S01.E10: Love Is a Rose and You Better Not Pick It

[formerlyfreedom]

When a young female sex surrogate is found dead in Portland's Rose Garden, the S.C.U. investigates what could be a crime of lust, rage, passion or possibly even love. Meanwhile, Backstrom receives very upsetting news about his mother.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I thought that was pretty good episode with a good mix of hilarious lines by Backstrom and some serious revelation of why Backstrom is the way he is.   The look on Backstrom's face when Valentine told him that his mother killed herself was really well acted by Rainn Wilson.  Thomas Dekker did a good job in that scene as well.

 

Dr. Fleck had Backstrom's number about a lot of his issues, as did the sex surrogate that met him on his barge-home. 

 

And it turns out the killer was the mother of the wheelchair-bound client of the sex therapist that was killed in the rose garden.

 

Backstrom: "Any perv turned on by boobie pics doesn't kill prostitutes with shovels"

 

You also saw some more sparks between Paquet and Niedermeyer.

 

I recognized the "Portland's Rose Garden" where the victim was found -- it was filmed in the Rose Garden in Stanley Park in Vancouver.

Edited April 10, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[Actionmage]

The case was interesting, but not compelling  to me. It was all about Backstrom tonight. It was actually very good!

 

*Moto and the purple rose trail

*Almond and Moto and Almond and the paralegal were great; Mr. Haysbert can do so much with just a look.

*Backstrom and the paralegal after the  death threat rememberance: PL: "...maybe I should have mentioned that earlier?" Backstrom: *glares*

*Almost anything Gravely was fun.

 

ITA with otto; Wilson and Dekker were excellent in the revelation scene; I wanted to hug Backstrom.  If the series was aired in order, the episode before this one would have been "Bogeyman", which was our first glimpse of an emotionally vulnerable Backstrom. In a way though, I am kind of glad there was a spacing of these revelations. Strangely, despite the magic facial hair and weird growth of relationships, Backstrom's growth seems earned, if a bit erratic. I put that down to a strong cast and pretty solid writing for the characters.

 

The mom? Yeah, not how you deal with ladies who love your son. So much for the 22 year old man, as opposed to boy convo. We got so little time with Josh or his mom, it's hard to say if  Larissa the surrogate's notes were correct or Josh's mom's assessment. Josh could have just picked a woman's picture and lied to Moto to cover up for his mom. Another option is Larissa was lying in her notes, but that is a big chance, especially if she knew Josh's mom would be willing to make a big stink. lying in her professional case notes would be a major no-no, I would think.

 

Anyhow, I enjoyed the episode mightily. I am hoping that we get another season!

 

PS: Having gone to the Tyler Rose Garden here in Texas, I was put off by Moto walking around with a rose in his hand. Smell them? Fine, but leave them in the public garden, dude! (Unless it was in Larissa's hand/person, then, never mind.)

Edited April 10, 2015 by Actionmage

[Oscirus]

This was a fun episode. Moto was the bomb in the episode laying down a clinic on how to be a detective. I'm glad that Backstrom rewarded him at the end.

 

There's no way that conviction sticks. A good attorney would say that boob pic only proves she was in the area, a great attorney would say that a necklace doesn't prove that the lady in the picture is her.

 

I also love that Gravely is slowly but surely turning to the dark side.  Unfortunately I don't find her relationship with the DA all that compelling.

 

It was interesting to find out the real reason that Backstrom got pistol whipped with his dad's service revolver.

 

 

[desertflower]

The most bizarre thing in this episode to me was seeing the actor from "Austin and Ally" (my daughter's favorite Disney show) playing wheelchair-bound Josh, talking about having a sex surrogate. Whoa, talk about a change of pace with acting roles!

[paigow]

How did Backstrom not hear the truth in 40 years? More people besides Valentine's granny must know the truth.

[gazebo]

I couldn't stop laughing when the sexual surrogate showed up in Backstrom's house.  Nope, this older woman was not what Backstrom was hoping for!  I had a lot of respect for the school teacher looking sexual surrogate as she stuck to her professionalism and was not fazed at all by Backstrom's reaction!  Very funny!

 

Did his roommate really have to tell Backstrom that his mom killed herself?  I felt so bad for Backstrom who cried at the window, mourning and angry at his mother who left him so abruptly when he was so young.

 

Did Backstrom show some growth in this episode?  Maybe.  But we can all see that he's trying to kill his feelings by throwing away the bowl his mother made for him and him getting visited by a hooker.  Kind of sad.

 

I didn't see the wheelchair bound mother to be the killer of that young sexual surrogate.  Talk about being an overprotective mom!  I think she killed her out of anger, and it wasn't premeditated.  I hope the court will understand that.  Interesting how Backstrom flaked out of going back to the room to confront the mom and he let Moto handle it instead.

 

I like this show.  I like Backstrom and the rest of the cast.  I'm going to miss it if this show gets canceled.

[Actionmage]

 I think she killed her out of anger, and it wasn't premeditated.  I hope the court will understand that. 

 

It's called manslaughter, but as Backstrom said, that's not how you deal with issues.

 

I did like Sandy, the older surrogate. She was kinda cool. I liked the judge as well.

 

What was fun/amazing was Backstrom's face leaving Fleck's office. It was a rare sight indeed!

Edited April 10, 2015 by Actionmage

[marketdoctor]

 

The case was interesting, but not compelling  to me. It was all about Backstrom tonight.

 

This actually sums up the show for me.  On average, it's a good mystery (sometimes great, sometimes I get there first); but it's a great cast playing interesting characters.  Backstrom is the focal point, but the fact that the other characters are good and interesting doesn't take away from the fact that Backstrom is crazy interesting...and sometimes just crazy.  It's very impressive that Rainn Wilson can make me forget Dwight Shrute for an hour. 

[Eliza422]

I kissed about half Of this due to all the storm coverage in the Chicago area, but it sounds like I didn't miss anything important.

Rainn did a great job when he was crying over his mom....I pretty much despise his character but he does an excellent job with all these twists and turns!

[DrLar]

About Paquet and Niedermeyer. Weren't they already a couple in episode 3 or 4? suddenly they are just flirting I think the writers don't know what to do with these 2 now, It doesn't help the episodes were out of order either..