Ep. 4.07 The Key

[boxman]

boxman said:

The fact that the keys were for a *Cadillac Eldorado* was a strong foreshadow to the identity of the killer. (Cadillacs are used very often at the scene of a crime in this show.) It was fun for me to watch them play with that for a while before revealing that it was the son who drove it and handed the keys to Libby. When that was revealed, Jed jumped to the top of my list of suspects!!

I just realized that another tip-off in this scene was the music by Styx: "In Greek mythology, Styx (Στυξ) is the name of a river which formed the boundary between earth and the underworld, Hades." In Cold Case, rivers are very common areas where dead bodies are left. Rivers go well with the show's use of running *water* as a symbol of change. Styx, being between Earth and Hades, has negative connotations and so it does indeed hint at Jed's guilt. (So much easier to see now, in retrospect.) I notice this is the third use of a Styx song in the show... I wonder if their music was used similarly in scenes from "Love Conquers Al" and "Bad Night"?? Anyway, this tie-in with Greek mythology runs nicely with the way Greek literature, philosophy, and tragedies have influence in this show.

[longislanditalian2]

Also the fact that the eclipse was shown just as Libby died, she was looking into the light , she had mentioned earlier looking into the light would make you go blind. So her dying while looking symoblized herself faded into darkness and her cases being boxed away in a dark room.

[boxman]

It doesn't seem as if I have the time to give the complete rundown of how "Libby" is the "anti-Lilly", but let me jot down some quick points. You folks probably have noticed these and other contrasts between the two.

The tip-off that the writers want us to compare and contrast "Lilly" and "Libby" comes at the opening scene when Jeffries asks Helen to identify her mother's ski-jacket:

Helen: "She used to call it her bumblebee jacket because of the black stripe."

And next, the camera cuts to Lilly with the golden-blonde hair and *black neck warmer*, giving us the yellow & black-stripe tie-in between the two.

---

Libby isn't a career-woman like Lilly. After being a fifth-grade school teacher for a while, she becomes a housewife.

Libby, though not a career-woman, has her hair *up* in the early part of the episode like season one Lilly.

Libby allows Bill to let down her hair, Lilly got fussy when Kite tried.

Libby married Carl, her highschool sweetheart, at eighteen. She was not part of the "Woodstock" type of 70's crowd that went out to explore the world and their sexuality. She got her first kid at twenty. Lilly almost married her sweetheart, definitely didn't have a baby at such a young adult age like Libby, and went out for motorcycle rides with McRay.

Domestic life led Libby to feel more and more unsatisfied with life; Lilly's thrill for life comes from her career and goal to be a "murder cop". (Ray's words in "Dog Day Afternoons".)

Libby's unhappy marriage eventually leads her to conclude that she doesn't need a man to define who she is, and being "alone" doesn't necessarily mean she's "lonely". Lilly's recognizes that her career may be keeping her "alone", and this (along with her mom) is making her feel "lonely". Lilly's unsure if she needs a man to keep her from feeling lonely and alone.

Anyway, you folks get the idea, right?? That's why I consider this a "Lilly-centric" episode. Just like how season three's "Honor" was an episode about honor by telling a story of dishonor, and like how the character "Jesus" in season one's "Hubris" did the opposite of what Jesus did, in this episode, Lilly's story is apparently being told in the "negative" or "opposite" through Libby's character.

ETA: Oh, almost forgot to add that in addition to "fondue" making a comeback at a Chestnut Hill restaurant here in Philly, so was swinging: www.clubkamasutra.com/html/index_02.asp
Heh heh heh.... Until the city shut them down in November 2005. Oh well. Maybe Eurache knows a few places in Jersey?? ;D

[shiloh]

I thought this episode was good.
It screened here last night.
I loved the song played at the end.
Was that Anne Murray?
Does anyone know what the title was?
I grew up in the 70's, so I did remember most of the music. LOL
All in all, a good episode.

[Naj]

I rewatched this ep last night on the rerun on CBS. The dance scene with Libby and the boy and the ice pic reminded me of Basic Instinct. That dance was exactly how Sharon Stone danced in the nightclub with Roxy.

[eurache]

RE-AIRING NOVEMBER 11, 2007 ON TNT AT 8PM EST

[eurache]

TNT REPEAT - 7/30/08 - 10PM ET

[eurache]

TNT REPEAT - 10/3/08 - 5AM ET

[ninja1088]

Just saw this episode and have to say.. Libby is the only one of writer Jen Johnson's victims I couldn't feel 100% bad for.
I felt for her daughter and I can certainly understand why she had the affair, she was in a crappy marriage and her husband has no qualms about flaunting his affair.
But.... JJ's other victims were all strong women who found themselves and courage they didn't know they had. The courage to find new dreams, stand up for their child, or try to survive. And they didn't have to use and manipulate a teenage boy to do it. Even Jefferies tells Jed what Libby did to him was wrong. The fact she showed him the eclispe to make up for it shows she knew as well.
Should Jed do time in prison. Oh my yes, 5-10 doesn't sound out of the question for me. But IMO the book thrown at him shouldn't have all its pages in it.

[Electrophile]

I thought it was a good episode, nothing spectacular. The saving grace was the music, especially the ending song "Broken-Hearted Me" by Anne Murray. A beautiful song whose lyrics I think speak to a lot of what was going on in the episode.


On one hand you feel bad for Libby; trapped in a loveless marriage, feeling like the best years of her life are passing her by, she has an affair with a young kid to try and recapture that youth she lost when she got married quite young. On the other you feel bad for Jed because he was young, didn't know what love really was and probably got in over his head with Libby. What he felt for her was a lot stronger than what she felt for him. This happens all the time in real life, many times not with the same conclusion.

[stillmanfan]

I thought it was an okay episode but I kinda thought it was the daughter who was the doer. I do agree, I think Stillman knows what Scotty did and maybe Thomas told Stillman about her case and Stillman just put 2 and 2 together.

I liked how they showed Stillman in the background when Mike and Scotty were talking.

I saw the credits and it didn't say Robert Pine as the guy who played the husband in 2006... That WAS Robert Pine...

Like Vera and that was cool to see Jeffries as a rookie.

[ninja1088]

Long time coming response electrophile, but just having rewatched it again(DVR is a wonderful thing)... Libby irks me more than she did before.
Yes, she married young,yes she was trapped in a loveless marriage....but I truly do detest adults (and Libby was an adult) that use juveniles the way she used Jed. If it had been Jed's father using Libby's daughter to resolve his issues, there would be not even a glimmer of sympathy for him. He'd be viewed as a pervert etc.
Does this mean Libby deserved to die? Of course not, but as Jefferies even told Jed, what she did was wrong. And it was. There truly is no excuse for a man or woman to use juveniles the way Libby did...none. Out of all JJ's victims, she was the one I truly felt the least for.