Monday, March 29, 2010

Caught in the Crossfire

Oh.  My.  COLD CASE!!!  Sometimes an episode comes along that is so awesome, so wonderful, so perfect that I'm actually afraid to do a write-up about it because I know that I cannot possibly do it justice.  Such is the case with this week's beyond-stellar outing of Cold Case.  There wasn't a single thing wrong with this episode, but there were a lot of things right about it starting with guest star Susanna Thompson as FBI Agent Yates.  Sure she was pushy, over-the-top and forward, but that's what made her such a great contrast to the "hand-holding" PPD characters (although, we all know that Lil and co. have their moments in the interrogation room, but in a completely different way than Yates).  Plus, the evolving relationship between Yates and Lil was well-played and the two made for great foils-turned-teammates.  But this hour wasn't just packed with awesome-ness, it also had its share of surprises and a few jaw-dropping moments.


Of course, it should be noted that this story is only half over, so I'll have to reserve full judgement for next week when we get to see the conclusion.  In the meantime, I'm going to squeal like a fangirl over what has transpired thus far.  I'll admit that Yates was tough to take at first.  She pushed her way into PPD's files after sweet-talking Stillman about the good old times (you know, when she broke up his marriage and he gave her a "fair shake" all things considered).  She refused to let any of them know why she was interested in what seemed to be a simple case gone cold.  She hit on Valens after implying that he and Lil were hittin' the sheets.  And, she took the lead with her pushy, warm-and-fuzzy style during all of the interviews.  Lil even called her "Cougar Town" at one point.  Things changed, though, when Lil did her own research and caught on to Yates's investigation.  The two started to morph into teammates instead of opponents and that's when the case blew wide open.

That seemingly simple mugging/murder in the park suddenly became the latest incident in a sniper's sick game.  Yates had a hunch and she confirmed it with ballistics and then the entire crew was looking into past possible victims from over 20 years ago.  The only possible link between the victims was a connection between a potential suspect and his declining financial situation.  It looks like the victims may have crossed paths with the suspect when he was in financial straits.  We have an executive assistant from the bank that went back on an interest rate they promised him, a former repo guy who repossessed the suspect's car, a teenager at the suspect's drive-in (practice, perhaps?), a bus driver who refused to allow the suspect and his son on the bus when they didn't have enough change, and the most recent case (connection still pending).

So, things were falling into place.  They had a forensic link between the sniper killings, a likely suspect (Bill Shepard) and a possible location (the Poconos) of said likely suspect.  When Lil and Yates got to the Poconos to speak with a witness, things began to fall apart.  In a shocking turn of events, the witness was shot (sniper style) right in front of them as they got out of the car.  Yates was then in hot water for investigating the case behind the FBI's back and Lil was conspiring to break her out of the "debriefing" she was undergoing with a fellow agent.  The two headed to the home of the suspect, but found an empty cabin.  They entered the cellar and the night's biggest shock unfolded as they found a body in the cellar and discovered that there were a set of dog tags around the body with the name "William Shepard" on them.  Cut to Shepard's son hitching a ride with a sniper rifle on a secluded mountain road.  Looks like the gang was looking for the wrong Shepard.

Who would have thought the lovable video store owner who hadn't seen his father since he was fourteen was the sniper?  I did suspect that it wasn't Bill Shepard after Kat forced her way into the hospital room and showed his picture to the dying witness who promptly shook his head.  And speaking of the hospital, how awesome was that nurse??!!  "You have a seat, you read a Redbook, and you wait your turn!"  Hahaha!  It's no surprise, but CC very, very easily moves to 18-0 on the season.  Screen cap courtesy of RichE at Kathryn Morris UK.  And to see more caps from this episode, visit his all-inclusive Kathryn Morris site HERE.


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15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed PartI of this episode, At first I thought Agent Yates was rude but her character didn't make me hate this episode.

Nice touch on Vera and last week's episode Flashover, looks like he's now in rehab.

The ending left me wanting more, but all and all this was an excellent episode. Although I was a bit distracted by the Tornado alerts that were constantly flashing thoughtout the episode.



Perhaps next week CC, won't be delayed by another NCAA game again...

RichE said...

I think Agent Yates has a more personal interest in the case than has been revealed so far...


RichE.
Kathryn Morris UK

TVFan said...

Yeah, it looks like next week's conclusion is more intense in regards to Yates. I think we only scratched the surface with her and this case. I have a theory (especially since we never saw them re-interview the girl at the drive-in and let's face it, both that girl and Yates have the same, um, aggressive-ness), but I guess we'll see next week.

Anonymous said...

The first flashback was in 1978,it can't be Yates she would have been much older than the girl was in the car.


This case was orignally Yates when she was a detective, that's why she so interested in this case.

RichE said...

The first flashback (the drive-in) was in 1980. That's 30 years ago. Yates would have been about 20 then. Stillman must have been senior to her so her being around 50, probably just below, is sensible.

The boy that was killed was a student, according the newspaper article that Kat found, which would put him in his late teens.

The character was called "D". A more complete name is down for the next episode, Bullet.

Don't forget that the case Yates is investigating is the later shooting the in park, from "last November". Kat and co. dig out the story on the drive-in shooting.


RichE.
Kathryn Morris UK

Naj said...

I have no spoilers since I'm not into them but I thought the gal in the car at the Drive In was very noticable as to her identity going into the case so it won't come as any grand revelation in the end.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

That doesn't make any sense if Yates was 20 in 1980, we know that Stillman was working on the barnes case during that year (Glued), that he missed his own daughter's birth, and then his marriage had ended after that.


I doubt that Yates was 20 years old and a detective at that time, it just doesn't add up. She already had admitted to being the reason for why his marriage had broken up.

Perhaps there's another unsolved case involving her with the sniper??

Or the writers had simply forgotten a piece of Stillman's history..

RichE said...

As we all know CC does not have a great record for long-term continuity.

Either they have ignored previous descriptions of Stillman's marriage ending, and shifted it to the 90s to fit with Yate's likely career path. Or, they've invented a 2nd marriage in the 90s.

A TV show's minor details are malleable things when they help fit a new story.


RichE.
Kathryn Morris UK

Anonymous said...

Yates says she's been on this case for 30 yrs. We know that Stillman;s marriage broke up shortly after his daughter was born 1980.

Yates was the first cop on this case, so I don't think she was 20 in 1980 and a cop.

RichE said...

Yates said, in response to Lilly's "you've been hunting this guy for 30 years?", "oh I must have chased down a dozen leads." That's not a direct answer. And certainly not a reference to being a cop.

Yates has not been an active detective on the drive-in case for 30 years, which isn't to say she hasn't been involved in some way.

Yates being 20 in 1980 fits with her age and her position relative to Stillman.


RichE.
Kathryn Morris UK

Anonymous said...

Actually it doesn't make any sense if she was 20 in 1980. She'd be too young to be a cop.

She was already a cop in order to be carrying on with Stillman, whose marriage broke up after his daughter's birth in 1980.

Stillman's in his late 50's probably, so Yates has to be around that age as well.
She does talk about the first shooting how she was first on the scene though

RichE said...

I think you need to forget about Stillman's marriage break up in 1980. History has been re-writen for this story line. I would say that they are making Yates nearly 50 now and Stillman around 60. She was is junior after all.

The "first on the scene" discussion in the bar with Lilly was about Yates' first experience of a homicide case. It was a double murder of a waitress and the manager in a coffee shop in Philly. Completely unrelated to the sniper case.


RichE.
Kathryn Morris UK

Anonymous said...

I think the first shooting is quite possibly related to the sniper.

I have some feeling that Yates and Stillman are close in age for some odd reason. I could be wrong..

TVFan said...

I agree 100% with RichE. I think the CC writers (who, BTW, are completely different from the ones the show had during season one when that Stillman missing his daughter's birth reference first appeared) aren't worried about consistency here since it fits their story. Plus, the show has had about 3-4 showrunners since then, so who knows what sort of continuity has been lost in the multiple shuffles.

My theory... Yates became a cop because of what happened to that kid at the drive-in 30 years ago. I think it deeply affected her and she hasn't been able to shake it since (especially since it was never solved). I think that moment in the backseat of the car watching this young man get his life snuffed out by an unnamed sniper was a HUGE turning point for her. Just my theory. I guess we'll all see next week. :0)