Blue Cap Recap: Criminal Intent S10 E8

The final episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Season 10 (June 26th) was as disappointing and unsatisfying as the first episode, Rispetto. We never did get much info on how Goren and Eames both came back as a team, other than the new Captain vouching for Goren and agreeing to make him go to therapy. There was no big finale despite the promise that people would be talking about it and the “are you insane” teaser.

No, the biggest departure from the usual episode of Criminal Intent was Episode 8’s title. They dispensed with their usual one or two word title and called this one: “To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap.” The story was a Facebook drama ripoff, a little idea that mushroomed into an empire and resulted in two murders.

The Gaffney twins are the ones who didn’t make it past the opening scene. They’re involved in some drama surrounding an online social network called “Kizmate.”  After the twins are found dead at the Kizmate office, Detectives Bobby Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe) arrive to look for clues. It’s their first dead identical twins case. They determine that the security cameras were turned off at 7:42 PM. Parker has been stabbed and Thomas has some heavy-duty perspiration stains on his shirt and an unusual head wound. They think the perp either bashed his head into the pinball machine, or he hit his head on it.

Danielle Magee tells the detectives how Kizmate came into being. She met PJ when she lost her wallet, and then he disappeared. She used her application to find him and they have been together ever since. It’s real kismet. And capitalism — they turned the idea into an online business and PJ is the boy in the blue knit cap. She claims she doesn’t know the twins.

The twins’ father fills the detectives in on the real Danielle – she’s a thief. The website was the idea of his son, Thomas. Gaffney tells them to talk to the twins’ business partner, Samir Doss. He confirms that Danielle pulled a fast one.

Another possible suspect is the company’s principal strategist, Rex Tamlyn, but after speaking with him, the detectives go see M.E. Rodgers. She confirms that Thomas’ deodorant was on Parker’s hands. Thus, they conclude Parker killed Thomas. Now all they need to find out is who killed Parker. They find out the killer got in the office with a key card belonging to Hildy Whitmore (Kellyn Lindsay), Danielle’s assistant. She is hauled in for questioning and gives the detectives reason to believe she’s a “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.” They are right that she’s covering something up, but she’s not their girl.

She’s the weak link that eventually leads them to figure out what went down. Hildy and P.J. were having an affair and Parker was blackmailing her. She owned shares of the company and would have lost them for messing with Danielle’s man (or at least that’s what she thought).

After they get Samir to send Danielle a text message, they confront her in Central Park. They lean on Danielle and get her to admit that it was really Thomas Gaffney that she was in love with. As confessions go, it was pretty lame. She asks Goren if he believes true love is possible. Goren puts on his boy scout face and says he wants to believe. He asks her to make him believe. When she breaks down, she claims Parker tried to kill her after he killed Thomas so she grabbed some scissors and did him in first. “It was self-defense.” Oh really? Eames says they will let a jury sort it out. Danielle says she is sorry, and Eames notes that they all want to believe in true love.

Now the part we all were waiting for: Goren and Gyson. After some typically ridiculous observations like if everyone lies, Goren does too, Goren wants to know if she is going to say he’s unfit for his job. She says she will report that he is more than capable of performing his duties but still would benefit from further work on his anger and trust issues – with a different therapist. Goren wants her. We know he wants her. She tells him he’ll be fine and hands him a business card. When he leaves, he hands her back the card and says “Same time next week?” She agrees. From the look on his face as he leaves, you know he wants her!  But who’s waiting outside but Eames with a big smile on her face.

Call it kismet, call it fate — it’s more like an omen. That may be the woman you want, but here is the woman you belong with. The one you don’t have trust issues with.

There seems to be something unspoken going on between the partners. Eames came by because there is a DOA at a bank on West 44th St. and the Feds are on the way. She thought they might want to … “Get there first,” Goren finishes for her — just like real soulmates.

So it may be the last season, and it may not be. The Lord knows we”ve heard that before.