Double Trouble: Baby Momma Drama Times Two
Tommy, the youngest Rizzoli sibling, finds himself in the midst of a heated argument with his baby momma, Lydia, during their son’s christening at a church. The situation escalates when it’s revealed that Lydia plans to move to Texas with her new man, taking little TJ away from his family. Tommy’s inability to get his life together has led him to neglect filing the necessary paperwork for custody. To make matters worse, Lydia has a history of sleeping with not only Tommy but also Jane, Frankie, and Tommy’s father. Talk about a tangled web!
A Gruesome Discovery: Body Found Under Baptismal Font
During the christening, Maura senses something amiss and soon discovers a body hidden beneath the baptismal font. The young woman’s corpse is covered in agricultural lime, making it nearly impossible to determine the time of death. As the team investigates, they find a mysterious gang tattoo on the victim’s body, indicating she hadn’t been dead for long. Unfortunately, she was an illegal immigrant, making it difficult to track her down. Along with her mother, she worked in a sweatshop and lived in a neighborhood plagued by gang activity.
The victim’s father, a church landscaper’s son, attempts to hang himself during interrogation (how does that even happen?!). The gang tattoo leads the investigation to uncover that it is a sort of brand that lays claim to the woman. If the gang had found out that the landscaper’s son had “taken” what was “theirs,” death would surely be brutal.
Desperate Measures: Strangling with a Rosary and Desecrating a Church
We all know the only way to prevent a death is to strangle someone with a rosary and desecrate a church, right? That’s what a good father does for his son. No other options are available but blasphemy.
Frankie’s Career Takes a Hit: Budget Cuts and Reallocations
In the last two episodes, Frankie finally starts to come up in the world, but this week budget cuts come down. True to life, and the very sad reality, he becomes a floater and is put where he is needed. This, of course, is homicide. I was wondering if they were just going to write Frankie off a bit, and only have him be in the family scenes, but this was slightly tacky. He got one episode in his own unit, and even then Jane was a huge part of his work. All the other detectives receive letters as well, informing them that they could be “reallocated.” I fear what this might mean for the future of our finely-oiled machine.
Resolution for the Littlest Rizzoli: Parent Trap Antics
The littlest Rizzoli issue is, of course, resolved. However, that resolution was brought about by a bit of “Parent Trap” antics of the family trying to get Tommy and Lydia back together. When that fails, they start trying to get rid of the other man in the picture. Lydia is beyond naïve, and it comes down to her love of dogs, and her new man’s allergy to them, that causes them to split and have Tommy and Lydia possibly back together. Which is still gross, considering she has been with the father and son in that biblical sense.
Tommy and Frankie: From Three-Dimensional Characters to Comedy Tropes
Between Tommy being an incessant screw-up and Frankie always being an underdog, the brothers have stopped being three-dimensional and have become more of a comedy trope. I understand the show is about Jane and Maura, but these are characters we have grown to care about, and it’s irritating to see them brought up only to be brushed away.
A Disappointing Third Episode: Filler and Out-of-the-Blue Facts
For only being the third episode in the season, it was slightly disappointing. There were several scenes where Maura just sat there looking smart and helpful with nothing to say. After starting the season off with such a bang, this episode felt like filler that was meant to set up future events. Things felt out of the blue, with one or more facts coming out of nowhere. As I’ve said, procedurals have been done to death, and what keeps me coming back to Rizzoli & Isles is the wit and banter. While it was there, it was not on par with what I have come to expect.
Follow Us
