Season 1, Episode 2 of Cold Case.
Directed by Paris Barclay
Written by Jan Oxenberg
Upon urging from her future stepmom, Gwen Deamer asks the detectives to look into the murder of her mother, Dana Deamer, who was killed by a makeshift bomb disguised as a box of laundry detergent when Gwen was five years old in 1983, as the prime suspect is about to plead for release from jail.
Tropes
- '80s Hair: First episode set in the 80s - of course the victim's hair is glorious.
- The Alibi: The murderer is at work when the murder happens. Also, he doesn't have a phone where he works, but the police believe the murderer placed a phone call just before the victim died.
- Alliterative Name: Dana Deamer and Lorraine Loomis.
- Anger Born of Worry: Rob and Dana are fighting at the start, but we realize when he is gentle with her after that, he is just worried she will get in trouble for testifying against her old teacher. Subverted when it turns out he's a controlling Jerkass who killed Dana when she wouldn't fall in line with him.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Before Rob can rough her up, Lilly remarks that Albert made such a lovely Fall Guy for Gwen's grudge against whoever killed her mother.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Being a retired firefighter and caring father makes for fine sheep's clothing. But underneath, Rob is a controlling, overbearing monster who scared off his first and third wives and killed his second wife, the victim, with a bomb he planted.
- Booby Trap: The Victim of the Week is killed by a bomb hidden in a box of detergent, rigged to detonate as soon as the box is moved.
- Domestic Abuse: While he may not have hit any of his wives, Rob was extremely controlling—enough to scare two of them into leaving, and enough to murder the one who wouldn't obey him.
- Elopement: Rob and Lorraine.
- Evidence Scavenger Hunt: Lilly looks at the photos and finds a crawlspace where evidence could have been missed. They actually do find pieces of the box the bomb was placed in, so are able to rule out one of the main suspects and focus on the other two.
- Fall Guy: Albert. Everyone knows the victim was threatened by him when she was about to give evidence against him. He's currently in jail for Compulsive Sexual Behavior-related crimes and about to be released in three days, which sets the daughter of the victim off and encourages Lilly to revisit the case.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Gwen can’t fathom how her own father could murder her beautiful, spirited and good-hearted mother over something as selfish and inexcusable as the need to control her, especially after they spent five years growing close as a happy family.
- Heroic BSoD: Gwen falls into a dark place when she figures out that her own father is the one who killed her mother.
- Holding Hands: Played with. Rob wants to hold hands with his partner in public, but not in private.
- Housewife: Dana is a stay-at-home mother.
- If I Can't Have You…: One of the reasons the murderer kills Dana.
- Intertwined Fingers: Played with in a scene with Dana and her wedding ring.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Played with. Albert is a pervert, and to say his heart is gold would be... an overstatement. However, part of the reason Lily doesn't believe he would kill Dana is because, for all his glaring flaws, he's not a monster. And although he does it with the selfish intent of getting Gwen out of his hair, he promises not to press charges against her for breaking his car window, on the simple logic that he can't blame her for being troubled by the murder of her mother.
- Lack of Empathy: While Dana is dying in the hospital, Rob is more interested in finding the wedding ring than comforting his grief-stricken and traumatised daughter.
- Marry for Love: Rob and the women he marries.
- Perp Walk: At the end, which would become a Cold Case tradition.
- Self-Serving Memory: What Gwen thought was her father going crazy at the scene of the crime in 1983, was really him obsessing over finding a stupid wedding ring instead of crying for the wife he killed or his child who had just lost her mother.
- Rationalizing the Overkill: The murderer has plenty of criticisms of the victim, none of which come close to warranting murder.
- Revisiting the Cold Case: See Fall Guy.
- Returning the Wedding Ring: A recurring theme in this episode. Rob has had more than one wife, and is close to marrying again. His fiancée is the one who starts the episode by bringing Rob's daughter, Gwen, to speak to Lilly.
- Romancing the Widow: A couple of women try this with Rob after Dana dies.
- Title Drop: Gleen is the brand of detergent where the bomb was hidden.
- You Didn't Ask: Maria, the neighbor first on the scene, mentions the phone was off the hook the second time she is questioned, 20 years later. She uses this as an excuse as to why she didn't mention it the first time.
