Woo hoo!

I'm about 3/4 the way through tonight's Rescue Me.

I'm worried about the tragic thing I've been warned about.

Also, I think that this week's Closer really set up some things that will be working out this season. (You know - between Brenda Lee and Gabriel.)

I know, that was an incredibly tense moment between them. I think that he was wrong, but she shouldn't have pulled rank on him like that. I'm sure that she will find that there are a lot of things that he took care of that are going to fall by the wayside until she works it out. But, she will, I think.

I hope so!

They work so well together. (I guess that her boss already put Gabriel's plan into effect? I wonder if we'll get an episode where the threat level gets raised.)

Saw the rest of Rescue Me and that's kind of what I expected but now HOW I expected it, you know?

I ended up having to do some work, so I only really saw the beginning of the first new Closer. But one almost throwaway scene got me thinking about how well fleshed out some of the characters are - when Sanchez comes back with the blood test results and announces that Brenda owes him $150 for the rush order. Fine, but then a minute or so later it's made clear that he didn't know about the budget cuts. So she sent him off and had him pay for the expedited tests - and he didn't even ask, or apparently even wonder.

Which he totally wouldn't. And I got thinking about the other characters - Flynn and Provenza wouldn't ask either. They'd be shooting crazier and crazier ideas off of each other to try and account for it, though. Gabriel wouldn't ask, but he'd be working it, trying to figure it out, following the logic. Almost as if it were a test - which he'd be have convinced it was. Tao would probably just ask.

Daniels - here's where I have trouble. I don't have a great handle on her - sometimes it feels like she's there so it's not an all male squad. I do wish they do more with her (and Tao, to some extent). The others (and including Pope, Fritz, and Taylor) all have such distinct personalities.

sometimes it feels like she's there so it's not an all male squad.

I've only seen a few episodes of the first season and a few of the 2nd, but I feel exactly the same way. I suppose you don't want a TV show with only one female character, but I think without her you get a starker contrast between the one female Southern character and the rest, which is interesting to me.

I seem to remember from the first season that getting the squad to accept her was a big theme?

That was definitly the theme. Taylor didn't like her at all (I think he wanted her job) and then Flynn didn't like her either and worked with Taylor to try to sabatoge her. Up until the point an old case came back to haunt them, Flynn had mis identified a body ( I think) and Taylor went into CYA mode, Flynn had made the original mistake and Taylor was ready to throw him under the bus. Brenda grilled Flynn and then backed him. Which left Taylor with no allies.

Yeah, I think Daniels is the least well-characterized of the squad.

Oh, is Sanchez married? Because I cannot remember.

sumi, could you tell me what happens after Brenda opens the letter? She was just opening it when my DVR cut out.

Well, you know that Fritz opened it and took a look?

Then he handed it to Brenda and said, "Looks like he's forgiven you" - but we don't know what he's written.