The Great Debater

I'm going to give Cold Case some props this week.  They managed to surprise me and make the doer believable!  This is a rare occasion (we all know my dislike for the show's penchant to "surprise" us with the doer by making him/her the least likely person in the story).  Part of my surprise was fueled by the fact that the debate coach seemed too obvious and he had too many reasons to kill Luke making him an "instant cross-off" on the suspect list for CC.  The other part dealt with a clever red herring that had me believing Luke's father was involved.



CC, like so many other crime dramas, likes to drop (notso) subtle hints along the way.  I thought the camera's unusual pause on the bumper sticker on the back of the car that Luke was shot in was a HUGE clue.  It read, "Gulf War Veteran" (a reference to his father).  Turns out, it was nothing more than a red herring.  Luke's father's only involvement in his son's murder was that it was he who purchased the gun and it was circumstances involving him that led to Luke being in possession of it.  Luke was one of those "do the right thing for me and my dad" kinda kids, which of course, made his death all the more tragic.  His time with "the other half" showed him how he didn't want to live and how he didn't want to debate.  Being under the pressure that his coach put him under sucked the fun out of debate and the life out of Luke (literally).  But it was Luke's decision to quit the team that sucked all chances of Coach Musk winning that title that led to his tragic murder.  Lilly and Scotty's interrogation of him at the end was the best interrogation this season thus far.  It was so well written and the subtle, yet strong, ties to debate were brilliant!

Meanwhile, Vera seems to be heading down a dangerous path.  He drinks too much, eats too unhealthily, needs to exercise more, needs to lower his bad cholesterol and raise his good (or just find some way to actually have good cholesterol), and make some major lifestyle changes.  All things that he did not want to hear, and furthermore, did not want his boss to hear.  So, did he heed the doctor's advice and veer off his current dangerous path?  Of course NOT!  He simply found a different doctor (one sympathetic to cops) and got him to give him the all-clear.  Something tells me that an apple a day isn't going to be enough to keep any doctors away for Vera.

The long, drawn-out saga with Scotty's mother entered another chapter this week.  I couldn't really tell you what exactly happened, but here's what I surmised (please, if I'm wrong, put something in the comments because I was left scratching my head -- BIG TIME!!): Scotty got a hold of a security tape from a parking lot that showed a woman (presumably his mother) being knocked over by an unknown assailant.  As far as I can tell, that's all we know.  How this ties into the mysterious doctor visits and her current state of secrecy, I know not.  Is it just me, or does this story line get stranger by the week?

Overall, a solid outing for CC moving the show to 8-0 on the season.  Most importantly, the show is back to its earlier time slot!  Hurray!!  Screencap courtesy of RichE at Kathryn Morris UK.