The Closer Episode Rating Graph

In the series finale, we bid a final farewell to Brenda Leigh Johnson. When a young man calls 911 to report seeing someone being buried in Griffith Park, police find not only her remains, but those of several other women who were kills as far back as two years ago. Brenda immediately suspects Philip Stroh and, despite departmental restrictions, sets out to finally tie him to the murders. Meanwhile, the witness who called 911 makes Brenda look at her life and future. Stay tuned to the next show, Major Crimes, which will pick up from the moment The Closer ends. A large portion of the characters are moving to the new show. to work under the new supervisor of Major Crimes, Captain Sharon Raydor.

An unnamed source files a grievance against Brenda in the midst of a high-profile investigation of a murdered L.A. filmmaker. With her career on the line, Brenda is skeptical of Chief Pope's intentions when he volunteers to help. In classic Brenda style, she spurns the accusation, refusing to suppress her demeanor in deference to the complaint. In response to the situation, the PHD team comes together to act in unison, sending shock waves through the entire department.

The newly renamed Major Crimes Division investigates the death of a teenager that may be related to a planned massacre; the squad searches for a bomb before it can explode.

Brenda finds herself involved in a cover-up of her own when she helps the PHD investigate a non-priority case. Why? Because the deceased woman was found in Provenza's garage. Once again, the team finds themselves racing against the clock before the LAPD brass discovers what they're up to. Will Brenda be able to protect her team and their hard-earned trust?

Brenda seeks help from a businessman, played by guest star Jason George (Grey's Anatomy), with old ties to the neighborhood where Turell Baylor was murdered.

Det. Julio Sanchez' little brother Oscar is shot and killed, leaving Julio beside himself with grief and seeking his killer any way he can, which threatens the investigation.

The murder of a priest puts the squad on a collision course with the Catholic Church and drives a wedge between Brenda and Chief Pope. Meanwhile, Brenda’s parents are in town while her father continues his cancer treatments.

Brenda finds a young couple involved to in the investigation by accident after finding two people dead outside in the street Brenda has no idea that the DA is watching her every move Capitan Raydor and Chief Pope find out who the leak is.

When a young boy blames himself for the death of his friend, Brenda must tread lightly to get to the bottom of the case. Complicating matters is the deceased child's mother, who offers up accusations of her own.

Things don't add up when an LA cop turns up dead. Brenda and her team race against the clock to get to the truth, while tension increases between the Priority Homicide Division and the Robbery-Homicide Division. In the meantime, Brenda's relationship with Fritz elevates to a whole new level.

Brenda and Fritz have a hard time agreeing who is in charge when an informant's wife and and FBI agent are both murdered. Brenda discovers that she and the PHD must work quickly when the leading witness in the case is scheduled to testify against a powerful mobster. When the killer's identity is uncovered, the PHD finds themselves under attack; an attack that takes someone down.

Glad to be back with her team, Brenda focuses on finding a terrorist-linked suspect. Working with the CIA, who also wants their hands on this suspect, Brenda realizes that she was given false information, and wonders if she's been set up. To prevent herself and the PHD from falling prey to a sinister plan, Brenda must untangle a web of lies to determine who she can trust - before it's too late.

Returning to L.A. proves to be a challenge when Brenda's witness remains hesitant, causing her to be creative. The fallout left behind in Atlanta leaves Brenda's parents picking up the pieces while Fritz becomes buried underneath all the stress.

Caught in the crossfire of a shootout, two people end up dead and one remains in critical condition. Now Brenda and the team must figure out the the intended crime and the intended victim in order to determine the perpetrator. Brenda and Fritz disagree as they continue to struggle with Charlie, and Provenza drastically alters his lifestyle.

In an effort to get good PR for the department, Deputy Chief Johnson takes a journalist on a ride-along, but when the Crown Vic is targeted and shot at, Brenda is forced to live under 24-hour police protection, while being the key witness in the case she must solve.

Resulting from the showdown in the murder room, Brenda finds herself taking some involuntary time off. When she is asked to help a friend solve a murder that is linked to a terrorist group, Brenda works to find the killer and still keep it under wraps. Meanwhile, Commander Taylor jumps at the chance to break apart the PHD while Brenda is away.

A recently released sex offender is accused of kidnapping a child, and with time running out, Det. Gabriel beats a confession out of him. Deputy Chief Johnson must deal with Gabriel and also get the pedophile to re-confess.

Brenda and the team investigate the grisly slaying of a family, and the only survivor is the drug-addled teen son. Meanwhile, a financial crisis rocks the LAPD, bringing about budget cuts, numerous changes --- and possibly Provenza’s early retirement. And Fritz hopes to move into a new house with Brenda.

The murder of an adolescent girl from Mexico, found dead in the Los Angeles River, proves difficult and painful for Brenda and her team. At first, a known sex-offender seems the likely candidate, but questions arise about why the girl and her mother were brought to the US, leading the investigation in another direction. Soon, the girl's backpack suggests the girl's uncle or the family for whom the mother worked may have been involved, A search of the house suggests one of the family is the murderer, but which one? An end-run by the family, determined to protect the killer, takes Brenda to Mexico, where she must use all her resources, Fritz and Mexican law to finally bring the killer to justice. The usually cantankerous Dr. Crippen shows his softer side as he briefs Brenda following the autopsy, in a scene representative of the way in which the violent death of a child impacts the police.

Brenda finds she has another victim and later learns that her parents have been robbed and the Christmas gifts stolen from the RV. The investigation has to continue through Christmas day.

Three wealthy, spoiled and unruly children become the target of Brenda's investigation when their stepmother is murdered and the family butler seemingly commits suicide shortly thereafter. Riding heard on the trio is their family attorney, who cleans up their messes and provides them with alibis. Convinced the butler was actually murdered, Brenda sets out to discover which of the children committed the murders, and finds the real killer was someone altogether different!

When a serial killer's spree crosses from Texas to California, Brenda must work with Detective Curt Landry, her Texan equivalent. The two match wits and find themselves going toe to toe as each tries to gain control of the case and the way in which they solve it.

Capt. Raydor (special guest Mary McDonnell) accompanies Brenda on an investigation involving the disappearance of a nanny working for close friends of the mayor. Meanwhile, Raydor’s real purpose in taking part in the investigation could have big career implications for Brenda.

A car belonging to a Department of Homeland Security employee is found wrecked at the bottom of Mulholland Drive. Priority Homicide is brought in to uncover the details surrounding the driver’s death, but the investigation leads Brenda a lot closer to home then she expected.

Brenda and her team must find not only a killer, but also identify the killer's victim when a deranged, homicidal madman is set free due to mistaken identity. Trying to make sense of an array of complexities in this unusual case, Brenda comes across what may be another betrayal by a member of the Priority Homicide Division. The case takes an even darker turn when Brenda becomes the center of the psychopathic killer's attention.

At the request of Detective Mikki Mendoza, the squad becomes involved in investigating a series of brutal murders that indicate a Mexican drug cartel may have moved into the city.

Flynn and Provenza get into the usual trouble moonlighting as process servers when a man dies shortly after they serve him.

A seemingly routine murder investigation by the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division is interrupted by the arrival of Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, the new head of the LAPD’s Priority Murder Squad. An outsider from Atlanta in her first week of service, Brenda has already begun to face the resistance of long-time high-ranking officers, particularly Capt. Taylor of Robbery Homicide, as well as the questionable confidence of her own squad, who have decided to request transfers en masse. Only her assistant, Sgt. Gabriel, seems willing to try to work with her.

The LAPD's Police Commissioner and his wife, Gail, may be in trouble when Brenda becomes determined to uncover a scandal one of them tried to cover up.

The body of a long-dead murder victim is uncovered along with Lt. Provenza’s business card, setting off the squad’s search for his identity and killer. When the bullet is traced to a gang weapon that had been turned into the LAPD 15 years prior, Deputy Chief Johnson is forced to contend with political activist Father Jack.

When a gay man is murdered, seemingly the latest victim of a string of hate crimes, Brenda must confront prejudices inside and out of the LAPD. But when the perpetrator of the crimes turns out to be something quite different than expected, and has an alibi for the latest murder, Brenda must dig deeper to discover if this crime is part of the string, or a crime of passion disguised as a hate crime. Meanwhile, Flynn and Taylor step up their efforts to undermine Brenda once again, but with unexpected effects, as the team begins to rally around Brenda. Provenza's quirks begin to emerge, and we meet Terrence Hynes, a County Coroner's Forensics Support worker with an odd sense of humor. On the home front, Brenda finds herself with some new charges when her (male) Kitty has kittens.

Brenda goes toe to toe with the tricky attorney of a man suspected of a brutal rape and murder. Going a few rounds to get to the truth, Brenda dukes it out with the lawyer who is just as clever in the ring as she is. Can she hang in there and get to the truth before the final bell?

It looks to be the return of a serial killer when two bodies turn up dead. With the knowledge that he kills in sets of three, Chief Pope charges Brenda and her squad to hunt down the killer before the third victim is taken.

Fred Willard (Modern Family) guest stars as Santa Jack, the owner of a Christmas village who believes he could be the real Father Christmas.

When a Chinese business woman is found dead on the tour bus she and her husband operate, Brenda and the squad must dig deep to investigate her past life. Meanwhile, Brenda’s parents reveal to the squad that Brenda and Fritz are engaged.

A body turns up on a home construction site, while Brenda and Fritz weigh the expense of a high priced attorney.

Brenda has to figure out how house sitting led to the death of a young lady. As the fallout from the civil lawsuit continues Captian Rader has to broaden her investigation to include the LAPD while the realignment within be in LAPD gets started.

Fritz's sister agrees to use her psychic powers to help the Priority Homicide Division resolve one of their cases, and while her abilities appear to help her understand how Brenda works, they don't seem to stop her from offering misguided advice.

While investigating the homicide of an entire family, the team once again finds themselves entangled in an FBI case. They also find themselves distracted by an unusually surly Provenza.

A family works to protect their late minister's reputation from scandal. Meanwhile, most of the Major Crimes Division is subpoenaed, raising suspicions about the one who wasn't.

Chief of Police Tommy Delk (guest star Courtney B. Vance) assigns Major Crimes a seemingly minor case involving the armed robbery of several medical marijuana dispensaries. But when one of the robberies turns into a murder, the case becomes a test of Brenda’s readiness to move up in the department.

Brenda encounters her nemesis, Philip Stroh. the defense attorney she suspects is a murdering rapist. Obsessed with taking him down, she pulls a shock-and-awe courtroom stunt that jeopardizes a case and lands her in hot water with the new D.A..

An FBI informant is the prime suspect in the deaths of two Tijuana police officers; Pope, Taylor and Brenda must deal with a public relations mess when a newspaper prints an unflattering story about Priority Homicide.

Brenda can't understand what led to a father's disappearance just as his daughter's single was about to hit the charts making her famous very quickly. Brenda has an opportunity to make her lawsuit disappear by settling with the family that brought it against her but that deal may not be as good as everybody hoped it would.

A man wearing a surveillance wire is shot to death at point blank range in downtown Los Angeles; interpersonal relationships on the squad force Brenda into a corner.

The team investigates the puzzling death of a fellow officer's daughter. Elsewhere, Captain Raydor advances in her meticulous audit of Brenda's unit and begins to sharpen focus on Detective Sanchez.

When two Catorce gang members are shot to death, Brenda and her squad must solve the murders before a gang war erupts. Meanwhile, Brenda has her own personal health scare when she finally visits the doctor.

Brenda and the team must determine if a murder was revenge or mere coincidence when a recently released murderer turns up dead, the victim of a hit-and-run. As usual, Brenda's personal life isn't much better: she must deal with a recently incapacitated Fritz.

Brenda must fight for justice for two Russian prostitutes murdered by the illegitimate son of a Russian mafia figure whiles she overcomes the prejudices of a department who sees one dead prostitute as pretty much the same as another. As she does, she confronts her own prejudices, and discovers the justice for these women is scarce in a world dominated by men. When the FBI steps in to take over the investigation, she shows the stern stuff she's made of, using highly unorthodox methods to finally bring the murderer to an unusual form of justice. Meanwhile, Brenda's relationship with Fritz takes a new direction, as the FBI's involvement in this case hints at the challenges that will come when they must balance their work and professional lives. At the end of the episode, Brenda purchases one of the dead girl's house, and finds herself the owner of a cat she doesn't want, but who has ideas of its own.

After a parole board member is viciously murdered during a panicked phone call with Sgt. Gabriel, Pope announces an overreaching plan to boost the police department’s image. His plan, however, hinges on Brenda first being able to solve the crime.

A bank robbery supposedly committed by a known gang of thieves leaves a security guard dead. It also leaves a lot of unanswered questions about the prime suspects and why this latest robbery doesn't fit their regular pattern. Meanwhile, Pope gets some news about his chances at becoming the city's police chief.

Brenda and the Priority Homicide Team investigate a sniper who is killing gang members in and around MacArthur Park. Offering assistance is an ex-Army colonel who believes the sniper to be his son. As an all-out gang war looms, Brenda tentatively accepts his assistance, but as her investigation progresses, Brenda's doubts about the Colonel's motives grow. With Fritz' assistance, she realizes the Colonel is not there to help, but to help his son escape. The two face off in the dark on a Los Angeles rooftop, leading to an unexpected outcome. Elsewhere in the story, Sanchez' prior service with the Rampart Division CRASH gang squad allows him to play a pivotal role in the investigation as he briefs the squad on gang activity in the area, goes undercover as a gang member and assists with interrogations. Brenda's tense relationship with Taylor seems to relax, then abruptly grows tenser when a stake-out goes wrong. Gabriel becomes increasingly loyal to her, but Flynn and Provenza continue to resist her methods, dubbing her "Miss Scarlett."

Brenda's parents return with surprising news that keeps Brenda's mind from her case.

Brenda and the squad investigate the murder of a hair stylist; Brenda's parents stop in for a visit on their way to Alaska; Brenda's father wants to know when she and Fritz are going to tie the knot.

The conviction of a woman found guilty of poisoning a banker is overturned when a laboratory essential to proving the case comes under scrutiny. The subsequent re-trial forces Brenda to ask Provenza's former partner for help tying up loose ends. Unfortunately for the team, more scrutiny occurs when they all discover Provenza's former partner is no longer the man he used to be. The importance of the case may ruin Brenda and Fritz's planned vacation.

The routine arrest of a crack addict exposes a questionable rehab facility and leads Brenda and her squad on a race to find a missing young woman. The case leads Gabriel to question Brenda’s judgment and Fritz to reveal to Brenda the some ugly truths about his past.

Brenda and the team must investigate the murder of high-profile model Heather Kingsley, who dies as a result of nicotine poisoning, applied to her scalp via her hair conditioner. Suspicion quickly falls on her movie-star husband, Dean, whose philandering ways and false claims of a pre-nuptual agreement make him the likely killer. As Brenda investigates, she is drawn into the world of celebrity beauty, where illusion is everything, and the standard high. When she undergoes a make-over to meet the Dean’s discarded lovers one-by-one, each of whom appears to have a motive to murder, Brenda realizes there may be more to this case than a man trying to get out of a marriage. At the same time, she is slowly seduced by the superficial glamour, which seems to impress her colleagues, and Fritz. As the real killer emerges, Brenda comes to the realization that she can only be who she is, and that the rest is just an illusion.

Still experiencing the strain of her case, Brenda finds herself under another time crunch when she must disprove a questionable alibi within 48 hours to prevent the investigation from falling flat. As Brenda searches for the truth in her case, she discovers some inside information that may have an unfortunate effect on her relationship with Fritz.

When a man believed to have murdered two young women is found dead in Elysian Fields, evidence points to his victims' families. Brenda and the team must then wade through the suspects to find the true killer.

When an adolescent boy is found murdered where members of the Tres Colores gang frequently spend time, the subsequent murders of two more gang members point Brenda and the team to gang warfare. Unfortunately, the evidence trail leads them in a different direction.

Brenda's holiday plans change suddenly when a man is attacked by a knife-wielding assailant who is accidentally run over and killed by the police officer responding to the 911 calls. Brenda & Fritz receive a huge surprise for Christmas from Brenda's parents.

Brenda and Fritz's attention is diverted by problems on the job even though their wedding day has finally arrived, and bad blood between the members of the Priority Homicide Division threatens to cause one of the officers to leave the department.

Brenda and the PHD investigate the murder of a personal trainer who was involved with the wife of a possessive husband with a temper. Complicating the investigation: their only witness is the man's frightened valet, who also has OCD. Brenda must also solve the murder while sharing her squad with Homeland Security.

Brenda and the team are called in to investigate the questionable disappearance of a shady financial investor. The team is a mess with Daniels now in another division, Gabriel doing double duty, and Provenza with behavior more curious than usual. In the meantime, Brenda and Fritz deal with a sick Kitty.

An old man’s confession to seven murders leads Deputy Chief Johnson to investigate the sudden and unnatural deaths at his nursing home.

When a reformed gang member is murdered, the case takes the team back to a familiar neighborhood where they find themselves unwelcomed. Brenda must figure out a way to solve what appears to have been a missed-mark murder and bring peace to an unstable community.