The Closer

Blood Money

Season 5, Episode 2, Aired 6/15/09

Episode Summary

Brenda and the team are called in to investigate the questionable disappearance of a shady financial investor. The team is a mess with Daniels now in another division, Gabriel doing double duty, and Provenza with behavior more curious than usual.''''In the meantime, Brenda and Fritz deal with a sick Kitty.moreless

9.2

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Cast & Crew

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Kyra Sedgwick

Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson
J.K. Simmons

Assistant Police Chief Will Pope
Corey Reynolds

Sgt. David Gabriel

Fan Episode Reviews (3)

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Perfect.. as usual.

10

"Perfect"

By la_closer, Nov 22, 2010 Report Abuse

Brenda Johnson and her team investigate the disappearance of a financial advisor who was jacking money from rich people. Poor Brenda and Fritz, both deal with a sick Kitty, the female cat. The Closer- Monday 9:00pm ET/PT
The Closer- Monday 8:00pm CT
The Closer- Monday 7:00pm MT
Kyra Sedgwick plays the role of Brenda Leigh Johnson, the Atlanta police chief in Los Angeles. Taking the lead of Priority Homicide, Brenda is considered the closer, the only person who will be able to make a case come to an end. The Closer: They'll bring you in, she'll make you talk. Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, Corey Reynolds, Jon Tenney, G.W. Bailey, Gina Ravera, Michael Paul Chanmoreless

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4 1
Episode 2, "Blood Money," proves why "The Closer" is one of the best dramas on television. Season 5 started out in the fast lane and Episode 2 is keeping the pace.moreless

10

"Perfect"

By sunsethill, Nov 22, 2010 Report Abuse

Brenda and her investigative team get involved in an apparent kidnapping that may involve a homicide. However, Will won't let her near the kidnap victim's family so she must work around that limitation and focus on the possible homicide. The kidnap victim is a wealthy but fraudulent real estate developer, Adam Summers, who has swindled hundreds of millions of dollars from his employees. He is under investigation by the FBI and is also being sued by his former workers. Summer's was last seen entering the terminal at Los Angeles International Airport being picked up by a chauffeur.

Lt. Provenza and Lt. Tao find the chauffeur's car near the airport and discover a heavily bloodstained interior. Murder now becomes a likely possibility but there are no bloodstains leading away from the car. The suspicion is that the chauffeur is the probable victim. The chauffeur's background check reveals that he is an illegal alien, Mario Gomez, who came to the U.S. after the death of his wife to seek employment.

Since all of Summers' assets have been frozen by the FBI, his wife and son are unable to pay the ransom. In order to unfreeze the assets, Brenda tells Mrs. Summers that proof of life is necessary before the bank can release the funds. After receiving a phone call from the kidnapper and speaking to her husband, the account is unlocked. Sgt. Gabriel is monitoring the transaction, but while his back is turned away from the computer monitor, the ransom amount quickly disappears from the account and is wired to another account in the Cayman Islands. To redeem himself, Sgt. Gabriel figures out the reason for such a specific amount of the ransom. It seems that the ransom, $1,190,476.19, is the exact amount that each employee would have received if the lawsuit was successful. With only a few hours left before the wire transaction is deposited, Brenda and the team must get in high gear to find the chauffeur and Summers. The trail leads them to the home of Gomez who was a former employee of Summers and litigant in the lawsuit. He was not the illegal alien they thought he was. They also find evidence that Gomez, in caring for his dying wife, had methodically collected his own blood, which accounted for all the blood found in the car. Gomez is arrested as the kidnapper and reveals his motives. After losing his job with Summers, his insurance quit paying for his wife's care. She was slowly dying from pancreatic cancer and committed suicide to save their last five thousand dollars. Gomez also tells Brenda where she can find Summers.

On arriving at the location, they find Summers in a pool of blood with his throat cut. Gomez is now both a kidnapper and murderer.

Besides the great plot, this episode had a few extra bonuses. Lt. Provenza's actions were hilarious. In a complete reversal from his depressed mood in the last episode, he is light-hearted, friendly, and energetic. His life situation has definitely changed and the team is completely baffled by his behavior. Additionally, the appearance of Paola Turbay as Det. Mikki Mendoza was a pleasant surprise. Her style of police work would be a welcome addition to the show. Kitty lived to see another episode and hopefully will pull through despite Brenda's veterinary skills or lack thereof. Next Monday is only six days away. Can't wait!moreless

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A man who is accused of bilking hundred's of millions from all of his employees and customers and is being investigated by the FBI goes missing. Now it is up to Brenda and Major Case to find out if he is swindling the FBI or really kidnapped.moreless

9.0

"Superb"

By jyarter, Nov 22, 2010 Report Abuse

Another excellent episode of The Closer. Brenda's team is brought in when the government needs to find out if this Summers character has disappeared of his own accord or has been kidnapped for ransom.

The case starts with the driver Mario Lopez who picked Summers up at the airport, but disappears himself even before the car Summers was last seen in is ditched. A customer of Mr. Lopez describes him as an illegal alien who had lost his wife recently to cancer. He had come to the US to look for work.

When the car is found a large amount of blood is found and it matches Lopez' type. Unfortunately it is all to convenient. There is no specific blood splatter and there is no trail leaving or coming to the car. It has been a setup.

After getting with the Summers family we hear that Summers is still alive and access to his families funds is restored so his wife and son can get the ransom money. Unfortunately the strange specific amount asked for in the ransom disappears as soon as the account is reopened. It is transferred to an account in the Cayman Islands.

Sergeant Gabriel figures out that the amount requested is the specific amount owed each employee if their law suit is successful against Summers. They now suspect that Lopez is really an alias and search the companies former database.

From there it is a pretty simple task to find the kidnapper/murderer as they find Summers dead in one of his old bogus properties.

Interesting story not quite as clear cut as the regular cases Major Case works on but enjoyable all the same. A worthy episode in The Closer's fine tradition. Thanks for reading...moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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Notes
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- Additional Credit:
  American Humane monitored the animal action.
  No animals were harmed.
  (AHAD 01408)
  Edit
- Original International Air Dates: United Kingdom: July 8, 2010 on More4 Czech Republic: October 25, 2010 on Prima Turkey: December 16, 2010 on CNBC-e Finland: January 20, 2011 on MTV3 Canada: April 29,2011 on W Network Edit
- The episode was written before the Bernie Madoff story hit the headlines. Edit
Quotes
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- Chief Pope: On the Summers case, we seem to have blood but no body, a car but no driver, and a ransom but no money to pay it. Is there any chance you've figured out who murdered whom? Edit
- Brenda: The kidnapper would have gotten rid of the car pretty quickly. Probably somewhere near the airport. Lt. Provenza I really need that car, and you seem to be awfully frisky this afternoon. Provenza: Well, yes, I am. And, Chief, this is perfect weather to organize a grid search for a town car. And I could really go for a nice, long walk around L.A.X. It'd be good for me. Chief Pope: Okay, do we have a breathalyzer up here? Edit
- Lt. Provenza: Hey! Hello, Mikki! You staying out of trouble, sweetie pie? Det. Mendoza: Better than you are, sir. Edit
Allusions
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- Blood Money is an ironic parallel for Kyra Sedgwick, who invested money with Bernie Madoff, a financial broker who later went to prison for cheating investors out of billions of dollars. In a June 2009 interview, Kyra Sedgwick stated that she did lose a pension because of Madoff but did not lose everything as was previously reported. Edit