CSI: Miami--'Bombshell'

<p><b>Synopsis:</b><p>A bomb goes off in Serinos, a high end clothing boutique, killing a young woman named Kim Walderman. The store's owner, Oscar Serino, shows the CSIs the high tech dressing room Kim was using--complete with an LCD screen that allows the occupant to see all the outfits she was trying on. The CSIs recover the LCD recording hoping to find Kim's last few moments. In the morgue, Dr. Price points out that the injury to Kim is localized around her abdomen indicating that the bomb was actually <i>inside</i> her dress. Ryan discovers wires running alongside the zipper and a watch battery hidden in the folds of the dress--powerful enough to create the explosion that killed Kim. Calleigh shows the dress to Oscar Serino and he immediately tells her it's not one of the items he carries. Tripp recovers Kim's purse and he and Natalia discover five thousand dollars neatly folded--along with security tags. They realize Kim was shoplifting and question her friend Amy, who was in the store with her that day. She admits they were into shoplifting and did it for fun; Delko puts her under arrest for grand larceny.<p>Delko matches prints on the outside bills of the money to a plastic surgeon named Robert Langley, who tells Calleigh that Kim came to him asking for a breast augmentation. She offered to pay five thousand dollars, but he gave her back the money, claiming she was too young. Ryan matches small flecks of blood in the seams of the dress to a man with a record for using explosives named Stan Carlyle. The CSIs go to question Stan but his roommate Barry tells them he's not home. Ryan discovers the dress was sold at a boutique across from Serino's called Feratelli and the owner reveals it was stolen by a girl with a baby carriage, who the CSIs quickly conclude is Amy. The teen admits to the CSIs that Kim was targeting a list of high end designers, but she won't reveal who gave them the list. The CSIs confiscate her phone and find a picture from the store--and spot Barry delivering the dress to Kim's dressing room. They connect the dots; Barry is actually Stan. Stan was badly burned after an accident with an explosive, but extensive plastic surgery was able to remake his face...plastic surgery performed by Robert Carlyle, who asked Stan to make a bomb for him. The CSIs question him and he admits that he hired Kim and Amy to steal clothes for his teenage daughter. Kim got greedy and demanded more money, so he called in a favor to shut her up--permanently. Calleigh has him arrested.<p>Meanwhile, Horatio grapples with the mother of his son Kyle, Julia Winston, who he learns is having financial problems. She accuses her financial advisor, Leonard McBride, of stealing from her. In turn, McBride tells Horatio that Julia has squandered a fortune in venture capital, and that she's spiraling out of control. He claims she owes him a year's worth of compensation. Horatio goes to see Julia and encounters Kyle fighting with a neighbor. He breaks up the fight and Kyle tells him Julia is spiraling out of control. Horatio tracks Julia down and learns she's off her bipolar medication. She brushes off Horatio's attempt to help. A frantic 911 call brings Horatio back to Julia and Kyle's house: their combative neighbor, Bryce, lays dead on their driveway, the victim of a hit and run. Julia claims Bryce stole her meds, which Kyle backs up. Kyle tells Horatio that only he and Julia had keys to the car. Horatio goes over Julia's car, but it is Delko who finds a bit of trace: a small piece of lobster shell. Recalling Leonard McBride eating lobster when he questioned him, Horatio brings the man in. McBride admits he went to take Julia's car in exchange for the payment she owed him, but when he went to leave with it, he struck Bryce who "came out of nowhere." He warns Horatio that Julia will bring him down with her, but the episode ends with Horatio going to Julia and planting a tender kiss on her head.<p><b>Analysis:</b><p>Far and away, the best thing about "Bombshell" was seeing a side of Horatio that we rarely get the chance to glimpse: genuine vulnerability. There was a real sense of urgency and worry to <font color=yellow>David Caruso</font>'s performance, a depth that I wish we got to see more of on a regular basis. Sure, it's great to see the hero who can take on the mob (which one? All of them!) or a devious serial killer, but too often Horatio the man gets lost in the shuffle. A hero with realistic flaws and weaknesses is much more compelling and relatable in the long run. Even Superman gets slowed down by Kryptonite now and then.<p><HR ALIGN="CENTER" SIZE="1" WIDTH="45%" COLOR="#007BB5"><p>To read the full reviews, please click <A HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/reviews/csi/bombshell.shtml">here</A>.<center></center>

 

I think I'm conditioned to laugh at Horatio more than anything else, so I didn't have quite the same connection to him during this episode that you did. Still, excellent review, and you make really good points about how they showed a different side of Horatio as a character in this one.

Nobody can accuse Leonard of being a genius - they find a scrap of lobster shell and he's confessing like they have DNA, fingerprints and video of him making a speedbump out of Bryce?

Chad was great, but I love Chad, so of course I would think so.

Very true.

However, the new tech girl, Jane, was a total cutie. (She was on CSI:NY in season one, by the way - in "Rain")

 

Hi Guys,

I just wanted to ask a quick question about this episode.

Horatio comes across Julia Winston being arrested for passing a dud cheque. Is the officer involved played Schuyler Yancey, and if so, does anyone else think he looks and sounds like Emmanuel Lewis who played Webster in the TV Series by the same name in 1983 to 1987. He looks the same (older obviously) and has the same speech inflections especially when he says something along the line of "six thousand dollars"??

I couldn't check the credits as the TV station splits the screen into 2 parts during the credits so it can show a preview of other shows during those 30 seconds or so.

Cheers

 

According to the episode guide, Schuyler Yancey is indeed in the episode.