#not the painting being the first thing mike’s eyes gravitate towards when he opens the door to the van

[chirpsythismorning]

Is that…

[milquetoast-on-acid]

Boys Will Be Boys, A Reactionary Post

She just wanted to be a girl.

Major Crimes, S2xE6: Episode Review What this episode is about: The Case: Lewis & Matt The father's speculation of the oddity of Michele's death Kris & Sharon Parents disagreeing about their children Michele's Parents Sharon & Jack What type of parent I am I'm a good parent I'm not a good parent Seeing their children in Michele Provenza Julio the childless father Andy + His Children Sharon + Rusty Comments Love is blind!

Sharon & Andy

The Case: Lewis & Matt

Can't say that Lewis didn't deserve that beat down. One major asshole kid who's had his head filled with complete bullshit. Most likely his parents. I always wonder why certain people like Lewis are so filled with hate towards people that are so different from them. 

Lewis, at 15 already has a really screwed up view of people. Whether this is because of his environment or because of something he's wrestling with and can't come to terms with. I'm not sure. Either way someone needs to straighten out the mess in his head. At the age of 15 he's already started forming opinions on people and social issues and the fact that he thinks it's okay to sexually assault another person and video tape it for the world is beyond messed up. 

The other thing about that beat down clearly shows that Matt has a violent temper and is more than capable of murdering his sister. He is filled with so much rage and it seems he has more in common with Lewis than he does his own sister. Matt felt that his parent's focus was all on Michele (although in different ways) that he decided to murder his own sister.

The father's speculation of the oddity of Michele's death Andy's the first one to point out that there's something odd about Michele's death. That there was some kind of care involved which means that it could have been someone that cared about her. As we come to find out who killed Michele, it's Mike that zero's in on exactly who did it. Because when there's care involved in a person's murder than it's a great place to start looking at the family.

What I find interesting about this scene is that it's the father's in the group, Andy, Mike and Provenza that bring speculation on the family and perhaps someone who secretly liked Michele. It's not hard to assume that all of them are thinking of their own children when it comes to children being murdered and how much that haunts them.

Kris & Sharon After Sharon tells Rusty and Kris that they found Michele. Kris admits to Rusty that her last boyfriend turned out to be gay. This was the line that made me think that Kris might have known that Rusty was gay. But after re-watching the scene leads me to believe that Kris was just identifying with Michele. 

It also occurred to me that while Kris seems to have a unconscious tendency to have gay boyfriends. Sharon also has a tendency to date alcoholics. What this says about them I'm not sure. For Sharon I do know that she seems to gravitate towards people who have problems  and does her best to help them.

How did I never notice Andy and Jack's exchange. This is the only friendly exchange between the two of them in the series ever. And I have always completely missed it!

Parents disagreeing about their children

Michele's Parents

The family bickers so much over the gender of Michele. The parents especially are completely split to the point where it clearly has broken down their marriage. John is sympathetic and is accepting of Michele's true identity.  Anne is unholy unsympathetic and doesn't understand anything that Michele is going through. Anne is a great reason why children with gender identity disorder don't admit it to their parents they were born the wrong gender sooner. Why so many of them commit suicide because of how unaccepting the world is. And more importantly their family.

Sharon & Jack I hesitate to call Jack Rusty's parent. Because he's not but at this time he is trying to insert himself into Sharon and Rusty's lives. Jack knows that Rusty is gay and clearly wants to push Rusty to admit it to the world and to himself. I like that Jack praises John for accepting Michele for who she really is and letting her live her life. That Jack recognizes that kids that repress themselves can often lead to suicide and he doesn't want that for Rusty. 

Where Jack is wrong in this is pushing Rusty when he's not ready to accept his true identity. To which Sharon tells this to him. Sharon knows that Rusty will come out on his own. As it's something that he's going to have to wrestle within himself on his own time. Especially with all of his trauma that he's had in his life. Because pushing someone when they are not ready can also lead to other emotional problems. 

The thing that Michele and Rusty both have going for them is a sympathetic parent who loves and accepts them for who they truly are. Unfortunately for Michele that did not extend to her mother and brother.

While, Jack wants Rusty to admit who he is. Jack is the one to run away from himself and his problems. Jack ran from his responsibilities, he abandoned his wife and children all the while banking on his wife greeting him with open arms whenever he decided to come back.

What type of parent I am

There have been some parallels between Sharon/Jack and John/Anne. Two sets of parents who have two different view points on their children and how to raise them. And even to the type of parent they may think they are. I thought it was interesting that while Anne is lying to herself about what type of parent she is, Jack is more than aware of what type of parent he is.

I am a good mother This woman is in some serious denial here. She's got one dead kid and the other one murdered his own sister! That Anne was not accepting of her daughter and that she protected her son who murdered her daughter.

I am not a good parent I've always wondered how much Jack is trying here. I get that this could be a second chance for him. He's got a kid here who has none of the history that he has with his Emily and Ricky. A blank slate if you will. But Sharon knows Jack really well and smells a bit of a rat. 

Ultimately I do think that Jack was trying and it was a lot easier for him as I had said because Rusty knows virtually nothing of Jack's shitty behavior. I do also think that as an addict, manipulation is a huge part of Jack and part of his interest in Rusty was him trying to manipulate himself back into Sharon's life. He knows Sharon, and he knows that the way to Sharon's heart his through her children.

Seeing their children in Michele

The case is so haunting for each of the squad members. Particularly with Sharon, Andy, Julio and Provenza. It's not hard to see that they see their children in Michele.

Provenza We really don't know much about Provenza’s children. I don't even know how many children he has. But what we do know about Provenza is that the guy has a bigger heart than he lets on. One thing that I do love is that he fights Emma tooth and nail on going to trial. Emma resists going to trial because she thinks the jury will put Michele on trial. Provenza may not understand what Michele is going through but what he does understand is that Michele is a murder victim who deserves justice. And never deserved to be killed for being different.

Julio the Childless Father Even though Julio has no children (at this point). It's been a thread throughout both shows that Julio is the father that never was. He connects so much with children in their cases, so it's not hard to see him having a tough time with this case. 

Nice seeing Julio shove Lewis up against the wall when he threw a disgusting slur at Rusty. I can't say that it was right but it was somewhat emotionally satisfying after what he did to Michele. Julio has no sympathy for Lewis when it comes to sending him off to juvie for sexual battery.

Lewis is so far out of it he doesn't even think he did anything wrong. And is in such disbelief when he realizes he's going to jail.

Andy + His Children When John insists on seeing Michele's body at the morgue it's Andy that takes John to the morgue. As a parent he tries his best to plead with John to not see Michele. From one parent to another Andy knows that seeing her body in that state will haunt John for the rest of his life. While Andy's children may not have died it's very clear that they are very much on his mind during this case. And what type of father he was in the past and the type of father that he wants to be.

It's interesting to me that Andy is the one to find the physical evidence in Michele's case. He finds her hair bow which points them in the direction of her body. Later he's the one to find the baseball bat that killed her.

Sharon + Rusty Sharon very clearly sees Rusty in Michele. It's interesting that Sharon asks Matt if called Michele's phone because he misses the sound of her voice. And later Sharon is seeing calling Michele's voicemail.

Love is Blind

Sharon & Jack

Who only eats one pancake? Uh, your wife. As much as Jack may know Sharon's moods and how she operates. This right here shows just how out of touch with her he really is. The fact that he doesn't know something as simple as how she likes her breakfast is so startling.

"Love looks not with the eyes but the mind. And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." Jack makes this remark after Kris is shown once again to be crushing hardcore on Rusty. This is a very big theme during this season. Love is blind. I also love how Jack, Julio and Andy are all featured in that scene. Julio with his obvious infatuation with Emma who doesn't even know who the hell he is. Kris with her obvious crush on Rusty, who is struggling with his own sexuality. Sharon and Jack who love each other but can't live with the other. Andy who can't admit his feelings for Sharon, just yet. 

One last date It never occurred to me until now that the cemetery date is the last time that Sharon and Jack have a date. Ever.

Sharon + Andy

Don't have much play in this episode but there are a few subtle things that I found interesting. This show is very very intentional in dialog, clothing choices and even blocking. Often times we see Andy standing right behind Sharon. Visually telling us once again that Andy supports Sharon.

This exchange. “Is it possible that she committed suicide?” “And then buried herself?” “Lawyers.” “Also, what about that huge crack in her skull that lead to her death, Rios?”

What I don't like: Showing Michele's dead body. By no means would I call MC a graphic show - in fact it's probably dead last in graphic violence for a crime drama that's currently on air. I'm torn on the fact that they showed Michele's dead body at the crime scene. It's always dicy to show a murdered kid on a show but on the other hand. I think maybe the reason why they didn't shy away from it was because they wanted to show that this was a murdered kid. My point being is that there are many people out there who consider a transgender person less than human.

What I like: I felt like this episode dealt with transgenderism and everyone's varing degrees of how they deal with it, much better than "Makeover". The last Closer-verse episode that dealt with transgenderism. If you haven't seen the episode, Provenza's old partner comes to testify in a trial for a murder suspect in one of her old cases. Provenza's old partner used to be known as George Andrews and had been talked about through out the show. After leaving the force, transitioned to a woman now known as Georgette Andrews.

"Makeover" is a Flynn & Provenza comic relief episode. It's an episode dealing with transgendrism in a humorous way. One that I don't think works. Most of the squad is so far out of the loop that they ask Georgette things like if she still has her penis. There's nothing wrong with being curious but WTF why would you ask someone that? Another huge issue I have with the episode is asking a person that has finally accepted their true identity to hide their gender for their case. In "Boys" we see Michele's entire family and how her transgenderism effected each and everyone one of them. Seeing what their empathy is like to their feelings of rage. The effects of the squad to those that don't see transgender individuals as people (Lewis). "Boys" treats the murder of Michele in a serious manner as well as her transgenderism. 

I think that this was an excellent and haunting episode. As I have mentioned before we get to see how the case and Michele effects each of the characters. How they connect to her. How all of the squad members who are parents Sharon, Andy, Provenza plus Julio (the childless father) see their children in Michele. How society views transgenderisim and how that effects transgender individuals.