‘Rizzoli & Isles’ season 7, episode 5 review: Did Maura recover after surgery?

Going into tonight’s “Rizzoli & Isles” episode, we knew that there was a chance things were going to get emotional. How else do you call Maura going through surgery? Most of this episode to us revolved around waiting to see how she was going to do during and after surgery, and the good news here is that she seems to be doing just fine. She’s hopefully on the road to recovery, and that could mean some good things moving forward this season.

Case-wise, we had an interesting, twisted investigation where at the center of it was a “coincidence” that simply could not be such. Maybe there are some out there who will say that this unfolded in a way similar to make other shows out there, but this is one of those occasions where we will say that we didn’t mind this. It’s almost old-school in a way, and we appreciate Jane out there challenging theories and doing her job effectively. The dynamic has been a little different the past few seasons, but given Maura’s state in this episode we understood her limitations more.

Elsewhere, can we go ahead and celebrate Frankie and Nina more? We are obviously fans of the pairing, but to go along with that we do also appreciate the timing of it, as well. Rather than waiting until the very end of the show, we have a little bit of time to see them together and enjoy the progression.

In the end, there was a good bit to like about this episode. Most of this story other than Maura’s surgery and Frankie / Nina will be forgettable, but these are key building blocks to follow from here on out in this final season. Episode Grade: B.