Welk will stick around as a series regular next season, and hopefully his presence can help this show, not yet in need of a reinvention, preemptively launch itself in a new direction.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Kyra Sedgwick