Rizzoli & Isles 4x02 In Over Your Head

Wow. Where does the time go?

Work, vacation, the arrival of summer, work, trying to sort out the summer tv schedule, work...

 All of a sudden, the year is half over in the blink of an eye.

 So, what have I missed?

We're already two episodes into the fourth season of The Jane & Maura Chronicles (aka Rizzoli & Isles). Sorry, but I just can't continue to do the full weekly reviews of this show like I did in the past, where it would take anywhere from 7-10 hours to complete. So I've decided to do a bit more of a revised review along with some screencaps. So let's get started:

4x02 In over your head

• I think having Frankie as a detective in the drug unit instead of with the rest of the gang in homicide is a good decision. (Having him in 'vice' would have also been a good choice) It brings a different aspect to the show, and we don't have to see him constantly in a suit & tie. It was also great to see Frankie take down the bad guy himself. Thatcher should have realized that he's a Rizzoli, and should know that you never underestimate a Rizzoli (or even one of the Rizzoli extended family). I kind of like that they keep referring to Frankie as the "other Rizzoli."

• Speaking of the drug unit - I wonder (or really, really hope) if we'll see Riley again on this show since the drug unit "borrowed" her back after her promotion. Since Revolution killed off Daniella Alonso's character, Nora, it would be nice to have her back. 

• It's also great to see Amaury Nolasco on tv again. His presence made me want to go and have a Chase marathon. I miss that show, which also featured Kelli Giddish, Rose Rollins, and Cole Hauser. I know Amaury's character, Rafael Martinez, will be in a few more upcoming episodes. I hope he continues to return from time to time. And hopefully he & Jane have gotten rid of the animosity and it'll be more fun to see them together when they're actually nice to each other. 

• While on the subject of guest stars, I will give a big cheer for the return of John Doman as Paddy Doyle. Even though most of the scenes with him now are just going to be interrogation scenes, since he's in prison, it's great to have him back - as well as Sharon Lawrence and Emilee Wallace (Cailin) - making up Maura's very disfunctional "blood" family.  I also loved the fact that Constance was mentioned in this episode as well.  I'd really love to have Jacqueline Bisset back in that role again. 

• As far as the Isles/Doyle/Martin family saga, I thought it was interesting how Paddy said that he'd kill for both Maura & Hope, but he wouldn't plead guilty. I guess we've come to see that the guy does have his limits on what he'd do for family. I wonder if Maura has learned what Jane meant when she said that "family sucks" in an episode in one of the earlier seasons.  It was great to see Paddy, Hope, Maura & Jane all together in the same room.  It felt right for Jane to be there with Maura's family in mainly an observer role. It's a reversal of what we've seen in the first three seasons where Maura is the one integrating with the Rizzoli family. 

• I also like how the writers have morphed Cailin into a grown-up instead of the whiny teenager she had been. Maybe it's the fact that she's now carrying Maura's kidney and it has genetically altered her brain. That's gotta be it, right? 

• I had to raise my eyebrows at the transformation of the Dirty Robber from neighborhood pub to health-food haven. It makes me wonder if they're going to reveal later on that Maura is actually the new owner. It certainly seems like something she would do. If they really want to switch things up, they'd have Angela run the place. However, it's more convenient to have her where she is at the D1 Cafe.

• Since they've moved Frankie to the drug unit, it seems that (at least for the 1st two episodes) season 4 is going to have more Frost/Korsak banter instead of Frost/Frankie. It was cute when they did the Sailor vs Gym Rat banter at the beginning of this episode, however, the old-school/new-school thing between the two is kind of getting old - especially in this episode where they were fighting over the new highly sophisticated "toy." I did love the "bear paws" label for Korsak though. 

• It's finally time to talk some Rizzles. 

• I loved the "Bickersons" moment at the beginning with Maura complaining that she had to get her car detailed because Jane spilled her coffee in it, and it smells like a deco. Hmmm. Really? Isn't Maura used to that smell by now?  And then she gets into the ovulating women & biker rant with Frankie as Angela gets in her two cents about that happening with her & Frank. Oh boy. TMI Angela. Especially now since Frank's become an ass. I did love Jane's reaction at the reveal that her dad had a bike.

• I loved how Jane always seems to be prepared for Maura's shoe "emergencies" - this time she's got the very unfashionable boots ready from the start, but Maura declines for the sake of fashion. She paid the price (but of course found a key piece of evidence because of it)

• It was also cute how Maura noted her displeasure of Bob Thatcher at the beach, and even offered to conspire with Jane to commit his murder. That should have been the first clue that the guy was the main culprit. 

• We also got the reveal of another unlikely skill for Maura - picking locks. I loved her story that her parents locked up the tv when she was nine years old, so she figured out how to pick the lock. It's also interesting for her to reveal that she'd been coming down to the records vault to check out the info that had been collected on Paddy. All of that without Jane even knowing. I guess we know who the real badass in this relationship is now. Jane is a vocal badass with a gun, while Maura is the stealthy, silent badass. A great combo.

• Another unlikely Maura moment is when she catches herself (twice) and says "Mother...phooey." I'm guessing if others weren't around and it was just her & Jane, she wouldn't censor herself. That would actually be cute to hear.

• There's also the moment that put a big smile on my face when Maura asked Jane to come for some moral support when she went to talk with Cailin.  I guess she was asking to have some "Maura Support." LOL

• And then there's the scene with Jane & Maura having corn dogs for 'lunch.' ... I'm not even going to touch that one. I'm guessing there was  a collective sarcastic "really?" uttered by most who watched the scene.

• My one big complaint came at the very end. Frankie takes down Thatcher, cuffs him. Rafael gives props to Jane, saying he's 'almost' as good as she is. and then...fade to black? Seriously? My immediate reaction is..."that's it?" I guess we're so accustomed to seeing some kind of Jane/Maura scene to wrap up an episode that this ending just felt totally wrong. I know Janet Tamaro has said they wanted this season to be more focused on the crimes, but this was a bit ridiculous. 

• I know the episodes can't all end as great as the last episode (4x01) with Maura fixing Frankie's bike, but the ending of this episode was a total opposite and very disheartening.

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I've also started to watch King & Maxwell, where I've found the long-lost Detective Crowe from Rizzoli & Isles. Yep. Chris Butler, who played Crowe from the first few episodes of the series, is on K&M. Unfortunately, he's just as underused in this show as he was on R&I.