By Brandon Nolta

One of the many things I find fascinating about THE CLOSER’s Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) is how her face hovers just on the edge of locking her feelings away without ever quite making it. Whenever Chief Pope (J.K. Simmons) tells her something she doesn’t like, you can see the battle between forthrightness and her awareness of toe-stepping on that expressive mug of hers. People think Jim Carrey is the master of malleable features, but he could learn a thing or two from Sedgwick, who can make her face go from coquettish to froggy to hard-assed — all within the space of a few minutes.
   
This is all good, because it plays to THE CLOSER’s greatest strength: characters. There are shows more real, gritty, and in tune with their settings, but you’ll have to look long and hard to find any shows with more nuanced and complex characters, especially in Sedgwick’s faceted portrayal of the Georgia-belle-turned-CIA-interrogator-turned-LAPD-deputy-chief. Supporting characters rarely get short shrift on this show, and this week’s episode gives a couple of them a chance to stretch in new directions.
   
After a mummified body is found buried in a vacant lot with Lt. Provenza’s (G.W. Bailey) business card in his pocket, the investigation leads Priority Homicide to a controversial priest known for helping gangbangers escape the life, and often, culpability for their crimes. Not everyone on the squad has a negative view of the padre, however, and when Johnson casts her net to pull in a respected activist, Sgt. Gabriel (Corey Reynolds) ends up at loggerheads with his boss. Meanwhile, Brenda’s father has finally clued in to his daughter’s living arrangements with Fritz (Jon Tenney), and has written a letter explaining his views on the matter — a letter Brenda’s too afraid to read.
   
In many ways, this season is shaping up so far to make Gabriel more of a major player. In the previous two seasons, he was a valuable asset, a point of sparring over between Chief Johnson and Cmdr. Taylor (Robert Gossett). In this episode, however, he’s given a chance to shed his loyal asset image, disagreeing strongly with Johnson to the point of physical restraint. As the episode ends, it’s clear that their working relationship isn’t going to be what it was. Reynolds jumps on the chance to show another side to the intelligent, soft-spoken Gabriel, and it’s a welcome change. Other characters have taken Gabriel’s skill and diplomacy for granted, and it appears that might be about to change.

Provenza and Flynn (Anthony Denison) are their usual abrasive selves, and everything else falls into place as fans expect. One complaint: Sanchez (Raymond Cruz) and Daniels (Gina Ravera) have been little more than placeholders for a while now, and it’s long past time these two were given more depth and value as something besides the squad’s token Latino and romantic object, respectively. Cruz in particular is a solid actor, and should be given more chance to display the skills he’s honed through years of character work.
   
But, as always, it’s really Kyra’s show to run, and she does it well. Chief Johnson is the latest in a long line of fictional detectives whose professional competence is only exceeded by personal issues; the character beautifully blends vulnerability and ruthlessness in equal measure. My wife says that she wants Chief Johnson to succeed, but she wants Fritz to leave her because she’s too screwed up (being a fan of the handsome Mr. Tenney, who makes cool bemused competence look good), which perfectly captures the tightrope that Deputy Chief Johnson embodies week after week. It’s just a damn good show. Period.