Each Monday evening brings us one episode nearer to the finale of The Closer. Last night’s episode, “Last Rites,” was third from the end. So the 3-2-1 countdown has begun. The story opens with a phone call to the rectory from a doctor requesting that Father Adam Gray perform Last Rites for a dying man. In the Roman Catholic Church, Last Rites is the combination of prayers and administering of sacraments by a priest to a dying person. The three sacraments that together comprise Last Rites include Penance, (confession) Anointing of the Sick, and distribution of the Holy Eucharist (communion). The Last Rites theme is repeated throughout this episode.
When Father Adam arrives at the “sick call” address, he is murdered and his body is dumped in the schoolyard of the Saint Angelo’s Catholic School, where Father Adam was a teacher. Brenda’s team arrives and begins working the crime scene, but it appears the Archbishop has other ideas and that Chief Pope will clearly side with the Archbishop.
NOTE: We’re in the last-ever episodes after seven seasons. Recaps are bound to be spoiler-filled! If you’re sensitive to that, don’t plow ahead until you’ve watched. Then please come back and let us all know what you thought!
Brenda is not at the scene because she is at home with her mother and father who are visiting California to get a second medical opinion about the post-thyroid cancer medications that her father, Clay, is taking.
Naturally when Brenda hears that Chief Pope is impeding the investigation, she shows up at the scene and tries to circumvent Pope by . . . threatening a priest who has evidence she wants. As is becoming almost routine lately, Commander Taylor tries to run interference before there is a confrontation between Brenda and the Chief, but he is not able to prevent the blow-up.
While in the rectory, Brenda learns about the sick call and passes the address to Sergeant Sanchez so the team can get to the site and investigate before Pope can derail them again.
The building owner lets them into the apartment and he and Sergeant Gabriel go to the office to find the apartment lease. In their search, the team finds porn movies, wine coolers, and school uniforms of a size to fit young girls. Worse there is a collage of hundreds of pictures of various Saint Angelo female students. As the team is concluding that a pedophile lived in the apartment, Sergeant Gabriel comes back with the astounding news that the tenant of the apartment was Adam Gray. Father Adam Gray.
In short order, Brenda decides that there is no reason for the priest to respond to a Last Rites call at that address. If he had already leased the apartment for liaisons with school aged girls, he would know that there wasn’t a dying person there. So, while still trying to get some inside view of Father Adam’s private papers, Brenda has her team look more closely into the background of the landlord.
The team’s scrutiny of the landlord, Vincent Morris, turns up several interesting things. One is that his wife disappeared eight years earlier and another is that just six months ago he was nearly killed in a five-car collision. Brenda asks the priest in charge of Father Adam’s private papers to see if there is any mention of a man with the last name Morris. Sure enough, there are two mentions of the name, but not of Mr. Morris himself—instead, it is the names of his sons that turn up in Father Adam’s diary. Brenda cross checks the dates of the diary entry with the events in Vincent Morris’s life and discovers that Father Adam had given Last Rites to the victims in the multi-car accident six months before. It seems likely that he gave Last Rites to Vincent Morris, and as we recall, Last Rites includes confession.
What could Morris have told a priest when he thought he was dying that would make him fearful enough to murder the priest to insure the seal of confession? Well, there is that missing wife. Sure enough, the team finds the dead wife’s body in a storage locker. And once again, Brenda “closes” a confession.
But all’s well does not always end well. While discussing the resolution of the case, Chief Pope flummoxes Brenda by suggesting it is time for her to begin circulating her resume.
The next morning, however, Brenda is delighted on the home front to find Clay sitting at the kitchen table stirring pancake batter. He says Willie Ray is sleeping in and asks Brenda to take a cup of coffee in to her mother, since she has been trying to talk to Brenda about something for the last day or so.
Brenda brings the coffee to Willie Ray but cannot rouse her. Clay may be getting stronger, healthier, but Willie Ray has died in her sleep. And that, I think, was the true Last Rite of the title.
Terrie Farley Moran’s recent collection of short stories, THE AWARENESS and other deadly tales, is currently available in e-format for the Nook and the Kindle. Terrie blogs at Women of Mystery and you can look forward to her short story “Jake Says Hello” in the December 2012 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.
I was sooo sad that Willie Rae passed, and WHAT did she need to tell Brenda?!?!?! Such a good episode… SO going to miss this cast. Kyra was flawless last night, I cried like I lost my own family member. The Pope is gettting REALLY good at being a slime!!! I know I will miss The Closer, so I am really looking forward to Major Crimes!!!
sk–a sad and unexpected ending to an excellent episode. Do you think Clay knows what Willie Rae wanted to talk to Brenda about? Can’t wait for next episode in the countdown. (sob! sob)
***PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT***
I am a thyroid cancer survivor. Once a person’s thyroid is removed for any reason, there is a period of time where the amount of replacement hormones (Synthroid or a generic) needs to be adjusted until the numbers reach a satisfactory level so that the person is back to functioning normally. Clay’s situation appears to be extreme.
The test for thyroid cancer is simple. The next time you visit the doctor, be sure he or she palpates your thyroid while you are sipping water. This is the easiest, least invasive test in the world. Do not rely on blood tests. I always had normal thyroid blood test numbers. The cure rate is well over 90%. For anyone interested, here is the link to the [url=http://www.thyca.org/]thyroid cancer survivor’s website[/url].
After watching this episode, I don’t believe Pope is getting slimier. He explained his actions as trying to get Brenda to change the way she reacts to her authority – showing more respect for his office. He was trying to train her for the new guy. Perhaps his methods were a little “over the top” but then he probably felt her actions warranted his. I really enjoyed this episode but wasn’t too surprised with her mother’s death at the end.
Terrie, I hope SOMEONE knows what the talk was going to be about. I DO know Brenda will be distraught after the fact for not taking the time to listen to her. She has to live with the fact that one of the last things her mother told her was that working like she does is “going to take a toll” and Brenda replied “not tonight”. Makes me realize that we are all guilty of not living in the moment… Got to try and do better, for Willie Rae!!!
And sorry bitsy08, Pope has been a little bit of a slime from episode one! In a police dept, making a strong subordinate a liability is a classic power play(it keeps others from challenging his command). He brought her, a former “mistress” in, thinking he could control her (which sadly she allowed). She has been loyal to him over and over, even at the expense of her career and relationship. He has hit on her when he KNEW she was dating Fritz (which Fritz saw coming when The Pope separated from the wife Brenda was a mistress to), he has openly used her to advance politically and now he is trying to get rid of her because he knows EVERYONE, but those promoting him, know she is a better cop! I think he has used info from Gabriel (who is innocent of his involvement, but will take very hard, as Brenda has made him a great cop too) to leak…but I actively avoid spoilers, so the end (sob sob) wil be intense!
Hi bitsy08. I don’t think Pope ever had a sterling character, but he got considerably worse during the years as he tried to move up the ladder in the LAPD. Remember how nutty he got before Chief Delk was chosen? He has always had difficulty supervising Brenda and I think his indications near the end of this episode that he is trying to “help” her learn how to behave for the new guy was just a little too late.
sk, I re-watched the episode this afternoon. It is very possible that Willie Rae was going to talk to Brenda about exactly what you are saying –the need to live in the now. In any family, when someone faces serious illness, prioities are reviewed and often changed. And since Willie Rae was dealing with Clays’s illness and recovery pretty much on her own for six months, she’d had time to think.
This episode was so moving when Brenda discovers her mother has died. The lesson to us all is take time for your loved ones.
Thanks for your comment Elise. You are so right. Terroe
Please Does anyone know what Willy Rea wanted to talk to Brenda about??
Why don’t you tell us what you had in mind what Brenda’s mom was going to talk to her about ?