Congrats to NY on 150 episodes
.
And on with the ep itself. Wish it had been a better one to mark 150.
Not one of this season's stronger outings, for me. Was disappointing, especially with what the show's managed to do with most of S7's eps to date. Dunno if it was cos of some laden holiday goo, a bit overmuch unsubtle Robin Scrooge philosophical introspection, performances by key guests that simply didn't draw me in, or a story with a few too many downtrodden twists and circumstances stacked like cordwood, tapped into place with a few encouraging mallets. More gently wielded than I was expecting for a holiday ep
, but yep, still there.
Graded it a
C+. Having now written this, I think I shoulda gone lower. Mebbe a
C-.
I do like that NY again seems to be addressing the changing seasons. But. I'm not so keen on Christmas eps and the conventional seasonal sentimentality :lol:. I will admit that, as far as Xmas stuff goes, this was reasonably restrained in referencing the holiday itself. The Robin Hood Meets Scrooge aspect was a little grating though. The sexual blackmail is where things were grittier. That Alena and Grossman were each both victims and perps was interesting as an approach to a case, but the schematic was sooooo heavily tilted in presentation that it didn't really feel like it had the chance to speak for itself, and there was really little doubt how one was supposed to read the episode. Shades Of Gray - Wif Directive. (Plz to frickin stop leading the witness, NY).
I am glad to see the show mixing and blurring lines and characters beyond conveniently simple Good and Bad/Solve A Murder A Week. I think it's a good thing for NY to add into the mix of cases. I'd have enjoyed it more in this episode had it been touched less by a certain tone of saccharine softening along the way, and colored more by stronger performances from the guest actors. It ultimately had me rolling my eyes more than investing in the characters or their circumstances. Neither Lisa Brenner as Alena nor Jeff Roop as Grossman had me feeling much of anything, and so the ep got a fairly intellectual viewing, not to mention a background one, as I decided it might be a good idea to make dinner at some point. And it seemed like a good idea shortly into the hour. Not one that had me glued to my chair.
That's not to say there weren't things I didn't like, nor that I was indifferent to the point of not being irked by other aspects :lol:.
Parts of the opening I liked, parts I didn't. There were some comments elsewhere bemoaning that, yet again, the opening of an ep was written to have Mac happening upon some crime in progress :lol:. I think in this ep, they took that, and turned it happily on it's ear. Not to mention, I suspect that Mac would likely be so bored by the prospect of shopping that he'd have gone after a jaywalker
. I think the opening featured Jo as much as it did Mac, and so it didn't have quite the same solo superman feel as him chasing a purse snatcher down a street with nowt but a plastic bag :lol:.
I liked that Jo had clearly all but cajoled and dragged Mac out, and lord knows how she managed that feat, perhaps she promised to take him for heaven onna bun if he behaved
. I liked the play between the two, the evident sense of fun Jo has, that not only will she not be deterred by Mac's more typical disposition, hers will actually triumph :lol:. I think her near disbelieving "
...Now? ...Really??" was actually a bit of playful comment by the show on Mac's tendencies, and simply further proof that ya really can't take him anywhere, though the fun may be in trying, and perhaps that the battle of traits and dispositions hadn't actually been won :lol:. Speaks well to a partnership, I guess.
I thought the casting of the pickpocket dude was really very good, and probably an unexpected gift for the ep. I further liked that he provided some humor in interrogation, and later in the ep also featured as a twist with regards the camera.
I was less enamored with the usual bait & switch approach with the intro, music, so agressively cheerful, just screaming "WELL GOSH GOLLY AND DANG IT BUT WE'RE A QUIRKY EP WE ARE AREN'T WE!!! LOOKIT ALL DA HAPPY FOLK SURRYING ABOUT AN' PERTY SNOWFLAKAGE, YEEEEAH, HOLIDAY EP, DECK ASSORTED CRAP AN' SUNDRY, FA LA OOOOH LOOKIT DA PICKPOCKET AIN'T HE A CHEEKEH SONUVABITCH - DOH. OO. HEY. UM. DUDE IS DEAD INNT HE. DEAD AS A NORWEGIAN BLUE STOCKING STUFFER. DIDN'T SEE DAT COMIN' DIDJA. YA DID? OH. Um. Well. How about dat. Erm. DID WE GET THE GRUESOME CLOSE UP MAKING IT ALL IRONIC? YES? Oh. SNAPPY EXIT LINE? Right. Um. GUESS WE SHOULD LIKE ROLL THE THEME AN' OPENING CREDITS AN' SUCH NOW EH?? Yah. Um. ...'K."
(ARE YOU SURE THEY, YA KNOW, GOT IT? COS WE GOT MALLETS, YA KNOW...).
Of course it worked. It was fun. But. The opening few exuberantly sweet moments of the intro, so set up to be subverted, were simply oversaturated holiday hoo ha nails being dragged down the blackboard of my spine after a very long week
I even noted the early snow angel with a certain dour antacid distaste :lol: and was somewhat surprised to have her actually matter in the episode as a key character :lol:. Well done NY, ya got me on that one. If Jo's gonna pull a pertinent yet still abstract recollection outta her butt of passing some apparently happy woman on the street, it would make sense it's someone who stands out. For reasons good or bad. NY also got me with the casting of Patrick Fabian; I was expecting him to have more to do, or to have him brought back as a twist later.
Not a whole lot to say on this one. Didn't really get absorbed into the ep.
I was amused to see that Jo & Danny had some CSI Tech back up as they were tracking thru the store :lol:. Also to see Sheldon essentially reduced to an ME on call, taking liver temp, etc., but eh, it's a way to fit him into a scene. He's not getting much air this season. Perhaps he'll get a bit more to do in the second half. Nice purple sweater though
.
It was nice to see Sheldon, Adam, & Sid. Ever. So. Briefly. Come back soon... Nice to see Danny get scenes that didn't have him by default attached to Lindsay, even if one of the show's forays into using him for humor, the counter scene with Jo, of course somehow had to include reference to his "girls." The moment
was very refreshingly and comfortably Messer though, and something we haven't seen much from him of late, so I'll definitely take it :lol:.
Both Danny and Lindsay did get their own forensic music vids this ep. Separate ones, even. Wahoo.
Was nice to see Danny and Flack have some fun moments. Not quite so smoothly integrated, but still more than welcome. Flack and 2.5 million :lol:. Was nice to see Flack pretty consistently thru the whole ep too. I also thought Jo had a good episode throughout, and while she was a consistent figure, it wasn't overly focused on her.
I hafta disagree with whomever suggested that NY might somehow be rationalizing or excusing "bad behavior." I do think NY is trying to write some scenarios and characters who are not so simplified or polarized, and, where the team is concerned, that there may be some inner conflict in dealing with personal/impersonal, people/system, feeling/obligation, and that there is a cost. Dunno if that's an overt theme for S7, but it's been recurrent so far.
What I also liked in this ep was Mac and Flack discussing the new DA, self defense, the fact that they had to let Alena go after 24hrs, and of course Flack's "...did you tell him he's a dumbass?" There have been a few eps with small moments like this, stepping back from the details and trace to discuss the case in a wider sense. I like these little asides, I think it helps anchor them and keep them grounded, and in a realm where there have often not been many characters or boundaries for them to push against or feel constrained by, or so it has seemed at times, a reminder that they hafta build a case and not just arrest a Bad Guy is also welcome.
While the blackmail/harrasment/assault revelation was not entirely a surprise, the fact Alena was dying was. It's the kind of twist you just hafta throw your hands up at (and go stack more cordwood) :lol:
. I mean, whaddaya do with that? :lol:. Does it make one more sympathetic toward her? Does it adequately explain her motivation? Will it, in essence, get her off the hook? Does it allow for an extended series of conversations about How To Live When You're Dying, the Ephemeral Splendor of Snowflakes, the Zen of Window Shopping? Is it an overly used ploy stuffed into a 150/holiday ep? Golly gee
.
I was also slightly rolling my eyes that it was, once again, Lindsay who was used to bring forth some tidbit of info to provide the twist, with "She won't get far."
I had been wondering why Alena was mum for most of the ep, a tricky role to pull off (and I don't think she did all that well, honestly, whether speaking or intensely if quietly emoting) but I suppose the character did indeed have the right to remain silent. I can see traumatized, but it also did feel like Alena herself was acting a part, in not speaking to Jo, or anyone. She was, in that she was just trying to buy some time.
Alena's ex, Pascal, was an odd & curious figure to have in the ep. A convenient link, but an odd one. Just, whatev. Never mind :lol:.
The last scenes of the ep were a tad odd for me. Jo and Alena back to the original location, oh so cyclical an' all, the profound conversation, especially in a weighty xmas ep. Then, gathering steam for a pithy conclusion, the sun coming out, with strings and a piano, playing over imagery of employees receiving unexpected and pilfered bonuses, me abstractly musing if the company would then attempt some futile but costly legal action to somehow lay claim to/reclaim anonymous and unmarked personal mail, or file an insurance claim instead. Jo & Mac on turning the case over to the Robbery Division, which I suppose was a welcome nod to protocol, then talking on window shopping & admiration in passing, yada. Just, meh. *shrug* The whole ep.
Laden, a little heavy handed, trying rather hard, and really feeling as if NY had fallen back into some old and unfortunate habits from previous seasons, which S7 had largely left by the wayside to this point.
Let's hope they've gotten all that out of their system, and we'll just get on with things. Not a horrible ep, but a noticeable step down from what I'd cautiously let myself become used to as a new standard from the show.
At least there were no f*cking stripey scarves
.