Ep 6.23 Into the Blue

[irishkale]

THE STAKES OF THE CASE OF A SLAIN FEMALE CADET ARE RAISED WHEN THE UNKNOWN KILLER COMMITS A SHOCKING ACT AGAINST RUSH DESIGNED TO THWART THE INVESTIGATION, ON PART TWO OF THE TWO-PART SIXTH SEASON FINALE OF "COLD CASE," SUNDAY, MAY 10

Sixteen Pearl Jam Hits to Be Featured as the Exclusive Music During The Final Two "Cold Case" Episodes of the Season

Daniel Baldwin ("Grey Gardens," "Homicide: Life on the Street") and Jesse Plemons ("Friday Night Lights") Guest Star as an Official and Cadet From the Victim's Military School

Joe Penny ("Jake and the Fatman") And Jessica Tuck ("Judging Amy") Guest Star as the Victim's Parents

"Into the Blue" As the team intensifies their quest to find the person behind the 2005 slaying of a female cadet, Rush relives painful memories of when she forged her own difficult path as the first female homicide detective in the Philadelphia Police Department, on Part Two of the two-part sixth season finale of COLD CASE, Sunday, May 10 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

SERIES REGULARS:

Lilly Rush: Kathryn Morris
Scotty Valens: Danny Pino
Lt. John Stillman: John Finn
Nick Vera: Jeremy Ratchford
Will Jeffries: Thom Barry
Kat Miller: Tracie Thoms

RECURRING CAST :

Paul Cooper (2009): Raymond J. Barry

GUEST CAST:

Kate Butler: Maddy Curly
Hank Butler: Joe Penny
Charlotte Butler: Jessica Tuck
Commandant Murillo: Michael Ironside
James Addison: Jake McLaughlin
Lawrence Gardner: Jason Thomas
Moe Kitchener: Daniel Baldwin
Ryan Stewart: Jesse Plemons
Keith Henderson: Dennis Hill
Paul Cooper (1976): Brant Cotton
Lilly Rush (Age 6): Makenna Barrett
Lilly Rush (Age 10): Megan Helin
John Stillman (1980): Anthony John Crane
Cop (1980): Kinsey McLean
Rookie. (1994): Max Adler
E.R. Doctor: Keith Pillow

WRITTEN BY: Series executive producers Jennifer Johnson and Greg Plageman

DIRECTED BY: Jeannot Szwarc

[longislanditalian2]

Wow what a great episode!!!

First off, I love how the whole solving in the case was from an imaginary prediction set from Lilly's mind. Mostly how she saw flashes of her life while being uncousious, I knew there was a connection between her and Stillman reguarding her 49.

The end of love how we heard the voice of her father while the song" Black", played in the background. The letter was indeed very powerful, but I do like her father being there when Lilly awoke in the hospital. She's going to be alright, I almost cried after hearing the last words in the letter and seeing Paul holding her hand.

Although we didn't find out all the secrets of Lilly, I gave this one a an Excellent.

BRAVO Cold Case you did it again. Kathryn Morris did an outstanding job, in this. I like how they used different weaves in her hair to make it long like that.

[coldcase047]

I don't get it. So the whole episode was Lilly's dream. But then in real life, how did they catch the guys who did it? Did they just do everything that happened in Lilly's dream or what? I AM SO CONFUSED!!!

[Gina]

Yeah, was it Lilly's dream? What the frick?! lol

[longislanditalian2]

May 10, 2009 21:13:38 GMT -5 coldcase047 said:

I don't get it. So the whole episode was Lilly's dream. But then in real life, how did they catch the guys who did it? Did they just do everything that happened in Lilly's dream or what? I AM SO CONFUSED!!!

It wasn't a dream it was more like it was probably a hullcination it wasn't real but it was made to believe that this actually happened but it didn't, When she finally came up she was able to tell them something. Plus the squad was still working on the case, they could have found something.
At the end the case was solved, Lilly did see Kate's Ghost at the end.


They solved it, but it was a nice twist on a two parter.

[Gina]

Yeah, I caught that! lol

[longislanditalian2]

Lilly was having halluncinations, in the beginning her eyes didn't cateract. I sensed something immediatly like how she was able to get dressed that quickly and run out. Like the ER doctor said at the beinning she had an concussion. That could do something to her, like being underwater.

[Gina]

Yeah, I was pretty shocked that she got out that fast.

[longislanditalian2]

The reason why we kept on seeing Lilly having those spells is because she was lasping in and out of counsiness the whole time underwater. Everything that she was feeling was felt underwater, but I do like how we saw Lilly's eyes open and her father there. It was a good way to end Season Six, I was very impressed by this two-parter and had no reason to hate it.

The case was also intreguing I didn't think Moe actually had something to do with it, or Ryan for that matter.

[coldcase047]

Okay, so the whole thing was a hallucination and nothing in this episode, except the very end, actually happened?

[boxman]

I voted "One of the Seasons Best".

I'm a little annoyed, though, that this episode seemed almost too much like a series finale too. I guess that had to be done given the state with CBS. I did enjoy some wrap ups of why the themes of alcohol and parenthood played an important part to the Cold Case saga, and good use of the recurring water/river theme too. I also laughed when Stillman said "Neshaminy Crick" (instead of Creeeek). Still, they didn't explain why there's so much coffee in the series.... Oh, well. I guess they have to leave a few mysteries around for season seven??

[The Reverend Bizarre]

Ah ha ha ha ha! Alright, so the whole thing was a dream/hallucination.

Actually, now I wonder why I gave it "Best of the Season" I guess it's because it actually grabbed me. But in hind site there's a lot of belief that I'm going to have to suspend. For example, I'm supposed to believe that Lilly had a dream/hallucination where she figures out who killed the cadet and, lo and behold the ones who killed in the dream are the same ones who did in real life. I tell you, a hallucination would have been a whole lot more realistic.

And yet I can't complain, I shouldn't complain. I believe it's possible for people to have precognitive and post-cognitive dreams. (post-cognitive dreaming is dreaming about something that happened in the past that you would have had no way of knowing about.)

And what we learned about Lilly. Let's see...we learned that the guy who attacked her was a fat bald guy. And we learned that Lilly was a detective! OH! And and we also learned that she rode a bicycle! Oh! And we also learned that her father was an assassin!

Wait, what.

Okay, I digress. You know, maybe the whole episode was a dream symbolizing Lilly's life. Come to think of it, there was a lot of stuff that doesn't add up.

I don't know.

But I loved the music.

*HEAD DESK*

[irishkale]

I voted "One of the Season's Best!"

First of all, I can tell that people are confused by task of reviewing an episode that ends up being "a fake." The reveal at the end that most of the episode was a figment of Lilly's oxygen deprived shocked state was probably the most mind-blowing reveal EVER in the history of the series.

Now some people might think that it's a wasted episode -- I mean why bother showing us stuff that isn't reality? I can understand this viewpoint, but I don't agree with it. I think "it was all a dream" episodes got a bad rap from that one famous "Dallas" plotline. You know the one with Bobby in the shower?

I think if you were intrigued by the interrogations, advances to the plot, and the storyline, it doesn't matter if it was real or not. If you were entertained when you thought it was all "real," then the writers and staff of the show did their job effectively. And I think the writers absolved themselves of any accusations of "cheating" by giving us hints that all was not right with Lilly. We just made the easy assumption that the dizzy spells and hallucinations were the result of a severe concussion.

Personally, I was laughing with joy when they did the reveal -- I loved it. CC Season 6 with Jennifer Johnson as the showrunner has been a season of bold moves and risktaking. The "let's do something we haven't done before" attitude has revitalized the show and this latest audacious episode was a great capper to the season.

As for the specifics of the episode, I thought it was a masterpiece, and probably my favorite season finale. They revealed so much about Lilly's past it was dizzying, and they did it in a brilliant way -- her unstable mental state would cause her to lapse into flashbacks. The content of the flashbacks was epic if you are a longtime fan. We finally learn of the special relationship between Lilly & Stillman that has been hinted at for years. It was so satisfying to learn of the details of Lilly's past "49," how Stillman became her protector, and then how she was recruited to homicide by Stillman. He became her father figure when her real dad skipped out on her.

The case itself was good, too. The writers did a good job of continuing the storyline from the previous episode. It sort of became dangerously close to being "background noise" unfortunately because the episode was so Lilly-centric. I would have liked to see more of the victim "Kate Butler" talking about her feelings, etc. so that I would have more of a connection with the case. Maybe 2 episodes was not enough!

The music was awesome! It was cool that this episode also had Pearl Jam, because I didn't have to worry about guessing songs, etc. I could just relax and listen to it. The songs were well integrated into the story. If you like Pearl Jam, it was a win-win.

The ending montage was incredible. Lilly helpless on the gurney while Stillman tenderly moves the hair out of her eyes was one of the most touching moments of the series. Then the voiceover of Lilly's Dad... "There are two sides to every story..." echoes the episode!!!! There were two sides -- Lilly's imagination and the reality. We then get a montage of the rest of the team solving the case. What's funny is that it's all done in documents -- we see vera looking over the signout logs, the Holiday Leave waiver for Ryan (Jeffries), the fax with Moe's speeding tickets (Kat), then the missing Locker theft report (Scotty.) You have to actually read the document on the screen to piece it together. Which is funny because as fans we know that sometimes the documents on the screen are usually gibberish or pieces of the script, etc. Then the heartfelt promise of Cooper in the voiceover -- "I will always be there.." as he holds Lilly's hand in the hospital bed... then the nostalgic fade to the innocence of Litle Lilly on her bike! Perfect!!!!!

If this is the apology we get for the past sins of the show (i.e. the horrible mistake of killing off Lilly's mom) then I say "Apology accepted."

I hope we get a Season 7 with Jennifer again at the helm. It would be exciting to see what she does with the other principle cast (Vera, Kat, etc.)

[longislanditalian2]

Well said Irishkale, I do think that the writers left the episode up to our own interpetation some parts but not all. All in all, at the end Lilly knew that she wasn't alone. Her father holding her hand symbolized something deep, but she'll be fine. She just needs his love and comfort right now more than anything else in the world.

I found it hard to believe that no one had asked Lilly if she was alright during the hallicunation thing. Perhaps we were meant to see it through her eyes, or how we were preceived to see it in a non-reality sort of thing.




The Letter

Dear Lilly,

There are two sides to every story neither which I
think you'll find satisfactory. Suffice it to say, there's
no way I could've stayed with your mother and
survived. In that sense, you're already stronger than
me. I was a lousy father. When I got sober enough
to figure out how much I missed, it was too late
to undo the damage. Much to my regret I'll always
be the Dad who bought you a bike but never taught
you how to ride it. There were a few moments I tried to
to reconnect along the way. But you were on your own
path by then. Your own woman and you turned out
great kid. I've missed so much of your life, for that
I am sorry. Not only to you but for depriving myself
all these times you need a father, someone to protect
you. When you showed up that day at the park all these
year later my heart about jumped out of my chest. I thought
maybe you came to judge me until I realised I'm the only
parent you've got left. Like it or not, you only get one
father.
Just know, if there is ever another moment in your life
when you need me, I will be there.

[zoé]

I agree 100% with everything you wrote Irishkale!
And the title did not lie, we were thrown "into the blue" for most of the episode...

My only question concerning the case: what happened to Lawrence Gardner in real life? He's not mentionned in the papers nor is he seen at PMI during the arrest.

In the letter, when Cooper says "all the times you needed a father, someone to protect you", we see Stillman ;D
I loved that Stillman is kind of the reason why Lilly became a cop and how he taught her that it's never too late. It's a nice coincidence with the Glued episode: the flashback where the 10 year old Lilly identifies her attacker (according to the press release) is set the same year as the case of the boy beaten and left in the cold that cost Stillman his marriage... He said that he missed his own daughter's birth because of that case he never managed to solve. The funny thing is that his hard work is what both lead him to loose her daughter and to give hope to Lilly when he solved her 49 and he became a father figure to her. He guided her slowly towards the cold cases and she ends up being the one to solve the Glued case, the circle is completed

The last seconds echoe beautifully the ending of the 4th season: Lilly is again in a hospital bed but this time, there was "someone to call".

I sure hope it's not the series finale but if it is, what an awesome way to end the show and Lilly's story.

[longislanditalian2]

@zoe- "Someone to Call" was actually in S5 when Lilly had those nightmares. What Happened to Lilly is why she became a cop, as well, not just Stillman.

[lillyrush1977]

One word to describe the season ender: WOW

I absolutely loved this episode. It was the perfect way to end the 6th season. Daniel Baldwin...what a great performance. When he told Lilly he put her in a box too, sweetheart, chills went up my spine.

This was a great twist in the story, I was thinking most of the episode she had a really bad concussion and they needed to get her to the hospital, but the scene in the bathroom led me to the thought of her still in the car.

Cold Case needs one more season to develop all the possible story lines that has been opened up by this episode. Even though Lilly is not alone is seems anymore, she has her Dad in the end, I would like to see a more gratifying ending for our Lilly.

As always KM ROCKS in this one!

[Naj]

I think irishkale's post has said it all. I don't give the writers/producers any blame for making this season finale as they did. They probably had thought there was a good possibility that the series might not return. In fact, I really admire them for doing this episode the way they did out of respect for those fans who have been along for the ride since day one. As far as using Lilly's hallucinations at least it's something not done before and help to set up the telling of Lilly's past. And Cooper has indicated that his family would like to meet her. So, if there is another season seven, and there is a good indication that there will be Kathryn Morris Previews a Red Hot Cold Case Finale at least we have that part of Lilly's life revealed finally. Now they can develop Lilly with her father a little more and give the gal long needed love and support in her life.

It didn't surprise me who was involved in Cadet Butler's death it was just a matter of fleshing it out.


I have to admit that when Mo said Lilly is still in a box part - I was kinda going to myself "Oh no - they ruined it. This isn't supposed to be like a George Marks character - what are they doing?" They really got me there for a few seconds {I was thinking they blew it with the episode} Silly me.

I loved the underscore - kinda reminded me of parts they used in the Baby Blues episode. Thank you, Michael!

[longislanditalian2]

Lilly needs to be part of a family, that's what's missing in her life. I do love the ending scene, how touching her father holding her hand.

[lillyrush1977]

An addition to my earlier post..How awesome is KM for doing her own stuntwork!