CSI: Crime Scene Investigation--'For Warrick'

[CSI Files]

Synopsis:

Picking up the minute "For Gedda" concluded, Under-sheriff Jeffrey McKeen, who has just shot Warrick twice, calls in the shooting and claims he saw a white adult male fleeing the scene. Blocks away, Grissom hears the APB and rushes to the scene. He pulls Warrick from the car and begs him to hang on, only to have Warrick die in his arms. Catherine and Nick arrive soon after, stunned by the tragic news. McKeen tells Brass that he was twenty feet west of the alley when he heard the shots. He ran back to find Warrick wounded and the shooter fleeing the scene. He tells Brass he thinks it may have been Officer Daniel Pritchard. Grissom tells Ecklie he wants his team to work the case, and the supervisor acquiesces. Catherine finds a .25 casing and a pistol by the passenger side of the car, where the shooter appeared to have been standing. Nick wonders why Warrick would have rolled down the passenger side window and not his own. Grissom turns over his shirt, which is covered in Warrick's blood, and returns to his office to find a devastated Sara Sidle waiting for him. She's heard the news and offers solace and help. Sara and Greg go to Warrick's apartment, where they make a shocking discovery: Warrick had a son, Eli, with his ex-wife Tina, and he was involved in a custody battle for the boy. Nick discovers knuckle prints on the passenger side window of Warrick's car and tells Grissom and Catherine that he thinks the killer knocked on Warrick's window. Nick knows Warrick wouldn't have opened his window for Pritchard; he thinks McKeen is corrupt as well and, when he saw Warrick wasn't going to back down, killed him.

Grissom, Catherine and Nick test McKeen's story about hearing the gunshot and determine that from the position he claimed he was standing in, he couldn't have heard the shot over music that was playing in the street the morning Warrick was shot. Grissom goes to Brass with the information and Brass tells him he's always felt McKeen was a man who could be bought. They recall Warrick's assertions that someone higher up that Pritchard was involved in the murder of Lou Gedda. McKeen, certain no one is on to him, wants to get Daniel Pritchard, who he's been hiding at a seedy hotel, out of town. When Grissom comes to him with the team's suspicions, Ecklie advises caution and suggests that they need find concrete evidence, leading the CSIs to turn to the tiny .25 bullets. Mandy Webster is able to get a partial print off one of them--enough to match it to McKeen. The CSIs trace McKeen's phone calls to the hotel where he's been hiding Pritchard and storm the room, only to find it empty. Brass places a call to McKeen and keeps him on the phone long enough to get his location and learn he's on the road to Mexico. The police give chase only to find McKeen's car overturned after having smashed through a guardrail. Pritchard is dead inside, and Nick follows a blood trail to find a wounded McKeen--shot by a mistrustful Pritchard--who quickly realizes the game is up when Nick aims his gun at him. McKeen taunts Nick who fires a shot just to the side of McKeen. Brass and his men arrest the crooked Under-sheriff. Grissom and his team lay their fallen colleague to rest.

Analysis:

Far and away the most gut-wrenching episode of CSI to date, "For Warrick" is a tear-jerker. That the team has gone this long without losing a member is perhaps surprising; they've certainly had a few near misses. Nick was saved in the--pun intended--nick of time in "Grave Danger" and it really seemed to be touch and go for a while after Brass was shot in "Bang Bang". Given the buzz surrounding Jorja Fox's planned exit for the show, there was genuine tension around her plight in "Living Doll" and "Dead Doll", especially given the title of the latter, but it would have been a depressing ending--even for CSI--if Sara had struggled through the desert and Grissom and the team had labored to find her, only to have her die in the end. Given all of those near misses, though, by the time "For Gedda" rolled around, it wasn't exactly impossible to guess that maybe the CSIs' luck had run out.

That doesn't make Warrick's death any less shocking or heartbreaking. The scene in which Grissom discovers Warrick shot and pulls him from the car is devastating. William Petersen pours his heart into the scene; the audience feels Grissom's shock and horror at finding his protégé gravely wounded. Warrick literally dies in Grissom's arms as Grissom, as he tells Sara later, tries to hold him tight enough to keep the life from seeping out of him. Anyone who saw the final scene of "For Gedda" knows it's a futile effort: McKeen shot Warrick point blank, twice, in the neck. I'll admit, I was surprised to see McKeen actually called in Warrick's shooting, and tried to pin it on Pritchard rather than just leaving Warrick to die and be found at some point by someone else. But then, it seems McKeen is just that arrogant: he clearly thinks he's covered his tracks well enough, and underestimates the CSIs' ability--and determination--to uncover Warrick's killer.

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To read the full reviews, please click here.

[Tciddaisc]

I was waiting forever for this! I love these reviews; whoever writes them does a great job.

[church2001]

The plot line about Warrick's son was quietly introduced in Cockroaches, IIRC. Wasn't Warrick arguing with Tina on the phone about her having a baby? Though, at the time Warrick wasn't sure he was the father.

[Top41]

Originally Posted by MoonFever

I was waiting forever for this! I love these reviews; whoever writes them does a great job.

Thank you! I wanted to get this one up earlier, but I also wanted to have the time to really do the episode justice.

Originally Posted by church2001

The plot line about Warrick's son was quietly introduced in Cockroaches, IIRC. Wasn't Warrick arguing with Tina on the phone about her having a baby? Though, at the time Warrick wasn't sure he was the father.

I admit I'd totally forgotten that!

[Faylinn]

I admit I'd totally forgotten that!

I didn't remember it either - I was surprised to find out Warrick had a son, and when someone pointed out the phone call, I was like 'whoops.' I still don't remember the conversation - I must not have been paying very close attention.

[Elsie]

Great review, Kristine! It really was a fantastic episode. I found myself sobbing at the beginning and the end.

I will say though, I did not like the video scene. I think I might be pretty much alone in disliking it, as all other comments I've seen have been really positive about it. Warrick's whole 'If I could have chosen my father...' speech just made me roll my eyes and then laugh slightly. Maybe I just never saw their relationship in quite that way, but it genuinely surprised me when he said all those things about Grissom. And it seemed a little cheesy to me, even if it was supposed to be serious, emotional moment.

I did remember about the phone call between Warrick and Tina in 'Cockroaches', but I was still surprised that suddenly Warrick was a father (and hadn't shared that information with anyone else in the team). I wonder if, at the time, the phone call was really geared more towards helping to explain the destructive downward spiral he was on, with the Warrick fatherhood idea coming later.

[myfuturecsi]

Great review Kristine.

I must say that while Nick's performance was 'understated' you were right to say it gave the final scene with the under sheriff more of an emotional punch and that may have been the goal.

I also think Nick's lack of emotion could be a twist on TPTB's part given how we've seen the guy so emotional before. Perhaps they thought we were expecting the guy to be a basket case and by having the almost 'Grissom' like reaction from Nick was quite the contrast. This time, Grissom was the basket case and Nick was the detached CSI.

I liked the twist.

But I don't think having Nick, the emotional hero, hold the under sheriff at gun point was really too cliche. It was fitting to have him catch the man who killed his best friend. A very triumphant moment for Nick.

It will be interesting to see if Nick's grief plays itself out through the season or not. I hope so.

[candygirl1uk]

The most heart pounding moment was when Warrick describes Grissom as his father that he never had.


Nick poor man is heading for soo much turmoil in the up coming episodes, ahh Nicky I'm feeling your pain!
Yeah i remember that episode where Warrick was arguing down the phone and he was late for work? That the one!?

[byline]

Great review. Bravo!

[Tciddaisc]

Top, am I to assume that you write these recaps? If so I'd like to PM you a question about one...

[Top41]

Thanks, everyone!

Originally Posted by Elsie

I will say though, I did not like the video scene. I think I might be pretty much alone in disliking it, as all other comments I've seen have been really positive about it. Warrick's whole 'If I could have chosen my father...' speech just made me roll my eyes and then laugh slightly. Maybe I just never saw their relationship in quite that way, but it genuinely surprised me when he said all those things about Grissom. And it seemed a little cheesy to me, even if it was supposed to be serious, emotional moment.

It was a little much, but I suppose it did get the point across rather effectively and succinctly, especially for viewers who hadn't watched the show for eight years and didn't know all the history between Grissom and Warrick.

Originally Posted by EdgarAllenPoe

Great review Kristine.

I must say that while Nick's performance was 'understated' you were right to say it gave the final scene with the under sheriff more of an emotional punch and that may have been the goal.

I also think Nick's lack of emotion could be a twist on TPTB's part given how we've seen the guy so emotional before. Perhaps they thought we were expecting the guy to be a basket case and by having the almost 'Grissom' like reaction from Nick was quite the contrast. This time, Grissom was the basket case and Nick was the detached CSI.

I liked the twist.

It was a nice reversal, though I expect most of the reasoning behind it was to focus on Grissom rather than Nick for the heavy emotional stuff. The leads in CSI shows tend to trump the underlings, even when the underling might be the one to more naturally have the emotional reaction.

Originally Posted by MoonFever

Top, am I to assume that you write these recaps? If so I'd like to PM you a question about one...

Feel free to PM away...

[church2001]

Originally Posted by Top41

I admit I'd totally forgotten that!

Well then, I'm happy to jog your memory.