My thoughts on Rizzoli & Isles season 5 premiere

[This review was written the day after the season premiere but was accidentally left in drafts rather than posted.]

Season 5 of Rizzoli & Isles premiered last night and before the episode was over #RizzoliandIsles was trending on Twitter. The writers, along with star Sasha Alexander were all tweeting live from the writers room. (Check out the picture gallery for some of the pictures they posted.) The ratings surprised me a little. Turns out the live ratings were lower than last season by almost a point. Season 4 was getting around a 6.8 and episode 501 received a 5.8. That doesn't include later 7 day viewings nor DVR recordings.

As to the episode itself - I enjoyed it. I thought the ratio of personal to case was good, and I actually followed the case with interest. Those who have read my past reviews know that I've always felt the weakest part of this series has been the crimes themselves. Last night I think they did good. If this is a sign of the future of this show under new showrunner Jan Nash then I'm happy about the change so far.

This site has rizzles in the title, and for those who may not know what that stands for it's the term used for those who see the subtext in Jane and Maura's relationship - that maybe they're more than friends. I have to be honest, I no longer look for, nor see much of rizzles going on. We all knew they were never going to get together. These are two straight friends who love each other like family. With the events in this episode and some spoilers I've read about things coming up the subtext is very much going underground this season. What surprises me is that I'm okay with that. I'd rather watch a good crime drama then have continued on the path this show was on. I'm not saying it was bad, but I know to a lot of fans like myself Rizzoli & Isles had gone from a show that we all talked about and watched together and loved, to just another show on television. Something had happened between the third and fourth season. For me personally I can't put my finger on exactly what it was but it showed in my waning dedication to my website and blogs.

I watched last night's episode twice. That says a lot. Season four I only watched the episodes once. Compare that to season one and two when I watched the episodes four to five times each. I'm hoping last night is a sign of my passion for this show coming back. Truth be told, I missed it.

SPOILERS

So Jane really is pregnant and is going to have a baby. Interestingly, Angie Harmon has wanted that for Jane. I don't see a problem, I just hope Casey falls by the way side. He has proven not to be relationship material.

I felt that they handled the death of Det. Frost very well. I'm sure next weeks episode will pay tribute to not only the character but the actor who portrayed him, Lee Thompson Young. From the previews tissues will be required.