In a TV landscape filled with finales that played more like dreamscapes, Lie To Me instead served up one of its grittiest episodes. “Sacrifice” picks up the threads of the last few episodes and weaves them together to create a complex and ambiguous story, answering a few questions, only to raise others.

Three episodes ago, “Better Half” introduced Cal’s ex-wife Zoe into the mix, serving to illuminate the price Cal has had to pay for knowing too much. And the following week’s “Undercover” raised the issue of how to balance civil liberties against the public good, with Cal torn but falling on the side of individual rights. “Sacrifice” revisits the terrorist scenario, with the Lightman Group facing as many ethical dilemmas as possible suspects. Lightman is forced to make some hard choices.

In the episode, “Undercover,” Lightman and Foster argued over whether to allow an innocent young man to go to jail in order to help the FBI chase down a terrorist threat. Foster, whose husband was in the Pentagon on 9/11, leaned toward the FBI’s position of valuing the greater good over civil liberties, while Cal, despite some misgivings, was not going to allow the young man’s rights to be swept aside over suspicions of a terrorist plot. However, in the end, championing the young man’s rights led to exposing the real terrorist plot, so Cal’s choice allowed him to serve both positions. This time around, he isn’t able to find the same middle ground. Instead, he has to make decisions knowing there isn’t one clear right choice — every option comes with a cost. The question is which cost is most acceptable.

The finale opens with a teenage Muslim boy saying his prayers before running to catch his bus, immediately setting the stage for an examination of some of America’s still painful wounds from the events of 9/11. The young man meets another Muslim friend, Jamal Bata, who jauntily tells him he can have his notes, since Bata won’t be needing them anymore. As alarm bells ring in our mind, the first boy is unable to board the bus with his friend — and watches in horror as the bus explodes, the target of a terrorist bomb.

FBI agent Reynolds calls the Lightman Group in to help, and Zoe drops off Emily to stay with Cal, as she’s been called in to work at the Department of Justice. With wonderful economy, the writers show how terrorism disrupts the fabric of daily life, as Zoe acknowledges her workplace is a potential target and that’s why Emily is staying at the Lightman Group offices. Torres has also just left a scene of cozy domesticity with her boyfriend, Dupree, as both rush back to work.

Article Author: Gerry Weaver

Gerry loves film, books, a few television shows (House, True Blood and Lie To Me come to mind), and writing about them.

Visit Gerry Weaver's author page — Gerry Weaver's Blog