CSI: Miami--'Rock And A Hard Place'

[CSI Files]

Synopsis:

Jim Barber ends up dead in the water after a friendly jet ski race with a woman named Mary Landis. Mary tells Tripp she didn't know Barber at all--they'd just met that morning. Alexx discovers debris in Barber's head wound, leading her to conclude that something hit him from above. Calleigh learns that the man was recently released from prison after serving an 8-year drug sentence. Delko takes a dive and discovers a piece of slate--the possible murder weapon. Ryan inspects the bridge above where Barber was killed and finds a Y2K pill--the same kind Barber was put away for dealing 8 years ago. Calleigh pays a visit to Agent Brad Sylvestri, the officer who busted Barber and confiscated his drugs. The agent surmises Barber was doen in by his competition and promises to deliver any pertinent information to Calleigh if he comes across it. Horatio and Natalia track the slate to a specific seller, but are shocked when they learn the specific piece of slate they have was sold to Henry Woods--Alexx's husband. Alexx herself makes the same startling discovery in the lab when she recognizes the slate--and the writing on the back of it. She leaves a message for her husband and calls her son Brian in to ask him who he's had in the yard. He tells her he thinks someone must have stolen the slate, and then drops a bombshell: the last person in their yard was Horatio Caine just this afternoon.

Horatio brings Valera a cigarette butt he retrieved from Alexx's yard to run through DNA. She gets a match to Trey Holt, a friend of Brian's. Trey denies stealing the slate, and refuses to talk further. Alexx gets a frantic call from Brian some time later--he's in trouble. He gives the the location of the warehouse where he's at, and she finds him holding a knife, standing over a bleeding Trey. He insists he didn't stab Trey, claiming he found the boy with the knife in his back and pulled it out at Trey's behest. Alexx sends Brian out to the car as she tries to stop Trey's bleeding. Delko arrives and is surprised to find Alexx there as Trey is loaded into the ambulance, and she tells him about Brian's connection to the boy. Delko and Alexx rush out to her car to find Brian, but he's fled the scene. Delko tells Alexx he'll process the DNA on the knife before the prints. He returns to the lab and Natalia recovers DNA from between the hilt and the blade, getting a surprising hit: Mary Landis. Horatio and Tripp interrogate Mary: they think she lured Jim to the bridge where Trey was waiting to kill him. Mary will only cop to stabbing Trey because she paid Trey for something she never got. Brian Woods is located on a bridge holding a brown paper bag. He drops the bag, which Ryan opens, discovering a baggie of Y2K pills inside. Brian insists he didn't know what was in the bag, but Horatio is forced to bring him in. Horatio tries to find out who gave him the bag, but Brian won't answer and Alexx ends the interview.

Delko prints the plastic baggie the Y2K pills are in and gets a hit to Brian Sylvestri, the DEA agent. Horatio questions the man, but he brushes it off: his prints are on numerous bags because it was his job to deliver phony drugs to dealers. Alexx is finally able to get Brian to tell her that Trey gave him the drugs--and was the one who took the slate out of the backyard. Calleigh confronts Trey in the hospital, and the kid tells her he got in over his head after being busted by the feds. First they wanted him and Mary Landis to be snitches--but then it turned to murder when Barber was released. Horatio and Delko confront Sylvestri: he pocketed much of the Y2K when he busted Barber 8 years ago, and when Barber was released, he threatened to expose him, so he forced Mary to lure Barber to the bridge and Trey to drop the slate on him. Sylvestri is unrepentent--he claims Y2K is better than money. Horatio stops by the morgue to tell Alexx Brian has been released, but Alexx has some shocking and sad news for the CSI: she's quitting to spend more time with the living--specifically, her family. Horatio understands and tells her the door is always open for her to return. Alexx performs a final autopsy and bids farewell to her beloved colleagues.

Analysis:

Khandi Alexander's final episode is a bittersweet send-off for the beloved coroner. On one hand, Alexander gets a real chance to shine--which she does with aplomb--in this episode, but on the other hand, it's a glaring reminder of just how criminally underused Alexander was. Her departure is unfortunate, but given that Alexx has been neglected for seasons, it's not really shocking. I believe "Deviant" in season four was the last episode that really turned the spotlight on Alexx. That episode was towards the end of season four; this is the end of season six. Two seasons is a long time for a character to go without an episode in which she's focused on. Though the medical examiners on CSI shows often get featured less regularly than the CSIs themselves, Alexander's screentime seemed especially limited.

She certainly proves what a loss her departure will be to the show in this episode, emphasizing the emotional rollercoaster Alexx rides for the duration of the episode. Alexx is actually trembling as she holds the bloody cloth to Trey's gaping wound. "Don't die," she tells him, in a tone that makes it clear she's imploring him for her son's sake as much as his own. On the surface, I'm not totally convinced what happened in this episode was enough to make Alexx give up her career, but Alexander sells it, convincing us even if the events don't that Alexx has had an epiphany and realized she needs to spend more time with her family and devote more time to the living than the dead.

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To read the full reviews, please click here.

[Dragonfly]

Wonderful review, Kristine! And as usual, you've hit the nail on the head, both in regards to Khandi and the episode itself.

Had it not been for Khandi's spectacular performance, this episode would have been painfully plain. I'm so glad that she was given one final chance to shine.

[vegaslights]

Loved the review.

Khandi did a great job with her character in this episode, and she will be greatly missed. Besides Emily, I have to say that she was my favorite and that her presence will be one that will one loss to the show.

I agree with the fact that the storyline was one that I don't think would make Alexx quit her job. She's dealt with some of the most gruesome cases, and yet it came to this? I understand family is family but there is therapy, and such, which can be done off the job. Most likely the writers just needed a storyline and they went with that.

[speed_cochrane]

Great review Kristine, as always.

Totally agree with your analysis of Alexx's situation. I didn't think that all of that was enough for her to quit, but she did make it convincing enough. It would have made more sense if she went of sabbatical for a while--assuming TPTB didn't say "No, you're never coming back. We were THIS close to killing you." Sorry, still grumbling a tad that Speed bit it but Alexx gets to live. I know, I know, old news. I'll go hide under my rock now.

I was happy with the way the end of the episode turned out. It actually kind of reminded me of 'Innocent' with the montage and Alexx performing her final autopsy and then packing her things, then seeing her with the whole group. Great way to close the chapter for the character.

[vegaslights]

Originally Posted by speed_cochrane

Great review Kristine, as always.

Totally agree with your analysis of Alexx's situation. I didn't think that all of that was enough for her to quit, but she did make it convincing enough. It would have made more sense if she went of sabbatical for a while--assuming TPTB didn't say "No, you're never coming back. We were THIS close to killing you." Sorry, still grumbling a tad that Speed bit it but Alexx gets to live. I know, I know, old news.

Khandi made it very convincing, that's one thing I love about her, she's a very real actress.

I could have believed sabbatical more instead of her quitting, more like Grissom's sabbatical in Season 7. "No, you're never coming back. We were THIS close to killing you." That cracks me up. But in all actuallity, I find Speed's episode "Lost Son" to be one of the best, and I think it was a great decision to kill him off, because it's very rare (and it has been rare) that the CSI shows decide to kill off their characters that decide to leave (only Aiden has). So I think they went for something outside the box.

[speed_cochrane]

^ Lost Son was a great episode and it certainly recieved high ratings--deservedly.

I'm glad though they didn't kill Alexx off because I felt they went for something more substantial instead of making it the next big thing. There's outside the box (which is awesome) and then there's something extra for the character and audience. Even though half of me is still grumbling in the corner.

It is kind of sad that it had to take a character leaving for her to get any kind of storyline.

[Dragonfly]

Originally Posted by speed_cochrane

It is kind of sad that it had to take a character leaving for her to get any kind of storyline.

So true. If Khandi hadn't left the show, she wouldn't have gotten an episode for her character

*joins Geni in her grumbling corner* Yeah, I'm glad she didn't get killed off, but still...

[sara0989]

hey, i was watching this episode but i fell aslepp half way thru does anyone know of a website that i can watch it on? thanks so much

[adorelo]

Does CBS not still have it up?

I forget how long they keep episodes on the inner tube for.

ETA: Oh, you're from Canada, you guys can't see it, right?

[rony]

I was surprised that Frank Tripp didn't say good bye to Alex. I'm not sure just how close he was to her but he knew her a lot longer than Natalia who also said good bye to her.