The Closer: 4.8 ‘Split Ends’ Review
Original Air Date: September 1, 2008
Although definitely not the best or most riveting episosde of The Closer so far this season, “Split Ends” does have its moments. Many of them, in fact, are comedic, which is a nice counterpoint to the very grave and extremely depressing topics the show has tackled in recent weeks.
The main murder of the installment involves a 33-year-old Hollywood hairstylist named Rachel Hughes, whose viciously beaten and bloody body is found underneath a trailer on the lot of her popular TV show Trauma Unit. It’s easy enough to determine where Hughes works since the crime takes place practically on the set, but not so much when it comes to where she actually lives when she goes home.
A little basic detective work reveals Hughes has made several trips to the hospital, thanks to her physically abusive husband, a struggling actor with severe problems controlling his anger. After the last treatment session six months ago, she filed for divorce and a restraining order, in addition to moving out of the house that she, as the breadwinner, owned.
So, then why did she have an appointment with her husband the night of her murder to cut his hair? Is he lying about that little detail and totally faking his shock when Brenda informs him Rachel is dead?
No, it turns out. Yet more investigating leads Team Brenda to the hospital, where an employee confirms that not only did Hughes visit a recommended battered women’s shelter, which advised her to hide her new address, but she also took in another abused woman out of a desire to help others. When Brenda notices Hughes’ almost ex-husband highlighting his lines in a script for an upcoming role while he’s in the interview room, she remembers seeing a similarly marked script in the dead woman’s apartment.
Solving the case is as easy — and uninspiring — as pie from there. The highlighted lines point to recent Trauma Unit guest star Callie Rivers, who just happens to be held hostage by her abusive boyfriend Mark when Team Brenda shows up to question her.
Proof of the crime in progress is the still bloody head wound that matches the blood and blonde hair on a lamp in Hughes’ apartment, as well as the bruise on her collarbone the terrified woman quickly shows Brenda as she stands at her front door and tries not to openly give away that Mark is right behind her inside the house. The team members, all on the scene, go through the back and front doors simultaneously to save the day and the actress.
Highlights from the episode, which the central crime definitely isn’t, include the arrival of Brenda’s overbearing yet loving parents, who take a detour to California in their RV during a road trip to Alaska. Fritz lies to Brenda about a fake bomb threat at the airport just to get out of spending the day alone with them.
So, how satisfying it must be for him when a nervous Brenda finally stands up to her father at the end and tells him to stop meddling in their wedding plans. But Fritz is determined to be married by next January or February, which means after the show returns from hiatus (only two more new episodes left before the hiatus begins).
Another interesting subplot was the revelation that Los Angeles Times reporter Ricardo Ramos is still making waves about how Priority Homicide decides which cases merit attention. His insinuation, of course, is that “special” people get the special treatment, such as rich, white, and/or famous people. I can’t wait to see if this recurring and tense storyline leads to an eventual blowout for Brenda, who stubbornly remains focused on just doing her job uninhibited, and/or her team.
As I said earlier, “Split Ends” is enjoyable enough, but it rates fairly low on the memorable, exciting, and intriguing scales, making it seem like The Closer, Lite or what happens when the writers get tired of churning out all of the intense stuff. I hope next week’s installment is better.
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