Post by Naj on May 12, 2005 16:47:06 GMT -5
Review provided by TVFan
Episode 2.22: "Best Friends"
This was a very strong episode. I thought everything gelled perfectly. It was nice to have Mark Pellington back as director, and he did not disappoint. His showdown scene with Lilly in the parking lot in "Look Again" is still one of the show's most memorable.
DIRECTING
There were so many nice directorial decisions in "Best Friends." Some of the transitions between the current scenes and flashbacks were gorgeous! I noticed this especially when the detectives were sitting around reading the poems and the flashbacks were showing us what had happened to inspire the poem. The show didn't use its typical black and white for the flashbacks of older cases, but they were not in true regular color either (at least they didn't appear to be). The colors looked muted, and almost like a painting. It was a really nice effect, and I thought it conveyed the mood better than black and white would have for this episode.
STYLE
The way they used the rain, darkness, sunlight, etc for the different scenes was just amazing. I thought the dim lit scene between Rose and Billie after Billie's beating was very effective. The two were hiding in Curtis' moonshine shed under the veil of the evening darkness, just as they were hiding their secret relationship from the world. The rainy scenes reinforced the poetry spoken over them as Billie put her angst into words. Weather often plays an important role on Cold Case, from the snow that caused Timmy to freeze to death in "Glued" to the rain that poured on Lilly and Todd Whitley as she escorted him to prison in "Look Again." "Best Friends" was no exception.
WRITING
I thought that the script was just as strong as the amazing directing, so my hat goes off to Liz Garcia (although I assumed the episode would be good because she wrote the beautiful "Sleepover" earlier this season). Every twist was a surprise for me. I had no idea what happened until the characters told us. I loved how Rose's poetry spelled out what happened, and Lilly had to sort it out phrase by phrase. Everything the detectives needed was in front of them, but it took context to figure out what the words all meant. The amazing story of Rose and Billie was well written, and the strong emotional aspects were well conveyed through the script.
PLOT
Cold Case has dealt with gay/lesbian/bisexual issues before, but it seemed that this episode captured the actual relationship more than the others that have focused on the issue. Just as Lilly said to Rose at the end, it was the wrong time for them. Rose continued on with her life, but she lived the rest of it a lie. She was true to herself when she was with Billie, but the times were not right back then. It was so tragic when the truck went off the bridge and only Rose survived. Not only did she lose the person she loved, but she was forced to deal with the fact that she had been driving and made the decision to drive off the bridge so they could be together forever.
The decision to use a musical piece over the closing montage was a departure from the usual format. It was very appropriate for this episode because it matched the solemn mood that the conclusion of the case brought. Usually, there is a sense of closure and happiness when Cold Case ends, but "Best Friends" left a sort of sadness knowing what Rose had struggled with her entire life. The closing was made more effective with the haunting words from both girls' poetry. It capped off a very poignant and affective episode.
Episode 2.22: "Best Friends"
This was a very strong episode. I thought everything gelled perfectly. It was nice to have Mark Pellington back as director, and he did not disappoint. His showdown scene with Lilly in the parking lot in "Look Again" is still one of the show's most memorable.
DIRECTING
There were so many nice directorial decisions in "Best Friends." Some of the transitions between the current scenes and flashbacks were gorgeous! I noticed this especially when the detectives were sitting around reading the poems and the flashbacks were showing us what had happened to inspire the poem. The show didn't use its typical black and white for the flashbacks of older cases, but they were not in true regular color either (at least they didn't appear to be). The colors looked muted, and almost like a painting. It was a really nice effect, and I thought it conveyed the mood better than black and white would have for this episode.
STYLE
The way they used the rain, darkness, sunlight, etc for the different scenes was just amazing. I thought the dim lit scene between Rose and Billie after Billie's beating was very effective. The two were hiding in Curtis' moonshine shed under the veil of the evening darkness, just as they were hiding their secret relationship from the world. The rainy scenes reinforced the poetry spoken over them as Billie put her angst into words. Weather often plays an important role on Cold Case, from the snow that caused Timmy to freeze to death in "Glued" to the rain that poured on Lilly and Todd Whitley as she escorted him to prison in "Look Again." "Best Friends" was no exception.
WRITING
I thought that the script was just as strong as the amazing directing, so my hat goes off to Liz Garcia (although I assumed the episode would be good because she wrote the beautiful "Sleepover" earlier this season). Every twist was a surprise for me. I had no idea what happened until the characters told us. I loved how Rose's poetry spelled out what happened, and Lilly had to sort it out phrase by phrase. Everything the detectives needed was in front of them, but it took context to figure out what the words all meant. The amazing story of Rose and Billie was well written, and the strong emotional aspects were well conveyed through the script.
PLOT
Cold Case has dealt with gay/lesbian/bisexual issues before, but it seemed that this episode captured the actual relationship more than the others that have focused on the issue. Just as Lilly said to Rose at the end, it was the wrong time for them. Rose continued on with her life, but she lived the rest of it a lie. She was true to herself when she was with Billie, but the times were not right back then. It was so tragic when the truck went off the bridge and only Rose survived. Not only did she lose the person she loved, but she was forced to deal with the fact that she had been driving and made the decision to drive off the bridge so they could be together forever.
The decision to use a musical piece over the closing montage was a departure from the usual format. It was very appropriate for this episode because it matched the solemn mood that the conclusion of the case brought. Usually, there is a sense of closure and happiness when Cold Case ends, but "Best Friends" left a sort of sadness knowing what Rose had struggled with her entire life. The closing was made more effective with the haunting words from both girls' poetry. It capped off a very poignant and affective episode.
