‘Rizzoli & Isles’ season 7, episode 8 (100th episode) review: Jane’s prison stay

Tonight, “Rizzoli & Isles” had itself quite a celebration. This was the 100th episode of the show, an installment for Angie Harmon to direct, and one that certainly had some notes reminiscent of “Orange is the New Black.” How else do you describe an hour of TV defined by Jane going undercover at prison?

Well, one way to describe it is the hug between Jane and Maura — friendship matters more than anything!

Seriously, this was a great episode, and one of the best potential of the entire Jan Nash era. It was a real celebration of now only the show, but much of what it represents. With Sharon Gless, you had a reference to one of the other great shows in “Cagney & Lacey.” With Daisy Harmon making an appearance, you had a reference to Angie’s life away from the show. Also, you had a fun tattoo plot, a selfie of all things, and some badass Jane moments behind bars to go along with all of this.

Sometimes, we do feel that shows try a little too hard with milestone episodes to “do something that hasn’t been done before.” We like that this show didn’t go in that direction. Sure, Jane in prison was new, and there were specific elements of the case that were different. Yet, echoing what so many people love about the show was such a smart move in a final season full of nostalgia. This is a series all about the relationship between the two main characters, and how they are able to work together to crack tough cases and support each other through rough times.

In the end, this was just a great episode! We’ve already reinforced that point, but we have a hard time thinking that anyone who loves and appreciates this show would find much to be upset about after watching this. Grade: A.