Lil's Back on the 'Case'

I feel it's only appropriate to quote those funny beer commercials and say that the season premiere of Cold Case was "Brill-ant!" Ohhh so much brilliance, so little time - such is the curse of a CC blogger. Let's just start with the best part -- Lil's back!! I know we weren't worrying all summer that she wouldn't be, but we were wondering what her return would look like. Would the writers sweep this tragedy under the rug with a glance at a newspaper before it gets tossed aside into the trashcan ala Lilly shooting and killing serial killer George Marks in the season 2 ender? Or would they actually explore the numerous and interesting layers of Lil's new emotional state? Judging by this week's opener, it seems to be the latter. Fingers crossed that it continues and they don't drop it midseason - never to be mentioned again (i.e. her relationship with Joseph last season). And while we're talking about brilliance, let me just mention that Kathryn Morris was pretty frickin' unbelievable in this one. She effortlessly kept Lilly teetering on the line between "nothin's wrong, glad to be back" and "I just want to crawl into the darkest corner and assume the fetal position until it all goes away." I mean, how brilliant was she during her first return trip to the interview room where it all went down last season? At first I was thinking, "This won't be that bad. She's totally dealing with it," but then it became horribly apparent that she wasn't and she was about to have a panic attack in the middle of the interrogation. I swear to the TV gods, she was hyperventilating on the inside as the panic began to quickly overcome her. BUT, she never lost control. She splashed some cold water on her face and regrouped because that's exactly what Lilly Rush is supposed to do. She's not supposed to show any sign of weakness, most of all, not in front of others. Kathryn crossed that line with Lil and then brought her right back just in time to press the boy's mother about her husband in a kick-ass interview. And this was just one of many brilliant scenes for her. Of course, I always think she rocks, but we're talking so on her game in this one.

Sad case as usual, especially with executive producer Veena Sud at the reigns. I honestly had no idea who killed the three little boys, but the father turned into a very believable killer. What a head case! If there was ever an argument for violence begets more violence, this was it. Whoever did a number on him as a child left his mark. Flashlights in every room, sleeping with the lights on, and worst of all, murdering your son and his friends because they put you in the dark and then laughed at your transition into a full-fledged psycho. This guy went from calm and rational to cold-blooded killer with the flip of a switch (literally). But he didn't just kill his son and his friends; he also killed one of the boys who took the fall for the crime he committed. The man hanged (take note CC characters - it's HANGED, not HUNG) himself on his 30th birthday, leaving another mother without her son. Tragedy all around this week.

Final thought on this one. Do you secretly wish that Kat and Vera would hook up? How funny would these two be??!!
Kat: "And you're reachin' for my Kung Pao Chicken!"
Vera: "It's family style. So what?"
Kat: "Do I look like your family??"

HILARIOUS! And a much needed break from the serious matter of this episode. This one goes in the "win" column. Cold Case starts the season 1-0.