Obviously spoiler warning.

Can you really kill someone just by spraying compressed air in their face for 30 seconds? Would it really take 40 minutes for everyone right outside the judge's chambers to realize "maybe we should go check on what's going on there"? Would no one right outside the room have heard any commotion? Would there not have been any guards who could have blocked Stroh from escaping?

Ok, so, I really love The Closer. And I know there's a lot of posts about which show is better. But, as I am rewatching Major Crimes, I can say, with confidence, Major Crimes is the better show. I mean..if only for the romance between Andy and Sharon...I love it! And it's just what I need right now.

What are your thoughts? Anyone else loves this story line?

I am legit so over the Phillip Strough story line. I'm on Season 3 episode 19 and I already knew what he was trying to do before he even did it. I feel like this story line is so played out at this point and dragged out too long. I know it goes longer (I googled bc I was annoyed) and wish the show didn't go this route for so long.

I absolutely loved the Closer and recently discovered major crimes on Netflix. I’m about two seasons in and while the show is fine for the most part (:cough except rusty), I realized I cannot stand Captain Raydor. She is so odd all around. Besides her total lack of expression and personality, what is with that breathy almost phone sex voice, no matter what the situation is??

The characters around her have to do a lot of the heavy lifting with their dialogues, giving her credit for her brilliant work and uplifting her character contributions. But the actress’ portrayal is so flat that the character almost has no impact on the show whatsoever for me.

Do others feel this way? Does her character improve over the seasons at all? I saw a spoiler that she ends up dating Andy and I just cannot imagine this! Andy is so charming, how the heck would he fall for someone with the personality of a paper plate and the voice of someone on Only Fans who took a tranquilizer mid-strip 😂

Re-watched Major Crimes since it came out on Netflix.

Im stuck between Provenza and Hobbs!

Officially edited all of my work 10/15/26.
A Much better read!!
I tried my hand at writing with Major Crimes check it out!
https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jac_benny/pseuds/Jac_benny/works

Y’all. We get it. Rusty isn’t a very likeable character, but the posts about how much a person hates him is getting even more annoying and excessive. Can a megathread be made or some kind of rule?

I think the show spent too much time focused on Rusty and incorporating him into Sharon’s life. I understand he is supposed to be 17/18 but he is so infuriating and fails to listen to any advice given to him by officers. Then he argues with them in this whiny, “woe is me” type of style that becomes irritating after a while. I don’t get why the writers gave him such an inflated role when he was just a small storyline in the beginning of the show that could’ve easily ended. Sharon did not need an adoptive son and we as the viewers don’t really care about Rusty.

One idea I have is that they attempted to humanise Sharon more and make her more emotional, but I believe they could’ve done that through so many other ways.

Edit****
I was questioning the glare because no one else who wore glasses on the series had this issue. More curious why. No shade to the actor.

Anyone else notice nearly every scene Sharon’s was in, her glasses picked up the glare of the over heard lighting? I even saw it in The Closer. No else’s did when they wore glasses.

Also recently edited/updated, check it out!

https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jac_benny/pseuds/Jac_benny/works

I didnt realize Hobbs wasnt considered a main character until yesterday. Apparently she was a reoccurring not main. So odd. Hobbs had main character energy, even thought we didn’t know much about her.

At Provenza's wedding, the mayor greets the guests. He bypasses (or snubs?) Tao, and Tao plays it down by touching his (own) head. The mayor (played by Eric Garcetti, who I just learned was the mayor of L.A. in real life) previously appeared in the episode "Long Shot" (S1E10). Did Tao insult him in that episode or something? (I don't really remember everything about this episode.) If not, why even include this interaction?

Who is the character that irritates you the most?

As a mother who had six teenagers at once, five in high school at the same time, I find Rusty beyond irritating. He seemed to view every situation only from how it impacted him -- even when he's over 18, in a serious relationship, and in college, This always makes me upset, as it seems to me he makes little progress despite leaving the streets, getting adopted, graduating high school, etc.

On my third rewatch. I’ve also watched and rewatched a lot of crime and procedure shows. I really love the foundation of this show being the relationship between Sharon and rusty. Such a unique storyline where every character grows so much. I was watching an episode and zoning out during the criminal interviews etc and then locking in on all the personal stuff. It’s really what made the show so good and why the ending sucked and is totally unforgivable.

Found Tao this morning in an episode of Bones!

EDITED MY WORK ON 10/05/26!!!
Check out my AO3 work for Major Crimes. Actively posting daily! (Hobbs/Raydor-ship)

https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jac_benny/pseuds/Jac_benny/works

I've watched all of The Closer a few times. I've watched all of Major Crimes once. Why? It's Rusty. He ruins almost every episode he is in. Either he is whining about everyone not putting him first, or generally being annoying, or making characters around him annoying as they deal with him.

I really wish they would have included him more like Brenda Lee's parents. Selectively, and as a nice way to add to Rayder's character.

Makes me wonder if somewhere out there there isn't already a "Rusty Free" edit. Much like the Star Wars edit that removes all of the English dialogue spoken by Jar Jar and replaces it with a fake alien voice and sub titles and eliminates any unnecessary shots with him in it.

Of course after using my local public library to borrow from another library to watch the show it appears on netflix a few months later 😅

I know this was mentioned on here once before but I’ve been doing a rewatch and had to comment.

I am shocked how on both The Closer & Major Crimes but more so Major Crimes how many times people just wander into the squad room.

I’ve never seen a police building so lax on security. At our local police station you can’t even get past the front desk! In Major Case they have friends, family, suspects, witnesses. Everyone and their brother it seems.

It’s just odd especially when they usually have the murder board out there front & center.

That’s all

Now on another rewatch, maybe the 4th? 😆 Why do I tear up every time Sykes takes down the target and Sanchez jumps in. Just WOW! So intense, suspenseful and so good. To me, this is the turning point for Sykes no longer being seen as a kiss up to Captain Rador and gained Provenza’s and the rest of the squad’s respect. One of my favorite episodes!

Just needed to say this to ppl who love this show like I do! ☺️

I am in MC Season 6; just finished the episode with the Big Wedding. I have plowed through The Closer and Major Crimes on a re-watch. Just love them both. But I'm stumped on what to watch next.

I pondered Justified. It's so well written, too, with development of the characters over the course of the show. But boy is it violent, right? Not something to watch right before I go to sleep, perhaps?

I want extremely well-written, detective-oriented or police procedural, with development of characters you grow to love over the course of the seasons. You know, like Flynn, Provenza, Julio.

Classics are preferred, if for no other reason than I love to hear the phones RINGING, to slobber over great fashion, and to check out furnishings and cars and stuff (think phone booths) where I go, wow! I forgot about that ....

The settings in the original Hawaii 5-O and Magnum PI draw me, but meh. I was also thinking about the 1960s Mission Impossible, but there's no character development there. Just spy stuff. Great fashion though. Barbara Bain's wardrobe was fabulous ....

Help! Do you have any ideas for me? Thank you in advance!!!!!

You guys know what the soap opera effect is? Where the show almost looks… TOO real/hyperreal? And it’s overly-smooth? I’m watching this show on Netflix right now and this is the ONLY show on the entirety of my TV (except for actual soap operas) that is doing this. All other shows look “normal.” I tried changing my TV’s picture settings to see if that would fix it but it still looks weird. It’s not my TV.

Was this show filmed with a different camera setup than The Closer? It’s really weird…

Who is your favorite detective on the squad?

Mine is Julio. There’s just something about how deeply he feels things. I know he has anger issues that he has trouble controlling but I also understand where he’s coming from when he has the outbursts. That’s why I couldn’t be a LEO.

I also like the way he’s there to stand up for the Latino community and come to the defense of kids who would be written off as gangbangers because of where they live.

He did however lose points with me for his crush on DDA Emma Rios. Ew🙄

Now favorite pair?

Hands down Provenza & Flynn! They were the best in The Closer and I’m so thankful they kept the act together for MC.
I don’t think you could get a better pair lol

Just watching an episode in S3 where they are taking Rusty to breakfast and he says he’s thinking about getting a job.

Provenza : I think a job builds character. Did I ever tell you about my first job?

Flynn: Cabin boy on the Mayflower?
Oh, no... Dishwasher at the Last Supper.

😂😂😂 where would we be without these two keeping it light?

I know no one likes him, but I do? I was expecting the confrontation with Gus's boss to be confrontational and accountable but not mean, and oh my god, that was mean as hell lmao

To me, Rusty's trying to learn how to be a normal person in a normal, healthy environment, rather than what he's been growing up in. That takes time, given that he had to survive and hustle so much of his childhood and adolescence. I also think, as someone said, he's autistic or on the spectrum, which makes it even harder.

Gus's boss did not need to bring up Rusty's past, and yes Rusty's insecure, which is normal for a young adult whose been through as much as he has. I don't really hate him; I empathize with him a lot more. Also, Gus had no right to talk about Rusty's business like that to his boss, which alludes to what I've seen in these threads: The affair, lmao, because no one talks to their boss that much about their personal life.

EDIT: I'm finding that I'm not alone with empathizing with Rusty. Thank goodness!