Grade 'Cuckoo's Nest'

[Top41]

A-

I'm late to the party and most of what I want to say has already been said, so I'll keep it brief-ish (hopefully :lol: ). I really liked this episode because of Flack's arc, and I found myself more intrigued by the Compass Killer than I was after the first episode that featured him, so it was a success on that front. I'm definitely curious about who his fourth victim will be now.

I loved everything that was done with Flack in this episode! I agree that we should have seeb more of him messing up before it got to this point, but overall, I thought it was excellent. And I thought it was great that it was Terrence who helped him out, even if it was more than a little convenient. I thought the confrontation between him and Mac was great, but I did see it as a professional more than personal thing--Mac had tried to reach out before and gotten rebuffed, and he was done with that. Now he was going the professional route. I'm not sure how I feel about him cutting off Flack's confession, though I agree it was probably to protect both himself and Flack from ending up in a huge moral quandry, with Mac feeling obligated to either keep Flack's secret and become complicit in the whole thing, or turn Flack in.

No Lindsay again was a huge bonus. I wonder if Anna's contract got cut or something? I sure wouldn't be at all sad if that was the case. She just brings nothing to the show, and when she's gone Adam and Sid get more screentime.

Angel. I know that some of the people get called by their last name but Flack always called her Jess and I liked that. Him calling her Angel while talking to Mac didn't seem right to me. She wasn't just a cop to him. I've noticed this with others on the show and if they are trying to capitalize on the fact that her last name was Angel and she's dead now....I get it.

That bugged me, too, initially. I felt he should have called her Jess... until I thought about how he was approaching Mac, which was as a professional. I think he was trying to keep it as much on that level as it could be, hence his use of her last name rather than her first.

So, Danny has a spare key to Flack's apartment and it's common knowledge? Why? Since when? Does Flack give spare keys to all his friends? The fact that Danny has a key to Flack's apartment, but Flack had to have the super open Danny's in "All in the Family" is a subtle testimony to the imbalance in their friendship. Flack trusts Danny enough to allow him unfettered access to his home, but Danny doesn't trust Flack with the same. It was a nicely-played note.

I don't think trust comes easily to Danny--that's just part of his damage. Even the people closest to him--Flack, Mac, Lindsay--have to constantly keep winning his trust over and over again. I don't think it's a conscious thing on Danny's part... I don't think he knows how to trust people. I really hope we learn the source of that someday because it's both fascinating and tragic.

Eddie Cahill put on a bravura performance as a rock-bottom Flack. Whereas his dishevelment in previous episodes looked rakish, here he looked used up and dirty and sickly. Other passengers on the subway were eyeing him with disdain as he swigged from a bottle of cheap hooch. It should be noted that Flack didn't strike me as a "bad" drunk, the sort to issue threats and start brawls; if anything, he seemed as if he were trying to smile at the other people in the car. It was heartbreaking to watch the other commuters shy away from his feeble attempt to connect with them.

Eddie was amazing in this episode, simply amazing. The guy really should have his own show because his range is incredible.

I was dreading the clash between Mac and Flack because I just knew that Mac was going to get his self-righteous on, but both men were pitch-perfect. Flack was by turns embarrassed(that look from that bathroom once he saw Mac in the living room said it all)and defiant. When Mac said he was filing a formal complaint about Flack's behavior, Flack responded like a bratty, sullen teenager. I think it was Flack's indifference that angered Mac more than his conduct. Flack was contemptuous and dismissive of Mac's efforts to help him, and I can understand why Mac wanted to shake him, even though I still wish he hadn't touched him, since he achieved the desired breakthrough, not through physical force, but by pointing out the lengths his friends had gone to to find and help him when they could've written him off. The "Danny calling the hospitals to see if you were dead" punched the snot-nose clear out of him, and I think he finally realized that he was still valued and cared for even if he had stumbled.

I love that it was that mention of Danny searching hospitals for his dead body that snapped Flack out of it. That his friends thought he might be dead--that the one person Flack has been trying to shield from his messy downfall, his vulnerable best friend, was the one doing the legwork, was just the shot to the heart that was needed.

I gave this episode an A+ for the explanation of the compass killer's motivation and disfigurement, an A+ for Skeet (the only reason I started watching NY this season) and I even liked Nelly. However, after the conclusion of this arc next week, I'm sad to say that I have not connected to any of the other characters on the show and find the writing ABYSMAL, contrived and juvenile. I can suspend belief to a degree, but the show is so unrealistic on sooooo many levels that it annoys me.

Suggestions for the writers == you do NOT need to make Mac the hero/clue finder/center of EVERY episode. It is quite annoying. When I first started watching Jericho with Skeet, the writers had his character Jake solving every problem and saving everyone. The fans got tired with that FAST, and the writers adapted by 'sharing the load' and giving other characters more things to do. This is why, I think, the fans of the show connected with so many of the characters -- they were all heroic in their own ways. They also made Skeet's character make mistakes -- sometimes with potentially tragic consequences, this humanized the character so that the viewer could relate. I'm rambling, but I hate shows that have the 'main' star solve EVERYTHING. {That is why House is also annoying to me.} For instance, last night Mac found the note on the bridge. SERIOUSLY? Like, not one other cop walked past and saw it? It would have been far more believable if a random cop found it and pointed it out, or brought it to him. How hard is that? Mac sees CK at the park. Mac turns concrete into gold......STOP already.

I love hearing the perspective of someone who doesn't watch on a weekly basis, and I couldn't agree more. All the CSI shows have this problem, and it's tiring.

 

[Carolyn_333]

I just thought of something...where are Lindsay and Haylen?

Apparently I'm the only one who noticed Haylen was also as M.I.A. as Lindsay.
I have a theory about why that is: The rest of you are starting to like Haylen just as I'm starting to hate Haylen. :guffaw:
Like I said, it's just a theory.

 

[BauerAlmeida]

What BauerAlmeida said!!! You put it so well that I can't do much better. If I had to put it in one sentence I would say that from the beginning of this season it feels like the actors have lost the heart of the show and are reciting the lines and going through the motions about 90% of the time.

It's not the actors' fault, they've been bringing all they had just like they always have. The blame in this lays on the writers. The cast can only do so much with the crappy material they've been getting. There is no chance of being emotional when the writers don't even bother to write those scenes.

To me, it's more like the writers are the ones holding the actors back, instead of delving into the hard hitting raw emotional materials, the writers are taking the easy way out with their case to case stories. They've short-changed the actors' amazing talent for more action and glamor, which is a huge mistake on their part.

If giving the right material, NY's cast is more than capable of knocking it out of the park, there's enough episodes out there that shows their awesome strength when this cast is allowed to reach for their best potentials. I mean, even now with this recent story, both Eddie and Gary were able to bring across their characters' emotions and passions despite the short scene and awkward dialogue.

It is not the actors' skills that worries me because I know for certain that this cast is phenomenal. But the cast can only do so much, it's the writers who really need to step up to the plate and deliver the right materials.

NY could learn something from NCIS, it is also a procedural show but it has never shied away from tackling hard emotional issues for the characters not matter how gut-wrenching they may be to watch. NCIS's writers are able find the right balance between the witty dialogue and moments of character connection and development with the quirks and uniqueness of their talented cast's acting styles to make great drama. It is no coincidence that NCIS is the Number One rated drama on television right now with over 20 million viewers for every episode. NY should take notes.

I just thought of something...where are Lindsay and Haylen?

Apparently I'm the only one who noticed Haylen was also as M.I.A. as Lindsay.
I have a theory about why that is: The rest of you are starting to like Haylen just as I'm starting to hate Haylen. :guffaw:
Like I said, it's just a theory.

I don't really care much about Haylen not being around considering that she is not even an official part of this team, so her appearing or not is not important or paramount.

But it does bother me that Lindsay is missing without explaination. I'm not particularily fond of Lindsay, but she is a main character, she is a central part of this CSI family, so whether you like her or not, she is an established character and therefore deserves to be treated as such, the writers can at least mention that maybe she's at home with Lucy or something. It's not that much to ask.

 

[Robin]

Liked this episode. Curious to find out what the link is to all of the people he is killing. Next week's episode looks like it will be good.

 

[Flackhoney]

-Bob? Seriously? Bob? When he says "you fired me cause money was tight" I immediately thought of Emmanuelle/Angell.

-Wow shot straight in the head. Bob killed him because they fired him? Doesn't seem like alot of motive to me. But maybe not.

-Missing Flack. Uh oh. I think Mac and Stella expected something like this to happen from the "how do you want to play it?".

-Danny's walking. Bit of a fast recovery for me. The whole 'looking good Messer' kinda creeped me out. Phones ringing together was funny but the 'you jinxed it' was seriously cheesy.

-Spare key....... I know they're friends but a spare key? I thought that was a bit of a stretch for their friendship. 'if he's sleeping one off throw his @ss in the shower' that was funny.

-Straight out lie to Flacks CO. You go mac.

-Yay SID!! 99.02912621359224 % bones broken. 'aw don't sid i was gonna make plans for dinner' 'oo where?'
'sorry about dinner' 'no you're not' :lol:

-Hawkes diving. Call from Danny. No news about flack his house is a wreck, no paying bills and drinking. At least he was smart enough to leave his gun at home. 'hopefully he finds him on a stool. drinking a guinness and singing danny boy'

-Did mac just call hawkes buddy? uh oh he found a compass. he's back. the compass killer is back.

-Drunk Flack.:guffaw:Hilarious. nevermind. funniness gone. oh ouch getting beat up. A little to painful to watch. Terrence saves the day. Just another reason you gotta love him. pu flack stinks.

-Lets triangulate his phone.

-Terrence called him baby. so cute.

-'why you let yourself get beat down like that? thats not mournin. thats something else'

-Adams frying mushrooms?

-'your boys are like walkin parol violations.'

-Macs here. Thanks Terrence. your in big doo doo flack. 'we're in the middle of a murder investigation and you go AWOL?' that line was weird for me cause flack wasn't doing the investigation that day and he didn't know the investigation was going on. the 'danny check the ERs to see if you'd turned up dead' was what i think really smacked flack in the face. but was he checking the ER cause flack might have commited suicide? I'm a bit confused about that. Flack looks like he's going to burst out crying. and I think flack said angell cause it would have been hard saying jess.

- just IDed the compass killer.

-flack apologizing. sad.

-way to yell it out mac. chase after the killer. go go go. he dissapeared.

The Compass Killer is the only continuing story that I have liked from this show. It has real emotion and I truly felt sorry for eckart. We still don't know why he's killing though.. Flack was completely amazing. I didn't care about the compass killer I just wanted to see Flack. I gave it an A.

 

[talkingtocactus]

'we're in the middle of a murder investigation and you go AWOL?' that line was weird for me cause flack wasn't doing the investigation that day and he didn't know the investigation was going on.

but the compass investigation's been ongoing for a little while now, albeit in the background, and they said right at the start that flack was officially on duty that day, so it makes sense that mac expected him to be there to help with whatever investigation came up (or fell off).... anyway...

but was he checking the ER cause flack might have commited suicide?

i'm guessing that was an option, but i think also because they know he's been drinking/letting things slide (although damn, i wish they'd shown more of that to us, all audiences (at least those that don't obsessively discuss these things online!) were shown was that he had a couple of nights sitting in a bar, a couple of miserable faces and then suddenly went off on one. but i think there was probably an element of him not being on form to look after himself should anything go wrong (and they were proved right on that, what with him being beaten down), although the suicide thing was implied when mac made danny check his gun.

Did mac just call hawkes buddy?

:lol: maybe shacking up together is having an effect!!!


oh, ps, i was watching this again with a friend who's an occasional viewer. she said (and i quote) "oh dear, mac's been taking lessons at the horatio school of cheese" :lol:

 

[BauerAlmeida]

'we're in the middle of a murder investigation and you go AWOL?' that line was weird for me cause flack wasn't doing the investigation that day and he didn't know the investigation was going on.

but the compass investigation's been ongoing for a little while now, albeit in the background, and they said right at the start that flack was officially on duty that day, so it makes sense that mac expected him to be there to help with whatever investigation came up (or fell off).... anyway...

I agree with *lisasimpson*, Mac made a point to mention that it was suppose to be Flack on duty, that's why they even notice that he was missing in the first place because he's suppose to be the one out there with them in the investigation. Mac's line was "What's Riley doing over there interviewng the witness" or something like that, to which with Stella answered that Flack didn't show up. And that's what started this chain of events. So Mac was right to be angry about Flack going AWOL in the middle of an investigation that Flack is suppose to work in.

but was he checking the ER cause flack might have commited suicide?

i'm guessing that was an option, but i think also because they know he's been drinking/letting things slide (although damn, i wish they'd shown more of that to us, all audiences (at least those that don't obsessively discuss these things online!) were shown was that he had a couple of nights sitting in a bar, a couple of miserable faces and then suddenly went off on one. but i think there was probably an element of him not being on form to look after himself should anything go wrong (and they were proved right on that, what with him being beaten down), although the suicide thing was implied when mac made danny check his gun.

I'm sure the suicide option was on their mind, but I think mainly it was because that they were afraid that Flack would get into trouble or get hurt by other people, I mean, the city is a dangerous place, and if Flack were to wander into the wrong place and people were to recognize him as a cop, he could be in trouble with gangs and other thugs, or he could have been in an traffic accident, and all that stuff.

Did mac just call hawkes buddy?

:lol: maybe shacking up together is having an effect!!!

oh, ps, i was watching this again with a friend who's an occasional viewer. she said (and i quote) "oh dear, mac's been taking lessons at the horatio school of cheese" :lol:

Macky-boy shouldn't be doing cheese, only H is allowed to do that!:lol:

As for the Hawkes and Mac bond......oh dear......somewhere out in a dark deserted room.....a million plot bunnies are born......:guffaw:

 

[talkingtocactus]

Did mac just call hawkes buddy?

:lol: maybe shacking up together is having an effect!!!

oh, ps, i was watching this again with a friend who's an occasional viewer. she said (and i quote) "oh dear, mac's been taking lessons at the horatio school of cheese" :lol:

Macky-boy shouldn't be doing cheese, only H is allowed to do that!:lol:

As for the Hawkes and Mac bond......oh dear......somewhere out in a dark deserted room.....a million plot bunnies are born......:guffaw:

heh, exactly. i think it was the line about it being a fall from grace or something, which really was a cue for 'won't get fooled again' to kick in! there was another line later on, i forget which, which made my mate say it again!

haha, yes, i think a lot of people would like to see that particular living arrangement, i'm sure it's been said but it would make a great little sitcom spin off

 

[Shica]

Perhaps they should have combined Flack's story with the Compass Killer in that Flack is his last victim and now the team has to race against the time to save Flack. And maybe Flack's drunken-ness would be the reason that the Compass Killer gets the upper-hand and nearly kills him but Terrence comes to the rescue and takes Flack to his apartment and then have the team later on find Flack there or something and catch the Compass Killer once and for all. I think that would have made an interesting story considering how Flack did mention that he was working the case the day Hollis Eckhart's wife was murdered, and since things seem to link to that day, maybe we can have Hollis feeling that Flack didn't do much to bring justice and decides to take Flack down as well.....

Well, since Flack said that he had worked the case of the murder of Calliope, maybe we could hope that he will me more involved-threatened in the next episode?

Just wishful thinking....

 

[Faylinn]

Geez, you guys, don't encourage my slashy side. :shifty:

Did mac just call hawkes buddy?

:lol: maybe shacking up together is having an effect!!!

My first thought was, "LOL, shower buddies." :devil:

What? Clearly they're just conserving water - every little bit helps. :thumbsup:

As for the Hawkes and Mac bond......oh dear......somewhere out in a dark deserted room.....a million plot bunnies are born......:guffaw:

See above. (Or did you mean innocent, not-naughty plot bunnies? Cuz if so, I got nuthin'. )

 

[flying mouse]

Danny has Flack's key but not vice versa bugs me. I've thought that Flack always cares about Danny but hard to remember Danny does that to him...

Aside from that, everything was perfect! I think it was exceptionally good episode. I didn't think highly of the compass killer case so far but this episode made me think twice. I wish tptb wouldn't hurry to squeeze the whole thing into next episode. I think I wouldn't bother seeing a bit more detail.

Terrence was great! But I feel like he's gonna be in trouble. Maybe Flack can save his day. It looks like they take care of each other. I can't remember seeing relationships outside between CSIs(and detectives) and they did that to Flack! It's amazing!

Perhaps they should have combined Flack's story with the Compass Killer in that Flack is his last victim and now the team has to race against the time to save Flack. And maybe Flack's drunken-ness would be the reason that the Compass Killer gets the upper-hand and nearly kills him but Terrence comes to the rescue and takes Flack to his apartment and then have the team later on find Flack there or something and catch the Compass Killer once and for all. I think that would have made an interesting story considering how Flack did mention that he was working the case the day Hollis Eckhart's wife was murdered, and since things seem to link to that day, maybe we can have Hollis feeling that Flack didn't do much to bring justice and decides to take Flack down as well.....

Well, since Flack said that he had worked the case of the murder of Calliope, maybe we could hope that he will me more involved-threatened in the next episode?

Just wishful thinking....

Wow that would be really interesting! :adore:

+A, but I want to put a lot of + on it. :thumbsup:

 

[~Sarah~]

I just thought of something...where are Lindsay and Haylen?

Apparently I'm the only one who noticed Haylen was also as M.I.A. as Lindsay.
I have a theory about why that is: The rest of you are starting to like Haylen just as I'm starting to hate Haylen. :guffaw:
Like I said, it's just a theory.

The difference is Lindsay is listed as a regular, Haylen is only recurring so no she's not going to be in all the episodes. I think they should just list Anna as recurring if she's not going to be in all the episodes.

As far as Danny having Flack's key - who knows why he got it maybe Flack went on vacation and Danny brought in his mail for him and we never saw it, we'll probably never find out why he was given the key.
But it's kinda different vice versa at this point, Danny doesn't live alone, Flack does.

 

[talkingtocactus]

^ do we know that flack never had a key for danny's place? has it ever come up? i'm just thinking of the ep when he went to danny's place to look for him when he was looking for rikki, how did he get in, i can't remember? did he get the super to open up? i think maybe there's a big bowl of keys in the lab so if any of them get in trouble (or they fancy a cheesy 70s style key party!! :devil: ) they can use them....

 

[JellyBelly]

did he get the super to open up?

That's exactly what he did

 

[Maya316]

Originally Posted by Carolyn333
Quote:

Originally Posted by Carolyn333
I just thought of something...where are Lindsay and Haylen?

Apparently I'm the only one who noticed Haylen was also as M.I.A. as Lindsay.
I have a theory about why that is: The rest of you are starting to like Haylen just as I'm starting to hate Haylen. :guffaw:
Like I said, it's just a theory.

The difference is Lindsay is listed as a regular, Haylen is only recurring so no she's not going to be in all the episodes. I think they should just list Anna as recurring if she's not going to be in all the episodes.

It's not just Lindsay though, Sid and Adam have gone missing during whole episodes in this season, too. I guess I'm not sure what they can do to resolve the problem (they can't very well list all three and whoever else goes missing this season, as recurring), but there as to be a better way than just cutting them out without even an explanation.

Originally Posted by *lisasimpson*
did he get the super to open up?

That's exactly what he did

And this was at a time when Danny was living alone. I don't know...I know people hand out spare keys to friends or relatives or whatnot because everyone has that "in case of emergency contact", but I myself have never much liked the business of handing out spare keys. It's just not that safe, even if the key's given to a friend. Maybe Danny felt the same way, and Flack didn't?