Lilly Gets Left in the 'Cold'

For six seasons, I have wondered how Cold Case would handle a 2-parter. Would they do a closing montage? If so, what would it look like? Would it end in some sort of cliffhanger or just mid-story? I know it's silly, but I have always wanted to know if the writers could tackle this challenge considering the show's stringent formula. This week, I finally got these answers because we finally got a 2-parter. To answer the questions, yes we got a closing montage (sorta) and yes we got a cliffhanger. Thankfully, given the show's unknown status for next season, Lilly going off the bridge and plunging into the water was at the end of part 1 and not part 2 (in which case I would have had to make a personal visit to CBS corporate). The closing montage at the end of this episode, however, wasn't your typical fare and as usual, I LOVED the break in format. This show is itching to spread its wings and whenever it does, I'm pleased with the result. Of course, the fact the entire episode/story is 100% Lilly-focused isn't hurting my impression of the outing thus far.

This 2-parter business puts my typical write-up on the episode into a bit of a quandary. I don't want to judge the outing based on only seeing half of it, so I'll reserve overall judgement until next week. Let's go with what we have so far and where we think it's all leading. This show is always a little wishy-washy when it deals with military stories. I always feel like they're playing off of stereotypes and not the actual brave men and women who constitute the United States military, and frankly, it irks me to no end. But then again, the show has Stillman and his pride for his country and the time he spent in the armed forces, so I applaud that olive branch. Still, it would be nice if they told a military-related story that wasn't so cliched. Maybe next week's conclusion will surprise me.

Next, we have a very brave young woman who was murdered while attending PMI. My guess, it's not the saber-wielding bathroom attacker. I know he's the obvious choice and I liked the way Lil figured that out at the end, but this is precisely why I think he's the "scare 'em off" type and not the "murder and stuff the body in the PMI box" type. And then there's Lil's personal connection to the case -- she has walked a mile in this woman's shoes (sorta). She was the first female detective in homicide. She listened to the sexist remarks. She was left to fend for herself with a dangerous suspect when a chauvinistic superior decided that he didn't have her back. Like Kate, she didn't report it because she knew it would only make matters worse. We witnessed a lot of the crap she took back in the first season. One of the "good old boys" said that she was assigned cold cases because she's a woman and women do the dusting. So, she gets it. Plus, she's still reeling from her last encounter with her father. It seems he sent her a letter (I paused the DVR, but most of the letter was obstructed -- I managed to get something about two sides to every story, he had to leave her mother, he has wanted to reconnect and of course, a reference to that now-famous bike he left her on the front step -- hopefully, we'll get more on this next week), but whether the letter has any effect remains to be seen.

There were also a couple of developments on the couples front. Frankie left her husband, but Scotty doesn't seem too interested. Unfortunately for him, she was none too pleased and she sorta-kinda turned into a scary person with stalker-ish vibes when she stormed out of PPD. Meanwhile, my couple meter was way off because the ADA wasn't putting the moves on Lil a few weeks ago, but he was putting them on Kat. The two have dinner and a concert lined up for the weekend.

This episode jump started some interesting story lines and I'm excited to see where they all lead next week. Somebody has to get Lilly out of that car in the bottom of the river -- STAT! The conclusion of the 2-part Cold Case finale airs Sunday night on CBS. Screencaps courtesy RichE.

EDIT: LII at Look Again (and a frequent commenter here at PTR) has posted a really good translation of the letter over at the message board HERE. (h/t RichE)