‘Rizzoli & Isles’ season 6, episode 8 review: Maura, Jane, and Dr. Arthur Isles

Tonight’s new episode of “Rizzoli & Isles” promised to be an emotional one almost from the moment that we first saw it on the air, mostly because we knew we were getting an opportunity to see a huge chunk of Maura Isles’ past. “Nice to Meet You, Dr. Isles” introduced us to Dr. Arthur Isles, a man who clearly possesses some brilliance but is completely lacking when it comes to many other skills … including parenting. He and Maura have been estranged for some time, and this episode showed that for the two of them, being on the same page again is not going to come easy.

For us, the character himself was fascinating, and there were many a sad moment throughout in just realizing how damaged this relationship was. With that said, we did expect an even more shocking reveal at the end of the hour than what we had. To be fair, we’re glad that the secret of Arthur’s past is not worse than a past affair he had, but typically these crime shows deliver something even worse.

This minor complaint aside, we’re never going to complain too extensively about seeing an episode that really pushes the envelope and works hard to present a very different part of someone’s past that we have never seen before now. Plus, the side story involving Jane, Frankie, and Angela was at least reasonably compelling to watch, mostly since it tied into the overall theme of the hour: Family drama.

We’re not going to say that we expected more from this episode, mostly because it was not bad by any means. Arthur was just a different character than we expected, and we’re still somewhat surprised by the ending. It is at least one we are going to remember for many weeks after the season ends, and we do not always get to say this. Grade: B+.

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