The Closer: 4.3 ‘Cherry Bomb’ Review

Original Air Date: July 28, 2008

What a harrowing, nasty, infuriating, chilling episode of The Closer this is. It also gives central character Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson and the actress who plays her — Kyra Sedgwick, of course — a chance to shine as the transplanted Southern cop sets her sights on getting a confession out of a wealthy and connected teenage rapist after his 16-year-old victim Michelle Clarke, played by Desperate Housewives’ Andrea Bowen, commits suicide.

Rape cases are hard enough to resolve in the victim’s favor when the injured party is alive. But Commander Taylor is especially moved by this tragedy because he was the officer who took the statement from the reluctant victim just a week before she killed herself … or did she?

That’s the question Taylor presents to Brenda when he seeks her assistance to seal a conviction against Darren Yates, the fellow high school student Michelle identified as her attacker. The question then becomes can Brenda prove a murder, let alone the rape of a dead victim?

Oh, and there’s one other small issue — Darren’s father is Mark Yates (Daniel Baldwin), an overbearing, jackass sheriff commander who thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to call Brenda, essentially his colleague, “honey” and “lady.” The scene when Brenda orders her officers to drag him off to jail, literally kicking and screaming, is destined to become a classic Closer moment.

But before we get to all of that sweet revenge, a little detailed police work reveals what really happened to Michelle. Her high school is one of those snobbish places with too many rich, neglected kids who have too much free time on their hands. A male group of those types form an idiotic so-called “cherry picking” club where they place bets and then try to have sex with the most virgins to win the pool. Idiots.

Darren’s strategy for winning the money is to pretend to be interested in what he thinks are “homely” girls and then handcuff them unexpectedly while forcing himself on them. He rationalizes that if they didn’t fight back, they would enjoy it. Unfortunately, Brenda disagrees, and she makes sure to advise the pretty boy that his fellow inmates will feel the same way about him when he goes to jail.

That last part happens after Brenda cracks the case simply and elegantly, and she doesn’t let her staff or colleagues in on her game plan. After tricking the elder Yates into lying about his son’s alibi — she has camera footage of Darren hanging out in the Hollywood Hills with his stupid friends, which completely disproves the father’s claim they were both at home the night of Michelle’s suicide — Brenda tricks the younger Yates into thinking he’s going down for murder. The rest is a piece of cake as the naive spoiled brat voluntarily confesses that he “only” raped Michelle.

Besides reminding viewers once again why Brenda is called “The Closer,” “Cherry Bomb” demonstrates just how big an impact guest stars can have when they nail the material. Both Bowen and Baldwin are a huge part of the episode’s success.