For me, this episode was just OK. On the plus side, I loved the opening scene, because any scene of Eric in "chasing-perps mode" is a treat for me, esp. when he's with Ryan or Horatio. It was also good to see Ryan getting some more screen time.
On the minus side, like
CalleighAndEric said, at some points, it was a bit difficult to buy the science. Like Natalia completely drying a cell phone with a bathroom hand-dryer. Having had the unfortunate experience of dropping my cell phone in a running bathroom sink for less than 5 seconds (as opposed to having it soaking overnight in a pool on the eppy itself), I know that it takes nothing short of a miracle to be able to retrieve
anything from a cell phone that has come into contact with water. So the writers kind of lost me there. And I was already a little skeptical about Brady Jensen taking that flying leap over the railing and making that perfect landing. Granted, I'm sure he was in phenomenal shape, being an elite athlete and all, but still ... not even a slight limp after making a jump that could have killed or seriously injured Ryan? I don't think so.
There was also not enough Calleigh for my taste. She's one of the characters that draws me to the show, so it was a bit of a let-down to see her so infrequently, and always chained to a desk. But I guess that's just a temporary adjustment to deal with Emily's real-life pregnancy. I'm sure that we'll see more of her in the field once she's had her baby and returns for the 2nd half of S. 9.
I'm also not sure how I feel about Horatio saving yet another damsel in distress (Sarah the bottle girl). I like seeing the various sides of H, including his compassionate side. But sometimes he can come across as a bit paternal (or maybe patronizing is the better word?), which I find somewhat uncomfortable to watch at times when he's interacting with grown women. (On the other hand, his scenes with children often make me tear-up). But maybe that's just me.
But the real buzz-kill for me in this episode was that final scene between Calleigh and Eric. At this point, I'm not so much upset/confused as I am cynical. :shifty: It seems as though the CSIM writers can't help but resort to the same frustrating vagueness and hide-the-ball tactics that we saw in "Bad Seed" when it comes to writing Eric & Calleigh as a couple. As I've said before, I'm not sure what the goal of TPTB is in doing this, since I don't think that the ambiguity pleases either the E/C-shippers or non-shippers. It's just a shame that the CSIM scribes feel the need to jerk our chains when it comes to how the E/C romance is handled.
