Major Crimes Review: Fifteen Minutes of Fame

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"Poster Boy" was an essay about what can happen when a reality show reveals the promise of fame to an everyday Joe, one who is faced with emotional issues and clinging to that as hope of escape. But the reality turns out to be there is no escape via the entertainment medium, even if it seems to be their only way out.

The best part of Major Crimes finale was seeing the white board with "Suspect - (Nut Job)" written on it. That's not high praise, and I know I'll take a beating for feeling this way.

High Alert

For a summer finale, I was a bit disappointed. Alright, more than a bit. Major Crimes Season 2 started with the idea we would be seeing something happening with Rusty and the Stroh case, and all we got were a bunch of ambiguous letters. Letters that threatened the relationship between Sharon and Rusty thanks to DDA Rios.

The case for the finale was an interesting study on fame and our reality "fame in the blink of an eye" obsession, but there weren't any fun moments with it. There were no witty quotes to report back, no team distinctions that brought out their shine, making the case worthwhile to this viewer. There were glimpses of pity as each person realized the murderer had been taken advantage of time and again but - newsflash - so have we all. 

The rest of us just don't chose our roommates by murdering people who are either showing us kindness or being rude, depending upon the day.

I will say that I enjoyed the way the case unfolded as they followed the path of the suspect backwards and showed what he had done after the discovered the evidence. That was clever editing and filming on the part of the director. It made the case seem a lot more exciting than it really was. 

Then Chris showed up and told Rios about Rusty's letters. Rusty knew somebody would find out about them sooner or later and telling her was just stupid. She likes him, of course she would worry about his safety. But he is still new to being cared for and sharing secrets so it came back to bite him in the ass.

The only thing I found interesting about the letter writing was it seemed to me the hands inside those rubber gloves belonged to a woman. They were dainty and I finally realized they were trying to write in non-sexual way, not necessarily disguise their handwriting in another way. Any thoughts on that? Could it be his mother? Rusty keeps bringing her up lately and she might be nutty enough to be using it as some strategy to get to him, although I don't know to what end.

And...that was it. It was over. We have to wait until November to get any movement on Rusty, the Stroh case, to find out if we're stuck with Rios. Am I the only one who was left wanting? Tell me what I missed that made this episode a standout and I'll rethink my reviewing strategies for the winter. 

Poster Boy Review

Editor Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.3 / 5.0 (83 Votes)

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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Major Crimes Season 2 Episode 11 Quotes

Sharon: Although I hate that he has seen himself on TV.
Rusty: Why?
Sharon: Because if he is interested in being famous and that is all that he is interested in then he has accomplished his goal by killing people and so, he may continue to do that.

But you have to be passionate to be famous in Hollywood, right?

Brandon