CSI: New York--'Raising Shane'

[CSI Files]

Synopsis:

After a man in a green hoodie bursts into a bar, steals money and shoots the bartender, the CSIs are shocked when Dr. Hawkes is picked up in matching clothing and IDed by the bouncer, Nick, as the shooter. The CSI team is removed from the case by Captain Stanton Gerrard, who takes umbrage when Danny is reluctant to leave the scene. Mac sends Stella and Danny to Times Square on another case: a man has been found dead in his underwear in a booth at a Peeking Tom's, the victim of an apparent overdose. Tom, the proprietor, denies touching the body or knowing how he got into the booth with no clothes on. Dr. Hammerback examines the body and confirms the man died of an overdose, but the coroner also discovers GSR in his nostrils and an unidentified substance on the man's back.

Hawkes is booked and given a union lawyer, who asks how he can explain his clothes matching the bartender's description, or the bloody $280 worth of bloody bills found in his pockets. Hawkes is baffled and upset. Mac rushes into the room, locking the door behind him to buy a little time, and asks Hawkes for his side of the story. The doctor maintains his innocence. Gerrard angrily extracts Mac from the room, but Flack pulls the two apart and tells Mac that the bartender, Kelly, had died from her injuries. After the hoodie Hawkes was wearing tests positive for GSR, Danny, desperate to prove Hawkes' innocence, tracks down the bouncer Nick to see if Nick is at all uncertain about IDing Hawkes. He doesn't budge.

Stella interrupts an intimate moment between Peyton and Mac, and Mac shoves Peyton's hand away from his face before Stella can see them. Stella tells Mac that she thinks the GSR on Hawkes' hoodie might have rubbed off on his jogging clothes from his body as he was testing firing earlier in that day. Mac, Stella and Danny sit down to talk out Hawkes' story and his possible motives and come to the conclusion that he's being framed by none other than Shane Casey, who wants revenge on Hawkes for performing the autopsy on the bartender that Shane's brother, Ian, was convicted of killing. Shane visits Hawkes in jail to taunt him, and none of the guards believe Hawkes when he claims Shane is a killer. Mac and Hawkes go over the night of the murder and conclude that Shane must have posed as a drunk man Hawkes ran into at a newsstand, and used the opportunity to plant the money on him. Mac receives a message from Shane to meet him at a busy hotel. Before he goes, Mac tries to explain to Peyton what happened earlier, but she's deeply hurt, and when he calls her Claire, she ends their relationship.

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[Faylinn]

Excellent review, as always.

Your review proved something that I thought about myself--even though Hawkes truly shined in this episode, and the performance was amazing, we have so much more to talk about for Danny. On the one hand, it's good that we can talk about Danny so much, because he's such a dynamic and compelling character, but at the same time I feel bad for poor Hawkes--even when he's the focus of an episode, he loses attention to Danny. Maybe because the writers pen a story around a character without including them very much at all...

 

[Top41]

Faylinn said:
Excellent review, as always.

Your review proved something that I thought about myself--even though Hawkes truly shined in this episode, and the performance was amazing, we have so much more to talk about for Danny. On the one hand, it's good that we can talk about Danny so much, because he's such a dynamic and compelling character, but at the same time I feel bad for poor Hawkes--even when he's the focus of an episode, he loses attention to Danny. Maybe because the writers pen a story around a character without including them very much at all...

Thank you! And yeah, Hawkes pretty much disappears for the second half of the episode. Plus, there's not much of a dilemma for him--he's pretty much stuck in jail and it's up to the rest of the team to figure out what's going on. He got some emotional stuff, but if you look at the episode closely, it's really not that much. I would have loved to see a scene where he got really pissed off about being in jail or the way he was treated or something.

Danny, on the other hand, made a lot of choices. He kept pushing the limits in his investigation, and in the end he was willing to risk his life to confront Casey and get the evidence. I like how it was obvious that he was scared and nervous--Danny's a CSI, not a detective like Flack. I know he was a cop back when (at least, if I'm remembering correctly he was for a while), but Danny is more scientist than cop, and I think it was a big deal for him to go in there. Mac's a marine, Flack's a cop and Stella's just tough as all hell, but Danny just seemed less prepared for something like that (he messed up the only time we saw him in a shoot out).

I'm digressing. :lol: The point I'm trying to make is that it comes down to choice--Hawkes was in jail, but he didn't get much time or any decisions to tell us much about who he is as a person. That's not to take away from his performance at all--he was fantastic. But of the two, Danny had the meatier role in this episode.

 

[Ceindreadh]

It kind of bugged me,that an episode that started off being about Hawkes - one of the least develeped characters - devolved into an episode about one of the most overused (IMO) characters. Hawkes was the one who the case was about, and yet he seemed to get as little screentime as he usually does. I suppose there was no other way to do it. Having Hawkes released on bail wouldn't have kept the tension as high, but keeping him locked up, seperated him from the rest of the team.

I wish there could have been more Flack (but then I always with that!) Loved the way he stepped in between Mac and Gerrard. But add this to the fact that cops are pissed at him handing over his memo book to Mac, and I wonder if there'll be more fallout along the way, maybe coming a time when Flack's fellow detectives feel if he wasn't there for them, then maybe they wont' be there for him (yeah, not much hope of getting a second Flack plot in a season, but I live in hope)

And I'm afraid I can't agree with you over Payton. From the moment I saw her on screen this season, something about her just sets my teeth on edge, and if this was her last appearance, all I can say is "whoo-hoo!"

And finally, just to end on a shallow note, am I the only one who thinks that Mac/Gary is looking exceptionally fine this season? The whole scene with Peyton (when he called her Claire), all I could think was "Damn, he's hot!" Maybe it's the extra length of his hair or something.
Ah well.

 

[KAPP70]

Good review. You hit all the points.

I was very eager to watch this episode because it seemed as if it was going to center around Hawkes. But once again for some reason the writers like to steer things away from Hawkes and onto Danny. They did it in that gawd awful lockeroom scene and they did it again here. Hill Harper has shown he has the acting chops so let him use them through out the whole episode. I was hoping that the team would show up at the end but it was only Stella. Strange. An episode that was suppose to deal with the team helping a team member kind of fell short at the end. I have to admit that this seaon has been CSI:NY's strongest one.

 

[Springmoon]

Fabulous review, Top! Of course it doesn't hurt to have a really solid episode to review either, hmm?

I disagree with you, ceindreadh, because what could have been the focus of the episode if Hawkes is now stuck in prison? Something has to be done to extricate him from that crazy mess. I'm glad that they made it such a cohesive team effort - everyone had a part to play in exonerating Hawkes. This episode is one of those that showcases very well what a good ensemble cast this is - minus that one piece of dead weight whom shall remain nameless. They work very well together, especially when one of their own is in trouble. I'm still in love with it!!

 

[audrina]

One of your best reviews. Kudos.

 

[glam_chic86]

Fantastic episode & phenomal review. However, it bothers me yet again that the episode was supposed to focus on Hawkes but instead they bring Danny in to steal the lime light. For once if they want to focus on one character they should keep it that way, instead of bringing in the obvious popular character at the end. That's nobody's fault but TPTB.

 

[lookaboomerang]

Ok, so all of you that are saying it was soooo like them to bring Danny in at the end would most likely be the same ones to bitch and moan about a. Having Hawkes just sitting there, rotting away in his jail cell and b. Not having anyone react to it/Not having any character continuity. How can they win?

I thought having Danny come in at the end was fantastic. He and Shane still had a few things to wrap up, I thought and their scene was beautifully done by both actors. I don't understand why people are upset over the focus being changed. The entire episode was all about Hawkes and one five minute scene at the end, which didn't even wrap the episode, affected the whole outcome.

 

[dmc]

Good review! I think you hit it on the head. You didn't mention Lindsay this time and I think for good reason; she wasn't an important part of the story. She could have been ignored completely in fact... interesting, given that pretty much all the other characters had at least one good scene that showed their merits or the actors' talents.

I do get a little tired with the corny, dramatic endings where a hero faces off with the antagonist only to defuse the situation and have a herd of cops pour through the door seconds later. But for what it was the actors did a fine job.

As for Payton, I don't see why this should be her last appearance. But as likiable as she may be it wouldn't be a huge loss. I don't think Forlani and Sinise have that much chemistry and his character is reserved enough that we just didn't feel much of a connection or find out why there supposedly was one between them. What did Mac like about her? What did she see in him?

 

[Top41]

Thank you, everyone.

lookaboomerang said:
Ok, so all of you that are saying it was soooo like them to bring Danny in at the end would most likely be the same ones to bitch and moan about a. Having Hawkes just sitting there, rotting away in his jail cell and b. Not having anyone react to it/Not having any character continuity. How can they win?

I agree on the Catch-22. There simply wasn't much for Hawkes to actually do in prison, which is why, as central as he was to the story, it wasn't really "his" episode, so to speak. He had some great stuff, and yes, they could have done more with him, but the writers didn't go that way, and I don't think it hurt the story. Having the final confrontation be between Hawkes and Shane wouldn't have worked as well, since all Shane could really do would be to rant at Hawkes.

I thought having Danny come in at the end was fantastic. He and Shane still had a few things to wrap up, I thought and their scene was beautifully done by both actors. I don't understand why people are upset over the focus being changed. The entire episode was all about Hawkes and one five minute scene at the end, which didn't even wrap the episode, affected the whole outcome.

I liked how that all came together--it made sense for Shane to demand Danny in the end, because Danny was the only one who showed him any sympathy, and yet it was still unexpected. Of all the CSIs, Danny was the one who was most likely to work his brother's case sincerely, and that was what Shane wanted. I thought that was fantastic continuity and character work.

dmc said:
Good review! I think you hit it on the head. You didn't mention Lindsay this time and I think for good reason; she wasn't an important part of the story. She could have been ignored completely in fact... interesting, given that pretty much all the other characters had at least one good scene that showed their merits or the actors' talents.

Perhaps because Lindsay doesn't have any? :lol: She was in the background, and is pretty inoffensive when she is. I still sense an actor playing a part rather than a character, and I'm looking forward to her absence from episode 15 onward. The fact that she can fade into the background so easily doesn't speak well of the character's importance to the show.

I do get a little tired with the corny, dramatic endings where a hero faces off with the antagonist only to defuse the situation and have a herd of cops pour through the door seconds later. But for what it was the actors did a fine job.

New York doesn't overuse it the way Miami does, though. And I liked that it was an underling rather than Mac. It is a cliched ending, but it's exciting, and when something works, going with a cliche now and then isn't the worst thing in the world. I thought it bucked the trend in a couple of ways: Danny being visibly scared indicated this isn't something he does that often, and Shane backing down without firing on Danny or himself was also not expected.

As for Payton, I don't see why this should be her last appearance. But as likiable as she may be it wouldn't be a huge loss. I don't think Forlani and Sinise have that much chemistry and his character is reserved enough that we just didn't feel much of a connection or find out why there supposedly was one between them. What did Mac like about her? What did she see in him?

I thought Peyton brought out more warmth than we've seen from Mac up to this point. Mac's kind of a cold fish, which is why it's taken me a while to warm up to him, but I do think Sinise was able to explore a side of Mac we've not seen before with Peyton, so I liked that she was around. The breakup came pretty suddenly, and Mac's behavior was surprisingly insensitive--another nice writing bit as it's rare to see the hero of a CSI show in a bad light. I like that Mac isn't perfect and that we're allowed to see his flaws and missteps.