'The Closer' gets serious

I have a bone to pick with the writers of “The Closer.”

Why are they trying to ruin Brenda?

Back during the TNT series’ summer run, our favorite deputy chief was mired in legal trouble.

The family of Terrell Baylor, a former suspect, was suing her for the role she played in his death. Terrell, you see, confessed to murdering two people, but had to be let go on a technicality. So Brenda dropped him off in his old neighborhood, knowing that members of the gang he belonged to would kill him for talking to the police.

Not the most upstanding move, sure. But he was a cold-blooded killer, so excuse me if I don’t shed any tears for the guy.

Brenda was able to beat the wrap, thanks to her lawyer (guest star Mark Pellegrino, who has created another great, memorable character here; also see: Jacob on “Lost,” Lucifer on “Supernatural”).

But then the Baylor family lawyer — played by Booger from the “Revenge of the Nerds” movies, so it’s pretty hard to take him too seriously — hit back again.

He confronted Brenda with a slew of her other questionable tactics and told her he was coming after her.

It made me so mad! You can’t let Booger get the drop on you!

We’ve seen Brenda deal with the aftermath of that confrontation during the series’ latest batch of episodes, which started in November and run through the end of the year.

The federal lawsuit is now to the tune of $50 million, plus punitive damages, and everyone is, under-standably, edgy.

We all know “The Closer” is close to ending its run (well, if you didn’t, it is), so I have to wonder what the writers are getting at. Is it going to end with Brenda leaving the force in disgrace, after all of her past misconduct?

That would be a shame and a really awful way to close out a show that’s usually so good (and, for that matter, fun; I’ve always appreciated “The Closer” for its mix of humor and drama, and it’s been sorely lacking in jokes lately).

Sure, Brenda engages in some questionable practices, but she always gets her man. Or, if she can’t get him, she makes sure someone else does. And you know what? I like it that way; justice doesn’t always work in the real world, so it’s nice to see the bad guy get what’s coming to him every now and then, even if it is just on TV.

One of the few bright spots about this storyline has been Captain Rader (Mary McDonnell), who went from being a thorn in Brenda’s side to one of the few people actually on her side.

Rader knew Chief Pope was more worried about what the lawsuit could to do the department and his job than to Brenda, and she tried to protect her as much as she could.

McDonnell is going to be at the center of a “Closer” spin-off — set to debut this summer, a week after the original series signs off for good — and I’m sure that’s why they decided to finally give her a softer side.

But if the writers don’t do something to redeem Brenda soon, I won’t have much faith in what they’ll do with (or to) Rader.