All right, I'm gonna do it
I know the couple of friends on my flist who are fellow fans are happy to see the return of LOCI with Goren and Eames, as I have been for the most part. What we can't seem to agree on is whether or not the show has actually improved overall. While I agree that the characterization has been better the past three episodes, and that there are sparkling moments to appreciate that have been absent for the previous three seasons, I am afraid I have been disappointed in this season and kind of hope they use it as a vehicle to wrap the series in a good way.
I'm sorry, I know some of you are pleased with what you're watching, but I think in many ways, LOCI viewers have been sucked into gas price appreciation: you know, when they bump up gas prices so high, then drop them just pennies, and we are all so happy to see the drop in price, we barely notice that we're still paying too much. LOCI sucked so fucking bad its last three seasons we're like starving people, happy to see Goren "acting gay" over the phone to get the location of a suspect, rather than wonder if it was really necessary for him to do so.
It's not that I'm not happy the show doesn't still suck completely, it's just that I refuse to jump up and down and applaud just because the new writers are actually paying attention to their characters when the show still chugs along with lackluster drive and "OMG, so obvious!" moments that make me want to weep.
Case in point: this past week's episode had a scene, I suppose to recap our slower viewers, of such pointless exposition, wherein the viewer is looking at a board with pictures of the victim, three suspects and some arrows, while Goren and Eames fill the Captain (who doesn't strike me as being the brightest bulb in Major Case), and ends with said Captain Genius proclaiming, "The important question is WHO KILLED MATT?" Seriously, Captain Dude? I thought maybe it was "Where am I going to put ALL THIS STUFF?"
And then the end. Oh, the end. We have two suspects, who conspired together to kill hacker dude (who's been sending documents to WikiLeaks - HOW TIMELY!), so of course Goren gets the woman to flip on the guy by making her feel bad for not believing dead guy really loved her. BECAUSE THAT'S ALL A WOMAN WANTS, SOME DUDE TO LOVE HER. This is a common trope for LOCI and I was not happy to see it return. I would really like to have a female murder suspect who kills a guy for reasons other than perceived betrayal. Does it happen in real life? Sure. But I don't watch TV so it can mirror real life. The character portrayed was a brilliant captain of industry, who decided the best recourse for being cheated on by her dead husband was to KILL ANY MAN WHO DID THE SAME, rather than just ruin his life and credit and future job prospects, as I would have done. I was sadly disappointed with the pointed misogyny in this sad little twist.
Will I keep watching? Sure. There aren't that many episodes left. But I am still waiting to be happy for its return.
And by the way? I know the answer to that riddle Goren tested his therapist with. Most people do. Shame on you, Leight, for writing Goren as such a petulant little boy.