Cold CaseMind Games
Original Air Date: Mar 22, 2009
Amanda — Sr Reviewer
amanda@thetwocentscorp.com
Occasionally, Cold Case does highlights a single artist, and this week featured the music of John Lennon. Imagine my surprise, then, when I learn the case was from 2004! This episode seemed less like a way to highlight the era du jour and more like a way to say, “Hey! We got the rights to use John Lennon’s music!” Was the rest of the episode similarly contrived?
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[photo: CBS]
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Occasionally, Cold Case does highlights a single artist, and this week featured the music of John Lennon. Imagine my surprise, then, when I learn the case was from 2004! This episode seemed less like a way to highlight the era du jour and more like a way to say, “Hey! We got the rights to use John Lennon’s music!” Was the rest of the episode similarly contrived?
ReplyDeleteThis week, we reopen the arson death of Dr. Julie Ramierez, a therapist who used music to treat schizophrenics. Someone has already been convicted, but the former roommate of a patient of Julie’s, Pete Scanell, shows up at PPD with Pete’s journal, which contains the line “Dr. Ramierez must burn.” I’d say that warrants a second look.
Kat and Vera interview the man convicted in a string of arsons, including Julie’s, but he insists it wasn’t him. Pointing out the differences between his work and this arson, he suggests that it was “amateur hour.” Vera then goes with Scotty to talk to Dr. Jack Galton, director of Tranquility House, where Julie worked. Reluctantly, he talks about how Julie used John Lennon’s music with Pete.
Back at Headquarters, Kat and Vera interview Julie’s friend Vanessa, who says Julie had concerns about caseworker Juan Salazar, saying he made her uncomfortable and adding that there were drugs missing. A later interview with Salazar reveals that he’s a recovering painkiller addict, but credits Julie with getting him back into rehab and working miracles with Pete, who was improving under her care. Salazar says the key for schizophrenics is finding someone they can trust.
Meanwhile, Scotty and Lilly track down Pete, who’s off his meds, rambling about a map and someone named Exley. Scotty suggests that Pete would be better served being released and medicated, but Lilly wants to hold him until they get a peek at Julie’s journals. The detectives also learn that “Vanessa” is actually Rachel Lieberman, who wasn’t Julie’s friend, but her patient. Rachel admits to an obsession with Julie, but says Julie had bigger problems in the form of Dr. Galton.
Scotty confronts Dr. Galton with phone records showing he called her cell phone the night she died, but he insists their relationship was purely professional. He says Julie was misguided; her treatment wasn’t working, and Pete had started refusing to swallow his meds. He recalls a physical confrontation with Pete, using this as evidence of Pete’s violent tendencies.
That long sought-after journal of Julie’s finally appears, and using that and Pete’s journal, Lilly and Scotty determine that Pete himself was trapped in a house fire at the age of six, in which his brother died. They find a photo of Pete and his brother on a jungle gym, which exactly matches a drawing in Pete’s journal (“the map.”). A trip to the playground shows that the jungle gym is an Exley, and they determine that it was Pete’s safe place, and that “Exley” is a hallucination of his brother.
Armed with this knowledge, Lilly earns Pete’s trust by playing along with his delusions, and he tells her that Exley told him to burn Julie. He recalls getting a phone call from Exley, then starting the fire, but Julie was already lying on the floor when he set the fire…so Pete’s not our doer.
Scotty remembers that call from Dr. Galton to Julie’s cell, and, upon learning that Julie had given Pete her phone so he could call her if he needed her, confronts Dr. Galton again. Playing dumb at first, Scotty asks him to explain certain antipsychotics, and he and Lilly gradually weave their web. Dr. Galton was actually diagnosed by Julie with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and he’d been stealing Pete’s Halperidol, which treats NPD in addition to schizophrenia. He strangled Julie to keep his secret from getting out, then, in one of the most evil moves we’ve seen on this show, called Pete pretending to be Exley and ordered him to set the fire.
On the personal side, the detectives put together a care package for Jeffries, who returns to the office to hearty applause. In other shooting-related fallout, Lilly testifies at Gabriel Ariza’s preliminary hearing. His attorney attacks Lil on the stand, pointing out the travesty that was her counseling last season, as well as mentioning George Marks. ADA Bell initially does nothing, but in the hallway, reminds the defense attorney of his own DUI charge, which ADA Bell helped him with. He offers a deal for Gabriel his attorney can’t refuse and orders him to apologize to Lilly, which he does.
The flashbacks were particularly well-done, giving us a look at the chaotic mind of a schizophrenic, and how Pete’s scattered thoughts crystallized when he listened to Lennon’s music. We saw Scotty and Lilly from his point of view, and Lilly in 1960s spy getup was particularly intriguing. Someone’s done their research, it seems.
However, that research didn’t always extend to the characters. Loyal fans of the show will recall Elisa, Scotty’s schizophrenic girlfriend who committed suicide, yet in several scenes, we see people explaining things about schizophrenia and its treatment to him. Now, Scotty’s not always the brightest crayon in the box, but the idea that he’s as clueless about the disease as the rest of us is simply not believable. His experience did come through in his dealings with Pete, though, so props for that.
Also, is anyone else getting tired of Lilly’s daddy issues? I was seeing some potential sparkage between Lil and ADA Bell, but once we found out about his “soul-crushing” ex and daughter, it seems that someone who could be a cool character is yet another avenue for Lilly to angst about Dear Old Dad. Enough already.
So that’s my two cents, which, in 2004, would have bought probably a bit more than it does now. I welcome yours!
it's worth it for #9 Dream alone.
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