"Frame" Just Bobby

Which is what Declan was trying to do...I guess. I'm still trying to sort out the nuances of the Law & Order CI season finale. Perhaps with the posting of this...my final two slideshows from this episode...I will be able to "give it a rest" for a while. Ya think?

A few observations. I have already ranted about the discrepancy in Frances Goren's birth date, so I won't belabor that subject again. So, on to a new one...nothing major...just something I noticed while screen capping the eppy. It has to do with the scene when Bobby is going over to Frank's apartment and comes across the crime scene.

He was carrying that framed picture of himself and Frank as kids, and I thought that had to be a "pain in the butt" prop for Vincent D'Onofrio to deal with, but then again he always seems to have a handle on that leather portfolio he has lugged around for seven seasons. Anyway, when he gets that "gut feeling" as to the identity of the body in the courtyard, he whips out his badge and rips through the police tape and bolts like a madman down the steps. With me so far?

When he starts down the steps, the picture is in his left hand and his shield is in his right hand. When he emerges at the bottom of the stairs...running or at least walking rapidly...the picture is now in his right hand and the badge has been neatly clipped onto his lapel. That's a whole lot of juggling of things in a short space of time; especially when one is dashing madly down a flight of steps...that's all I'm saying.

I have to say that I wanted to bitch-slap Frank's ex when she told Bobby that she wished he had taken more of an interest in his nephew. Now, I realize full well that Frank...being the low-life weasel that he was...spinned the story to suit his own selfish needs. I'm just saying that people need to be in possession of all the "facts" before they start making judgments and handing out guilt-trips willy-nilly.

It was good to see that "smart" Bobby was back. He knew the drug used on Frank made a person stop breathing, that the quote on the card from "the evil one" was from Hamlet and that Pittsfield, MA was where Herman Melville wrote "Moby Dick." I like smart Bobby so much better than sad Bobby.

And I'm not going to talk about Nicole Wallace because...again...I ranted about her enough in a previous post. Although until they produce her decaying, heartless body, I'm stickin' with Bobby on this one...she ain't dead. As that slimy judge in "The Wee Small Hours" said, "No body, no case." For me...no body, no proof. The only thing I have to say about Nicole is...her appearance in this episode appeared to be a bit of an "afterthought." I mean, she was a "blip" on the screen for a nano-second outside Frank's door. Then there was that nauseating scene in the flower shop. (I hate this woman.) She had more screen time in flashbacks than actual new footage...that's all I'm saying.

Okay, so I lied. I did talk about Nicole...but only a little.

I also liked how Ross appeared to be sympathetic to Bobby; i.e., "First his mother, then his brother...it's a lot to lose." Even when Ross was talking to Rodgers when he suspected she knew something, he prefaced it with, "My detective's in trouble." He also went on to say that, "Goren's vulnerable. He has a "target" on his back, so does anyone who helps him," which makes me worry about what is in store for my Bobby next season. "Sigh."

I did not like the fact that Ross made the leap from Bobby finding out his biological father was Mark Ford Brady to "assuming" he was capable of going on a killing spree. I did appreciate Eames for standing up for her partner then and loved the face she pulled when Ross told her to "rule him out" as a suspect. And I absolutely LOVED the "Mexican standoff" between Bobby and Ross. Not quite "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" but entertaining none the less. Really loved the little tweak of the eyebrow Bobby gave Ross at the concluding moment as if to say, "Then again, maybe I am a killer."

I noticed that Eames reverted to referring to Bobby as "Goren" on more than one occasion. Now, perhaps that has been going on in recent episodes, but I did not pick up on it until this one.

Which leads me to Declan. Luckily, I did not watch the USA "recap" they showed prior to airing the actual episode, so I had not seen all the spoilers. But...I knew it was Declan. I didn't know why or how or his "intent" behind it all, but I knew it was Declan...even before I sat down to watch the show Sunday evening.

Everyone had been speculating as to the reason for Bobby reaching out to his old mentor. So, I thought...why indeed? I looked closely at the two publicity photos released prior to the show and said, "Why are they in the interrogation room?" Declan would not be questioning Bobby, so Bobby had to be questioning Declan ergo...Declan did it. And after that business in the hospital when it was revealed that the syringe was only half-way empty...I knew it for certain. Nicole didn't make those kind of mistakes...Declan injected himself, but only a little.

But I have to say that, after watching it...oh...six or seven times now, I'm still now sure why or how Declan did it. I know, I know...it was to set Bobby FREE. But didn't he try to...you know...FRAME Bobby for Frank's murder? We're supposed to believe this was just some elaborate puzzle concocted in the deranged mind of this lunatic old man? We're supposed to believe this feeble old geezer, suffering the effects of dementia, killed and CUT OUT Nicole's heart. (I'm not a doctor, but I've read that's not as easy to do as one might imagine.) And he did this all to give Bobby a puzzle to solve...to get him "back in the game," as he put it.

Excuse me, did I miss something? Wasn't Bobby already back in the game? Ah, well. Enough of this rehashing. It's giving me a headache. It's time to put "Frame" and Bobby to bed (I wish) for awhile.

One last thing...and perhaps more important than all the others I've mentioned...before the new season begins in November, I will somehow have to find a way to reconcile myself to the fact that Bobby Goren is, in fact, Bobby Brady. Not exactly "The Brady Bunch" I remember. The more I watch this show, the more I realize that the LOCI writers...like God...have a pretty wicked sense of humor.

Just Bobby Slideshow I


Just Bobby Slideshow II