"Law of Gravity" Discussion **Spoilers**

Oh man... like, two minutes in, and I'm all "HOLY !!!!"

Two more minutes... "HOLY !!!!"

A few minutes more... "HOLY !!!!"

I think I holy !!!!!ed about twenty-five times this episode.

I was watching with my fist in my mouth and my arms clasped around my stomach... that's how intensely I was into it. I seriously think this was one of the best episodes that CSI has ever done.

And, while on that subject, kudos to TPTB for coming up with such a unique and engrossing way of handling Grissom's sabbatical. Finding out that your star hitter wants to take four episodes off to go dramatize himself clear across the country while you're in a ratings battle with TV's newest plaything must be a nasty shock for any showrunner and her posse, but I have to say, CM and Co. came through with flying colours. I don't think anyone who watched this episode last night could have possibly regretted not turning over to something else.

I thought the plot was tight - someone above called it a Shakespearian tragedy for a renowned Shakespearian actor, and I think that's a beautiful description. I could follow everything that was happening, and was pleased that it all hung together at the end. I especially liked the detail that Keppler called Catherine from the pimp's phone... in light of the last scene, obviously Keppler thought it possible that he wasn't going to survive the showdown with Frank, and it was a very subtle way of letting us know that without hitting us over the head with an anvil. It must have been an interesting challenge to write this episode; it was so different from the usual CSI episode, and it's not easy to do something different and keep all the elements that make your show special intact into the bargain. (Case in point: GA's "huge" ferry episode last night; throwing in the usual Grey's shenanigans felt incredibly off with the superserious storyline.) But even though this was a very personal episode built around a guest character, it ran seamlessly together with the threads of murder investigation and MCSK hints and GSR reunion, and wove a beautiful tapestry.

Knowing that our CSIs just had to pick up on Keppler as a suspect sooner or later, together with watching Keppler struggle with what to do, was incredibly tense - you wanted them to find out, and yet you didn't. Watching Grissom halfheartedly toy with opening his mail... AND THAT PARCEL!!!... only to get easily distracted by something else was enough to make me scream in delicious frustration. And finally, I thought the GSR scene was flawless - it could have seemed really out of place with all the angst and sadness in the episode, but instead it just kind of gave it a lift. In particular, the shot of her backing away with a grin because she smelled like gunk, and him pressing forward with a grin because he couldn't have given two shakes that she smelled like gunk, was just a fabulous bit of camera work. For once a GSR scene got to be joyous, and it was a lovely feeling. Heh - how ironic: the GSR scene being one of the happy pieces of an otherwise depressing episode!

Another edit I really liked: in the teaser, when Keppler leaves Frank in the diner and fills the camera as he walks past; then as he walks away we've moved to the crime scene. It was a brilliant transition shot, I thought.

Liev Schreiber, I bow in homage. You brought it big-time, man. Granted, you had a stellar cast and crew to work with, and that makes a big difference... but you made me grieve for you after four short episodes. You're awesome. God, I wish you could come back. And I've never heard of the actor that played Frank, but when a guy can give Ned Beatty as the Grandfatherly Serial Killer a run for his money in sheer creepiness, you know he ain't no amateur. Loved Frank's off-hand reference to that bartender being "catnip." It wasn't hearing the hooker mention "Amy" that tipped Keppler off; it was Frank's use of that word that reminded Keppler of his own insight way back in "Sweet Jane," when he put himself in the mind of the killer and said the dead girl was like catnip to him. And then Frank goes and says that exact same word meant in that exact same sense. That was the moment the lightbulb went off for Keppler, when he started to suspect that Frank had something to do with not only this murder but Amy's as well. Hearing the hooker talk about Amy merely showed him just how Frank had something to do with it.

"You must be Spanky!" Hark, I hear the sound of a thousand fanfics launched!

George Eads was on fire this episode... he got some damned funny lines, and he just went full-tilt with them. AssMan!Nick had me completely cracking up - which was a nice change from having my arms clasped around my stomach. (BTW, Ass Man should totally be his new blog name.) BabyDaddy!Nick, though? Ten different kinds of hot.

Getting Gary Dourdan front and center for two episodes in a row is a rare treat, and those comments about his gambling were certainly food for thought. I'd forgotten how nice it is to see a substantial amount of Warrick in an episode again. In more ways than one... could that shirt be unbuttoned any lower?! C'mon, CSI, just go all the way and have him go topless for an episode. Catherine showed off her breasts! Sauce for the goose, Mr. Saavik! Even the odds!

And I, for one, would like to see Eric Szmanda for more than one minute on my television screen. I wouldn't have said that before "Fannysmacking", but the truth is, you've got another fine actor there. Let him have more chances to show it.

And while we didn't see much of Sara this time round, I thought what we did see was fine. I liked how she told Catherine she was heading back to the lab, how those were her words but the tone in Jorja Fox's voice was all "Are you okay? Are you really going to be okay? Because I'm here if you need anything...." The friendly bond developing between Catherine and Sara over the past two seasons has been delightful to see. And man, but Jorja looked beautiful in the GSR scene, dirt or no dirt; she was practically glowing - as was William Petersen. Hee - sorry, but their vibes really worked in that scene; I'm still completely tickled by it. As for MountainMan!Grissom... he certainly looked akin to every male middle-aged non-business prof I ever took a class from in university. So points for veracity there.

I assume that because Ecklie was name-dropped twice in this episode that he hasn't renouced his former life and gone off to live in a Tibetian monastery. So what is the deal? Has Marc Vann suddenly doubled his asking price? Are he and William Petersen having a Grey's-style feud?! Put Ecklie in a freaking episode already!!! I am missing that magnificient bald pate!!!

I know that we've had some complaints about Catherine in the past, but you know, thinking about it... if TPTB hadn't characterized her the way she is: a Vegas girl, used to the idea of sex as commodity, casually comfortable with her own sexuality and not afraid to use it when it suits her, brash, bold, occasionally uncouth... I'm not sure that her grief over Keppler would have worked for me as well as it did. I think Catherine might have latched onto him as a non-Vegas man. Just about everyone she knows, even Gil and Nick, are a little jaded from working in this town - Keppler wasn't. He did things differently. And I think he intrigued her for that reason. I don't know if there was a romantic angle to it or not; I think you could argue it either way from what we were shown... but at any rate, I think the key to it was what she said to Keppler in the locker room (when he was rocking that FINE, FINE tank and helloooooo, Liev!) that even though most new people found it hard to gell with the night shift - a common thing among long-established teams in the workplace, BTW - he just seemed to fit in right from the beginning. The team, from her perspective, let him in. And now he's brutally, shockingly gone. Then add to all this the idea that it reminded Catherine of her father's recent death.... I thought Catherine looked incredibly young and soft in all of her scenes with Keppler this episode and especially vulnerable in the final ones... Marg Helgenburger sold those tears.

Speaking of which, isn't it sweet to know that Grissom, who couldn't even bring himself to go offer his condolences with the rest of the team when Eddie died, was able to put his arm around a grieving Catherine so naturally and so readily and gently guide her away from the paramedics? Our Bugman is growing up, y'all. And that doesn't bother me in the least providing his essence stays intact; as long as he remains eerily overinterested in every sexual fetish he comes across and considers his bugs as second only to Sara in terms of evolutionary superiority, TPTB can flesh out Gil's character all they want.

Oh - and as long as he and Cath continue their weird, offbeat, yin/yang camaraderie. I have to say, one aspect of CSI this show has done right by is Grissom and Catherine. I still remember the taste of disappointment in my mouth the night Frasier slept with Roz Doyle... yeah, sure, they both pretty much forgot about it after that and remained friends, but hang it all - that was one of the few attractive male/attractive female relationships on television that was built on the basis of pure platonic friendship, and then TPTB of Frasier had to go "screw" it up, if you get my meaning, and I think you do. I'm so glad that CSI has loyally kept straight and true to the dynamic between Gil and Cath; I think their relationship is one of the more unique ones on television today, and deserves to be.

I'd say something about how this is the best friggin' season of CSI ever, but you're probably all bored of that by now.

Now... what the hell could be in that cocoon?!!

 

Wow...that was one hell of a post! But well said!

allmaple I think the deal with Cath is that she's not a cop...therefore, even though she's been trained to handle stressful situations, they are less the norm for her than the actual LVPD. We are trained to be on alert and, well, mistrustful AT.ALL.TIMES. period, end of story...even when on meal breaks, bathroom, whatever. That's what makes it hard for people to be around me at times...even on my days off I can't help but watch, listen, observe, be on alert. If there was one thing I learned from 9/11 it was you can can never be fully prepared, but expect the unexpected. So, that said...yes, it was stupid of her to just jump in the room!

Even when the you-know-what hits the fan, training above all else kicks in, and you really have no room for emotions until later...when it suddenly hits you how close you were and you break down shaking and crying on some poor, unsuspecting spouses shoulder! *cough*

Her first thought was Keppler, my first thought(s) would have been: Count the number of gun shots fired, where's/who is the perp, how many doors/windows, what's the layout of the room, how many people inside, who's armed, where's my backup...and more, all at once!

 

I enjoyed last night's episode. I was confused a bit in the beginning but the way things unfolded was brilliant. Just when I was warming up to Keppler -- and it seemed like everyone in the lab was also -- he's gone. THe ending sure was a shock! I haven't been so moved by an episode since GUM DROPS.

Didn't realize how much I've Grissom until last night. I liked that look he gave Warrick when Warrick asked him about reverse forensics. And wasn't it nice to have Warrick involved in a case?! YAY!! Nick is adorable... when he held that baby could he get anymore adorable??!!!

Grissom showed a bit of excitement when he ran into Sara. I thought the way they were "chasing" each other was really cute. This time it's nice to see Grissom doing the "chasing".

An excellent episode. I give it a thumbs up.

 

Maybe Sara bought a whip. :lol:

 

Look's like we're in the minority of fans who feel this way, I agree with most of your points.. glad he's gone, he so took away from our guys, and another point? why did Cath cry? she only knew this guy for like 4 week's she didn't even cry when Nick was buried alive and I saw only her flirting" with him, could never read him at all, so expresstionless, but she does that with every guy she meets !!it was just phony, and cheesy!! the crying and another funny scene, I forgot to mention was in the beginning Hodges kissing up to Grissom, he read his disertation "online" and Grissom, Oh, your Spanky", and turns and walks away as always, Hodges so doesn't get it, Grissom can barly tolerate him, and he still tires to impress him, and usually never does :lol:

 

I thought this episode redeemed the string of non-Grissom, terrible plot episodes we just had.
I wish Keppler didn't die though, but I love how he was portrayed as the 'good guy' at the end.
And Grissom's beard needs to go.

 

thanks for the info McStokes! i do think the most important thing is catherine is not a cop, she has not had the training they have.
i for one thoroughly enjoyed the episodes with keppler. its not about the writers not having enough faith in the main cast to leave them be while grissom was away, it was just something new and interesting. what would the episodes without grissom have been like without liev? same old same old, case happes and it gets solved. some personal interaction, a little twist. but with keppler we had big character stories (whether they will be continued or not is up in the air) dark and twisted events, mutiny, lies betrayal etc. it was new, it was fresh, it was fun. when a shows been on for 7 years even with the most inventive writers storylines can get dull and overused. bringing in new blood, even if only for a little while, was a good way to freshen things up.
like someone said a few pages back (cant remember who, myfuturecsi maybe?) keppler is the most three dimensional character the show has had in a while. even the regulars have fallen flat recently, bringing in keppler stirred up the stagnant water and hopefully there will be some long lasting effects with what went on.
plus lievs acting was phenonmenal, my exposure to him has been limited to the scream movies and kate and leopold so learning his acting abilities were so wonderful was a nice surprise.
but dont get me wrong, keppler was a guest star role. he needed to come in, change things up a bit, and leave. mission accomplished.

 

You're welcome Maple!

I liked Liev, just don't think I could handle him permanently...I just wanted the guy to show a face shattering EMOTION! Break an actual smile! Come on!! But he's like that in every role he plays, no?

 

Let me start out by saying this is definitely my favorite episode, and I think it is the best CSI episode ever produced. I mean lots of CSI episodes have involving plots, but this one had major emotional punch. It hit me hard, real hard. Normally I do not get that involved in the emotional part of television shows and the character's emotions, but this one sucked me in. The only other time I was so emotionally invested was when in Lost Sawyer told Jack that he had met his dad and his dad had forgiven him. I felt the torture Keppler was through, and genuinely felt bad thinking about his situations, especially thinking back to the part where he was crying at the beginning. Liev Schreiber is an excellent actor and I loved the use of flashbacks, and him calling Catherine was some of the best acting I have seen on television.

 

Well... I was not overly pleased, but I'm glad he's gone.

I personally didn't like the fact that this dude comes in and gets this crazy storyline, takes up like.. tons of screentime and just.. ugh. Hes a great actor though and an interesting character but.. gah.

HOLY CRAP! I am really getting sick of not seeing Greg! What's going on here? I mean, are they seriously not writing like anything for him, or maybe Eric has been busy or something, but this is killer! I miss seeing him, and I know that he got two really good episodes, but personally don't think thats any reason to keep him out of the show for like any episode he doesn't star in... Sorry.. its just upsetting for a dedicated Greg fan.

I just hope they start putting him in the episodes a little more. I mean, Archie was on screen a lot more than him.. but I must say I was very happy to see Archie, so that wasn't horrible, but still.. I don't know.

Catherine annoyed me in this one, sorry people, she just did. I mean, I really need to stop staying up to watch these things and just watch them the next day, becase they have not really been worth it.

 

I'm just making an observation here, but whenever Greg or Warrick get very little screen time, I always see comments. What about Sofia? Or Jim? Hell, it doesn't happen often but occasionally Grissom and Cath are left with a mere five minutes in an entire episode. If I'm not mistaken, Season 6 saw an episode with just Grissom and Greg primarily working the case. Spellbound, right?

It's a huge cast coupled with a huge recurring cast. Give the writers a break. They have a lot of people to fit in, whilst giving the assumed highest paid actors (Billy and Marg) their required quota for the season. Anyway, just an observation and/or possible reasons behind why. Eric, Gary and the others will get their episodes, just like they have in the past. I'm off topic, so I'll stop.

I also have to disagree with Grissom OOC-ness with his scene with Sara. It's the first GSR moment I've seen in a while where I haven't cringed. Honestly, he seemed to revert back to Grissom of Season 1 in that scene. More playful, perhaps. Light and not afraid to actually be happy. Those qualities were why I loved Grissom in the beginning. I mean, I know you all haven't forgotten the "Tape me up." "I love my job." scene. He seemed more human then. Over time, he's become a very robotic, "must solve the cases and one-up the killers while I do so" kind of guy. I'm not for GSR, but if he's going to smile more and be more human, then I won't outright reject it completely.

 

Oh, I never missed it. i just thought that Keppler may have put too much into it - after all, Frank's daughter died, and he may just miss he so much, he's messed up as well; or, he was being "Kinky".

Not that I'm discounting it. It's a very good clue - just don't enough to indict Frank with raping his daughter.

 

MissDee your posts are always amazing and I 100% agree with you!

Why oh why did they have to kill Keppler though! In my opinion they should have kicked Sophia off and let him stay. NO OFFENSE TO SOPHIA LOVERS!

Grissom's beard is... Interesting. A little furry and scary, but interesting.


This season has been.. UBER GOOOOD!

 

Very true,,,, however, there has been a 5 year lapse between seasons 1 and 7 where he seemed to be more disapproving, not supportive. He’s not the touchy/feely type, last we saw of that was in the hospital prior to his surgery and that was initiated by Cath. It just seemed so out of place for him to literally (and figuratively) reach out to someone like that. I admit to being a bit of a G/C fan so fuzzy moments like that make me happy!!

 

Yeah I was happy that after all these years and the craps both of them have been through, Grissom was still there for Catherine. The friendship of these two is one of the best things CSI has since the start and I personally think TPTB were stupid to change it to the way it has been lately. Bah.