'Major Crimes' season 5 episode 12 spoilers: Sharon's struggles continue? New character steps in to replace [SPOILER]

The first of "Major Crimes" season 5's three-part summer finale aired on Monday, and it brought along a shocking twist to the story.

Monday's episode 11 titled "White Lies, Part 1" had the detective of LAPD's Major Crimes Unit (MCU) face an ordeal that might take time for them to recover from. There was a massive shooting conspiracy, perhaps the deadliest crime they faced so far, and now the team is down one member.

It will be recalled that episode 10 of the current season, titled "Dead Zone," set the tone for the case that the MCU will tackle – the White Supremacists. There was supposed to be a trial for serial killer Dwight Darnell (Brett Davern), but before everything could fall into order, a massive shooting incident occurred in the courthouse, courtesy of Darnell.

The shootout placed the life of Dr. Joe Bowman (Bill Brochtrup), Russ' (Graham Patrick Martin) psychologist, in danger, albeit temporarily since he eventually survived the mishap. The shootout took the lives of Officer Simms (Greg Collins), DDA Rosen (Jason Kravits), and LAPD Assistant Chief Russell Taylor (Robert Gossett), whose death was the most shocking of all, considering he's one of the veteran actors in the series. Darnell didn't survive the shootout since Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell) took him down herself.

In the midst of the investigation, the detectives found out that Darnell wasn't acting on his own initiative. Someone was behind it; otherwise, where will his gun come from? So now, the team is faced with the task of tracing who produced the murder weapon or Darnell.

The detectives are thinking that there's a conspiracy behind the massive shootout. Could Officer Simms or someone else from the public defender's office have been involved?

In next Monday's episode, "White Lies, Part 2," executive producer James Duff revealed that Sharon and the rest of the team will try to regain their balance of power after having lost a key person. Check out the synopsis shared by Carter Matt:

"The Major Crimes unit continues to investigate the conspiracy behind Dwight Darnell's murders and his links to the Zyklon-Brotherhood. Sharon Raydor, disturbed by her own reactions to the case, seeks penance in the Ritual of Confession."

In an interview with TV Guide, Duff said killing Gossett's character was necessary to help viewers understand how the law enforcement system works. More importantly, it's meant to underscore the fact that racism is still apparent in real-life situations.

Meanwhile, TV Line reports that Camryn Manheim has just been tapped by "Major Crimes" season 5 to fill the plum position left by Russell Taylor's passing. Manheim is set to play the role of a Deputy Chief of Operations in the LAPD who will eventually replace Taylor. The yet-to-be-named character, MCU boss Raydor, and another yet-to-be-cast male character will vie for Taylor's vacated position.

"Major Crimes" season 5 episode 12 will air on Monday at 10/9c on TNT.