The Devil and DB Russell

On the whole, it was okay. I liked it more than I expected seeing as I wasn't particularly impressed with the finale last year.

It did a better job at tying up the loose ends left from the end of Season 13 than last year's premiere did which I was thankful for. I tuned out a bit whenever they started biblically waffling on about the Dante's Inferno garbage but it kept me entertained for the hour. I also stopped caring about how farfetched the case was about five minutes in. At least it wasn't boring (*coughDeadDollcough*). Anyone here watch Criminal Minds? It reminded me a bit of their Fisher-King episodes at the end of Season 1. I liked the part about the genetic code (first bit of forensics we've had for a while) but was annoyed how they kept on getting messages on where to look for things (a la Finn following the trail). Disappointed that there wasn't really much of a team cohesion throughout, they were all sort of out doing their own thing.

As soon as Ellie said there was another girl in the house I suspected she was up to no good, but I was still shocked when she shot Morgan. I expected the 'someone close the CSI family' to be a bit of a cop out so Nancy's death didn't particularly surprise or sadden me, Brass' reaction was heartbreaking however and Paul really gave it his all.

Line of the night goes to Hodges who said what we were all thinking: "why was a CSI even out there undercover?"

Overall, an okay premiere. Better than last year's, and the worst premiere title still goes to "Dead Doll" in my eyes. B-

 

I wonder if this really is going to be CSI's last season....
(http://www.thetvaddict.com/2013/09/26/tv-ratings-wednesday-september-25-2013/).

There may be fans who are still enjoying it, but the ratings are still dropping.

This episode was better than I expected, but there were some things I disliked or that felt over the top for me. It wasn't terrible though and I'm glad it wasn't entirely predictable, like I assumed it would be.

However.... I’m struggling to figure out how to respond to the Brass/Ellie stuff. It was an interesting twist...but still....I’m also questioning whether this was really in character for Ellie. she was angry with Brass (and, in some ways, her mom too) for a long time, and was portrayed as a cold and kinda selfish person for the most part, even when Brass tried to help her out/recconnect with her, but she never came off to me as someone who could be a killer, and her overall relationship with Brass felt more complicated. In “Way to Go”, back in season 6, she especially showed that she had a human side. Sure, it was brief, but it was still there, when she showed concern for her father in the hospital. I don’t know, maybe I’m just feeling deeply sad for Brass ....I think I should rematch those episodes again. It was shocking, either way, and Major Kudos to Paul’s acting!!! The scene when his ex dies and he finds out the truth was especially gut wrenching .


In terms of Morgan's abduction/being rescued, I still liked the Morgan/Ecklie stuff, one of her much better storylines IMO. Although the hospital scene was kinda lacking, and didn’t feel like a particularly touching moment like their scene together in “Karma to Burn”, when Ecklie got shot. Or maybe I was just too annoyed that the writers kept putting Morgan in peril and giving her too much focus :lol:, kudos to Hodges for pointing out the ridiculous undercover plot:
"She's a CSI, what was she doing going undercover"?

I'm relieved Morgan didn't die though, but I still think they should tone her down after this. PLEASE, Pretty Please Writers???

The pacing wasn’t that great, it felt a little choppy at times, and I was expecting more intrigue from the whole Dante’s Inferno theme in the murders. The clues being left around had potential, but somehow, it didn't quite grab my interest as much as I thought it would. The genetic code thing, and the part about synthetic DNA was interesting though.

I guess it was a little like the Fisher King in “Criminal Minds” Crumbs, except, I liked the whole quest/puzzle thing they were following much better. lol.

I also agree with you, this episode, again, lacked the old team effort to rescue one of their own which, while no surprise, was still a disappointment. It was one of the many things that made “Grave Danger” So good. I really miss the family vibe/team cohesion in CSI, and I don’t know if they'll ever bring it back this season.

 

I feel like it almost would have been better if they killed Brass off. I hate to say it but his story is pretty much over now. It would have been a much more shocking and emotional premiere...and might have paved the way for a Grissom cameo.

 

I just caught up with the episode which I missed last night. Wow I'm so speechless I did not see that was coming! I feel so bad for Brass to find out that his ex wife was murdered by her own child. I can't even made more words to express how intense this episode to start the new season of CSI. I'm looking forward to watch what writers cooked up for the season 14 It was great to see Sara back in, she looks so stunning in this episode, but she barely interacts with her co-workers that she worked over the years in this episode, but it was great to see that she works with david to track down the shooter who shot Morgan, GSR in me I went like Yay Sara solved it!

 

I did watch this episode that mom recorded...

I have to confess, I didn't care for this episode but this probably will be the last episode I watch.

When Angela called Russell, how many of you thought she'd be killed? I kinda thought it would happen.

Thought the Ellie killing of Morgan and Ellie's mom was kinda stupid.

Who was this John guy?

I laughed when she showed up to where Finn was.

 

This opener tore me up-poor Brass did his best but his "daughter" was just too messed up. If Paul Guilfoyle doesn't get recognized by the emmys for this, it's a joke!
Can't believe the Grissom/Sara haters are still out there-I stopped coming to this site after their snarkiness and thought it would be safe to read posts about a dark but amazing epi...wrong. Get a life and stop comparing CSI to every sicko procedural out there!

 

Well ... I guess my standards have slipped. Hubby and I go all the way back to the beginning, so it's not like I can't remember how things were. But I guess I've resigned myself to a number of things I don't really like, but accept that no matter what, they're not going to change: CSIs are going to act like cops, there must be some personal angst in each and every episode, a CSI will be in peril every other episode, etc.

Unfortunately, we really started down this path with Grave Danger ... which, admittedly, was vastly superior to any other "CSI in peril" episode. But it still set the precedent, and now the powers that be apparently feel compelled to go down that path again and again ... because what else is there? Well, there's the ol' tried-and-true procedural route (which used to be the bread and butter of this series). Nah, too "boring"!

Anyway, I'm sure my tastes have slipped, because I felt this episode wasn't too bad (faint praise, for sure). Maybe it's because, as a season finale/opener, it was an improvement over the past few seasons. But there were many things that annoyed me, things which I suspect we haven't seen the last of.

 

Why take so much from Brass?
Why hurt Brass so much over 14 years?
This was all he had left.
Brass has nothing left? ...nothing.
Why do that to a good character?
Its so hurtful , it reduces the amount of the show I could possibly care about the other characters.
I love Brass, keep it quick cause the SS Single Malt is waiting for me at home.

 

I think it's a Prelude to Brass' goodbye. and i sensed it could be tragic...wish i'm wrong...after all he didn't love either of them...and we know this since the very beginning..

 

He loved both of them. Where do you get he didn't?