RIZZOLI AND ISLES: “Two Shots: Move Forward”; “Dangerous Curve Ahead” {Recap}

Rizzoli and Isles starts its final season tonight with a two-part episode that wraps up the cliffhanger – and season long mystery – of how was after Jane Rizzoli’s life. As last season ended, the team – and Jane – had a name, Alice Sands, but nothing else as someone shot up Korsak’s wedding.

In the premiere, the team dealt with the fallout of the shooting – Nina’s shot and wounded, Moira’s suffering from head trauma, Jane’s nerves are frazzled – but Alice’s on the lose and time is of the essence to solve this case that has been a focus for them for too long.

Throughout the two episodes, the team – Jane especially – focus on finding as much evidence as they can to finally put Alice away for her crimes, even though there are pitfalls and struggles along the way.

Nina’s recovering, along with Moira’s own health concerns, are equally important and remind the audience that the show is not solely a procedural but a drama about people who work together. Nina and Frankie finally sharing a kiss was a nice touch to end the episode, of course.

Frankie, in the second half of the premiere, also looks into the death of a young woman in a car crash, but the case is not as easy as it appeared as he investigated the crime scene originally.

However, the focus of the episodes is Alice Sands (guest star Annabeth Gish), who is a menacing figure with an edge that does convey how scary and how dangerous she has been – both on and off screen – shines as a failed classmate of Jane’s who still has a serious grudge with Jane after all these years.

But with Sands in jail at the end, what does Rizzoli and Isles have in store for the final episodes? Only time will tell, but it looks like we’re all in for a ride.

Rizzoli and Isles airs Mondays at 9PM Eastern/8PM Central on TNT.