Episode 3.15: Sanctuary

[boxman]

sonny said:

I thought they were both detectives, only that Lilly has more experience than Scotty.

In that recent TV Guide article, it states:
"Well into the third season, we're finally getting to know Rush, Scotty Valens, Will Jeffries, Nick Vera and their boss, Lt. John Stillman."

Let me add that the article continues to say:
"It was by design that I wanted the characters to unfold in a calm, quiet way--the way you meet people in real life," says creator and executive producer Meredith Stiehm.

[boxman]

Has anyone noticed that in the Cold Case world, that there is a pattern where anything automotive is usually associated with crime, criminals and criminal activity Additionally, this association is usually made twice--or even more times--in a single episode??

*Possible spoilers follow for those who haven't seen the whole series*

In this episode, Scotty picks up the drug-runner Ana in his BMW. It is also in the BMW that Scotty broke police conduct rules and began to feel more for Ana. We also find that Ana is tracked by an SUV, from where she is killed and dumped from.

In "Dog Day Afternoons", Julious states that he fixes cars. The activity gives him a quiet time to think his 'grand plan'--which turns out to be his plan to rob a bank.

In "Frank's Best", one of the prime suspects, Stump, is both an automechanic and a criminal on parole. (He was wearing a electronic tracking leg bracelet.)

"Schadenfreude" had two associations between automobiles and criminal/illegal/questionable activity. The older Timmy, who once was a meth chemist, lives a life as a beggar that wipes cars at the end of a car wash. There was also a scene that shocked many of you--Scotty takes a shot of Southern Comfort on-duty and in broad daylight. He hands the flask over to Vera, who also takes a shot. This scene took place prominently in front of an auto parts store.

"Greed" is another episode with several automobile-crime associations. Charles Danville's murder occured outside of his DeLorean automobile. The money that Kip made off his NeverEx stock was used to buy a classic Mustang--and we know that the profits they made from NeverEx was through a scam company investment. Danville's murder was thought to be a part of a botched auto theft.

In "Colors", Clyde 'The Glide' Taylor was murdered outside of his automobile.

The murder in "8 Years" also occurs outside of a car. The episode also touches upon the story of an automobile theft ring, like in "Greed". Also interesting is that the opening scene closes with a focus on the red Nova, an automobile owned by Mae, who was wanted for a list of criminal involvement.

"Bad Night" again makes two references to automobiles and crime. Angus and Vicky get into an automobile accident, and Angus first suspects that his car's brakes were tampered with and the accident was intentionally planned. Jeffries wife is killed in an unsolved hit-and-run accident, when she uncharacteristically exits her car to fix a tire. (And I wonder if its any coincidence that the final song for the episode, "Dream On" by Aerosmith, is used heavily to advertise the Buick automobile brand?)

In "Best Friends", a Dodge truck is used to run moonshine, an illegal activity during prohibition. Rose and Billie also plan to steal Curtis' moonshine by stealing and using his truck.

The following example also loosely follows this pattern: In "Look Again" three important Lilly scenes occur near automobiles. Lilly interviews her first very first Cold Case suspect as he is about to enter his Mercedes; she is confronted by the actual murderer in the Philly PD parking lot; and her first successful Cold Case arrest is visualized as her pulling the arrested suspects out of police cars. In fact, all three scenes have been continuously used throughout the show's three year run in the opening credits. If automobiles are being used to symbolize crime, then isn't it only natural that that three years hence they still use these images of Lilly near automobiles? These three visualizations represent Lilly's detective responsibilities to investigate crime, confront suspects, and arrest criminals--and they all occur near automobiles.

And this last one is kind of a stretch, but it still loosely works: In the opening scene of "Wishing", Lilly and Scotty are both waiting at the graveyard for the artist to drop an illustration at Colin's grave. Lilly waits outside of the car, while Scotty waits in the car. This was a significant scene in itself, because it showed how Scotty wanted them to sit together in the car to talk. At first it was about the case, but burning inside of Scotty was his urge to bring up his and Christy's relationship with Lilly. Scotty needed to go outside the car to have his discussion with Lilly, and when he tried bringing Chris up, she wouldn't hear it.

Soooo.... with all this said, were there other episodes with this association? As many of you know, I haven't seen many episodes from seasons one and two....

But I think the most intriguing thing to think about, is if this associaton carries over to motorcycles? There are two associations of auto mechanics with criminals (Julious and Stump). Does a motorcycle mechanic also follow this pattern? Could the reason why Ray had disappeared for so long be because he was in jail??? hmm.......

[boxman]

sonny said:

tvfan said:

I think the writers, not Stillman, put Lilly in that room because of the subtle connection it had to last season. It was an awesome display of continuity. That scene is the best one from the episode IMO, so I'm willing to overlook the fact that in real life, Lilly never would have been in that room. There's a lot of stuff going on that isn't said in that scene, and I love it!

I completely agree with you here TVFan. Although on watching the ep I never thought that Lilly shouldn't have been there, but like it was said in reality she probably wouldn't have been. It was a powerful scene IMO too and said alot about the way Scotty feels about his lying to Lilly last season; that he really regrets it.

The thing about flashbacks is that they're provided to us--the viewers--mostly for convenience and style. However, flashbacks aren't portrayed accurately; they are portrayed from the storyteller's point-of-view. In "Frank's Best", we saw this peculiar quality of flashbacks being done this way, from the storyteller's perspective.

*spoilers warning for Frank's Best*
Frank's son, Tommy, is not a suspect for almost the entire episode. This is because in his flashbacks, he portrays Stump as the troublemaker, and himself as the innocent son. This is most apparent in the flashback that occurs in the veterinary waiting area. We're misled about Stump's character and made to think he swears and is disrespectful to Frank--but this wasn't the truth about the way Stump felt. The whole flashback was a fabrication for Tommy to mislead the investigators and us viewers.
*end of spoiler*

So there is significance to the fact that the next scene is Scotty's flashback. It's his POV, his subconscious, that we're looking into. So even though a lot isn't being said, we at least know what one person in the room, Scotty, is thinking at that moment. The music in the flashback is also important--it can represents the storyteller's mood and emotions at the moment.

Can everyone imagine what it would be like if Cold Case didn't have flashbacks? If this show didn't have flashbacks, then in the 'real world' the scene in Stillman's office would go something like this:

Scotty: "And when we were in my BMW, Ana said,'You like the Rush.' Then I told her, 'Don't you?'"

Ha ha ha... I'd loooove to see the expression on Lilly's face if this is what he literally said to Lilly and Stillman in that room when giving his confession. There's no way he quoted Ana out loud--but it only goes to show that in Scotty's head, he's thinking of Lilly a lot.

Then consider the words for "Mad About You". I've posted the lyrics earlier. It's about a love/hate relationship. Kinda sounds like Scotty and Lilly, doesn't it?

So does this foreshadow a possible future Scotty/Lilly hook up? hmmm.....

[sonny]

Wow boxman you truly amaze me with your analysis, interpretations and theories. They make a lot of sense and I wonder if the writers really think about all the hidden messages and intentions the way you do? It's great reading and although I probably don't think about the episodes on the deep level that you do, what you say does make a lot of sense.

Still not convinced that Lilly and Scotty will ever hook up but perhaps that's why the writers are providing us with such subtlties that you describe: to keep some viewers hopes that it is always a possibility that something could or will happen between them. They're relationship is certainly a complex one, and I for one have never really been able to figure out how they feel about one another. :smile10:

[boxman]

So far, I've discussed symbolism and visual metaphor in this episode. Automobiles seem to represent crime/criminal activity, and flashbacks are visual metaphors/representations of the storyteller. This episode also dealt out words with double-meanings.

As mentioned earlier, the use of the word "Rush" could be taken literally or by its connection to Lilly Rush. A double-entendre?

Another double-meaning is the episode's name,"Sanctuary". Today, the word sanctuary has lost most of it's religious meaning, and is commonly used as a word to describe safe refuge. The etymology of sanctuary, however, goes back to Latin/Hebrew/Christian roots used to identify the area around the church's altar. See Sanctuary. This is interesting, given that the two missing cookies were located in this area, and this is where Scotty 'sees' Ana's apparition.

Drug 'cookies'? I've never heard this term used this way before... Usually, the term 'cookie' in drug lingo refers to an actual biscuit made with marijuana, as in 'hash cookie'. Still, 'drug cookie' is another phrase with an interesting double-meaning. As we find that the missing cookie was located in the statue of Mary, 'cookie' could negatively refer to the bread that Christians consume in Communion/Eucharist ceremonies...a ritual conducted in the sanctuary of a church....

---

Around the religious theme in this episode, it is interesting that they opened with "Teardrop", the song by Massive Attack. The shortest sentence in the Bible is "Jesus wept". This sentence is contained in the parable of Lazarus. Look it up and study it! Its a story where Jesus arrives at the tomb of his friend, Lazarus, and raises him from the dead.... hmm... Sounds like the storyline of a future episode? ha ha ha... hmm.......

"Teardrop" at the beginning; Statue of Mary at the end. hmmm... Many interpretations, even a movie made on this... Usually symbolic of tragedy to come, or Mary crying for the sins of man.... Very creepy... More to come... (boxman needs to eat.)

---

Oh, btw, here's the lyrics to "Teardrop":
www.lyricsfreak.com/m/massive-attack/90312/print.html

Massive Attack - Teardrop

love love is a verb
love is a doing word
feathers on my breath
gentle impulsion
shakes me makes me lighter
feathers on my breath

teardrop on the fire
feathers on my breath

in the night of matter
black flowers blossom
feathers on my breath
black flowers blossom
feathers on my breath

teardrop on the fire
feathers on my breath

water is my eye
most faithful my love
feathers on my breath
teardrop on the fire of a confession
feathers on my breath
most faithful my love
feathers on my breath

teardrop on the fire
feathers on my breath

stumbling a little
stumbling a little

---

"black flowers blossom"??
"water is my eye"??
"teardrop on the fire of a confession"??
hmm....

[boxman]

sonny said:

Still not convinced that Lilly and Scotty will ever hook up but perhaps that's why the writers are providing us with such subtlties that you describe: to keep some viewers hopes that it is always a possibility that something could or will happen between them. They're relationship is certainly a complex one, and I for one have never really been able to figure out how they feel about one another.

Oh, how they love to tease us, don't they? It seems, though, that we will see soon enough!

[longislanditalian2]

I didn't anyone else thought this episode was symbolic , but i guess boxman beat me to it . Boxman I truly agree with you 100 percent , I see what you are saying when this episode premired I had noticed it as well!! I think this is the writers was of saying Lilly and scotty will get together. It's glad that there are people that are analitical like me

[boxman]

sonny said:

... I wonder if the writers really think about all the hidden messages and intentions the way you do?

Well, as we have actually seen before, "Best Friends" foreshadowed Jeffries' wife's auto accident, later revealed in "Bad Night". Here, in "Sanctuary", Ana died outside of Saint Abigail's church...and in "Best Friends", Rose went to Saint Abigail's School. Why the similarity and connection? I really believe it's intentional to lead us to make the conclusion that this episode is written to foreshadow something to happen to one of the main characters in future episodes. (Again, most likely Scotty.)

[myril]

boxman, I still don't agree that the episode forshadows something between Scotty and Lilly. But I wouldn't rule out, that writers are playing with wishes and expectations, as sonny already put it in words.

I'm with you, that the flashbacks don't only show what happened in the past, but do it from the storytellers point of view, it's what the person remembers, not an objective glance into the past. I'm not sure, did we ever see in the show the exact same moment told by different persons? (btw, watched a CSI ep 2 days ago and noticed there sort of flashbacks too, one of the team imagine what could happen to leave a certain evidence at crime scene, though not necessarily the way it actual happened. Never realized that before, watch CSI only seldom.)

Anyway, the choice of music could very well represent the storytellers mood, but I they're not always able to use the music they originally would have liked and not every single word of the lyrics have to be meaningful.

I haven't rewatched the flashback of Scotty in the office scene. But yeah, there is a nice wordplay with "rush" and you can read it as something from the unconscious of Scotty's feelings (though that wouldn't say anything about Lilly's feelings, would it?) - but I think, the writers are playing a little with us viewers, nothing more. If anything I read the scene as something describing quite good Scotty's character: He likes to take a risk, is a little rash in his doings and especially when it comes to women - and that's why he is talking so much about "rush". Don't have to do anything with Lilly. And the song - "... driving in the wrong lane, trouble is my middle name ...", well, that was very fitting to the situation with Ana. But as well, you might say, it fits to the relationsship with Lilly. Ok, but then it doesn't look to me like there is much hope for a happy relationsship.

Hm, and your hint about the use of the song Teardrop and the showing of the statue of Mary at the end... are you suggesting something dramatic might happen to Scotty in the future, something causing tears? Or more sins by Scotty? I honestly don't see a connection.

What I see is, that the song at the beginning is helping to display Scotty had feelings for Ana and Ana felt something perhaps for Scotty, it was intention to let us at least think it could have been a love affair. And at the end we see Scotty, after his mistakes had surfaced, how he seeks forgiveness, still feeling guilty and somewhat responsible for what happened to Ana. Showing the cookies are still there, makes it only a little more tragic - not only that Scotty might still question, if he could have done something, Ana might have been able to save her life herself by telling where she hid the drugs (though I don't think it would have saved her life). They got the murderer, but the people involved, especially Scotty, might not find real peace with that. And yeah, the latter might be picked up. Don't need a hidden message to think, that this episode offers information about Scotty that might be interesting to work with again in episodes to come.

[longislanditalian2]

I think this episode has a lot of hidden messages , Like boxman said about certain things such as when ana said " you like the rush" . To me well I think this is a forshadow to something that will happen btwn Lilly and scotty . I totally agree with Boxman here on that one

[boxman]

longislanditalian2 said:

I think after ana laid dead the piece of paper she held in her hand blew away symblizing a dream blown away..

How about Ana's opening scenes? She's on a jet plane in descent, lies to the customs agent about meeting her boyfriend and carrying drugs, then catches an escalator going down.

She passes an American flag displayed in reverse (with the stars on the right side, not properly on the left), which breaks commonly practiced flag ettiquette rules..... and then meets Scotty?

Although there isn't a rule of when an American flag is displayed in left-right reverse, when an American flag is displayed upside-down (with the stars on the bottom), it is a distress signal (used for situation where only visual communication is possible, like in boating).

Scotty hands Ana a bouquette of flowers; the song "Teardrops" mention "Black Flowers". Black flowers don't exist in nature, but "Black Roses" are a common symbol of tragic romance....

Anyway, I find the opening scenes rather symbolic of Ana's decent from grace; and more importantly, Scotty's established existence "in the dirt", as Ramiro described him.

[longislanditalian2]

I was waiting for someone to mention the black roses to me that gave me the impression that when she recieved the flowers she also was recieving death .I think at the end Ana realized after seeing herself in an office with flowers that this was the end , there was no way she was ever getting out of the car alive and that death was near , she was also wearing a red shirt which can symbolize death. I don't think that Cessie was going to Miami she might have said that aas a trick to get ana to give her the drugs

[boxman]

ecooper516 said:

A couple of things. I thought Lilly was above Scotty in rank. Wasn't there an earlier episode where she talks to him about making it as a detective?
As for the lying issue: I am one of these people that feel that sometimes the end justifies the means. If during an interrogation or questioning of a suspect a white lie must be told to get information which leads to the public good(i.e. putting away a criminal) I am for it. If you have NEVER lied in your life I take my hat off to you. I know, there are teachers, who have lied to encourage and motivate students telling them they have confidence that they can do well. Also, as far as the friend example, why hurt their feelings-they are stuck with the hair cut. Maybe, as the hairdo grows out say something.

Hello, ecooper, I hope you're having an enjoyable St. Patrick's weekend! Let's continue our discussion, shall we?

Now lets put you in your friend's point-of-view for your given scenario:

You've decided to try something different, probably a big leap out of the ordinary. You've spent a big amount of money on the new hairdo, and so that's why you're anxious to ask and hear what your friend thinks. When you question your friend, she tells you "it looks nice," when in actuality, she thinks it looks horrible. Maybe you ask other people--your husband, other friends, people in your family--what they think, and they too, don't want to tell you it looks horrible. They don't want to hurt your feelings--after all, you're stuck with the haircut--so they all tell you the "white lie" to please you.

And then, you ask a niece or nephew what they think. They're too young to feel or understand the social pressure of telling you a "white lie", so they tell you the truth--that your hairdo stinks. Then what?

You have just scripted for yourself the parable of "The Emperor's New Clothes", the Danish fairytale by Hans 'Christian' Anderson.

From Wikipedia:
"Most frequently, the metaphor [of The Emperor's New Clothes] involves a situation wherein the overwhelming (usually unempowered) majority of observers willingly share in a collective ignorance of an obvious fact, despite individually recognising the absurdity."
"The story is also used to express a concept of 'truth seen by the eyes of a child', an idea that truth is often spoken by a person too naïve to understand group pressures to see contrary to the obvious. This is a general theme of 'purity within innocence' throughout Andersen's fables and many similar works of literature."

This analysis brings up another dimension to the situation you've created: By telling your "white lie", aren't you subjecting your freedom of speech, your right to individual thought, to the social pressure to conform? Do you see how you've enslaved yourself? You've subjected yourself from speaking your mind just like the townspeople are subjected to their king.

Where I live, people who act that way to please others are called, to put it politely, "flatterers" or "sycophants". It's not a nice term. And it doesn't build friendships either.

Getting back to putting yourself in your friend's shoes: Knowing that your friend has lied to you for the past few weeks, the next time you get your hair done, will she be the first person you turn to for an honest opinion? Probably not, correct? She's proven to you that she doesn't have integrity.

Interestingly enough, the concept of doing things (in your words) "which leads to the [greater] good" through methods whereby "the end justifies the means" is one of the leading topics for this episode. Just exactly who is allowed to determine, as you say, when that "sometimes" is in determing the "means" that something gets done?

Was it okay for Ana to tell Delia (the other mule on that flight) that feeling sick was a normal part of being a mule? Delia was dying from one of the cookies bursting in her stomach. Ana wanted to comfort her, to give her some hope, that it was going to be alright. Here, in this example, I can agree that a "white lie" is okay. After all, as I have pointed out before, I consider the long-term consequences of lying; and in this case, there isn't any. No doubt, Delia was about to die very soon.

Was it okay for Father Peralta "to get an off-the-record piece of tail" with the young women he gave shelter to? Father Peralta tells Jeffries and Vera he had to "get your hands dirty" for "the Greater Good". Do you agree that this "sometimes" is okay?

How about police cover-ups? Was it okay for Manny to lie for Scotty? To lie about Ana's phone call and about seeing her later that night? Manny also tells Scotty you have to "get your hands dirty if you have to"; to which Scotty replies, "for the Greater Good." Do you agree that to bust a drug ring, for the "Greater Good" of the public, that it's okay to let a person die? Especially someone who's running for their life, who was desperate to get out of drug-running--someone who was simply looking for a better life for herself, her sister, and her parents?

The concept of doing things "for the Greater Good" is an ethical principle known as Utilitarianism. And these examples above show the weakness of Utilitarianism: That in doing things for the "Greater Good", poor short-term decisions can be made. When individuals decide for themselves when "sometimes" it is okay to "get your hands dirty" for the sake of the "Greater Good", they weigh what is right-or-wrong differently. To some, it's lying to get facts in an investigation. To others, its okay to exploit people you are helping. And the worst example here of all, is some individuals feel that it's okay to let a few people die if the general public is protected.

I hope you are beginning to see that this is why in an organization (such as a police force, the Church, or in society in general), it is important to continuously strive for the highest ethical principles. Yes, it is not an easy thing to do. But what can be worse is to allow individuals to arbitrarily decide for themselves what degree of ethical principles they will live by, because this can lead to decisions made without consideration of others, or decisions that fix things only in the short-term.

(Some call this "living on the slippery slope"--that in allowing some small sin to pass, you eventually allow larger things to corrupt you. Sounds like Scotty? )

Real-world police forces know that allowing individual cops to decide what is right or wrong for themselves can lead to abuse-of-power. That's why every police department has "Codes of Conduct" or "Ethical Principles" that govern what the officers can or cannot do.

You can read the real-world Philadelphia PD Ethical Principles here. If you look at it, you will see that they list Integrity as their most important principle:

Integrity
"The public demands that the integrity of its law enforcement officers be above reproach. The dishonesty of just one officer may impair public confidence and cast suspicion upon the Department as a whole. Succumbing to even minor temptations can generate a malignancy which will ultimately destroy an individual's effectiveness and which may well contribute to the corruption of fellow officers. Officers must scrupulously avoid any conduct which might compromise their integrity or the integrity of those with whom they work. No officer should seek or accept any special consideration or privilege, nor anything of value for which others are expected to pay, solely because they are police officers, or for performing their duty in some manner inconsistent with the highest regard for integrity."

So getting back to Lilly in "Look Again", did she show integrity when lying during her investigation? I don't think so, don't you agree now? Isn't she acting outside what is permissible for a police officer?

---

On a final note, one poster at the imdb.com board said he was a little disappointed that Manny wasn't shown being taken into the Internal Affairs offices for questioning. I wonder if the writers are leaving the door open for more police corruption in doing so?

[longislanditalian2]

You are so right boxman , I'm glad there is someone who thinks the way I do

[boxman]

Sloppiness, Goof-Ups, and Making Misteaks:

WoW! This episod wuz ful ov misteaks.

All of you folks know I live in Philly, right? And how I've said many times that they are pretty acurate? Well, not so in dis episod.

First of all, they kept saying "West" as where Scotti worked at. He didn't work at West. Dat waz revealed in "Frank's best" da uddah week. You know, when they went lookin for the big spanish thug? Scotty and Kat? Scotty tolld kat that this was near his old precinnt. But they weren't far from Oxford Circle, which is in NE philly... so West Phlly is very far awayz.

Funny thing, though, is that the picture of the place that they held Ramiro, the yellow brick police station, is completely correct! the 26th precinct is in "west KENSINGTON" (or at least very close to it). That is where all the Latino neighborhoods are in west KENSINGTON, not west philly!!!

One more misteak is that how could Father Peralta be giving last rites at a hospital in Cobbs Creek? There's only a childrens hospital there. Not a like ly place for last rites, doesn't everyone agree?

How a bout the dates of the music, folks? anyone notice that all the music wsnt from 1998? some were from earlier--and worse some were from after! How many times has this show made that misteak??? Look at the dates, people. One song is from 2000. And if you look at the series of "Pure Mood" CDs, one disc is from...the year 2000!!!!

Why is this episode pointing to the year 2000? What case happened in 2000??? 2000 is the third milennium.... Confused? So was I!

One more thing---they are trying a bit to make us think that Scotty loves Lilly, that he thinks of her all the time... Is this just a lie? The whole episode was about lying... Are they trying to mislead us?? The whole episode was about misleading people!! I'm thinking that no, perhaps Scotty and Lilly isn't going to hook-up. It's all a LIE!!! Deception!!

So was there clues to another woman for scottie?? YES! I think there was!! What was anothe theme in this episode?? "Christianity" as in "Christy" "Ana"... "T"!!!

So who is this "T" Why 2000???

Let's see..... "Dog Day Afternoons"!!! Terri, Roween's sister! She works in walking distance from Philly PD! (Remember the scene of Kat and Jeffries walking over to her shoe store?)

"Terri" = short for "Theresa" ...as in Mother Theresa?? Mother Theresa is known for forgiving people for their past sins. Something that Scotty needs, right?? Mother Theresa helped people who are poor, people who "live in the dirt"... Ramiro said Scotty "lived in the dirt"!

So could it be that Scotty and Terri are going to bump into each other and hook up??? Or is this just more deception??? Who else is a "T" character in Cold Case?? Or is this just a wild goose chase??? What's the significance of 2000?? What's the story arc into the future???

[longislanditalian2]

No the T stands for Christina that scotty had lied to lilly not once but about being with her , I still think Lilly and scotty have a chance, it's up to faith to decide on that . The writers are always throwing things at us to question things, It might happen the same way we all thought Scotty and Ana were going out. The word Rush that was mentioned might be significant to Lilly maybe not the rest of this season but the next one ,maybe it foreshadows something about lilly and scotty in the near or present future. I think Scotty really cares for Lilly deep down , It might not be a deception Boxman it might happen , just be open to possiblities. Since we don't really know or see the characters in their private lives or livein their heads it's very hard to judge about the difference btwn what they say and what they are really thinking.

[ecooper516]

Hi BOXMAN!
Lets take this one step farther. Lets say you were a parent in a concentration camp during WWII. Would you tell your child that everything was not going to be all right?
Or better yet, my family was at the Cox Arena in S.D. and my son was really worried about the bomb threat. I told him that everything was ok and he had nothing to worry about even though I had some doubts.
As for putting myself in my friends place-my husband sometimes tells me something and then a few weeks later tells me the truth and why he said what he said.
I think if someone knows you lied to avoid hurting their feelings and there is a true relationship, people understand.
Also, I guess it was not ok for the Carter administration to lie to avoid having a magazine publilsh an article about the attempt to rescue the hostages from Iran. I am one of those people that feels that sometimes for society's good while lies can be told!

[Tati]

I finally saw this one. Don't have much to say that hasn't already been said. It was a nice episode and a chance to know Scotty a little better. I imagine he might've been carrying a weight over his shoulders regarding this case. However, there's no excuse for his lying about giving Ana his phone. "I hoped it wouldn't matter." What?? He works as a detective, he should know that anything can matter. Now, he gave Ana his phone so she could call him in case she got in trouble. Hmm, she ended up dead, didn't that tell him Ana got in trouble and possibly called him? That's almost stupid, IMO.
I got a little disappointed on Scotty for that, but I guess his mea culpa at the balcony tells us to give him another chance.

As for the issue of Lilly lying in comparison to Scotty lying, I have to agree with ecooper. Lilly lied just to get more info. Scotty's lie was supposed to hide a mistake he did and possibly delayed the present day's investigation. It's quite different, IMO.

Boxman, I'm impressed at your analysis and all the possible hidden messages you found. I don't know about Lilly and Scotty thing, though. They're still at a weird point in their work/friend relationship, for me it doesn't make much sense for the writers to hint at something so serious as a romance at this point. Anyway I really enjoy reading your comments, Boxman, you add a lot to our discussions!

[boxman]

myril said:

boxman, I still don't agree that the episode forshadows something between Scotty and Lilly. But I wouldn't rule out, that writers are playing with wishes and expectations, as sonny already put it in words.

Well, after this episode, actually, I think I have to begin to give in to you, ecooper, and a whole bunch of you folks that a Scotty/Lilly thing isn't going to happen.

In going along with the religious theme of this episode, we've seen Scotty give two 'confessions'--one that he was put on the spot to give in Stillman's office, and later, on the balcony after realizing Manny covered for him. I think it is rather interesting how they filmed these two scenes. When Scotty gave his first confession, he sat on the chair before he spilled the truth, and was face-to-face with Lilly. This is somewhat similar to how confessions are allowed now, after Vatican II:

From Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessional
"...after Vatican II, face-to-face confession has been allowed. To accommodate this, many confessionals now comprise just one room. There is a screen and a kneeler to kneel on so the penitent can receive confession anonymously, but there is also a chair that the penitent may sit on and face the priest."

And as ecooper has pointed out, isn't Lilly Scotty's senior? If not his superior (in rank), at least someone sort of a mentor to him as a detective? So its interesting that he lowered himself on the chair, sort of acknowledging her seniority, before facing her and giving her the truth.

And of course, that balcony--when it's rarely used in the series--seemed also like a confessional too, right?

Whether you agree with me or not about these symbolism, the point is that Scotty has reached a turning point in his life where it would be good for him to have someone that can forgive him and accept him as he is. I don't think Lilly is this kind of person.

Lilly, after all, seems to like to hold grudges. I think I've said it elsewhere, but that's what makes her a good detective. At the same time, it seems to keep her distant from her sister, her mom, her dad--even the next morning with Ray, there was a small bit of a fight going on. It would be very odd for me to see Lilly begin to forgive Scotty. Plus, she's having too much fun taking swipes at him!

Still, in "One Night", judging by how she opened up about George, I think we're also seeing a different Lilly too. So things are really hard for me to determine for sure at this point....

[boxman]

In the closing montage, Father Peralta was very prominently contrasted between wearing his black leather jacket and his ceremonial robes.

I still need to look at my old videos, but it seems to me that in the Cold Case world, black leather jackets generally symbolize or indicate that a person is a criminal or commits some sort of sin (such as adultery, in '8 Years').

If this symbolism is true, then its an interesting fact that McRay also wore a black leather jacket.....