Rizzoli & Isles 6×07 – A Bad Seed Grows – Recap

Rizzoli & Isles 6×07 begins with that old trope of a woman walking her dog in the woods. The dog’s name is Angus, which is cute. The dead body Angus finds in a camouflaged cage? Not so cute. Read on for our recap.

Greeks use Windex, Rizzolis use duct tape

Speaking of levels of cuteness, the play-fight that the two titular characters have over a lint-roller at Maura’s house is SUPER CUTE – but Mama Rizzoli doesn’t think so. She enters the room and admonishes, “Hey, you two, knock it off; somebody’s gonna get hurt.” I’m betting this isn’t the first time she’s walked in on them doing something interesting, so she knows the drill by now. When Maura examines the object of her lint-rolling endeavors, she identifies it as something one certainly would not find at the estate of the venerable Dr. Isles.

Maura: It looks like low-grade foam rubber – the kind used in inexpensive throw pillows, chair cushions and cheap furniture.
Jane: It’s from my couch. The duct tape came loose.
Maura: Duct tape?
Angela: Yeah, Greeks use Windex, Rizzolis use duct tape.
Jane: It has a hole in it!

What is it they say? Opposites attract? This is a classic example of that. According to Jane, the hole was made by Jo Friday, the dog she took in way back in the pilot episode. A member of the writing staff must have realized we haven’t seen hide nor hair of Jo Friday for a while and decided the viewers needed an explanation, because Jane mentions returning Jo to her original owners after Korsak tracked them down over a year ago.

Jane and Maura proceed to simultaneously bicker about African horned cucumbers and whether or not Jane should replace the couch. Then they get called to a crime scene, where Maura counters Jane’s complaints about mosquitoes with “Some people have a genetic susceptibility to being bitten.” …YEAH, they do. Less than five minutes in, and Rizzoli & Isles 6×07 is already a classic.

Should’ve gone to law school

Back at headquarters, Frankie and Nina check the day’s school truancy report and identify the victim as a 16-year-old girl named Sheila. They also bond over UFO sightings, because why not? Down in Autopsy, Maura tries to get Jane to look at couch swatches, but Jane’s more interested in finding Sheila’s cause of death. According to Maura, Sheila was killed by an injection of euthanizing drugs used by veterinarians. What’s more, the evidence found in the cage suggests that before the perpetrator used it to confine a human, he practiced on smaller animals.

Later, an old med school friend of Maura’s drops by to see her, and his interest in the case raises enough red flags for Maura to alert Jane. The man, Dr. Foley, is a psychiatrist, and Jane and Korsak suspect Sheila’s murderer may be one of his patients. He’s bound by doctor/patient confidentiality, but Jane figures out a loophole that involves cross-referencing his billing records with the DEA’s list of who has access to the euthanizing drugs. Dr. Foley sets up a meeting between himself, Jane and Korsak, but when the investigators arrive, they find him murdered in his office and a patient of his named Daniel hiding in a nearby closet.

Daniel claims he acted in self defense because he was being molested, but Jane and Korsak suspect he knew his psychiatrist was going to turn him over to the authorities. Jane wants the Assistant District Attorney working the case to subpoena Foley’s records, and she thinks the molestation accusation opens the door to make that happen. “You should’ve gone to law school,” the ADA tells her. Well, she kind of did, in another life. Until they find something against him, Daniel’s free to go.

Up in flames

The subpoena goes through (one point to lawyer!Jane) but there’s nothing alarming in Daniel’s file, except for a note about the boy volunteering at a local animal shelter. Jane theorizes that Daniel hid everything incriminating in other patients’ records before Dr. Foley’s body was discovered, secure in the knowledge that the police wouldn’t be able to access those files – but he didn’t account for the doctor’s receptionist. His complete records indicate that had planned the attack on Sheila, and they also reveal his obsession with fire.

Well, now we know why Dr. Foley approached Maura, but it’s still not enough to get the boy arrested. With Daniel eavesdropping, his mother agrees to help get him committed, and Jane sets up a sting operation to catch him right as he’s about to commit matricide using the same euthanizing drugs that killed Sheila. Ultimately, both she and Maura get their wishes: Jane wraps up the case and Maura orders her a new couch that resembles her old one, duct tape not included. So, all’s well that ends well, right? Not quite. Right at the end of Rizzoli & Isles 6×07, Jane receives a call about her building being on fire. Her apartment is a total loss, but at least she can sit in the street on her brand new couch.

Anyone else wondering if there’s a connection between Daniel’s love of fire and Jane’s apartment going up in flames? And, more to the point, now that Jane doesn’t have a home of her own, will she officially move in with Maura?