I didn't like this episode. I didn't hate this episode. But I found little in it to tip the balance from utterly lacklustre to anything favourable. Mac was very apt last night: (a mind is a terrible thing to waste/) "So is my time." Felt like a FrankenEppie. Cobbled together specifically to accomodate and begin the incorporation of Anna's pregnancy into the series. And the bolts in the neck showed. Pregnant small town teen, kicked out, and yet her parents are supposedly sympathetic people, so much so that Danny cracks and opens up to them, in light of Lindsay's pregnancy, at the mere question, "you got any kids, detective?" / "Well, lemme tell ya. Back in tha day, I used ta be a ball player. I used to have balls. I coulda been a contenda. Ohh wait. No, sorry. Um. See, it all started when I met this girl with a fishing rod and a knife..." Pregnant teen tumbles down some stairs, they cut her open, take the baby, stash the body in the trunk. Dump the car. That's never been done before. Then, ooh, twist, the teen was actually gonna give up the baby, carry it for an infertile couple, and a doctor was gonna help set it up. But then girl changes her mind. WTF. Was this eppie a leftover from the writer's strike? :wtf: Oh, and hey. What a perfect scenario wherein Lindsay can reveal she's pregnant. Lots of added gravitas and coat-tail coasting profundity available. And Danny will be telling the whole story. Wahoo. :vulcan: OK, so Danny's gutted in his own way and spilling to Grandma and Grandpa. Talking in great detail about the investigation? Cause detectives do that all the time. Basically he served the purpose of explaining what's apparently been going on between DL in order to accomodate the Shift of the season. Apathy. Case was re-tred level stuff. I felt no real sympathy for Lindsay, except perhaps for the general notion of an unexpected pregnancy. Felt no real empathy for Danny aside from the same, despite his narration and p.o.v. Felt no real satisfaction from how the introduction of the pregnancy was handled. Was not in the least mollified that we're gonna hafta sit thru more of this gack from time to time as the season progresses. It started out as an interesting premise, Danny talking about his past to anonymous listeners (gesturing alot. Christ but I think Carmine's hands got more screentime than the mother-to-be). It didn't stay interesting. I'd love to say Carmine did what he could with it, but I can't really. (If he did, it wasn't up to standards I've come to expect, or perhaps take for granted). I think both the material and, in a rare instance, the performance were kinda flat, and without levels. Curiosity about who he was talking to, why, and where, supplanted anything he was saying after a round or two. All those curiosities answered certainly didn't improve my opinions of the episode. Mostly I found myself really wanting to shake Danny outta whatever PTB haze he was obliged to be under. Not a great night for Danny or Carmine. Just wasn't. Moreover, Carmine seemingly all but made to be TPTB's apologist speakerbox here for DL, Lindsay, and Danny, was one of the most Gibbs-Headslap worthy things I've sat thru of late. Musta been a bitter pill. No amount of spin from TPTB extolling the magnifantastiwonderawesomeosity of a CSI Baby can mask the lasting impact it could really have on the series, if only IMO. TPTB, your bolts are showing. The annunciation? Clinic: Lindsay, runs. Danny, chases. (He chases and catches perps running hell bent but cant' catch the fly-fishin bowie knife wielding Montana? Oops). Lockerroom: Ultrasound. Dude comes in to take off his lab coat, triggering the obligatory discretionary pause in the Loving & Honest accusatory revelation. Lindsay. Runs. Again. Danny. Chases. Again. And then Lindsay turns from Danny to the facial reconstruction and recognizes the woman? That she had felt a sudden kinship and connection with at the clinic and exchanged numbers? Who was murdered and gutted? "I'm pregnant. I know you, Danny. I expect nothing. We should get back to work. Hot case. Jane Inna Box. Hey. Who dat. I think I know her." You. Have got. To. Be. Kidding. So what was good? Redeeming elements were found in everyone else. Stella had some fun moments. "Let me see if I've got any change" was good. BTW, that was an uh Interesting painting in her office behind her. Was that always there? Nice to see little snippets like that, given her past appreciation for the arts, dancing, and now greek archeology and history. Huh. Adam being bashful is cute. Adam being sweet on Stella is cute. Would love to see him get more time. His interaction with Stella is always fun, moreso last ep than this one, but his interaction with everyone else is also fun. Spread the Rosco love around more, I says. Irish was great. Tru dat. And lookin mighty fine all casual there. As usual got some good lines. Eh, spartacus? Mac had a fun moment too in the interrogation. He looked downright chipper didn't he. Looked good on him. :lol: Noticed last week they gave Sid a haircut at some point. He was great, and I'm glad to see he got more screen time, and more to contribute than a typical autopsy. Yay Sid. Yay Hawkes too . Earned his CSI pay there. The two were good working together. But geez, if I had to dig thru compacted scrap covered in decomp juice, I'da been wearing a mask or something. Not great for delivering lines I realize, but come on. Not even a comment? Some reference? Thirty years and 4000+ cases means you can't smell anything anymore I guess huh. Yum. *wincing sigh* > ...Danny's nite-time emocycle montage thru Nu Yawk. If I wanted that sorta cheese I'd watch another variant in the franchise. Was this signifying the start of the Tough Kid Beginning To Change? Take Converse sneakers and a Harley. Add Danny and a pained expression. Rather, continue the pained expression, the same one he's worn for most of the episode, one that became mirrored by some viewers. Add a curious choice of helmet. Shoot lots of angles. Set it to music. Oooo. Aaa..ack. (Warning: yet another pending gratuitous reference to that cold case, the kidnapping of Messer's Pair, some readers may be offended. Again). I can only hope Danny was roaming the city streets looking for any sign of his balls. Or his glasses. Or both. What are they gonna take next? Louie? Gone. Poof. Vanished. Reuben? Gone. Rikki? Referred to at least. Doesn't look good for teh Cold Case, or the latest theft in his personal property, given how this eppie went. Dear PTB. Do Not. Ever. Resort to such an emontage. Again. Please. With a cast as talented as you have at your fingertips and in light of the mostly strong episodes aired earlier this season, an hour like The Box was a terrible thing to waste. Try thinking outside it again. The Box was aptly named. Call the kid Shrodinger. The show is the poor damned cat. I guess we'll hafta tune in weekly to see if the poor thing lives or dies by season's end. Whaddaya do. ETA: C- on a downward slope, for being lacklustre and so completely run of the mill. Case was poor. DL was less than stellar. Seen thru Danny's eyes, Carmine couldn't pull it up much. Would have been worse if not for the rest of the cast.
Alright, so I've had the day to think about what I watched last night, so I think I'm a little more calm now. My overall opinion of the episode really hasn't changed. It really might have been because I do not see the D/L relationship as beneficial or necessary to the show and I do not think it has been handled well at all in the past three seasons...but this episode continually frustrated me at almost every turn. The case itself lacks in originality. We only get three or four suspects throughout the entire course of it, so I had the parents and the doctor pegged the minute I saw them, so there really wasn't any buildup. When we've recently had episodes like the one where its the lawyers who are hitting back against their own clients for their actions instead of the victim's families, I was expecting a twist somewhere, and it never happened. Nevertheless, I don't think any of the casting for it was bad...it was just wasted on the storyline they had to use. I particularly hated the parents of the girl who was murdered. Their seventeen year old gets pregnant, and so they kick her out of the house, so they won't be judged? They come across as pathetic, unsympathetic, and cold--and I never related to them throughout the entire episode. When the father tells Danny to make sure his decision doesn't allow him to have regrets, I assume the audience was supposed to assume that the father is feeling bad about shoving his daughter out into the world and gets her murdered, but I never felt anything but contempt for him and his wife. As for the storyline, it felt like the entire case and people in it where only brought to the show because of what Lindsay and Danny were going to have to go through. Maybe it was just me, but i felt having a case that involved a baby being ripped from its mother and kidnapped right alongside the drama of a character going to have to have a baby was just too lacklustre and unoriginal. The case just wasn't interesting with that aspect in mind. As for the pregnancy announcement....I'm not a fan of Anna Belknap at all, but she did pull off a decent performance in the lockerroom scene when she tells Danny she's pregnant. Her shock and confusion and fright about the whole situation is evident in her voice and tone, and for once, she actually looks like Lindsay Monroe, instead of Belknap-playing-Lindsay. The rest of her dialogue and acting though left me the same way it always has-disappointed. Part of it was the writing, but Belknap's delivery in many of the other scenes just seemed off to me. At the same time, I really didn't think Carmine was that stellar last night, either. He's packed so much emotion and passion into scenes in episodes like "Love Run Cold" and "On the Job," yet he seemed almost flippant in telling his tale to the couple in the hallway. Coming from Carmine, I really expected a lot more than what I saw...which was just an average performance. Onto the characters...*sigh.* Once again, Lindsay comes across (apart from the lockerroom scene) as a less than ideal character for me. Knowing that their communication in their relationship before probably is what drove them apart initially, she still won't communicate with Danny about what's bothering her until he corners her in the lockerroom. I especially hated the "I know you" line, and the insinuation that Danny would ever leave her and an unborn child that is his out in the cold. Danny has always been the most sympathetic character on the show, as well as loyal. When he found out about Aiden's murder in Heroes, he was ready to beat down the first suspect they brought in for it. He chased Rikki all over NYC because he felt he was responsible for the situation she found herself in (when she was going after Ollie) and wanted to protect her. He even flew all the way to Montana, BEFORE the two were supposed to have been dating, to support Lindsay at the trial, and continually let her know he was there for her when she was pushing him away in season three. When through any of that has Danny given her the impression that he would not support her, if he felt even the tiniest bit responsible for the pregnancy? Danny's confession to the couple in the hallway was also surprising, and disappointing. Danny doesn't open up every easily-Flack had to chase him around the city and refuse to leave him alone before Danny would even let him in on what he was doing. Even if Danny would be opening up to someone on the show, it is much more likely that Flack would be the one he would run to, since Flack has been the one to support him when he's under great emotional stresses, i.e., being accused of the Minhas murder, or Rikki stealing his gun. Heck, bring back LOUIE for God sakes...it would have been a much nicer and more sincere moment for me if he had been in the hospital, talking to Louie: an ear to listen that wouldn't judge him (assuming he's still in a coma, or even alive). Having him confess to two of the most selfish, unsympathetic, and despicable characters I've seen on TV really killed the moment for me, if it ever was alive to start with. Overall, the episode really killed me. I felt that it was shoddily thrown together in an attempt to write in Belknap's pregnancy, and it shows. In this ep, Danny and Lindsay are talking left and right, he's calling her, etc...while in the previous eight of this season they've only shared a handful of scenes, none of them meaningful whatsoever. Its a glaring 180 when suddenly they are speaking in this episode, and apparently have been having sex. This is the most frustrating thing of all...its as if the writers didn't think we'd been paying attention to the continuity of anything this season, or in past seasons... D.
I liked the episode. It could have been better in some ways, but over all I thought that it was great. I liked it as a Danny centered episode. At the end, I thought that he was talking to Louie, and was a disappointed when it turned out to be girl's parents. (Maybe I just wanted it to be Louie because I love "Run Silent" Bring Louie back!) At first it seemed odd- sensitive Danny talking openly about private things to strangers. But later when I thought about it, I realized that sometimes its easier to open up to people you know you aren't going to see again, people who have no stake in your situation. Besides, with all of the emotion that the case is bringing up because of the personal connection, the question "Do you have children?" probability set Danny talking where he might have otherwise simply answered "Yes" or "No." I liked Lindsay seeing Danny and running away, at the clinic. In her situation, (an unplanned pregnancy with a man your in love with but he's not as serious as you) I think I would have acted the same way. The confrontation went well, except the "I know you...I'm not expecting anything from you" line. Oh come on writers! You can come up with something better then that! Yes! I loved Sid and Hawks! Yes! I loved Mac and Flack in the interrogation room! (Horatio's amused "That's not going to work" to Ron in Miami was a lot funnier, but Mac's response was on par with his own character and therefor worked.) The look on the suspects face when he realized he was bleeding and wasn't going to get out easily made me laugh. And then he wanted aspirin? Doesn't he know you're not supposed to take aspirin when your bleeding? Really! His knowledge was incredibly limited! I loved Adam and Stella. I am, however, apprehensive. Is the goofy twitter-pated Adam all we get out of him these days? Where's the quirky "What's up!" he always said? I don't want Adam to turn into some one-dimensional teddy bear! All in all, I loved it! A-
I think this episode was the poorest showing so far of the season. Hard to believe this was really a sweeps episode. The whole thing seemed like it was just cobbled together out of disparate pieces. The case itself had some sensationalistic elements (crushed body, baby taken from dead mother), but in the end, it seemed another variation of the "baby stolen from teenage mother who changed her mind" storyline. And did I miss something or did the husband really keep the body in the trunk of his own car for over two weeks, decide to take it to the junkyard (with the medical card, spoon, etc., still on the body) and then report the car stolen? Really, how could they not get caught? I could've done without the added contrivance of Lindsay meeting the victim once and conveniently exchanging personal info, but I guess they had to get the parents involved somehow. Which brings me to Danny's little chat with the parents. What were the writers thinking here? These parents had just lost their daughter and considering their own role in the situation, should’ve been distraught, guilt-ridden, and grief-stricken. Why in the world would Danny presume to lay out all his problems in detail for them like that? And why would the parents sit there politely listening to it and inquiring what would happen next? Sorry, it’s not believable to me. Yes, I get that there was supposed to be some parallel with the situations and some message about not having regrets but the connection was a bit too nebulous and contrived to have much resonance. I found it hard to feel much for the characters and their predicaments, too. I did feel a bit of sympathy for Carmine G., however, for having to take this scenario on and wondered how he prepped for it. Presumably, he did his best, but somewhere between the writing and acting (why the monologues and close-ups?) the emotion didn’t come through to me. And the less said about the motorcycle scene…the better. As for Danny and Lindsay's romance....Hmm…So Lindsay went back to Danny at some point (after telling Mac it was a mistake to get involved with him) and they've been in an intimate relationship for some months even though Lindsay apparently doesn't think enough of Danny to expect much from him parenting-wise. And Danny thinks that Lindsay knows about Rikki (women’s intuition?) and things haven’t been quite the same since; however, apparently, neither of them thought it was worth sorting through that issue before diving back into a relationship. Way to make them both look irresponsible and immature, writers. And let’s not even talk about how much of this happened somewhere offscreen. There’s a difference between keeping relationships in the background and keeping them totally invisible. Speaking of relationships, really, what’s up with Adam and Stella? Yes, it’s cute when the writers use the crush scenario sparingly and strategically, but it starts to get old when they trot it out for every episode. Doesn’t Adam have more pressing worries – like his JOB – at this point? On the positive side, as others noted, Mac and Don’s interrogation scene was a bright spot in the episode – didn’t see that fake brutality scenario coming. I actually jumped when the suspect’s head hit the table. Nice interaction between all three actors, although Mac was strangely bordering on giddy in that scene. Gotta love that physics explanation, though. Oh, and I did think the locker room scene between Danny and Lindsay was handled reasonably well. Both actors seemed fine in that one to me. It’s just the context around the pregnancy and what led up to it that hurts the storyline. Grade = D for Disappointing
A- The case itself was way too predictable and a lot of it had me questioning the plausibility. Doesn't an assumingly okay car stand out at that junk yard? No one who works there was even doubting before crushing it? And wouldn't the husband have had to cut very deep and hard to leave multiple incisions on the dead girl's vertebra? Wasn't there a baby in the way that needed to be cut out of there alive? As for the D/L parts; I was watching with bated breath whenever they had a scene together basically because every time I was dreading what would happen, but not once did they disappoint me : - When Lindsay dropped the bomb, so to speak, I suddenly had a vision of Danny saying "Boom!" :scream:, fortunately he didn't - this time. - When Danny wat riding his bike I feared that he would go to Lindsay's, give her big hug, and let the rest become history - again he didn't. - During the end scene I was hoping they would not hold hands (it would've ruined so much for me) - and again it didn't happen . As for the much quoted thing Lindsay said to Danny, perhaps I'm a bit biased , but I interpreted that a little different, not accusing, not trying to put him down, but merely stating that she did not want to pressure him (); "I know you" (you're a kind person at heart, who'd probably wanna do the right thing), "I'm not expecting anything" (please don't decide to be with me just because of the baby).
See, that's how I saw it too. I thought Lindsay was saying "If you really do love me and want to be with me that's fine, but don't do it just because of this baby."
Wow! that's a good point. I didn't think of that. If that's the case it shows a great deal more maturity then we often give her credit for.
Fortunately, I was out on Wednesday evening and didn't watch this episode in real time as I normally would. Fortunate because after reading through a lot of the posts, I was able to really skim through the show and skip many parts that I knew would annoy me based on what others said. Now, normally, I would not do that, but I have to say I was really dreading this episode. I did watch the locker room scene between Danny and Lindsay because I wanted to judge it for myself and I saw Lindsay running away from Danny in fast forward. What I skipped was a lot of Danny's monologue stuff. Scenes like that often bother me and since I knew essentially what he was going to say, I decided to fast forward through much of it. That being said, I really hate the pregnancy story line and I hate how they put it into a case with a pregnant teen who was killed. I found the plot device of Lindsay having gotten the victim's name and number at the clinic to be really contrived and it annoyed me. I think these are excellent points. I really think TPTB made a big mistake in changing their road plan and suddenly putting D/L back into a relationship after it seemed they were going to separate them. It definitely makes both Danny and Lindsay look irresponsible and immature. And I don't buy Lindsay as intuitive enough to have just "known" that Danny slept with Rikki. I didn't get this interpretation based on the tone of the scene and Lindsay's expression and how she said the lines. However, I often have huge problems with Lindsay's acting so maybe that really is how we were supposed to see that scene, but to me it really came across negatively and petty and hurtful.
I thought the case itself was pretty good. Points go to the writers for fooling me into thinking the "numbnut" (thank you, Flack!) was the one getting squished in the car, when it was actually someone else. And it drove me nuts through the entire ep until the end, wondering where I have seen the father before, and then I realized it was in Val Kilmer's old movie "Real Genius", he played the creepy genius guy who hid somewhere in the wall until near the end of the movie, can't recall the character's name, but he was great in it. Nice seeing him again! Some good character interactions once again too, I like that they're giving us plenty of that, in the past few episodes. As for the obvious point of the episode (sadly, the case took the back seat, which should never happen in a crime drama, for shame, writers!) The only thing I generally find less appealing than "Danny Drama" or "Lindsay Drama" is "Danny AND Lindsay Drama", and this episode was no exception. Major "ICK" factor, for me. Poorly conceived (no pun intended) all around, for me. Not nearly as repugnant as the Grissom/Sidle Boss/Subordinate secret fiasco in the Vegas recipe, IMO, but unfortunately it comes close, which is pretty damn bad. I gave it an A- for the storyline, but an F for the D/L crapola, so it ended up as an overall (very generous) C+, for me.
Ultimately I can't say I really see it that way. Danny just went to great lengths to explain that they had had a rough patch, but got back together, even if things haven't really been the same between them since. Key thing in my understanding here is that he suggested that they are currently together, and also that Lindsay has known for a few weeks that's she's pregnant. Aka this is a fairly recent discovery resulting from their continued intimacy and personal involvement. Therefore, when you suggest that Lindsay meant, 'I don't expect you to go the extra mile to stick with me thru this' it sounds quite a martyr-complex thing from her to say, especially to someone you're still involved in a relationship with, and potentially manipulative as well. If they had split up since being intimate and not gotten back together, or if her pregnancy stemmed from the time he was with Rikki instead even, then that take on things might hold more sway with me. But I do get where you're all coming from. I will also admit handily I'm not a huge fan of Lindsay, and so am not apt to give her that kind of credit where the suggestion is ambiguous at best. But that's just IMO. TPTB could do it up to make that conclusion completely accurate. Who knows. Most of all, with what I think I know of Danny, I think he'd be apt to stand up to be involved in his child's life, especially if they continue together, or even if they split up. They might split up because things have been rocky for them, but I don't think Danny would abandon her to avoid his responsibility in fathering a child. If Lindsay truly believes in Danny, then why say such a thing in the first place? And if she truly doubts his integrity in any way, then why are they still together at all? I would rather that "I know you/expect nothing" comment be come up in future discussion between them (as they continue to handle this in a Loving and Honest fashion) as stemming from stress and venting being understandably scared and upset at the unexpected nature of the pregnancy. I'd much prefer to be able to give her credit for maturity by seeing her acknowledging her emotions and interactions rather than running from talking to him while saying "no, don't you worry about me" in order to create more personal space between them. All just IMO of course.
Lindsay's tone of voice was completely off for that interpretation to ring true to what we were shown on screen. She didn't have any warmth or understanding in her voice. She was being her usual judgemental, mean self. If she was trying to say the words you are putting into her mouth she could have just said them. Even if a person has communication problems as huge as Lindsay's they don't run away from someone and try to avoid telling them something life changing while saying those things if they think the other person is kind, understanding and morally responsible. That in no way makes any sense.
^ Well she was on the verge of tears when saying it, so that what would make her sound more harsh. And I'm just as much putting words into her mouth as others did when they said she was attacking him. Danny did say things between them were not as they were before, so we still have no clue about what the status of their relationship really is, and from what he said it sounded like they don't know that either; so dropping the news of a pregnancy on him would be something I can imagine Lindsay would be hesitant about because she doesn't want to put extra pressure on him, especially since she knows his morals. And of course she should not have kept that info from him, but it is in Lindsay's character to try and shield herself from possible hurt.
Not trying to stir anything up, but denial comes to mind. Even tho it's obvious, he could be in denial. Kinda like "Well, we only just got back together, so can she really be pregnant?". Just my two cents, not trying to stir any trouble... I promise!
"She knows his morals"? I don't see how. Danny and Lindsay have a terrible track record when it comes to communication, and it clearly hasn't gotten any better. I doubt they've played the "What would you do if...?" game while canoodling on his couch or toilet or anywhere else. Lindsay is a terrible judge of either circumstance or moral character, and she's hardly above reproach on that score herself. We only have Danny's word for it that Lindsay suspects anything with regard to Rikki, and Danny, bless him, is the show's Chicken Little, always suspecting the worst. For all we know, Lindsay suspects nothing about what happened between him and Rikki and is simply lashing out from the impregnable fortress of perpetual butthurt in which she so often and so merrily resides.
And maybe she was still in the process of trying to decide whether she was going to continue with the pregnancy or not and figured it was best not to tell him until after she'd made the decision.