THE FINDER Recap: ‘Life After Death’

Hello, fans of THE FINDER!

I recapped the series premiere, and though I’ve kept up with the show this season, I haven’t written about it again until now. But I have to say, there’s just something about THE FINDER that has earned a soft spot in my heart, and once it was moved to Fridays, it also earned a spot on my weekly writing schedule.

The episode, cleverly (as always) directed by BONES star David Boreanaz — who, if I’m right, has not directed a show he wasn’t starring in before (correct me if I’m wrong), centers on notions of love, family, redemption (one of THE FINDER’s creator Hart Hanson’s specialties) and, as the title states, life after death. In this instance, Walter is summoned by a record producer, Big Glade (played by 50 Cent) and his no-nonsense lawyer, Athena (played by the awesome Salli Richardson-Whitfied). They once represented a young up and coming rap artist, J-Strike, and they are concerned when new tracks of J-Strike’s music start hitting the scene, ten years after his drive-by shooting death.  They want Walter to find the music, but he’s not interested. When he realizes that the tracks aren’t 10 years old, he thinks J-Strike might be still alive, and his interest grows. When Athena tells Walter he is also sort of using him to get to Leo, Walter is REALLY interested, and agrees to take the case.

Leo and Walter spend several moments getting to know J-Strike’s mother and brother, Trey. Walter quickly identifies that Trey is an alcoholic, and his mother confides in them that he once showed much promise — including a scholarship to MIT.  When Leo asks if it’s possible if J-Strike is alive, his mother is visibly bothered, stating very clearly that she identified her son’s body and buried him — there is no way he’s still alive. Side note: the actors playing Trey and his mother were excellent! Excellent!!

As the case continues, Walter enrolls Willa to assist him in analyzing the track. She identifies where the leaked radio spot came from, and a small-town DJ tells Walter and Leo that he’s been receiving the tracks anonymously.

Athena and Big Glade are furious that they are nowhere closer to getting their hands on what they consider to be their property. Meanwhile, Trey has a few grudges of his own, when he tells Leo and Walter that all of J-Strike’s money went to the record label.  When Walter realizes that Trey and J-Strike had the same vocal pattern, he figures Trey is laying the tracks and sending them off as old J-Strike material.

The heart of the episode occurs when Trey admits to Leo and Walter that he was the one to shoot his brother in the leg. He also confesses that it was his brother’s idea — he wanted to have a war wound, so to speak, to increase his street cred. Trey was young, and he didn’t want to do it, but he also didn’t want to disappoint his brother. He pulled the trigger and shot the femoral artery, causing his brother to bleed out. It’s not until Walter and Leo convince Trey to repeat J-Strike’s last words, “It’s not our fault” that the team realize J-Strike was motivated.

The two men confront Athena and Big Glade. The rap mogul denies any involvement, and it’s clear to everyone that Athena was the one to put J-Strike up to it.

In a heart-crushing scene, Trey confesses his secret to his mother, and they both grieve. I liked that moment — it was hard to watch, but very good, and once again, both actors were fantastic.

As the episode came to a close, Walter and Leo discuss their own meanings of happiness. I liked this exchange between them. I like the fierce loyalty Walter feels toward Leo.

All in all, I liked this episode. There was minimal Willa action, which was fine by me. Not that I don’t like the character, but she just is used in dumb ways sometimes, and there was none of that this week. I can’t say the same for Isabel’s character. I like her MUCH more than Willa, but her plots are pretty weak at times, and this one was one of those times. I understand that the episode focused more on Leo’s world, and I have no complaints about that. I just wish that Isabel’s character had gotten a little more development too.  There were a couple of bigger things that bothered me:

• Athena’s quick way of telling Leo that he was “single” now, so they could hook up. Obviously it’s true that he IS single, but that’s because his family is dead — not exactly like breaking up with someone. Seemed kind of callous to me, but then again, she showed herself to be quite callous by the end of the episode. Leo didn’t seem to mind at first, so I was okay with it. But I was still glad at the end, when he realized that for his “life after death,” he wanted to live on his own terms.
• Walter’s dream. It’s a recurring theme in almost every episode (that Walter has a dream that helps him solve the case), and I find it annoying. I like the idea that Walter has SOME reason for his finder “power,” and I like that his team sort of keeps him honest about it, whether or not it is good for him, etc. But this whole dream thing…I don’t know. It mostly feels like the easy way out for the writers who basically hand Walter’s character too much information. I just wish that the dream portion of it would be included in his official finder power assessment is all.

But beyond those two things, I don’t have any complaints. The titular theme was well played out, both in Leo’s plot and in the plotline of the case. Additionally, I particularly enjoyed David Boreanaz’s direction. He really has a good eye, and I like the focus he uses in each shot. I could sense his hand and touch in it, but it wasn’t distracting or overbearing. Everything felt just right.

Enough from me…what say you? Did you like this case? What about Leo & Athena? Do you like Walter’s dreams? Any other thoughts? The comments are open; let’s discuss!