Season 3 Reviews

[TVFan]

So, how did you feel about season 3? Did you love it, hate it, or somewhere in between? Which episodes, scenes, performances, etc really stuck out for you and which didn't? Write your very own Season 3 Review and tell us how you honestly feel about the show's third year. If you would like to take a look at previous season reviews, the links are below.

Season 2

Season 1

[TVFan]

So, I started this thread and I had planned to make good on it with a review. I started writing the thing last week, but never had time to finish it. Then today, I had promised a CC season review for Pass the Remote, so I ended up completing it and putting up over there first instead of here first like I had planned. Anyway, it's done! Here's my review for season 3 (slightly modified from Pass the Remote):

Season 3 will probably go down as "The Polarizing Season." More light was shed on Lilly's personal life, but it was met with mixed results. Many fans felt confused by the Lilly that we saw at midseason with her former flame Ray, while others embraced the change as a different side of her multi-faceted character. I liked the idea of the story, but thought it didn't work so well in practice. I bought that Lilly was trying to make changes to her life, and in doing so, began reflecting on "the one that got away." So, she met up with him again only to learn that time had changed her far greater than it had changed him. They were two completely different people with different goals and lifestyles, and it became quickly apparent to Lil that she and Ray weren't going to be in it for the long haul. I liked this part of the story a lot because it was real. She was trying to recapture something that wasn't there, and may never have been in the first place. Where the story stumbled a bit was when Lilly opened her door to him again after realizing that their relationship wasn't going anywhere. I suppose she decided to just enjoy the moment with Ray knowing that it wouldn't last, but it seemed un-Lilly like, especially since the show dropped the story after that episode (due to the viewer reaction). Things simmered down after that encounter, but soon heated up with the season finale - perhaps the show's most polarizing episode yet. Simply put, there are two camps going into the long dreaded summer rerun season: those for the Lilly/Joseph story and those against. When the dust settles once again and the story gets ironed out with the benefit of next season, I think we'll all fall into it just fine. For now, the debate rages on, as does the one over whether this season was on par with seasons past or a little lackluster.

I think we saw some of the strongest cases of the series this season. If Season 1 was criticized for having obvious doers and Season 2 tried too hard to fool us from guessing the doer to the point where the resolution left us scratching our heads, then Season 3 seemed to strike the right balance. Sure, there were still the "head scratchers" like "Beautiful Little Fool," "Colors" and "Debut" (although I still LOVED this one), but overall, the cases made sense and the doers were plausible. The stories were intricate without becoming too involved and each of the characters' personal struggles this season was well played.

The season's two biggest missteps were rectified as the season drew on. The first, adding the character of "Josie chippy" Sutton, caused the show to feel bulky and greatly decreased Lilly's involvement in the cases. A quick resolution to the problem led the writers to cause sparks between "Josie chippy" and Scotty, which sent her packing. It was cliched, but I didn't mind because it meant the show was moving forward without a character that wasn't adding much, but taking away too much. The show decided to add Kat instead, but her arrival was much more subtle. She didn't overshadow the other characters or cause Lilly to take a back seat to the investigations. In fact, she and Lilly teamed up a lot and played off of each other very well. In "Sanctuary," the two interrogated CeCe together while in "Willkommen," Kat tormented Lilly with her show tunes, and then there was Kat's help in "Joseph." She understood Lilly's attraction to Joseph and waved her on to go talk to him after he came down to police headquarters. Maybe Kat will become the confidant that Lilly so desperately needs, and if so, the show will be better for adding her.

The second biggest misstep was ignoring the George effect from Season 2. Lilly went from an emotionally draining experience in "The Woods" that culminated with her shooting and killing George to simply throwing out the newspaper housing the article about his burial in the premiere. I expected to see more from Lilly and the show on the George front, but we were left empty handed. Then in "One Night," Lilly finally let some of her closely guarded emotions simmer over a bit as she interrogated a dying suspect. The revelation that she lost the sense that she would live forever the night that she stood facing George with a gun pointed directly at her face was surprising and different. It was a rare window into her head and it played out very well.

I thought that Season 2 was a tour-de-force season for Kathryn, but she seemed to outdo herself this season. She slowly evolved Lilly from a depressing, almost sickly state to a more content Lilly to someone who was ready to try the whole opening up thing, and she made it all believable. I've always said that Kathryn's greatest strength is her subtlety, and she continued to impress me this season with it as well. She's not one to have Lilly sobbing over the loss of her sense of mortality because she can make one expression, sometimes with only her eyes, and it's enough for us to know exactly how Lilly is reacting. It's an incredible feat, and one that we don't usually see. That scene in "Dog Day Afternoons" where Lilly goes from "Oh crap!" to all smiles with Ray in a matter of seconds is a classic example of her abilities. She further impressed me in "Saving Patrick Bubley" when the show flashed back to a younger, more naive Lilly. Obviously, no actual time had transpired to film the flashback, but Kathryn made you feel certain that it had. She gave Lilly a less seasoned feel while still making her the same Lilly that we love. And Kathryn wasn't the only one turning in impressive performances this season, the entire cast deserves a round of applause. Season 3 may have brought about a lot of changes, some popular, some not, but between the first rate acting and storytelling Cold Case's third season had the same quality and grace that makes it television's best crime drama and one of television's best shows.


If you would like to read this review in its "original form" with pictures and such, click on over to Pass the Remote.

[Naj]

I had just got done reading your review over at your site and I did make a comment. I may have missed some things here but I could never piece together what they were trying to say about Lilly this season with her initial change in appearance. I remember posting after seeing the season opener that I thought Lilly looked sick and she did appear to look older to me. I had wondered if that was intentional to make "Josie chippy" look like the young one on the block but somehow that didn't jive for me at all. I read your observations and that certainly makes sense but I still find some of the Lilly appearance changes perplexing. I also didn't see that in depth into the Lilly/Ray revisiting episode. But now it makes sense that he was still ole Ray and Lilly would not move forward unless she made some personal changes. That much is evident and now I like the idea that Liz had a hand in writing that ep after seeing the latest interview with KM on Entertainers.

Overall the men seemed more rough this season. I didn't care for it personally. I felt the motivation for it wasn't really there the way it all unfolded in some of those episodes. I loved the Vera/Kat dynamic and I will always love Vera's quips. There was a caring Vera helping out the pregnant woman and the poor Vera going on a diet....not...and Vera getting thrown out by his wife. We found more Jeffries at times involved helping Lilly and I enjoyed that as well. I feel one big error they made was introducing a new character in the manner they did. It was completely wrong for the continuity of the show and left loyal watchers baffled as to why they didn't address George and how it affected Lilly. They had no choice but to introduce Kat in little bits which I feel is how they should have approached adding the fifth detective rather than the 'elephant stampede' viewers observed. As a viewer those first five episodes I felt completely trampled upon. I have no interest in an elephant.

I wonder how this all balances out as loyal fans from season one exited in season three with a change of the focus of this series. Also I wonder how they read the numbers for this season and how they determine they were successful and where they were successful and where they weren't. If they are increasing the 18-49 group and decreasing overall viewership is that successful?

[TVFan]

I don't think I saw the Ray situation or Lilly's more sickly appearance the same way when I first watched them either, Naj. I think I came to those conclusions after having viewed the entire season. For me, they were part of a season-long theme that only made sense fully once the context of the entire season was applied.

I think you raised an interesting question about the ratings. It's so subjective because it depends on what each network/show is looking for. I don't know. It will be interesting to see what happens next season.