Dead Man's Hand (21 Dec. 2009)

Tension between Captain Raydor and Major Crimes escalates as Chief Pope asks Brenda to discretely investigate the abuse of one of Raydor's detectives. Meanwhile, Fritz has news that could change his and Brenda's life together.

Director:

James Duff

Writers:

James Duff (creator), Duppy Demetrius,

Stars:

Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, Corey Reynolds

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Kyra Sedgwick	...	Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson
J.K. Simmons	...	Assistant Chief Will Pope
Corey Reynolds	...	Sgt. David Gabriel
Robert Gossett	...	Commander Taylor
G.W. Bailey	...	Lt. Louie Provenza
Tony Denison	...	Lt. Andy Flynn
Michael Paul Chan	...	Lt. Mike Tao
Raymond Cruz	...	Detective Julio Sanchez
Phillip P. Keene	...	Buzz Watson
Jon Tenney	...	Agent Fritz Howard
Mary McDonnell	...	Captain Sharon Raydor
Brooke Langton	...	Detective Ally Moore
Jackson Hurst	...	Sergeant Ryan Dunn
Jonathan Del Arco	...	Dr. Morales
Dan Sachoff	...	Anthony Monroe

Storyline

Brenda and the team are called in by Assistant Chief Pope on a delicate matter when Captain Sharon Raydor believes that one of her detectives, Ally Moore, is the victim of spousal abuse. She had seen the bruises on Moore's arm and neck but Moore couldn't give a logical explanation and refuses to file a complaint. Brenda interviews her and Moore refuses to file a complaint. In the absence of a complaint, Brenda hesitates to call in her husband and that proves fateful since that night, Moore places a 911 call seeking help. Patrol Sgt. Ryan Dunn responded to the call and shot Moore's husband. As Brenda begins to sift through the evidence, she realizes that there is far more going on than meets the eye. At home meanwhile, Fritz has been particularly grumpy and out of sorts lately and with good reason: he's been offered a promotion which would mean a return to Washington D.C.

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Plot Keywords:

internal affairs investigator | internal affairs | internal affairs investigation

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 2009 (USA)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Twisted Truth

This is an episode that *really* benefits from repeated viewings. On first viewing, many little details and nuances may slip by. Also, on second viewing, once the question "How will Brenda close this case?" no longer occupies the viewer's minds, one can take the time to appreciate the amount of work put on characters by the writers and the actors. This really is premiere league craftsmanship at its best.

Not only does the basic starting point (as told in plot outline and shown immediately after opening inter-titles) of Brenda having to work *together* with Captain Raydor offer enough potential for great story, but the case of the week itself is fantastically complex. They really did save the best *case* for the last this season. Continuity-wise, it is a perfect, deliciously ironic, follow-up to Brenda and Raydor's previous encounter. And the *closing* of this case really makes for gripping viewing. There is *no* plodding. To use a classic catch-line, I pity the fool who has to face *both* Brenda and Raydor.

The characters of Brenda and Raydor are front and center, but the others do get an amazing amount of attention as well. And all the actors give everything they have, meaning every single scene is compelling viewing. It's the little details that flesh out newer characters like Raydor and reveal new, but consistent sides of the familiar ones that make this such a rewarding episode. *Everyone* feels like a real person. The amazing Mary McDonnell *almost* steals the show by giving her iciest portrayal of Raydor yet, but the script is so carefully thought out that it prevents such a thing from happening.

All this means the episode is *so* packed it ends up running over the end credits! It does not have the most laughs or a truly unexpected and adrenaline-charged chase sequence like a certain episode did, but there is so much drama and complex issues here that this really could not be any better. Also, take careful note how this finale deals with the official Theme of the Season, Change. Lesser shows don't even have seasonal themes! One thousand words is not enough space to list all the reasons for why this is pure gold. One just has to admit that this deserves the full 10/10.