Ok, my thoughts on the episode. First, thank TPTB that Horatio’s line wasn’t “That’s a wrap”. I would have screamed bloody murder if it was. His one liner wasn’t awful, and actually reminded me of the good old days when the one-liners weren’t so overplayed; they just were one-liners. And Horatio wasn’t overplayed either in this episode, only being in scenes that really required him. However, that being said, I still feel that the writer’s are having problems writing for a large cast show. It took four seasons for Rex Linn to be added to the credits, and yet I only saw him for less than ten minutes cumulative in the whole episode. They’re still writing for a smaller cast show, and it’s cutting back on some good character moments.
The opening of the episode was just fantastic. They made it look like something from a movie and not a TV show. It had me on the edge of my seat, and brought me into the episode all excited when the paced slowed down slightly. However, I found the reactions a bit weak when the crew discovered the victim in the car. I mean, this is a big movie star, the star of your film, the one that will hopefully deliver you all the pay checks when the movie hits theatres, and all you can do is say “Oh my God” in an almost monotone manner? No screaming? No panicking? No freaking out period?
Next, I must give mention to Eric, who was just fabulous in this episode. Not only do we get continuity with the gunshot, but we also see a bit of character development spring from it. When he was speaking with Jolene, and she was explaining how hopeless she felt, and how alone she felt, he saw a bit of himself in her. In the previous episodes, Eric has been on the defensive a lot, even though the others are just trying to help. I think that when he was speaking with Jolene, he finally realized that they were trying to help him, and by opening up with her, it allowed him to move past the defensive enough to admit that everyone else was just trying to help. Hopefully, this will result in less Eric opening up to the main cast a little more, because he hasn’t really spoken to them about the shooting, just Jolene so far. And we saw a bit of joyful Eric from the old days as he watches Jolene go home, which was just heart-warming. A round of applause goes to Eric from my end.
Finally, I move on to the Britney look-alike. At first, I was confused as to why she was just added in at the end. I thought “They’re just banking on the whole publicity thing” and “They couldn’t come up with anything better”. Then I started studying for my English exam, and I accidentally started analyzing the scene in my mind as if it were something for English. You have this pop star with a bad habit coming into the clinic to get rid of the habit. At the same time, we hear Natalia (omg cleavage!) and Horatio’s conversation about how everyone has a secret. The look-alike then starts to shave her head, and the conversation Horatio is having reminds us (or me at least) that Brody was trying to let go of his secrets, and make amends. Then it hit me; look-alike is symbolism! Her act of shaving off her hair is like someone taking the first step in letting go of their secrets, and if the clinic program is anything to go by, healing really begins once the secrets have been let go. So, just like Brody was coming out with his secret (and sadly was killed for it), look-alike is starting her healing process, and as we can see from the smile, she’s better for it. Had this scene gone anywhere else in the episode, it would have lost its impact and meaning, and would have been left as nothing but pointless filler.
I hope that made as much sense as it did in my mind (keep in mind that I thought this up last night). Anyways, since I’m really writing way too much, and I fear I may start to ramble, I’ll end my reflection here. It was a good episode, and a well thought out one. It had some flaws sure, but it was one of the better episodes of the season in my opinion. It gets a 9/10 from me. Ok, I’ll shut up now.