Churchgoing People

This was the first episode of the series that I truly enjoyed. I view this episode as the mirror of what this show had the potential and sometimes actually did become. This was the first truly good episode of the series. What we have is a woman suffering from Alzheimers wandering around looking for her husband and is found by the police Lily soon finds out by her devoted son that her husband/his father was murdered and the case was never solved......Lily and co to the rescue. They soon discover why the case was quickly shut down. The victim was , a nice church going man found in the bad part of town surrounded by prostitutes and drugs is not something anyone wants dredged up but of course Lily dredges is up. The acting and the end result was all around good. I liked how it ended. Everything about this episode hit the right mark for me. Like I said this was first great episode of one of my favorite police dramas.

This was a rock solid episode. It had some meat on its bones in a way that the previous 3 episodes did not; while those featured stories that were somewhat predictable, this one actually felt like a good old fashioned whodunnit. It had intrigue, and I didn't know where it was going.

Where it went -- inside a seemingly ordinary churchgoing family who are hiding dark secrets -- did end up in some ridiculously melodramatic territory. But Cold Case has a knack for pulling off plots like this and making you care through its slick cinematography, smooth camera movements, period flashbacks, and great licensed music. It's not the most realistic show around, but it usually has something to say about the human condition -- this episode was no exception.

The performances were good too, especially Isabella Hofmann as a mother suffering from Alzheimer's, and the always reliable Jimmi Simpson as one of her children. The ending montage was fitting: "Live to Tell" by Madonna. Also keep an ear out for a rare un-ironic usage of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up."

Overall, a very good episode of Cold Case.