9x16 - 'Hunting Ground' - **CONTAINS SPOILERS**

I am by no means a huge fan of Adam's, but I have found a new respect for him. I have to say that this ep was so many kinds of awesome, I can't even count 'em. :thumbsup: It was a great story and he did a fantastic job with it. I would even say that I think it is the best ep by far this season.

I love, love, LOVE the dialogue between Frank and the orchid "hunter." That was classic Frank at his finest and I was so happy to see him return. Does anyone else remember the orchid guy from Season 1's "Dead Woman Walking?" (One of my favorite eps EVER).

Also a perfect example of the great banter and working relationship Ryan and Natalia have together. "Needle" and "Haystack" had me ROTFLMAO. I love the way those two interact with each other, especially in the lab, we need to see more of that. ;)

I love Walter. I just do. I can't find ANYTHING wrong with him. He is the man and I bow in admiration of him. ;)

Yay Travers!!!!!!!! (Seriously, boot Molly Sloan, Travers is SOOOOO much cooler. Give him all of her screentime. We don't need her.)

I know some people don't like badass Ryan, but I quite like him. I'm sorry, I've been subjected to too many seasons of reckless Ryan, Ryan the scapegoat or Ryan the dumb (S8). I like to see him with chops and flexing it a little. :drool: And, no offense, if anyone deserved a little "force" it was the a-holes hunting defenseless men.

That being said, by far, my favorite part was at the end with H and Wesley (otherwise known as that one guy from "Major League"). I had absolutely NO problem whatsoever with H messing with that d-bag's mind. Anyone that sadistic and evil has a little retribution coming at them, IMO. I think it is win when DC takes Horatio to that level. Sometimes, it gets kinda old seeing him calm and collected all the time (I swear to God I thought he was asleep most of the time in S7 and S8). I like it when he yells and gets worked up. I don't care if he is in his 50's. He's still hot. :cool:

All in all, I hope Adam takes another shot at this writing and directing thing. The man has got some mad skills.

A+ (Best S9 ep yet.)
 
The exchange about the Orchids was so freaking hilarious. As was needle/haystack.

I think Adam did an excellent job. I was seriously a little nervous at first when I heard he was penning an episode, but he did a great job. I think this was one of my favorite episodes of the season.
 
Great job Adam!!! I loved this episode! He really knows the characters well enough to write them great and he did.

I loved Frank and the Orchid guy so much! I was laughing soooo hard. I love Frank so much and I'm so glad he got a good amount of time this epi.

And Needle and Haystack??? Freakin hilarious! I love Ryan and Natalia's playful banter, they are so great together.

I certainly hope Adam gets to write/direct again soon!!!
 
Seriously, Adam did such a great job that I hope the staff writers take note. This was the classic Miami that we've been missing. The increase in ratings was also an indicator of how much Adam is respected by fans. I am very happy!
 
Well bravo Adam, what an excellent episode!

I really enjoyed some of the nostalgic footage of alligators and the water... made it really seem like a Miami story again. Thought Natalia and Ryan were great and the victims were made to be fully rounded - which is nice to see! When I saw how Horatio said.. I'm sorry, I was like - man, this is the Horatio I like! Then he started the hot fork nonsence and I was reminded oh how much I currently dislike him. Such a shame. I really do hope that this streak is going somewhere, that there actually is some method behind this apparent turning to the dark side stuff... I even convinced myself that H had told the rest of the gang his plan, so they would all get behind him and seem rouge too... I hope so..

The ending with the shotgun. Let me just say this. I loved seeing H with a shotgun, and his acting in this scene was probably the best I have seen this season. His delivery of the lines, his posture, his shouting were all excellent. Then I'm sitting here watching the way it was filmed.. so I go back... and I think to myself, was the view from the window just a different way of getting the message across? or was there some motive behind it. To me it seemed like someone was watching, because the movement seemed almost like someone was peaking out... Now I know that I'm reaching for some answers for Horatio's behaviour, and I'm sure that why I seeing stuff like that, but did it occur to anyone else that someone may have been watching him?

Anyway, 10/10 for this episode!
 
I thought so, too. But I had figured it had to do with the other officers waiting for H's signal. If someone were watching him, I'd have to wonder what they were doing in that jerks place surveiling him.
 
This was definitely my favorite episode of the season and I thought Adam did an absolutely superb job writing and directing. The storyline was extremely interesting (although a bit creepy) and there were so many nice scenes. That guy going on about how rare that orchid species was and Tripp looking incredulous, the leech up Ryan's leg (I don't think its good to pull them off like that though cos they may leave behind toxins. They do fall off if you add a bit of salt), Calleigh explaining how the bow works, Natalia on the tree, Natalia pulling the plug on the computer and Natalia getting the DNA off the leech to nail the bad guy. Loved the way she explained that part. I also liked the fact that there were many scenes in the everglades after a long time.
 
Kudos to Adam for a pretty good, although pretty disturbing episode!! There was plenty of everyone (thought it was pretty classy of Adam to put the focus on the other characters) and he kept everyone consistantly in character and frankly did a better job than the regular writers have been doing (hope they were taking notes)


Random Thoughts:

--I cracked up at the look on Frank's face when he was told the guy was hunting orchids ("Orchids?!!!"). Glad Frank's role was increased:thumbsup:

--I loved Ryan and Natalia's scenes "Needle to Haystack" made me laugh out loud. And mentioning Ryan's previous run ins with bears and gators was pleasant surprise and good continuation.:thumbsup:. Him finding the leach on his leg made me cringe. These two work well together and play off each other very well.

--Loved Ryan in the green tshirt.

--I love the bada$%^s Natalia. Kicking over the hunter near the end, unplugging that slimeball's computer had me cheering!!

--Didn't really surprise me that Walter spoke French after I remembered he said he was from LA.

--I was a little surprised we didn't see more of Calleigh but I am sure we will in the upcoming episodes.:)

--Wasn't crazy about the scene with Horatio and the heated fork. I am still uncomfortable when he seemingly takes extreme measures in an interrogation and especially when one of the CSIs (aka Ryan this time) is there. I wasn't that bothered when H was using the gun to scare the guilty guy at the end (since he was pretty much sending out humans to be hunted, he kind of deserved it). I also thought the use of the GPS to track the vehicle was pretty clever.

--I really felt the joy when the two brothers united and the one brother's joy just to be alive.

--Was so happy to see Travers. I would frankly rather see him than Molly.

Again, good job Adam:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
When Ryan and Natalia did the silly codeword nicknames over the walkie talkies, did it remind anyone else of Xander and Cordy doing that on BTVS right when Buffy got back from LA in "Dead Man's Party"? I thought of that instantly.
 
I really liked the episode!! That was one of very few I've seen this season and given of what was said in Adam's interviews I'm not likely to watch more this season.
Minor complains:
- when some of you mentioned that you are glad to see Calleigh in more than one scene, I didn't think it will be that literally ;)
-I really dislike shaking camera! My eyes hurt, that really doesn't add anything to the show and it seems to be the tendency in every show I watch this day. Not original&not cool.
-split screens, thankfully not too often
-the wardrobe department needs fresh blood. It's so boring the way they are dressed. Natalia in yellow blouse, Cal in black, H. in, seems, to me, to be still in the same shirt and the suit. Only Ryan seems to change his T-shirts.
Now the good:
-the story was interesting. Good that it was about normal people for a change.
-a lot more science, even though it wouln't be Miami if there wasn't chasings, shootings etc
-lots of guys flirting with Nat! Good for her!
-Oh, Travers cut his hair, looks...weird. I'll get used to it ;) Still very handsome.
-I had tears in my eyes when H. told Maria about her husband, that's a very sad scene at the end, when everyone is happy to see their relatives, but poor Maria and her daughter had lost their loved one
-I loved the orchids guy and Frank's face whilst investigating him :)
Very well done, Adam!!!
 
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Well done to Adam! I really enjoyed this episode. I liked that Frank got a little more screen time than usual. The story was interesting, and the interactions between the characters was spot on. And the subtitles were so much better than those terrible ones they used to use, particularly around season 4, I hated those!
 
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