Monday, November 19, 2007

Stillman Solves His Last 'Case' - For Now

All those in favor of Lt. John Stillman for Boss of the Year, say "I." All those opposed...nobody? That's what I thought. We all knew that Stillman was a stand-up guy, a devoted detective and one hell of a boss, but this week's episode proved just how much he embodies all of those admirable traits and more. He has spent most of these 5 seasons of Cold Case trying to make things right in his personal life - supporting his daughter through her pregnancy and recent separation and even reconnecting with his ex-wife. But, it is his professional acts that garner him the most praise here at PTR. He has gone to bat more times than he probably cares to remember for Lilly, he blamed himself for her shooting and he entered into George Marks' attic gun-in-hand to save her life and he tried to save her from having to live with a death on her hands. He shared many glasses of Scotch with Will, comforted Scotty after Elisa jumped to her death, and lent an understanding ear to Nick after his wife left him. Stillman has always been there for his detectives whether it's being the father that Lil never had or a friend right when the others need him the most. But this week, he took the fall for Scotty's bad judgment and the 30-day suspension that comes with it. It was Scotty's fault that a disturbed father wound up on a rooftop holding a gun to the head of his son's murderer, but Stillman told internal affairs that he gave the order so he could save Scotty's young career. Scotty may have gotten off suspension-free, but he's going to be dealing with a heaping helping of guilt. That final scene with Stillman carrying his box out the door as his team looked on was moving thanks to the entire cast, but John Finn really shone the brightest this week. Big kudos to him for the entire hour!!

It's difficult to imagine a world where women are expected to fit into one solid mold. If not, they end up in mental facilities receiving extremely risky electric shock treatment. Of course, this wasn't the story for every "gender confused" teen in the 60s, but the sheer fact that it was the story for any is sad enough. As far as I'm concerned, that hospital and that doctor killed Sam, not her friend. It was maddening watching Kat arrest Dom while the real killers were never held responsible. When Dom found Sam, there was nothing left that resembled the vibrant, proud teen that made her classmates uneasy with her boyish tendencies. The Cold Case writing staff are masters of weaving tales that champion society's "underdogs" - the sectors that bare the brunt of the majority's ignorance-fueled hate, and this episode was no exception. I love these sorts of stories because they really are the essence of this show. I also loved Kat's interrogation with Red. She was adorable and always in control. It was nice to see a different side to her character. Cold Case moves to 9-0 on the season.


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5 comments:

LillyKat said...

I was completely bowled over by this ep. LOVED it through and through. Sam was just an amazing character - so tragic and yet I somehow found her defiance uplifting, especially during such an awful period in our history where non-conformity was punished in the most cruel and insane of ways. This has to be my favorite episode of Season 5 thus far. And Stillman ... he has always been my second favorite character to Lil'!

Anonymous said...

I agree with you about John Finn. This was his episode. What a sad one this was. It really affected me. It sure is tough to be different in any decade! I think I agree with Lillykat. This was my favorite episode as well.

Anonymous said...

I so love Stillman and he did the right thing but I have to admit I wanted Scotty to take a leave for 30 days. (my not so favorite character of Cold Case from the getgo)

I thought the case was interesting but I didn't feel that Sam was a strong character. Maybe it's because I watched "Boys Don't Cry" just by fluke a few days before and while there were some similarities both were different. It was a memorible episode with some great detective moments.

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Unknown said...

Can anybody tell me what my john stillmans favorite scotch was it was like 18 something