"Cello and Goodbye" discussion **Spoilers**

[PraetorCorvinus]

I don't know, I kind of felt like Ray's comment of "you can be part of the problem, or part of the solution" was kind of intimidating and if I didn't understand his plight (with Gloria being missing at the hands of a serial killer), I would think his saying this was bordering on threatening/bullying (not saying I think this, just saying IF circumstances were less dire and someone said that, this what I would think). I know he was desperate and worried and all (so I can't blame him too much), but I just wish the writers hadn't written that scene like that. I wish they'd written like this, "Come on guys, Gloria is still alive, but if we don't find her soon, Haskell will kill her. Would you please help me?" It would have been a lot nicer (and shown respect for his co-workers) and not as annoying how they all just accepted what Ray was doing with little argument.

You know, that was the scene I was really expecting Greg to say "Hey! I have seniority over you! Shut up and get out before I get you escorted out!" Or something. But no, he just went along with it. I was like: "Greg! Buddy! You need to kick ass and take names! Make them your bitch!!"

*sigh*

 

[GregNickRyanFan]

That's the writers' fault. They want to have Ray seem in charge all of the time. The only one that gets to exert power over him seems to be Catherine and that's probably only because Marg gets paid more LOL. I kind of feel like the writers dropped the ball in that scene to be honest. I mean, they had a great opportunity to create some drama amongst the team members and they diverted it instead. :shrugs:

 

[hiphugger17]

PraetorCorvinus
You know, that was the scene I was really expecting Greg to say "Hey! I have seniority over you! Shut up and get out before I get you escorted out!" Or something.

Me too. I actually thought this was what Greg would do. He does have seniority and it just baffles me that they have all been there longer than Ray and they still did whatever he told them to do!

 

[GregNickRyanFan]

Me too. I actually thought this was what Greg would do. He does have seniority and it just baffles me that they have all been there longer than Ray and they still did whatever he told them to do!

Yeah, its annoying that the writers keep writing Ray like he has the seniority over everyone except Catherine (and occasionally Nick). I'm sure they are aware that there are some viewers who are not fond of Ray and by writing scenes like this, they are not going to endear those viewers to the character. In that respect, they are kind of doing his character a disservice IMO.

 

[Ladybronco]

Well, I was thinking that as far as the 250th episode goes, at least it featured the whole team, as opposed to just Ray, in spite of it being a Rascal storyline.

At first I was thinking Catherine should have never taken Ray with her, but now I'm a little ambivalent on the subject. Yes, Cath called Ray the moment the new body was found, but that wasn't too unusual at the time, since there no reason to assume the body was connected to them personally. To be fair, she did send him home once he went "bull in the china shop" as Sosa put it, or so she thought.

I kind of feel like the writers dropped the ball in that scene to be honest. I mean, they had a great opportunity to create some drama amongst the team members and they diverted it instead. :shrugs:

Yes, I also thought the conflict would be between the team themselves, but now maybe TPTB are just setting them all up for being in trouble with Ecklie, or the Sheriff or whoever has the power to punish them all.

I just hope they don't use this as a ploy for Catherine leaving. I want her to leave of her own choice, just like Grissom. This might not bode well for Nick either, in terms of a possible Supervisory post when Cath does leave.

 

[kaylyne]

I don't know, I kind of felt like Ray's comment of "you can be part of the problem, or part of the solution" could be seen as kind of intimidating and if I didn't understand his plight (with Gloria being missing at the hands of a serial killer), it would be bordering on threatening/bullying (not saying I think this, just saying IF circumstances were less dire and someone said that). I know he was desperate and worried and all (so I can't blame him too much), but I just wish the writers hadn't written that scene like that. I wish they'd written like this, "Come on guys, Gloria is still alive, but if we don't find her soon, Haskell will kill her. Would you please help me?" It would have been a lot nicer (and shown respect for his co-workers) and not as annoying how they all just accepted what Ray was doing with little argument.

I just can't understand why they wrote it this way. Why they felt the need to have all the characters cave in like that is beyond me. They should have had him go off on his own completely instead of pulling everyone else in like they had him do.

Personally, I would have been just fine with having Ray back in the lab and trying to keep the investigation on the right track here - as long as he would have let both Greg & Hodges do all of the stuff while he stayed "hands off", AND as long as Greg called Catherine to inform her of what they're doing and letting her make the call on who to do what, where & how. But of course, this is "no regard for authority" Ray that we're talking about, so I guess it stays true to the incredibly unreliable character they've turned him into.

Do y'all realize that this entire Ray storyline that we've had to endure through all of this time is the EXACT same thing we went through with Mike Keppler, only his was condensed into four intriguing episodes. He came in as a quiet, gentle guy who did a lot of observing. Then he walked the fine line and eventually crossed it and went rogue. The only difference, we've had to endure watching this with Ray for 2.5 seasons. I think that's the reason most everyone has had enough of the same old thing for so long.

 

[GregNickRyanFan]

Yeah, there are similarities to Keppler. Only thing is, Keppler was manipulated by his gf's father and ended up killing a guy who was innocent of the crime he was framed of by Keppler's gf's father. Speaking of Keppler's almost father-in-law, isn't the actor the same one who now plays Tom Selleck's dad on Blue Bloods?

 

[kaylyne]

Yeah, there are similarities to Keppler. Only thing is, Keppler was manipulated by his gf's father and ended up killing a guy who was innocent of the crime he was framed of by Keppler's gf's father. Speaking of Keppler's almost father-in-law, isn't the actor the same one who now plays Tom Selleck's dad on Blue Bloods?

just like Ray was manipulated by Haskell, and ended up killing a non-quite-so-innocent woman (yes, I know Tina wasn't technically killed by Ray, but his kidnapping her & roughing her up made it easy for Haskell to finish) and Ray's involvement in this has also resulted in his ex-wife's new hubby to be killed as well.

 

[byline]

Yes the farmer was Haskell's dad

And this explains why Nate faked his plastic surgery. He probably didn't want to go through a full-blown surgery, just pretend to have one so that when he moved into the farmhouse across the road from his father, he could hide behind a swath of bandages so that his father wouldn't recognize him.

It's a bit of a reach, but watching the episode a second time, that's my take on it.

I was sad they didn't give more Morgan backstory...I hope they do next season. I wanna know what's with her and Ecklie.

If she is indeed to join the team next season, I suspect we'll hear all about it then.

 

[Rizzoli]

Yeah, there are similarities to Keppler. Only thing is, Keppler was manipulated by his gf's father and ended up killing a guy who was innocent of the crime he was framed of by Keppler's gf's father. Speaking of Keppler's almost father-in-law, isn't the actor the same one who now plays Tom Selleck's dad on Blue Bloods?

He sure is, Len Cariou played Keppler's "manipulator" on CSI, and he plays Henry Reagan on "Blue Bloods"

the main difference between why people liked the Keppler arc, and hate the Langston arc is that Keppler had a really short, exciting run, and until the end of his last episode he informed Catherine & Brass of everything he was doing (such as the staged crime scene), we've had 2 years of Vigilante Ray.

Watching Keppler was like watching sand-blasting, while watching Ray is like watching paint dry.

 

[MacsGirlMel]

I'm not going to cry, frankly, if he is fired. Ecklie once said Sara was a loose cannon (I think in Nesting Dolls) but now it's Ray who's a loose cannon with a gun. And something's gotta give eventually.

 

[byline]

Yeah, there are similarities to Keppler. Only thing is, Keppler was manipulated by his gf's father and ended up killing a guy who was innocent of the crime he was framed of by Keppler's gf's father. Speaking of Keppler's almost father-in-law, isn't the actor the same one who now plays Tom Selleck's dad on Blue Bloods?

He sure is, Len Cariou played Keppler's "manipulator" on CSI, and he plays Henry Reagan on "Blue Bloods"

I also remember this actor from a role he had in the "Aftershock" episode of Law & Order. He played a law professor Claire visited after witnessing a state execution; she was torn about whether to continue with the law and debated it with him. His closing line to her before she left indicated he was either her father or stepfather, but (like many things in Law & Order) it was left ambiguous. Memorable episode, and he was part of it.

 

[Ladybronco]

Yes the farmer was Haskell's dad

And this explains why Nate faked his plastic surgery. He probably didn't want to go through a full-blown surgery, just pretend to have one so that when he moved into the farmhouse across the road from his father, he could hide behind a swath of bandages so that his father wouldn't recognize him.

It's a bit of a reach, but watching the episode a second time, that's my take on it.

That was the conclusion I eventually came to also. I'm also thinking his dad hadn't seen him in many years because Nick and Greg did show him that one picture of Nate, and Thorpe pointed them to the old farmhouse. If he did recognize his son, I was wondering why he mentioned seeing him at all if he had wanted to protect him. I'm going to assume he hadn't see Nate since he was a very young boy or something. Like you said, a bit of a stretch, but it does bring the storyline back to Vegas and the farm.

The thing I'm wondering about is the prior relationship of Tina and Nate, because didn't Thorpe indicate a family relationship to Tina when Nick & Greg questioned him and showed him her picture? I guess I need to re-watch that part, but I came away with the assumption that Thorpe and Tina were related, and that's why Nate chose the farmhouse.

 

[Ipstenu]

See and I thought that dear old dad was covering for him...

(Ray had to buy and gun and laptop because he was put on leave and escorted to the airport, so he has to leave his gun OR because he didn't want it traced back to him. Of course, I want to know why he was stupid enough to keep his cell phone...)

 

[Sookie]

Who played Detective Sosa?