This week's episode was a VERY emotional one. Henry and Jo's friendship reached a new level.
Gruffudd and De La Garza's on-screen chemistry as friends slowly learning about each other deepens with every episode. You are almost screaming at the screen for Henry to finally reveal his secret to Jo. You can see that he wants to, but given his experience with divulging his secret to his first wife and her having him committed, viewers can understand why he's gun-shy to trust anyone that much ever again.
Their latest case involved what looked like a hit and run death, but of course, Henry's keen observational skills point to murder. The victim apparently robbed a jewelry store before his death.
What made this episode so emotional was that the victim had a long rap sheet and his last conviction was tried by Jo's late husband, who was the district attorney. Jo and Mike pour through Jo's late husband's case files on the victim, whose wife contends that he was a changed man,a family man, who had abandoned his former life of crime. Mike sees how looking at his files and seeing a videotape of her late husband with the victim is affecting Jo and Henry sees it too.
Henry tries his best to ease Jo's suffering and is there for her when her emotions get the better of her throughout the episode.
Meanwhile, we see Henry in the past, when he was transferred to a prison from an asylum after he told his first wife his secret and she proclaimed him crazy. His cellmate is a Catholic priest, who he eventually tells his secret to and the priest responds by saying that he believes him, counsels him about loss and then says that he can aid in his escape.
Throughout the episode, the deep, evolving relationship between Henry and Jo grows even more profound. During the investigation into who murdered the victim, another cop, who Jo went to the academy with, is assigned to the case. It's clear to Henry that he likes Jo, in more than just a fellow cop capacity, but Jo doesn't see it. Henry, again, tends to observe things that are sometimes obvious that Jo just doesn't.
There's a scene where Jo and Henry are having a drink at a local bar. It's clear that the memories of her husband and just how much she misses him, is getting to Jo. The fact that Henry just sits there and listens to Jo is a testament to how deeply he cares for her. He sees she's in pain and wants to be there for her and it's clear that she appreciates it and trusts him. Gruffudd and De La Garza have such an on-screen rapport, their ever growing relationship evolves right before viewers' eyes.
Well, in the end, the victim was going to see Jo's late husband, who he didn't know passed away, to help him, right before he was mowed down. Henry was being protective of Jo throughout the episode, but not so much that he's smothering her.
Finally, at the end of the episode, we find out that the officer who likes Jo was the one who mowed down the victim, who he framed for the jewelry store robbery, to hide his involvement in an insurance scam with the jewelry store's owner. Jo and the officer are driving to supposedly arrest the jewelry store owner when the officer accidentally mentions that he was in the vicinity of where the victim was mowed down on the night in question. Jo picks up on it at the same time Henry and Mike figure it out at the station and try to find Jo to warn her.
De La Garza plays Jo as cool and collected as she puts in her phone's ear piece and calls Henry unbeknownst to the officer. When the officer realizes his mistake, he pulls a gun on Jo, who is still driving and confesses everything. Henry and Mike hear it all.
Then, in a heart-pounding scene, Henry, who is tracking Jo's phone and sees her location, advises her to speed up and crash the car. He has deduced that in the car she's driving, the officer's sports car, if she crashes into a divider on the road she's on at a certain speed, she'll survive while the officer, who is threatening to kill her, won't.
The palpable tension both Gruffudd and De La Garza exhibit made me hold my breath. The absolute trust Jo has in Henry's deadly idea illustrates the bond that has been forged between the two. De La Garza's facial expressions show complete trust and Gruffudd's conflicting feelings about Jo, who he has developed this shared bond with and who he now has to put in mortal danger in order to save her life, are apparent in his wide-eyed stare as he listens as the car crashes.
Henry exhibits sheer relief when he goes to the scene and sees that Jo is okay.
The most poignant scene, IMO, was at the end of the episode when Jo is at home watching a videotape of her late husband, who after talking to the victim, got a call from her and told her that he loved her. Henry shows up on her doorstep, knowing instinctively that she needed a friend. They sit on the stoop of her brownstone, drinking coffee as Jo tells Henry that on the day her husband died they fought and the last words she said to him were in anger. Henry knows just what to say to ease Jo's guilt and she ends up putting her head on his shoulder as the snow starts falling around them.
I believe this episode really solidified Jo and Henry's friendship and bond. They both have been so closed off from other people for so long, afraid to trust anyone and allow themselves to be vulnerable. IMO, this episode displayed how they both are opening up to each other, a little bit at a time. Also, I feel there is a flicker of something more between them. Neither of them can define it yet, but it's something neither has felt since they lost their significant others and are finding it again in each other slowly!!
In conclusion, a fabulously emotional and heartfelt episode!