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Cold Case Season 5 Episode 3

Running Around

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9.0

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 10/7/07

When the victim's younger sister comes looking for her, the team re-opens the 2006 case of a missing Amish girl who was murdered while she was in Philadelphia experiencing the Amish rite of passage called "rumspringa".

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Fan Episode Reviews (11)

Lilly and the team look into the case of an Amish teenager named Anna Gunden who went missing while experiencing the Amish rite of passage known as "rumspringa." Meanwhile, IAD continues to ask questions about Dan.moreless

9.2

By meathead704, Oct 29, 2011

A very interesting an entertaining episode for a number of reasons. The first being a look into another world from both Lilly and the team's point of view as well as that of the Amish. The script is also a strong point. In the beginning the viewer thinks they know who the characters are but are soon surprised by what they see. The unexpected turns are another high point of this episode. Cold Case has seemed to go the religious route quite a bit recently, but so far all of those particular episodes have worked well.moreless
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After the disaster of the last episode everything looks decent

6.5

By IgnatzNiemand, Apr 18, 2011

Although: two episodes about religious murders? OK, I agree (I strongly agree), religion kills, either literally or metaphorically, and pointing out the hypochresy and the unnaturality of religion is always good, but two episodes in a row about the same idea sounds, I don't know, unoriginal.

Anyway, the story is good and this is the first episode that you can watch and have a sense of mistery about the murder. The resolution was a bit a Deus ex Machina (ha!) but in the whole this was a better episode than the last two and many others from the last season. Maybe if the writers keep on working like this, by the end of the season the series would return to what it was in the begining.moreless
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Amish in Philly

9.1

By ferriswheel01, Mar 07, 2008

This is one of those episodes that is educational as well as intriguing. I didn't know anything about the Amish and even after this episode probably still only know the tip of the ice berg but I learned a little about them so it was kind of nice to see how they live. Have to admit it is not the sort of lifestyle I would want to live. I liked the part in this episode where Vera was complaining about the Amish and then got a real taste for it and practically decided to become Amish himself. It was a really nice episode.moreless
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Good episode!

8.9

By zeofan1, Mar 03, 2008

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. It had a nice simple little plot that was wrapped up neatly: an innocent god-fearing Christian girl falls in love with a bad boy, who breaks her heart and a parental-love-seeking young boy kills her in his desperate attempt. What really clinched this episode for me was the amazing music. My god, what a great score! And that ending! To die for! The boy reunited with parents and sister goes into the world for her trial! Uh! This episode was a classic despite what anyone else says. It doesn't need some giant conspiracy! It was a simple episode with a simple plot, a tragic twist, and great music! I personally loved this episode. As for other fans, I just don't know.moreless
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The third episode in Season 5 of Cold Case, 'Running Around' Is a brilliant episode about an Amish girl who is killed when she ventures out into the outside world...

10

By Freedom42, Dec 03, 2007

'Running Around' is definitely an episode to remember, with a great storyline and underlying themes that are portrayed very well.

After the brilliant first episode of Season 5 and the somewhat lower standard (in my opinion) second episode, I was afraid that the quality of the series was going to decline, but alas I was wrong. The plot works very well with the Amish culture, and the method in which the case is reopened is quite plausible. A younger sister of the missing Amish girl Anne Gunden comes to Philadelphia on a 'Rumspringa', the first time she is allowed outside of her Amish community. Ties in very well and was a great idea by the writer, especially to use the Amish and their traditions as a way to alegitimately make the case an easy one to re-open one year after it was finished, unresolved.

One of the main themes of 'Running around' is freedom, and is strongly emphasized by the Amish culture and it's 'Rumspringa' which an Amish child may only go on when they are 16, thus giving them so many years to feel trapped. The ocean is also a very good metaphor that is seen in the episode. Anna Gunden wants to see the ocean because she has never seen such a large mass of water, only heard of it, because of her limitations. When her mother comes to Philadelphia, they discuss the idea of whether there's some greater world out there, and that idea works great at all scales. Whether it be an Amish child trying to see past the ocean of boundary to a bigger world, looking over the actual ocean to see a better continent, or on a galactic scale, looking up to the sky to see a better planet. The theme of this "The grass is greener over the meadow" ties in well with freedom, which also is expressed through Jakob and his partying, and also Vince and Anne and especially Vince getting Rachel impregnated, which shows the darker side of Freedom.

The choice of music was also brilliant from the very start of the episode, Natasha Bedingfield's 'Unwritten' strongly setting the scene for the story with it's lyrics "This is where your book begins, with the words still unwritten" interpreting Anne's idea of her 'freedom' through the 'Rumspringa' well. 'Running Around' also ended on a good note with Kelly Clarkson's 'Breakaway' during the scene where Rachel sees a ghostly figure of Anne, fitting well again into the theme of freedom with the lyrics "I spread my wings and I learn how to fly, but I won't forget where I come from" also touching on the idea that no matter what you do or where you go, "who says you can't go home?"moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Danny Pino	Scotty Valens
Tracie Thoms	Kat Miller (Episodes 3.13+; recurring previously)
Kathryn Morris	Det. Lilly Rush
Jeremy Ratchford	Det. Nick Vera
John Finn	Lt. John Stillman
Thom Barry	Det. Will Jeffries

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Mackenzie Mauzy	Anna Gunden (2006)	Guest Star
Shailene Woodley	Sarah Gunden (2006/2007)	Guest Star
Robyn Lively	Miriam Gunden (2006/2007)	Guest Star

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Anna Gunden died sometime between August 20 and September 10, 2006.
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QUOTES (2)
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- Lilly: Is there a number we can reach you?
  (Sarah hands her a note.)
  Lilly: Verkler's?
  Sarah: It's a farm supply store down the road from my home. They'll find me.
  Nick: (under his breath) How? Smoke signals?
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- Nick Vera: (picks up a pipe) Thanks. Been needing one of these.
  Will Jeffries: Yeah, I heard about shop class, Nick. You going native on us?
  Nick: You should take a trip out there.
  Will: No, thanks.
  Nick: You ever notice when the power goes out all the buzzing stops? Streetlights, refrigerators, stuff you didn't even know makes noise? That's what it's like. Pure silence.
  Lilly: He is going native.
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NOTES (3)
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- International Airdates:
  - Denmark: December 26, 2007 on TV3
  - The Netherlands: March 15, 2008 on Net 5
  - Czech Republic: May 21, 2008 on TV Nova
  - Finland: May 27, 2008 on MTV3
  - Germany: June 4, 2008 on Pro7
  - Norway: June 18, 2008 on TVNorge
  - Slovakia: July 14, 2009 on Markiza
  - Turkey: September 22, 2009 on CNBC-e
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- Several character names were changed from the initial versions of the script to the one that aired:
  - Anna and Sarah's last name was Hostetler instead of Gunden.
  - Rachel and her husband's last name was Yoder instead of Wagler.
  - Lilly's shrink, Dr. Penny Davoren, was called Penny Hathaway.
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- Music Featured in This Episode:
  - Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
  - Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall
  - 3rd Period: New Friend Request by Gym Class Heroes
  - Stars and Boulevards by Augustana
  - Sing, Theresa Says by Greg Laswell
  - Other Side of the World by KT Tunstall
  - Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Title: Running Around
  The episode title, "Running Around", is a literal translation of the Pennsylvania German word "Rumspringa". Rumspringa is a traditional rite of passage for teenagers in the Amish religion, during which adolescents are allowed to experience life outside the Amish community before they decide whether to return (or not return) to that life.
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