Rizzoli & Isles Season 7 Episode 10 Review: For Richer or Poorer
Jack Ori
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Supposedly dead or divorced spouses resurfacing are a staple on soap operas, but do we really need them on a crime drama?
It was great to get a glimpse into Maura's past, but Rizzoli & Isles Season 7 Episode 10 felt like manufactured drama.
Maura suddenly had a husband that nobody – including viewers – ever heard of before, complete with an annoying mother-in-law. Meanwhile, Angela was forced to face her issues when Ron resurfaced in her life.
Frankie and Nina? They played another round of pretending not to date because of family problems.
The scenes between Maura and Edward were sweet. He clearly still carries a torch for her, and I was surprised he consented to the divorce instead of trying to talk Maura into giving it one more try since his mother likes her now.
The problem is that there's never been a single allusion to this aspect of Maura's past before.
Maura has gone on dates with other men, and recently had a near death experience. Yet she never once expressed regret that she lost touch with Edward or even mentioned she'd been married once.
Jane: Who's Edward?
Maura: My ex-husband.
Clearly, the showrunners wanted viewers to be as surprised as Jane, but without any foreshadowing, this just felt contrived. Whenever it seems like the writers are making it up as they go along, it distracts viewers from the story.
A few mentions throughout the earlier part of the season would have been helpful.
I'm not surprised. I saw that Maura Isles was involved in this investigation. It's probably her way of getting back at our family for what happened years ago.
Tilly
Tilly's hatred of Maura and assumption that she wanted to ruin their family was over the top. I was glad that her attack on Maura was a red herring and that they ended up working together.
The show seemed to be going the more predictable route of making her an arch villain with a stupid motive, so the twist was a breath of fresh air.
Ron: What's going on, Angela?
Angela: I'm spying on Frankie and Nina.
The sidelines were interesting because they provided contrast with Maura's relationship with the overbearing mother-in-law she didn't know she had.
While Maura was still struggling to prove that she didn't mean Edward and his family any harm, Ron told Angela in no uncertain terms that his daughter's opinion didn't get to dictate their relationship.
Even more closely related was Frankie and Nina's attempt to hide their relationship from Nina's mother in case she didn't like it and tried to frighten Frankie away.
Angela: You love me?
Ron: Yes. I do.
Ron's declaration of love seemed to be a turning point for Angela.
She's been struggling all season with letting go of her adult children. She's angry that Jane's job puts her daughter's life in danger, she spies on Frankie and Nina every chance she gets, and she broke up with Ron because of Jane's dangerous job.
Angela seemed shocked that Ron really did love her. It was almost as if she'd been defining her worth by her ability to control her children's lives, and by taking him back was making a decision to put herself ahead of them for the first time, ever.
Do not lie to her mother.
Angela
Frankie and Nina's storyline, on the other hand, was redundant.
It wasn't that long ago that they were trying to hide their relationship from Angela and Jane. Surely there's some other storyline for these two besides constantly worrying about what their families will think.
At least Angela had the fortitude and common sense not to get involved in this stupid scheme and made a new friend as a result.
So what did you think? Did "For Richer or For Poorer" make you appreciate your own mother more or were all these overbearing mothers too annoying to bear? Did you guess that Noah was the killer? Do you think Maura and Edward will reunite by the end of the series?
Weigh in below, and don't forget you can watch Rizzoli & Isles online to get caught up if you missed anything.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.
