photo: cbs
Justified
Original Air Date: Nov 19, 2010
Maria – TwoCents Reviewer
maria@thetwocentscorp.com
The previous episode introduced the case of Roni Parker, a woman who had been buried in Central Park fifteen years ago. She is also the sister of Ted Carver, the Chief of Manhattan Detectives. During last week’s episode, Mac and Danny tracked down the location of a woman who had been using Roni Parker’s identity since her death. It was assumed she was the killer.
However, this episode begins with her brutal murder and she’s instantly portrayed as a victim. So what is the story? And just what is ‘Justified’?
The woman was shot in the heart by the gun that is registered to Ted Carver. Mac has a conversation with him, where Carver claims his sister took the gun but he never reported it because he expected both the gun and her to return. He was also rather busy raising his sister’s children.
The dead woman has been identified as Marcella Gomez. Not originally from the USA, she was willing to marry a bully called Mitch Barrett to be allowed to stay in America. It’s unclear how she took over Roni Parker’s identity to hide from him.
Danny and Don are sent to go check out Mitch Barrett, like they always are when there’s a suspect who will run or in this case, shoot at them and then wrestle with them. It takes back-up to subdue him. Don and Danny confront him with the evidence and Mitch Barrett confesses to killing Gomez, but confirms that she had the gun.
Mac’s suspicions are now on Ted Carver but Jo Danville is able to talk him out of confronting Carver without evidence. Amazingly, Lab Rat Adam was able to collect DNA from chewing gun that was buried with the body, fifteen years ago. There was also a jacket over the victim’s body. The jacket belonged to the victim’s date at the time. The last time he saw it she was wearing it and talking to a cop and because he didn’t want his wife finding out, he left. The murder weapon was also buried with the body. The DNA on that comes back to a Jimmy Valdez, although he has no apparent connection to the deceased and was only fifteen at the time.
Don and Danny interview Jimmy Valdrez but this time it goes a lot smoother. Valdrez explains that his knife was taken by a cop. Don and Danny show him pictures of every cop in the area but they come up blank. It’s not until Mac asks them to show a picture of Ted Carver that they actually get a positive ID.
Mac confronts Carver at his grand-nephew’s soccer game but all he has are accusations and no proof. Mac tries to get proof though by having Adam check the DNA of the gum left in the grave against Roni Parker’s DNA. Medical examiner Sid Hammerback also has some evidence that counters the idea of Ted Carver being the killer. Ted Carver is a tall man whereas the knife wounds are at an upward angle, suggesting the killer was shorter.
First a soccer game, now Mac interrupts a wedding recital. Carver’s nephew, Jay Carver, confesses to killing his mother. Jo Danville talks to Jay whilst Mac talks to Ted. A horrifying tale is told of how a fourteen year old boy killed his mother, culminating in his reason: even as an adult, he still has the scars she made on his back.
Ted Carver tells Mac how he came across a suicidal Marcella Gomez, desperate to get away from Mitch Barrett. Ted Carver gave her Roni’s identity and he also gave her his gun to protect herself. He knew that if Mitch Barrett found her, he would kill her. He was right.
Jo Danville and Mac Taylor have a brief discussion about justice, the difficulty of the situation, and justification. Mac makes it clear that it doesn’t matter what he thinks, although he did put in a good word for Ted Carver. He refuses to state an opinion on Jay Carver, since there was premeditation. In the end, Ted Carver is stripped of his position and pension, Jay Carver pleads to manslaughter and serves no jail time. They both are free to attend the wedding.
Now for my thoughts on the episode: The episode title ‘Justified’ is somewhat counteracted by Mac’s refusal to commit to an opinion, very much in character but it feels as though the writers are sitting on the fence. Apart from that, I found it a good episode although the mystery could have been drawn out a little longer, not in two consecutive episodes. It was an episode that focussed solely on the case and little on the CSIs we know and love, but the case was strong enough.
Do you consider Roni Parker’s murder ‘justified’? What are your thoughts on Marcella Gomez? On Danny and Don always tackling the dangerous suspects? Please, reply and let us know your TwoCents about this episode.
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justified