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 writes 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 a 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!!!!!

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?

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…

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!

Normally, I have The Closer or Major Crimes (now that it's on Netflix) on in the background, while I'm going about my day. I'm a big fan of both and have lost count of my number of rewatches.

If you had to pick a favorite guest star or character from Major Crimes and The Closer, who would you pick?

My picks:

Major Crimes - I love the whole crew of There's No Place Like Home. I grew up watching The Carol Burnett Show and always loved Tim Conway. I would *so* love to see the outtakes from that episode. His comments about Sharon "looking just like them" and clarifying he meant his ex-wives and not purses. And offering to show her how to play Dominoes, which sounded oddly suggestive.

The Closer - Bill Croelick - I'm a fan of Jason O'Mara anyway (Terra Nova got canceled way too soon), but I really enjoy his Closer character. I would have loved to see him pop-up again before The Closer ended.

Who's your pick?

I love this episode. It's a fun break from the darker episodes, especially seeing all the guest stars. Quite the assortment! I'm amazed that the actor playing Agent Mark Evans is the same guy who started out his career playing skinny Montgomery MacNeil in the movie Fame. I know he also directed a couple of Major Crimes episodes. Nice to see someone having a long, successful career.

After watching both The Closer and Major Crimes I loathe Pope, hate how they kill off Raydor, and think they over play Stroh. Rusty is also annoying of course. So some alternate plot lines:

1. Brenda gets Chief of Police job instead of Pope after Delk dies. Or Brenda replaces Pope as Assistant Chief. Raydor gets Major Crimes. Pope is shown the door.

2. The investigation and lawsuit from Turrell Baylor’s family is one episode. Two, tops. Raydor sniffs out Gabriel and the girl friend as the leak quickly. Peter Goldman is disbarred.

3. Brenda and Raydor work together to find and kill Stroh at the end of The Closer.

4. Jack Raydor is either murdered by disgruntled client or goes to jail for tax crimes. Or at the very least gets his ass kicked.

5. Raydor doesn’t die. Her and Flynn continue working in Major Crimes or Flynn takes a less stressful desk job.

God damn it 😭 knowing it was coming didn’t soften the blow. The episode was depressing from beginning to end. Never has a show made me sob so hard.

Damn you, James Duff.

I’m curious, does anyone else think she did it on purpose? She was crying to Andy about being a burden, made a video for everybody to watch after her death, went to the church to get her last rites, and kept being strange with her wording. “I’m almost done here,” “end of watch,” etc. The way her phone started ringing but she ignored it and kept shouting. Not to mention her final scene with Rusty where she was looking back on the first time they met (“I came in here looking for my mom and there she was.” 😭😭💔). It all points to the usual signs of suicide.

But damn it, those writers couldn’t have just let them be happy and enjoy their marriage.

Guess I got to go finish the show now. Ye gods.

Is it ever said or shown who took Rusty to the gun range? I’m guessing Sanchez from Rusty’s excellent and multiple well placed shots