‘Rizzoli & Isles’ season 5, episode 2: Did show handle Lee Thompson Young tribute well?

Tonight on “Rizzoli & Isles,” the series had arguably the hardest episode that they have ever had to write, produce, and appear in. “Goodbye” was more than just a standard case, and it transcended the show in many ways.

For many viewers of the show, this episode is the only way that they have to say goodbye to Lee Thompson Young. They don’t know the man or what he was like on the set of this show. Instead, he was Barry Frost, the Famous Jett Jackson, or some other characters. While this memorial may have been fictional, for many it still felt real. That is why there were so many people during the episode tweeting about keeping the tissues nearby, and getting choked up even during some of the smallest moments.

This is an almost-impossible episode to review, mostly because it almost seems hard to be critical over something that was well-intended and heartfelt. Whether or not the tribute to Young was handled properly will be totally up for the viewer to decide. The challenge for the writers here was that there is a certain formula for how “Rizzoli & Isles” works, and there may be only so much room for deviation that they can have here given that this episode will play in repeats, often out of order and without context. This is a challenge that some other shows have had with episode surrounding big events, even some that were happy like the wedding on “Bones.”

For now, let us just say that we miss Young already. He meant a lot of things to many people, and the joy of television is that it allowed you to establish this connection to someone that makes you smile without them ever knowing that. Lee did that often throughout his career, and remarkably for people of all ages.

We’ll get back to some standard coverage of the show again in a subsequent preview article, but for now let us know what you thought of tonight’s tribute in the comments.

Photo: TNT