Thursday, December 1, 2011

What I’m Watching: The Closer (Mid-Season Premiere)


The Closer: Season 7, Episode 11 “Necessary Evil” (B+)

It’s always a treat to get this show back for a few weeks during the winter holiday season, and this installment is welcome return to this fantastic ensemble. It’s interesting to see how the focus of the show is being modified to reframe Captain Raydor as a more major character, and of course the suspense is slightly compromised by the fact that it was announced a long time ago that Mary McDonnell would be leading “Major Crimes,” the spin-off set to premiere after this show finishes it run next summer. The tease of another job offer just makes his resolve to stay even stronger, especially as Taylor manages to tell just about anyone he can about her impending career change. Her episode-ending standoff to Peter Goldman emphasized that she’s determined to see this thing through, especially now that he’s revealed his hand partially by mentioning her rumored impending retirement. The case of the principal being murdered and the coach’s unusual regiment system being exposed allowed for the introduction of a new device which I think worked very well, black-and-white flashbacks shown via split screen. I’ve long been a fan of this show’s splintered introductions with the names of the cast members interspersed into the opening scene, and it’s nice to see some style put into the rest of the episode. It’s going to be fun to see Raydor get on everyone’s nerves even more in the next few episodes as we get closer and closer to finding out just who this leak is, and what fate awaits Brenda.

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