After finally returning home for the first time since her mother's death, Brenda breaks down in Fritz's arms. At the end of The Closer, she wanted to capture Phillip Stroh by any means necessary, leading her to assault him.
Detective Brenda Leigh Johnson got to close the Phillip Stroh case as her final task for Major Crimes on " The Closer " (Mon., 9 p.m. ET on TNT). She was so desperate to nail him that she tried to pull together a case with very flimsy evidence.
In “ Manhunt ”, Brenda is attacked by serial killer Danny Jones, also known as the PCH Killer, whom she is forced to shoot in self-defense. He died of his injuries. At the same time, she learns that she is in early-onset menopause. Fritz Howard then proposed to her.
Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson is the Commanding Officer of the LAPD 's Major Crimes Division (formerly known as the Priority Homicide Division) during The Closer . She is intelligent, determined, relentless, and exacting.
There's been a federal lawsuit over it, which Brenda Leigh won, but the hunt continues. The attorney thinks she's depriving criminals of their day in court; she thinks she's on the righteous side of justice, saving the system a lot of money in court costs along the way.
Peter GoldmanNamePeter GoldmanRoleLawyer suing Brenda for Turrell Baylor's death Lawyer defending Daniel Price on murder charges and Dennis Price's drug trafficking operation (Hindsight)GenderMaleFirst AppearanceForgive Us Our Trespasses5 more rows
He was promoted to Detective during season five. He is seen as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson's right-hand man....David Gabriel.Detective Sgt. David GabrielOccupationPolice Officer6 more rows
Near the end of season two, Brenda is put on administrative leave (with pay) because of a shooting that occurred in Parker Center. While investigating the death of a former mob hitman's wife and an FBI agent, she realizes that the hitman (a mob informant for the FBI) killed his wife when he learned she had an abortion.
In the end of The Closer, Gabriel is transferred to the D.A.'s Office's Bureau of Investigation to act as liaison officer to the LAPD when Brenda Leigh Johnson becomes its Chief. Before this, Gabriel is clearly distrusted by the squad due to his inadvertently acting as the leak.
It just felt like time, mostly for me as an artist, time for me to do something else. There really wasn't an epiphany. It was just the idea of doing a Season 8 I think felt daunting to me and overwhelming, and sort of just didn't feel right.
Curtis ArmstrongCurtis Armstrong is an American actor who portrayed Peter Goldman in season 7 of The Closer and season 4 of Major Crimes.
Thomas "Tommy" Delk is the Chief of the LAPD during The Closer, Season 6. Chief Delk died of a sudden brain aneurysm after only 10 months in office in the Season 7 premiere, “Unknown Trouble”. After Delk's appointment as the Chief, he planned on restructuring the department.
In season 5 of Major Crimes, Taylor is murdered in a courtroom shootout, leaving Pope to find a new Assistant Chief....Will Pope.Assistant Chief Will PopeGenderMaleOccupationLAPD Assistant Chief for Operations (season 1-6) Interim Chief of Police (season 7)FamilyUnknown wife (ex-wife) Estelle Pope (ex-wife)ChildrenTwo6 more rows
But I have to say I'm disappointed (though my feelings are mixed) that Brenda didn't get pregnant in this last episode. The transition from death to life, as she loses her mother & her career, would have been perfect.
Last WordThe Closer / Latest episode
From 2005 to 2009, Ravera played Irene Daniels during the first four seasons of the TNT crime drama series The Closer and was the only regular cast member to leave the series during its run.
In “ Hindsight, Part 3 ”, Goldman accompanies Daniel when Assistant Chief Taylor requests that Daniel postpone Tamika's funeral in fear that the Diablos will retaliate for Jon Barnes murdering three Latino teenagers. Goldman continues to act antagonistically towards the LAPD and threaten another law suit.
Reggie gets angry with him over learning he is representing Turrell Baylor and describes in great detail how Turrell killed that man and his grandson. Peter refuses to listen about Turrell and only goes on to say Brenda is to blame for everything and reveals he has the names of Turrell's killers. He once again tries to convince him to join ...
Goldman works to explain away Tamika's connection to Daniel and the church and acts antagonistically towards the Major Crimes detectives. Despite Goldman's protests, Daniel consents to a search of his church with drug dogs, leading to the police finding the murder weapon in the altar of the church.
He is furious with them and tries to blame them but ends up in the hot seat when he reveals that he knew the names of Turrell's killers and withheld it from the police. They forced Goldman to give up the names and subsequently force him to settle in a way that wouldn't cover his legal fees.
Goldman is disgusted, calling Daniel's agreement "a gift" and threatens to add religious discrimination to the lawsuit. Goldman attends Tamika's funeral, expressing surprise at the fact that Taylor is attending personally and pointing him towards the news cameras, implying that Taylor is there for political reasons.
Goldman continues to act antagonistically towards the LAPD and threaten another law suit . Despite Goldman's uncooperativeness, Daniel agrees to postpone the procession and burial and allow the LAPD to attend and protect the ceremony itself.
This backfired however when Gavin revealed they were leaving because a deputy sheriff was killed and they needed to put public safety above personal interest. He later learned that a 15 year-old boy named Kyle Hayes committed suicide in Major Crimes' custody, he asked for a continuance based on this new information.
Brenda and Major Crimes investigate the murder of James Turner, known within the One-Ten-Crips as J-Rock and found executed in a car registered to the late Terrell Baylor along with lawyer Peter Goldman's business card in his pocket.
When Davis is pointing Brenda's pistol at her while they are in Davis' apartment, we hear a "hammer cocking" sound. Glock pistols are striker fired and don't have hammers, internal or external. (It's also difficult to ignore Davis constantly putting his finger on the trigger.)
One problem: Rusty wouldn't identify Stroh unless the Major Crimes Unit located his mother, who had abandoned him.Another problem: In typical fashion, Stroh was able to tiptoe around all of Brenda's circumstantial evidence, leading Brenda to violently attack Stroh as he left the precinct.
It actually happens in the scene with Fritz, when she is sitting on the bed and she's saying, "I interviewed this young man who made me think about my life.".
The best part of life is the part we spend with the people we love. They've gone from being co-workers to being friends. They've translated into her personal life, and that's how I think it should be. You said you always wanted Brenda to refuse a confession in the finale.
Yes, I think it did. Stroh was always sort of the uber-villain, and we kept going back to her obsession with him over the years. I wanted her to say, "I don't want to hear it," to someone who she had been desperately trying to get to confess. And it's such a shocking thing for her to say.
Given that, and the fact that Brenda is taking Gabriel with her to her new post, it seems she's made peace with him over that whole leak situation. Duff: [She recognizes] that he was the person who told her what she ought to do, and had she listened to him, she would have done better.
Brenda's favorite merlot is a McCray Ridge 1997. (“ To Protect & to Serve ”) In “ Reloaded ”​, the Major Crimes series premiere, its revealed that Brenda left her desk full of snack food. She later sends Fritz to clear it out, though he gives one to Captain Sharon Raydor who later gives it to Rusty Beck.
Jake dies with Brenda at his side and his death deeply affects both Brenda and Charlie who cared deeply for the boy. In “ The Big Bang ”, the Major Crimes Division moves with into the new LAPD headquarters, the Police Administration Building.
When in uniform, Brenda wears four service stripes on her uniform. Each stripe represents five years of service in the LAPD which which would mean 20-24 years of service, even though she had only served for seven years at the time of her retirement at the end of The Closer.
At the end of The Closer, she wanted to capture Phillip Stroh by any means necessary, leading her to assault him. Brenda, knowing she will lose her job, retires from the LAPD and accepts a new job as the Chief of the District Attorney's Office's Bureau of Investigation.
In “ Blindsided ”, Brenda is put on leave by a psychiatrist due to her traumatic experience and refusal to deal with it.
In “ Armed Response ”, Brenda returns from bereavement leave early to investigate the murder of a decorated war hero. After getting annoyed by DDA Claire Baldwin always hanging around, Brenda learns that an DDA being attached to Major Crimes is one of the compromises Pope made to keep the division and Brenda.
Brenda has three brothers, Clay Jr, Bobby and Jimmy. Clay Jr. is married to a woman named Amy. Bobby is married to a woman named Joyce, and they have a daughter, Charlene, named after Brenda's paternal grandmother. Jimmy lives in a small apartment in New York with his partner Frank.
Sedgwick was 39 when the series started, leading the way for female-led dramas like "The Good Wife" and "Saving Grace.". She told the Hollywood Reporter, "It certainly wasn't intentional for me to have a groundbreaking show. It just happened to be.
Explore the topics mentioned in this article. " The Closer " is coming to a close. Kyra Sedgwick, who plays deputy chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, will leave the hit show, and the main character, behind.
Bacon will star in the new Fox drama " The Following ," debuting early next year. And get this: Bacon plays a cop, too -- a former FBI agent who gets called out of retirement to catch an escaped serial killer he helped put away.
TV is now a family tradition. Just as Sedgwick prepares to leave TV behind, her husband, actor Kevin Bacon, is getting ready to sign up. Bacon will star in the new Fox drama " The Following ," debuting early next year.
There will be a spinoff. Starting now. Before fans have a chance to be too broken up over losing "The Closer," they can tune in to the spinoff, "Major Crimes," which debuts on TNT immediately after the "Closer" finale.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen.
He had the names of five witnesses to Baylor's murder, but didn't give them up. Litigation dropped.
The end of the case was rather anti-climactic. Unfortunately for Mr. Baylor, it never really mattered who killed him. The legal system created an entire production around a gang death that is probably very similar to deaths that happen in other areas of Los Angeles every day.
Pope is annoyed because Brenda picked up Stroh without evidence, but Raydor is okay with what Brenda did. Brenda hits the interview room with Stroh and shows him the video and the mask. She has a witness that saw him at the grave with the body. But Stroh is not worried.
Morales agrees and DDA Hobbs offers Brenda a new job as chief of the district attorney’s new bureau of investigation.
Besides he only stopped to talk to Rusty because he recognized him from the news programs and wanted to bring him in to help LAPD. Brenda has to let him go and they walk him to the elevator. But the title of this episode, the last episode, is “The Last Word” and Stroh thinks he’s going to be the one who has it.
They get the elevator open and Pope gets to them first and drags Brenda away. Stroh’s face is bloody but his smile tells us he’s happy. Brenda’s hands are covered with blood.
He says he was abused in foster care and will only cooperate if they pretend he is 18. Brenda agrees. Since the team can’t arrest Stroh, they take a photo of Rusty which Tao doctors to make it look like it was taken the night of the murder. The photo runs with a transcript of the 911 call on the evening news.
The man in black goes after the teenager with shovel. He hits him over the head with the shovel and throws him off a cliff, but not before the boy grabs the ski mask off the killer’s face. The boy survives and still has the cell phone in his hand. He gets back to his car and calls 911.
The middle-aged man runs away, but the teenager can’t because his jeans are around his ankles. He falls down and a cell phone rings. He gets his pants on quickly and tries to turn off the cell phone, but the ringing and the light from the phone ensure that the man in black sees him.