The War at Home

Season 4, Episode 2, Aired

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The team re-opens the 2004 case of a female veteran of the Iraqi War when her prosthetic arm is found in a river. Meanwhile, Scotty visits his older brother in connection with a case that brings up painful memories from their childhood.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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  • Did not like the side story with Scotty and his brother

    6.6
    "Fair"
    By angelspinknose, Sep 07, 2010
    This is why I'm getting sick of these crime shows. The cases are more interesting to me than the personal lives of the main characters. I'm sick of hearing about Rush's horrible childhood. And could they possibly give Scotty more personal trauma? First the girlfriend with mental illness who may or may not have been murdered. Sleeping with Lilly's flake sister and now a brother who might have been sexual abused. Come on.moreless

  • When a prosthetic arm is find in the river, the detectives re-open the 2004 missing persons case of Dana.

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By luckydagangsta, Jun 14, 2008
    Dana Taylor was an Iraqi War veteran who had just returned home with a prosthetic arm after she was bombed. As most soliders are when they come home, she was traumtized by what happened over there and found it hard to get her life back to normal upon returning.

    There have been quite a few episodes of Cold Case that in some way or another involve a war and this is one of them. The others had great storylines and were quite sad, but this one just didn't have that. I think the saddest part about this episode for me was when the daughter was saying she was scared of the prosthetic arm and didn't really want to hug her mother.

    In my opinion this was a very boring episode. It wasn't absolutely terrible and it wasn't in the middle either. I don't think I'd watch it again.moreless

  • Great story but bad writing and roles for certain cast members.

    8.3
    "Great"
    By ariamaluum, Jun 29, 2007
    I liked the story and the song that played in the background like Dido's "White Flag" and Oasis "Little by Little". However, looking at that daughter didn't exactly look like her parents. I think the two other detectives, Vera and Jeffries are given badly written scripts. They sound so porno in their dialogue. They should do the writing instead. This episode reflects that. I liked the Taylor's and their friends; felt real. Great job on Dana Taylor. Lesley Fera. The emotion and the passion of the crime was realistic but I wasn't too sure about divers finding the medal was realistic.moreless

  • Very sad show indeed!

    7.1
    "Good"
    By JPPT1974, Oct 08, 2006
    It was a very sad show indeed when a mother who was crowned a hero in the Iraqi war, later murdered when she came back home as her two daughters want to find out what happened the night that she died. Meanwhile, like one reviewer said, didn't like the case about Scotty and his brother. But overall a good show.

  • I thought that this episode of cold case was a really good one. I ended up crying so hard when the woman was being burried. It really hits home because my brother and his wife are in the army with two daughter. One is going to Iraq. My favorite episode.moreless

    5.5
    "Mediocre"
    By fanofcoldcase, Oct 02, 2006
    I thought that this episode of cold case was a really good one. I ended up crying so hard when the woman was being burried. It really hits home because my brother and his wife are in the army with two daughter. One is going to Iraq. My favorite episode.
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (8)

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    • Dana Taylor disappeared and died on October 13, 2004.

    • From Dana's missing persons file, we can see that she was born on April 16, 1976. Yet when Det. Jeffries pulls her file from the case box, he states Dana was thirty. She would have turned 30 in 2006, but when she went missing, she was 28.

    • We learn the exact age Lilly was when her father left: six.

    • We find out that, like Lt. Stillman, Jeffries is a Vietnam War veteran.

    • Pay attention to Scotty's choice of words when his brother teases him about not visiting them more often: "I can't visit my own brother without being abused?"

    • Nitpick: The medal shown is given a vague name (Ribbon of Valor). However, it isn't any medal currently issued in the US military, although it somewhat resembles a Distinguished Service Medal.

    • Nitpick: When the principal is introducing Dana Taylor to the audience, she calls her Corporal Taylor. However, the insignia on her class A dress uniform is that of a Specialist. Technically, they are the same grade (E-4 versus SP-4), however, a corporal (E-4) is usually a command rank, whereas a specialist (SP-4) is a non-command rank.

    • Nitpick: This episode features a major lapse in military knowledge. United States Marines would never refer to themselves as "soldiers" as the characters do here, but instead as marines. Soldiers are members of the US Army (infantry). They might refer to themselves as "warriors" or "fighting men" (women) in general terms, but they are always marines.

  • QUOTES (7)

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    • Scotty Valens: Your husband's overseas, Paula? Paula: Ass-deep in the Sunni Triangle. Lilly Rush: Not exactly a garden spot. Paula: The desert air must appeal to him, because he keeps re-enlisting.

    • Paula: Me and Jeff might have had a thing. Lilly Rush: Like an affair? Paula: No, we'd get together and do crosswords.

    • Kat Miller: (about her daughter) She's pouting because I wouldn't let her come with. Lilly Rush: An eight-year-old wants to see a crime scene? Kat Miller: She's a weird kid.

    • Jeffries: Last to see was the husband, Geoff. Said she went for a walk that night – never came back. Vera: Lame story. Jeffries: So lame it could be true.

    • Dana: (about Frank) One minute he was telling a joke, the next minute his blood and insides were all over the truck. All over me. It's not like a video game or a movie. It breaks your heart right in half.

    • Scotty Valens: (about Dana) We found her arm. We think the rest of her might be dead. Brenda: Missed a sensitivity training, did ya?

    • (Lilly tries to make pancakes and burns them.) Lilly: In my family, cooked meant whatever was sitting under the heat lamp at 7-Eleven.

  • NOTES (4)

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  • ALLUSIONS (7)

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    • Title: The War at Home The title of the episode is probably derived from a 1996 movie of the same name, starring Martin Sheen and Kathy Bates, about a soldier returning from Vietnam who is troubled by flashbacks.

    • Det. Jeffries: Maybe the husband pulled a Scott Peterson. Scott Peterson's wife Laci, then eight months pregnant, disappeared around Christmas 2002. Her husband reported her missing on Christmas Eve, and held press conferences saying he had been fishing when his wife disappeared. The bodies were discovered in April 2003 near the spot Peterson claimed to have been fishing that night. He was convicted for the murder of Laci and their unborn son, although the evidence was largely circumstantial. Scott Peterson was sentenced to death on March 16, 2005, and is currently serving his time in San Quentin State Prison.

    • Lilly: How long could someone with a missing arm stay lost? Kat: Ever see The Fugitive? There have been many remakes of the same story, but Kat is probably referring to the 1993 movie The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford. The gist of the story is same in all versions: Dr. Richard Kimble, wrongly accused for murdering his wife, must avoid being captured by the authorities while searching for the real killer – a one-armed man.

    • Kat Miller: So Geoff had a side dish... Tara: Lot of people have Jodies. The term "Jody" used to describe a person of the opposite sex who looks after the person left behind by an armed forces member, currently serving overseas, is an old military slang term. It was featured in the classic army marching cadence "The Duckworth Chant" (also called "Jody Call" or "Sound Off"): Sergeant: Sound off! Platoon: One-two! Sergeant: Sound off! Platoon: Three-four! Later lines in the call consist of the Sergeant using lines like: "Your baby was there when you left (Platoon: "You're right!"); "Jody was there when you left" (Platoon: "You're right!"); "Ain't it great to have a pal, who works so hard to keep up morale."

    • Mr. Kozlowski: G.I. Janes. G.I. Jane was a 1997 movie starring Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen. Moore's character, Jane O'Neill, attempts to complete a grueling training regimen and become a Navy SEAL.

    • Nick Vera: Remember that girl in Iraq who had that guy on a leash? Private Lynndie England was stationed at Abu Graib prison in Iraq, where several terrorist suspects were abused during their detention. England was photographed holding a dog leash that was around the neck of a naked prisoner. She was also photographed pointing to naked prisoners and laughing at them. Additionally, she had fraternized with a fellow soldier and gotten pregnant while serving in Iraq.

    • Title: The War at Home This episode shares the title with the FOX sitcom The War at Home, starring Michael Rapaport and Anita Barone, about a married couple and their daily battle with their teenaged kids.

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