Okay I just saw the episode.
I have to say that I personally found it to be brilliant. Contrary to popular opinions, I thought this episode was really well-done.
Natalia: Eva did a wonderful job as Natalia, and portrayed her character with a lot of heart, and emotionally moving brilliance. The way her character reacted to all of the events was very realistic, and wasn't over the top. Her reaction at the end of the episode shed a lot of light onto the relationship between her and Nick, and also the kind of person that she is. The last scene with her and Horatio, I found to be, very touching.
Horatio was supportive of her throughout the episode and put forward his influence to make sure that things continued to move smoothly. Tonight he seemed like the Horatio we used to know. He was a true leader. Even though his frustration with Jake could be seen when they were in the Layout Room, he kept his cool and was able to teach the man something rather than call him out on his mistakes. The episode didn't involve too much of Horatio, but just enough, that I was glad he showed up at the appropriate times.
I have to give props to Johnny for portraying Jake. The guy was supposed to be a jerk, and the actor displayed that wonderfully throughout the episode. And the undercover officer turned detective turned CSI made the episode interesting to watch. It shows how people really work at a lab when they don't understand the subject matter, or they can't see past their own face to step back and put everything into context. I thought Jake gave a lot of substance to the episode. He was the guy that everyone seemed to dislike, yet he was still able to add a twist onto the case that most people wouldn't think of. I thought the interrogation scene with Natalia near the beginning was superb. It accurately showed how people like him treat suspects, and twist their words into something that could possibly be incriminating. --Great job! And I liked when he offered a seat to Valera in the next couple of scenes. - Shows he's still a human being, no matter how much of a jerk he'd been.
He also didn't defy Horatio as much as I would have anticipated. He had a subtle annoyance with Horatio, but still respected his professional opinion.
I loved Eric in this episode as well. He was shown as selfless and protective over his team-mates, and ready to defend the lab as well. (Since he wouldn't let Nick past reception) I missed this aspect of Eric. Although he's usually one to keep his cool, this time (Kind of like in 'Extreme', season 2) he grew a little hot under the collar and gave Nick a little taste of his own medicine. Something that shouldn't be seen by him at the lab, but Eric's morals and belief that this guy was a dangerous person, seemed to justify his actions toward Nick.
I thought Rob did a really great job as Nick.
He was a real badass, and he deserved everything that was coming to him. We now see that he steals, takes advantage of people, and manipulates into getting what he wants. In turn, he lost his life due to his own, err, stupidity and arrogance.
Good riddance.
I liked Ryan Wolfe's professionalism at the lab. We'd seen before that he'd gotten the short end of the stick for many episodes, seeming to make him look like a bad CSI. I liked how he handled the situation when Alexx handed him the swab. He didn't want to get involved in something that could get messier. --It could be seen that he's a coward and doesn't want to get in trouble again, or have something jump back up and bite him in the ass, but he has his motives and he managed to stay away from the case, even if his friends were involved.
I also loved the performances by Boti and Emily. There's really too much to say about them, but to cut things short, Boti was really excellent! She portrayed Valera extremely well. Valera has always been a very honest person, and it made me happy to see that when she thought she had done something wrong, she had to tell the appropriate authority. Why she didn't tell someone sooner? Not sure. Perhaps she was scared of what could happen to her, knowing full well that if she was found guilty, she'd lose her job, and lose her life. (Ie: Go to jail)
Emily did a great job as always.
Calleigh always has a need to poke her nose into a case, just to see what's going on. Her curiosity has always been a defining characteristic of what makes Calleigh, well, Calleigh.
Her little quips when she sneekily gets involved always cracks me up. :lol:
*sigh* Whew. Anyway, long review short, I loved the episode. I also thought the story played out well, too. The case B fit in well with the case A, and it actually had an ending that didn't leave one hanging in the proverbial wind. --Call me optimistic and dillusional, but I really enjoyed the episode.