Andy Flynn: Great Character

Flynn is the one shaking his head at something

Provenza said. Or at Andrew Daly's antics.

Andy Flynn from The Closer is, like many of The Closer's characters, a great, complex character.

Flynn is the officer that initially distrusts and tries to undermine Brenda. He grows to become one of her staunchest allies yet never loses his sardonic edge.

After all, Flynn is the one who shrugs his shoulders and rolls his eyes when Brenda gets semi-hysteria (how much of Brenda's hysteria is deliberate and how much is involuntary is a debate for another time). He can also hang his head like a schoolboy when chastised. He is absolutely loyal to the people he works with, the ultimate example of a character who places camaraderie before abstract principles. His behavior regarding Brenda (and the leak) at the end of the series does not contradict his behavior at the beginning--the underlying  consistency is loyalty to his squad.

In "Old Money," Flynn looks back at

Brenda and smiles his classic wry smile

as thanks.

He is also, delightfully enough, a gossip. Flynn is the one who always wants to know what the secrets in the squad are, how they will effect everyone in the squad, and what they will mean specifically to Flynn. He passes on information yet never in a way that implies a political agenda (see Robert Gossett as Taylor, another great character).

Unlike so many characters on television, his attributes do not surface for the sake of a particular storyline, only to promptly disappear. They are always there, informing how he is written. The Closer (and Major Crimes to a certain extent) has an organic feel. The stories or mysteries are the framework on which the characters' behavior and thoughts are hung--HOW they behave is entirely dependent on WHO they are to begin with.

In Major Crimes, Flynn becomes linked to Sharon Raydor romantically. I find this entirely plausible (despite his initial reservations about Captain Raydor, Flynn is capable of great loyalty--see above). Flynn-as-romantic-lead has a kind of poetic justice since to a degree Flynn could have fulfilled the romantic role in The Closer. He is far too wry and Brenda was far too committed to Fritz for Flynn to take on that role full time. But the gentle moments between Flynn and Brenda opened up the possibility that while Flynn isn't looking to save the world or "discover" himself, he does find it easy (and natural) to don the armor of chivalry. He is a fundamentally sweet-natured man looking for a good woman.