Synopsis: A man with angel wings crashes through the stained glass window roof of a church. Dr. Sid Hammerback IDs him as eighteen-year-old Toby Finch, and notes that he died before he hit the ground--his spine was severed in two places. Mac discovers that the cord attached to the harness Toby is wearing was severed, suggesting foul play. Lindsay is able to retrieve video from a camera Toby was wearing, showing him jumping off a roof, and also featuring images of a woman named Jessica whose face is badly burned. Lindsay finds a website, Internetdaredevil.com, which features video of Jessica performing the stunt that injured her and concludes Toby was competing to be featured on the website. Using physics and deductive reasoning, the CSIs are able to pinpoint the roof Toby launched himself off. Flack tracks down the TJ Lindmark, who put video of Toby on the site, but Toby swears he didn't cut the rope. When Lindsay recovers more video of Toby, it reveals that it was Toby himself who cut the rope, thinking he would soar over New York City. Stella is shocked when Scotty Valens, a cold case detective from Philadelphia shows up claiming that her DNA turned up on bloody clothes found buried near the Philadelphia turnpike ten years prior. The clothes have blood on them from two women and a man. Valens reluctantly agrees to let Stella help him in the case, and she and Danny trace the clothes to a photographer named Erin Yates. They recover undeveloped film from her camera, and while processing the pictures come across one of Stella from her police academy graduation. Stella is baffled, and clashes with Valens, who thinks she's hiding something. Danny retrieves an address from the photos and along with Valens goes to the house of Marilyn Bennett. She tells the men that her husband, Garth, has been missing for ten years. She doesn't recognize Erin, but Erin bears a striking resemblance to a photo of one of her foster daughters, Mindy Sanchez. Marilyn also knows Stella--she was one of her foster daughters as well. Stella recognizes Mindy and recalls a locket Mindy had with both their blood in it. The two were blood sisters. Valens brings Stella a peace offering: the physical evidence from Philadelphia. After seeing a reel burn on one of the items of clothing, Stella and Valens go to the movie theater where Garth Bennett worked as a projecturist. Stella finds washed away arterial blood spray in the projection room, as well as a bloody handprint with a stunted pinky--much like the one Marilyn Bennett has. Danny interrogates the woman, but she insists she's innocent. The blood splatter is revealed to be from a male, but there's no DNA from Marilyn Bennett on the buried clothes. Valens turns the case over to Stella and departs, and she locates Mindy, now going by the name Veronica Page. Stella confronts Mindy: she killed Garth Bennett, who was sexually abusing her. Rather than arresting Mindy, Stella tells her she'll return tomorrow with her badge, giving Mindy the opportunity to flee. <HR ALIGN="CENTER" SIZE="1" WIDTH="45\%" COLOR="#007BB5"> To read the full reviews, please click here.<center></center>
Thanks for the review - it was certainly in depth. And while I think you are correct in pointing out that Mac is not "perfect" in the last couple of episodes I believe you left out a key part of the story in his conflict with the brass. HE WAS CLEARED BY THE D.A. - he said this repeatedly in the episode - there already was an investigation, he was cleared, and it should be over. And if you watch the media scrum with the brass again you will notice that they defend Mac (a very decorated detective with a passion for justice) until a reporter points out that this is the third death at the hands of the NYPD in the last 3 months (or whatever it was) and that is when they begin to go after Mac... and I believe he absolutely correct in thinking it is a witch hunt. And Mac's apparent hypocricy regarding Truby? All the evidence pointed to Truby - he was brought to justice by Mac based on evidence. Mac said that the D.A. FOUND NO EVIDENCE that he caused Dobson to fall from the roof -and therefore the brass is going after Mac based on no direct evidence of any wrong doing. Mac is right again - but as you point out he will be haunted by that father - this story is not over for sure. Thanks for your time
^That is true--he was cleared by the DA and on that level he had a right to be upset that the department was investigating him. Though, it does make sense that they would do so, if just to cover their asses from a lawsuit as well. And despite the fact that the DA found no evidence of wrong-doing, they probably have their own standards and rules and want to make sure Mac followed those. Believe me, I sympathize with Mac, but I do think he left himself open to this by holstering his gun, and I think that's why he's so defensive. If he'd conducted himself strictly by the rules, I don't think an investigation would do anything more than irritate him.
I don't think that Mac was so much cleared by the DA as that they hadn't enough evidence to charge him. I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only one thinking that Mac was behaving like a total tool this ep!
That's what I was thinking, too...ironically, the same thing that happened to Danny in "On the Job." Definitely not...he was certainly irrational. I liked it, even if it didn't make him very sympathetic. I think you have to be able to take risks with the characters and make them less than perfect at times--it makes them come across as more human.