World's End (Cold Case)

"World's End" is the 100th episode and the 7th episode from Season 5 of Cold Case, it originally aired on November 4, 2007 on CBS in United States.^[1]

Plot

Back in 1938 on the night of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds, a young wife and mother, Audrey Metz, vanished as her husband and son fled the neighborhood to escape the invading "Martians." After decades of wild speculation on the nature of Audrey's disappearance, her body is found at the bottom of a well. Her son explains that money was tight back then with his dad out of work, and soon a friend of Audrey's relates that she was a "taxi dancer" to make money to feed her son. At the dance hall, Audrey became close to a wealthy widower, Will Page, but they never danced. He bought her dance tickets, and they talked about their lives each evening. But Audrey's husband Felton found out she was dancing for money, and he was infuriated. But they came to an understanding, and Audrey continued to dance. Things changed for Audrey and Will when Audrey found out Will's wife was still alive. He tried to get Audrey to run away with him, and she refused. But the night of "War of the Worlds," Audrey wanted to spend her last moments with Will. She found him at the dance hall and they had their last dance. When Audrey went home that night, she confessed about Will to Felton. Though Audrey was going to stay because of their son, Felton flew into a rage and strangled her. Though now an old man with Alzheimer's disease, Felton is arrested. Meanwhile, Vera has an epiphany spurred on by Audrey and Will's romance. He finds Toni at her hospital and tries to woo her back. Though she hesitates, later she finds Vera at the station and brings a Sinatra CD with her.

Cast

Main Cast^[2]

• Kathryn Morris as Det. Lillian "Lilly" Rush
• Danny Pino as Det. Scotty Valens
• John Finn as Lt. John Stillman
• Thom Barry as Det. Will Jeffries
• Jeremy Ratchford as Det. Nick Vera
• Tracie Thoms as Det. Kat Miller

Recurring Roles

• Sonja Sohn as Toni Halstead

Guest Cast

• Bellamy Young as Audrey Metz
• Jonathan Scarfe as Will Paige (1938)
• Peter Haskell as Will Paige (2007)
• Chip Hormess as "Dobber" Metz (1938)
• Len Lesser as Elmer Gibbins (2007)
• Julianna McCarthy as Penny Centavo (2007)
• Lawrence Pressmen as Robert Metz (2007)
• Ralph Waite as Felton Metz (2007)
• Tuc Watkins as Felton Metz (1938)
• Serah D'Laine as Penny Centavo (1938)
• James Sharpe as Buzz Moran
• Ari Zagaris as Elmer Gibbins (1938)
• Brian F. Durkin as Sailor
• Michael O'Dwyer as Mickey

Music

• "Begin the Beguine" by Artie Shaw
• "You Can't Pull the Wool Over My Eyes" by Benny Goodman
• "Jumpin' at the Woodside" by Count Basie
• "Always" by Ralph Flanagan
• "It's Easy to Remember" by Bing Crosby
• "Moonlight Serenade" by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
• "Always" by Frank Sinatra^[3]

Reception

The episode averaged 13.89 million viewers, rating of 9.0/14.^[4]

Notes

• This marks the 100th episode of Cold Case, which is celebrated with a slew of guest stars and the return of a familiar face. 100 episodes is usually considered the point after which a series becomes viable for syndication.
• This episode relies heavily on Orson Welles' radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds. Based on H.G. Wells' scifi novel by the same name, the radio adaptation was performed as the Halloween special of the radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air on October 30, 1938. According to urban legends, many people believed the radio play to be an actual news broadcast of the Martian invasion on Earth.
• Toni was not seen again after she and Vera reconciled. A later episode established that although she eventually moved in with Vera, things didn't work out and Vera eventually had to find a new place to live.

References