TV Recap: Rizzoli and Isles Handling Lee Thompson Young's Absence

Rizzoli and Isles is back tonight and Jane is having weird nightmares about babies while picturing herself dressed in her mother's pajamas. I'm no psychologist but I'd say she's a little nervous about being pregnant.

Maura, of course, throws lots of science-y words at her and appears to have a death wish. Taking coffee from a habitual caffeine-ingester? Foolish move.

Also a great clue to nosy mothers. Ten bucks says Angela will have it figured out in 30 minutes.

We discover the Murder Victim of the Week (jogger who was stabbed while jogging in the park) and Jane and Maura fish a baby stroller out of the nearby pond which appears to have been one the victim was pushing.

Do you think this episode has anything to do with Jane's pregnancy? Nah, me neither.

On a quick side note: does anyone reading this take their baby jogging in a park after dark? Is that a thing mothers do now? It seems like it would be easier to get rid of a kid by hiring an extremely incompetent babysitter, any of which can be had for the bargain price of $10 per hour and found at your nearby middle school.

Anyway, on with the show! The baby is missing, and everyone's first thought is...dun dun dun...pedophile! Susan, (Murder Victim of the Week)'s life is narrated while Maura is shown undressing and cleaning the body.

Disturbingly the dead woman and I share a similar taste in running sneakers. I guess I won't be running near the river again any time soon.

Angela brings Jane some pretty pungent fish for breakfast, for some reason. Again, smart money's on Angela trying to get Jane to confess to her undercover pregnancy.

Flash forward to Jane and Korsak breaking the news of his ex's death to the Father of the Year.

And I'll put another ten bucks on him and his girlfriend being the ones responsible for Susan's death, especially with the missing-not-dead kid.

And we're back to Susan! Apparently she was really, really stabbed. Like, a lot. Jane is really sensitive to smells and tries not to vomit on Maura's floor.

Maura tells us this is an evolutionary technique to prevent expecting mothers from ingesting toxins...and Jane smells something fishy when Frankie and Maura have the most awkward interaction in the history of Rizzoli and Isles. We follow Frankie and Jane to Korsak (in a super-swanky map room that reminds me tremendously of the command center in Archer) who has, indeed, found a bunch of pedophiles.

Even ones who take pictures of kids in the park Susan was murdered and baby Brian was stolen. I still think it was the father.

Jane brings the pedophile in and we find out that, actually, it wasn't him. He was taking pictures for legitimate reasons, and was asked by Brian's "mom" to make a video. Or something.

I lost interest during the interrogation. But switcharoo! It turns out that Brian's mom isn't, actually, Brian's mom! Who is she? Jane has an attack of the smarts -- "Brian's mom" is Caitlin, Ray's girlfriend.

And my theory that it was the father and the girlfriend just got a lot stronger. Way to go, me!

Maura and Frankie talk about the kiss they shared at the end of last season. Frankie, the little liar, tells Maura she's like a sister to him, and Maura says she feels the same way.

"You're like a brother to me...with really soft lips." Okay, Maura. Things I would never, ever, ever say to my brother for five billion, please.

We have a breakthrough - Maura examines the stab wounds and suspects the killer was a woman, so logically Jane shouldn't be looking for pedophiles.

I feel like there's a logical fallacy in that statement, but I just...can't...figure...eh, whatever. Is what I feel like the writers said on set that day.

Figuring things out, blah di blah, Angela gets Maura to tell her Jane is pregnant, blah di blah...confession! The baby is found alive and well. Crazy Caitlin (who apparently used to have drug problems as a teen and stripped for a while for a living, all of which makes her an unfit person. Show, do better than sloppy stereotypes and poor characterization) left him near a church, and a homeless woman (whose name I cannot find but whom I think was played by Robin Mattson, a General Hospital regular) named Terry finds him and takes care of him.

She's a real peach, and Jane Learns An Important Lesson: the least likely people can make great mothers. Hammer, my head. Gotcha.

Frost's (played by Lee Thompson Young, The Amazing Jett Jackson) absence is finally mentioned. Apparently he is at his grandmother's.

Young died in July of last year (confirmed a suicide by police) and the show has promised to deal with it.

But aside from telling us he has died in a car crash and showing a toppled car and a lot of shock in the last 30 seconds of the episode, they are leaving that for episode two.

There are never really good ways to handle the death of a cast member during a show. Replacing them with a look-alike is tactless and sucks, but having everyone deal with their loss on-screen seems incredibly painful for everyone involved.

After John Ritter died while filming "8 Simple Rules," and the show did such a tremendous job of paying tribute to him and upping ratings (hey, it's heartless but this is how many people make their living) many shows have taken their cue and followed suit.

I'm not looking forward to feeling sad but it seems a fitting goodbye for an actor.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go sit somewhere quiet and process. The hard life of a television viewer, huh?