'The Closer': Brenda's Mother Dies (VIDEO)

The end draws every closer for Detective Brenda Leigh Johnson and "The Closer " (Mon., 9 p.m. ET on TNT) with Kyra Sedgwick turning in another powerful performance in this week's installment. Faced with the fear of losing her father to cancer, Brenda wasn't paying attention to her mother. Or at least, she was putting talking to her toward the bottom of her priority list.

Throughout the episode, though, it became clear that Brenda's father was responding well to the treatments he was receiving and could well make a full recovery. But in the closing moments of the episode, Brenda learned that tragedy can strike when you least expect it.

In this case, it came when her father asked her to bring a cup of coffee in to her mother, who was still in bed. Only her mother wasn't sleeping. While she'd been so busy trying to juggle too many things, her mother slipped away.

In a piece written for the Huffington Post, series creator and executive producer James Duff agreed that this may be Sedgwick's strongest performance on the show. He also wrote of the episode, "if you want to completely understand 'The Closer''s finale, this is the place to begin."

"The Closer" drives closer to its series finale, Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.