Major Crimes: Sweet Revenge

August 8, 2014 2:10 PM - Season 3, Episode 9

The team investigates the murder of an entrepreneur with questionable morals and possible mob connections. Meanwhile, Rusty tries to win over Raydor's son Ricky who comes home to visit, and Fritz Howard prepares to assume command of the Special Operations Bureau.
posted by filthy light thief (5 comments total)

Ricky was a dick, but I'm glad to see him come around with Rusty quickly taking to the role of little brother.

And was it me, or did they gloss over Special Agent Fritz Howard becoming chief of Special Operations Bureau? I thought they were previously discussing possible candidates. And the ending? Seems like they shouldn't kill off a key character for the potential spin-off.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:26 PM on August 8, 2014

I am so unenthused about the spin-off; I absolutely hated that SOB-centered episode, and have no interest in a weekly dose of rah-rah-SWAT-violence, and I dread that I'll get suckered into watching it because they populate it with Closer/Major Crimes characters and continuity crossover-ing. No idea where they're going with Fritz having a heart problem, that was odd.

I loved the Ricky & Sharon scene so much, had to watch it a couple of times before I could delete the episode off the tivo. I just loved how the actors packed so much emotion into so quiet a scene - the little voice wibble of impending tears in Sharon's "I am so disappointed in you" line, and the way Ricky welled up in response. Just terrific.
posted by oh yeah! at 6:28 AM on August 9, 2014

In broad agreement with both of you, although I was not entirely convinced by Ricky coming around so quickly. The Fritz thing was odd. The crime of the week didn't have much to it. My prediction early on was that it was a drone killing, so I was way off on that!

Is Sharon ever wrong about anything?
posted by idb at 10:08 AM on August 9, 2014

Heh. Yes, I agree that Ricky's feelings/actions went from dickish, entitled teenager to decent person pretty fast. Then again, I recall hearing from people who trust and value the feedback from their parents, hearing "I'm disappointed in you" can be the most painful/ powerful thing to hear. I don't think I've heard that from my parents, but it makes sense. In that idea, that moment could have really made Ricky think about his view on the whole situation. Also, his mom was pretty solid advocate for Rusty, showing Ricky that Rusty isn't some random kid off of the street who's scamming her and the family.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:18 AM on August 10, 2014

One reason I could buy Ricky's rapid change of heart was because of the "have you been talking to your father?" line. Since the show has established Berenger as a lousy father and something of a con man, I could see Ricky having been taken in by the whole "I'm just worried about your mother" line and not realizing that he'd been played until afterwards.
posted by oh yeah! at 11:19 AM on August 10, 2014