Claire: Dead or Alive? will we ever know for sure??

[Wolverine_Eagle]

I agree with thinking that she should be dead... not to be morbid or anything. I mean sure... we'll never truly know, but best to assume she is dead.just my opinion though.

 

[BauerAlmeida]

I think if they choose to bring her back to life, it would be such a horrible decision and certainly there will be backlash from families who lost loved ones in 9/11.....

But most of all, I seriously doubt Gary Sinise would allow for such a decision to be even made. Gary has always seem like a man who is in touch with the world around him, very patriotic, and very sensitive to the feelings of soldiers, their families, and very respectful to those who have suffered losses in tragedies. I really would not believe that Gary would ever let such a plan even get off the ground much less let it play out on TV. That would be the biggest insult and Gary would never let it happen. He is much too sensitive and respectful to let that kind of a cheap shot be played out.

It would be not only an insult to the families of victims, to the character of Mac Taylor, and even to Gary's own integrity.

 

[talkingtocactus]

^ exactly, i totally agree.

 

[MacsLady]

I think she is dead. I really like how they've handled the whole 9/11 backstory for Mac, I think they've done it in a respectful way. I like how this show isn't afraid to take on the difficult issues - rape (Commuted Sentences, Help), the Holocaust and racism (Yahrzeit) euthanasia (Mrs Azrael) vigiliantism (Commuted Sentences) etc. It makes for interesting as well as enjoyable viewing, even if you don't agree with whatever viewpoint the characters/writers take on a certain issue. And 9/11 is still a huge, very present part of RL, and certainly it is very much a part of New York history and current life. I went to New York in July, stood across the street from Ground Zero, and saw the iron cross they rescued from the site, and despite all that's been said about it in the media, in tv shows real and fictional, all the books and articles and debate and all that, the size of the gap in the skyline, and hearing two New Yorkers (tour guides) talking about it, really hit hard for me, the reality of it.
I think the whole thing about Claire never being found was done more to make it real than to have the possibility of her coming back - as we know, many people who died that day were never found.
I would like to see Mac get a call/visit to say they've found some trace of Claire, just to see how he'd deal with it, and I'd like to see Claire in flashbacks too.

I believe he meant they are still looking for her body/traces of her body. They're still identifying remains in RL. It's not like they have complete bodies to ID. They have pieces...small pieces to do DNA testing on and I'm sure that some pieces are the same person. Also, DNA testing in RL takes much longer than on tv. It will take years to test each piece they have. Some people were identified by items they found (like jewelry) but others, like CandyCorner said, were just disintegrated. Bringing her back would be such a terrible move on the part of tptb. There are still a lot of people not accounted for and to bring her back would be a huge insult to the families who are in the same situation as Mac.

I agree it would be a huge insult, and I just can't see the writers doing that, especially not after so long. I remember AZ saying in an interview how he wanted to make 9/11 a part of the show, he seemed to genuinely want to show respect while doing so. Plus, it just wouldn't make sense, and it would mean that they'd either have to make Mac into a huge b**tard, who his wife would fake her death to escape (and I know Mac has his flaws, but he's not evil, and he's not a huge b**trd, either!) or make Claire a total b*tch for having stayed away so long- and I can't see them doing that, either. Also, it's an intriguing part of Mac's backstory, it very much makes him who he is, and for them to bring Claire back would ruin that, IMO.

I think if they choose to bring her back to life, it would be such a horrible decision and certainly there will be backlash from families who lost loved ones in 9/11.....

But most of all, I seriously doubt Gary Sinise would allow for such a decision to be even made. Gary has always seem like a man who is in touch with the world around him, very patriotic, and very sensitive to the feelings of soldiers, their families, and very respectful to those who have suffered losses in tragedies. I really would not believe that Gary would ever let such a plan even get off the ground much less let it play out on TV. That would be the biggest insult and Gary would never let it happen. He is much too sensitive and respectful to let that kind of a cheap shot be played out.

It would be not only an insult to the families of victims, to the character of Mac Taylor, and even to Gary's own integrity.

I don't think just Gary would balk at such a storyline, but probably all the cast - Carmine and Eddie are from New York (right?) and I can't see Hill or Melina liking it either, as they both seem compassionate people who are in touch with the world around them. I can't see AZ going for it either.

 

[ladyhunter]

I agree with all of you. I just can't put it into words as well.

It is a huge respect issue. And yes, it would make Mac look like a terrible person, husband if his wife (who we assume he loved very much) faked her death, and used a most personal tool ( the fall of the towers) to do so.

I do want to see some previous Mac/Claire interaction though. Having her come back in flashbacks would be a good Mac storyline. One where he's not saving the world. :lol: And to see him deal with the fact that yes, they did find remnants of her body... so he and Reed can put her to rest.

I'm hoping that Claire remains dead but just seen in flashbacks.

 

[talkingtocactus]

i was talking to someone about this today, who's never really seen csi at all, she's seen a couple of vegas eps and probably one or two ny eps but not really enough to notice. anyway, we were talking about it and i said i thought there was something of a mac/stella ice age going on which seemed weird after last season's end, and she asked if mac as a character had been married, so i mentioned the 9/11 thing and she said "i bet she's been found and is alive and has come back" - i put her straight as to just *how* unlikely this seems, especially given gary's point of view on troops, 9/11 and related things, but it was quite odd that someone who's never really seen the show at all should come so fast to that conclusion...

 

[BauerAlmeida]

i was talking to someone about this today, who's never really seen csi at all, she's seen a couple of vegas eps and probably one or two ny eps but not really enough to notice. anyway, we were talking about it and i said i thought there was something of a mac/stella ice age going on which seemed weird after last season's end, and she asked if mac as a character had been married, so i mentioned the 9/11 thing and she said "i bet she's been found and is alive and has come back" - i put her straight as to just *how* unlikely this seems, especially given gary's point of view on troops, 9/11 and related things, but it was quite odd that someone who's never really seen the show at all should come so fast to that conclusion...

Because most people thinks that's the natural way to go about in the TV business, people just come back in the soap opera way, if you don't see a body, they're dead, and even if you see a body, they could still be alive. Most people just doesn't believe or expect TV networks to be respectful to tragedy and painful memories.

 

[Maya316]

I think it'd be more than a little tasteless to bring Claire back at all -- but a storyline where Mac gets a false lead on the possibility of Claire being alive? (And then later finds out it was a hoax, or Claire's long-lost sister, or whatever-else-can-fit-into-this) I've seen countless shows and books run down that route before, usually when it's the death of a spouse.

However, because CSI:NY went with having Claire die in the WTC, I doubt they could take even that route without the disrespect issue coming up. But in theory, I suppose it could be done.

 

[talkingtocactus]

i was talking to someone about this today, who's never really seen csi at all, she's seen a couple of vegas eps and probably one or two ny eps but not really enough to notice. anyway, we were talking about it and i said i thought there was something of a mac/stella ice age going on which seemed weird after last season's end, and she asked if mac as a character had been married, so i mentioned the 9/11 thing and she said "i bet she's been found and is alive and has come back" - i put her straight as to just *how* unlikely this seems, especially given gary's point of view on troops, 9/11 and related things, but it was quite odd that someone who's never really seen the show at all should come so fast to that conclusion...

Because most people thinks that's the natural way to go about in the TV business, people just come back in the soap opera way, if you don't see a body, they're dead, and even if you see a body, they could still be alive. Most people just doesn't believe or expect TV networks to be respectful to tragedy and painful memories.

yeah, i agree - it kinda surprised me tho because this is a mature, intelligent woman, although i don't think she was thinking it was a good idea, just that that might be typical of a tv show i guess. which is a real shame, because it would be utterly disrespectful, as i said before, and i still don't think gary would allow them to do it.

 

[Carolyn318]

I've been thinking about this thread and its title and my response to the title of it.
Here's my response.
Claire is DEAD. I say the part of the tower she worked in was the part the plane hit and caught fire. I'm no scientist but I bet that much jet fuel made that fire a WHOLE LOT hotter than your typical bonfire or fireplace fire. I figure anyone and anything in that part of the building, including that part of the building, were turned to fine, powdery ash. Far as I know, you can't get DNA from ash. So, I think that's why they've never found any trace of Claire's body. It's ash...and it's mixed in with the ash of the building. I think after 9/11 Mac should've used his badge to get into Ground Zero and then scooped up some of the ash from the where those towers stood and put it in some kind vase or ern. That's probably the best closure, and as close to a funeral for Claire, as he'll ever get.
If Claire one day suddenly shows up alive and unscathed...well, if the posters in the CSI: Miami section thought I got riled up about Horatio getting out of that burning Hummer clean and unscathed in the CSI: Miami season 6 episode "Guerillas In The Mist" then they haven't seen anything, yet. Just let Claire suddenly show up one day alive and uninjured.

 

[Shytownmofo]

I don't quite understand the Poll question.

Is it Yes or No that she's dead, Yes or No that she's alive? Inquiring Minds want to know.

Either way, I think it would be really lame to bring Claire back, especially after Six Seasons of Mac slowly growing and being drawn out of his shell by various people.

I also agree with what was posted earlier that it would be an insult to all the victims, survivors and families involved in the 9/11 attacks if they were to bring her back, even gravely wounded or disabled, and unidentified for 8+ years.

It would truly be a jump the shark moment for the show, IMO.

 

[Carolyn318]

I don't quite understand the Poll question.
Is it Yes or No that she's dead, Yes or No that she's alive? Inquiring Minds want to know.

It would truly be a jump the shark moment for the show, IMO.

I think the way the poll works is like this:

• Yes=She's dead. Or in Star Trek terms: She's dead, Jim.
• No=She's alive
• Not sure=

I agree with you. Shytownmofo. It would be a MAJOR jump the shark moment. If the writers did write an episode where Claire suddenly showed up alive either unscathed or disabled and horribly disfigured, they might as well make it the series finale. I'm pretty sure the ratings would start plummeting at such an unbelievably rapid rate that it might as well be the series finale.
However...didn't see that coming, did you?
However, if they done it right like the CSI: Miami season 3 season finale "10-7" and found a credible, believable way to explain Claire being alive and letting Mac think she was dead all this time, it could work. Otherwise it'd be like I said "a MAJOR jump the shark moment".
I'm sticking to my original theory:
Claire was in the part of the tower hit by the plane and caught fire. Her ashes and the building's ashes got mixed together during the clean up of Ground Zero and that's why they've never found any trace of her.

 

[BauerAlmeida]

If Claire one day suddenly shows up alive and unscathed...well, if the posters in the CSI: Miami section thought I got riled up about Horatio getting out of that burning Hummer clean and unscathed in the CSI: Miami season 6 episode "Guerillas In The Mist" then they haven't seen anything, yet. Just let Claire suddenly show up one day alive and uninjured.

Ahh yes....the Horatio and Blown-up Hummer issue....yes I have seen that episode and it still escapes how he got out of that Hummer so quickly....he must have magical teleportation powers!!!!!!!!!!!!

As for Claire, she should remain dead, bringing her back is just a bad idea.