I've been frightened to come in here to say what I thought about the episode. But, now that most of the drama I was afraid of has passed, I'm here.
So, I liked the episode. In the past, whenever CSI tried something, "Different," it usually failed. "Roshamama" was the rare exception where a change in format led to a great episode. I felt that "Fallen Idols" was a great episode. We started off with narration, without seeing any of our team. We didn't go straight to a dead body. We actually got to see these kids alive and HAPPY. It was a bit of a shocker, and the "Without a Trace" fadeaway of the pics was a bit jarring, but I liked it.
I liked the flow of the episode. It seemed to just run together beautifully, from scene to scene. The dissapearance of the kids flowed into the scene with the parents reporting the missing children, which included Brass. We then followed Brass' voice to Grissom as he walked across the parking lot. It was really nicely done.
I pegged the teacher for something suspicious from the beginning, though I'm not sure why. And, while I figured Shelly had done something worthy of punishment, the extent to which things went? Yeah, didn't see that coming. When she died, it was a shocker, and it was a perfect twist. It would have been completely random, but the swallowed memory card kept the story moving.
By the way, I had a memory card struck by lightning because lightning struck my cable cord outside, which connected to my modem, which connected to my ethernet cord, which connected to my ethernet card, which somehow flowed into my memory card which was in the computer. Yeah, fried. Never worked, again. Archie must have some AMAZING equipment to get that memory card to work after being in someone's stomach for a day.
I loved Ms. Fox's curly hair. It's just so beautiful on her, and I'm glad they're doing it more often. I know that's completely superficial, but it made me squee a little. My hair doesn't curl. To this day, as a grown woman, I'm still known to bounce my mother's curls from time to time when I go to visit. I just can't help it. They're gorgeous. My hair is stick straight... so cool to see Sara with curls.
Everyone who did wrong in this episode was punished, but none in the traditional sense... Well, except Charlie. He'll do some jail time. But the girlfriend? She's paralyzed from the hips down. Shelly died. The cheating boyfriend died... and the teacher who slept with her student committed suicide. And, how creepy was the Romeo and Juliet pose??
I think this episode really worked well as an ensemble. There were a lot of great little moments that made me absolutely giggle. Catherine's line to Grissom about him being creepy had me giggling like a child. Warrick's line about the number of panties, and how if they belonged to one girl she had nothing left to wear... Hilarious. Just some great stuff in there. And, we saw everyone. The whole team was on this one.
Loved the Greg/Nick scene on the football field. Grissom and Nick always had this relationship where Nick was really soaking up everything Grissom said, and Grissom was a great teacher. I think the torch has been passed on, and now Nick is helping Greg along. Greg's theory could have worked, had Nick not debunked it with the fact that the blood was all the guy's!
Also, some others have mentioned it, but since when was Greg getting action in high school? Methinks, rather than the character boasting about something that never happened, the writers didn't go back and check earlier episodes and history of their characters. Sometimes, I think we fans should be the continuity checkers, because I'm sure we're more obsessed than most the writers on the show!
Marlane Gomard Meyer wrote this episode, and I've never heard of her, before. But, I loved it. I mean, I went into the episode with some spoilers, but still found lots of surprises, and just loved the flow and balance of the episode. It was an ensemble piece. The story had twists and turns, and the depths of human nature were displayed on the screen.
As for the GSR, here's what I wrote on Thursday night about it:
"Firstly, I want to hug the foley artists for this one. If his stubble was already gone and they did a dull razor, then the sound was INCREDIBLE. It sounded like individual hairs were being cut off by the razor. Beautiful.
Second, every time Grissom says, "Intimately," I melt. I'm a puddle on the floor, staring up at the screen. It's like, I love my fiance. I've been with him three and a half years... but every now and then he just says something, or looks at me a certain way, and I just melt. That's how it is with this SINGLE word. It's like, "WOAH. Gris can be sexy. Go Sara!"
Third, selfishly, I wanted more. But, in the context of the episode, and with nothing following it, it worked. Grissom didn't want to get out of bed on Saturday morning (I wonder why). He probably uses his love's name as his password (AW!). Sara remembered a relationship gone bad, where she thought they were monogamous, and she found out they weren't... They watched as a web of lies led everyone involved to suffer. In the midst of all this, there's Grissom and Sara, two people who love each other dearly, and who are committed to one another. I really think that they've patched things up since the LLV goodbye scene. They felt natural, tonight. I love how she stood there, taking him in, and he stood there, taking her in. They were just living in the moment, breathing each other in.
I don't care if it was Sara's idea or Grissom's... They both went through with it. She held the blade to his skin, and he didn't flinch. He even invited her, closing his eyes, cocking his head, making himself accessible. Beautiful.
She almost smiles after he says, "Intimately." She has this look on her face, this look of satisfaction, this happiness, this peace. She needs some peace after the freakin' turmoil he put her through. Man runs off to the other side of the country with very little warning, then sends her a stick with a bug on it... Yeah, she needs some peace after that.
Even after he closes his eyes, he keeps peeking at her, keeps sneaking glances at her as she works. He's transfixed. It's beautiful.
I love that they did the two shot with the two of them, his back essentially to the wall, Sara out front. It reminds me of "Invisible Evidence" and the infamous/famous "Pin me down" moment. That moment was not planned out. Neither of them expected it to happen, but they found themselves face to face, very little space between them, and there was something there. There was discomfort. Sara moved out of the way, because she realized just how close they were, and how frightening that was, in that moment. Sara was thinking about the case and her promotion. Grissom was thinking about the case. The "spark" moment was an accident.
Tonight was intentional. His back was to the wall by choice. He put himself in a position to be at her mercy, to give her control. This time, when they stood face to face, inches apart, there was determination and intent in both their eyes. This moment was planned. This moment was well-thought out, and they were completely focused on one another. Last time, Sara was the one to move away. This time, she's the one to initiate contact. She's the one to reach out to touch him and keep the moment, to hold onto it.
This is our bookend, people. Maybe no one else sees it that way, but, to me, it's our bookend to "Pin me down." He trusts her. She loves him. They're no longer dancing around one another. This scene proves it. This is serious, this is real, and this is so much fun to watch."
It's been a few days since the episode aired, and watching the scene, again... I still like it. I see it woven into the story of trust and mistrust in this episode. Is it a solid, strong theme to the point that no one could pick it apart? Nah.
I saw it the first time I watched the episode. It's this story about trust. The Cheerleader trusted her boyfriend. He cheated on her and gave her an SDD. Sara trusted her college boyfriend. He handed her a pair of underwear that didn't belong to her. Trust is a delicate thing, especially for a character like Sara, who has been through so much.
I know people who have been torn to pieces, and trusting a man, especially, is very difficult. When Warrick mentions Sara's taste in men, she still seems a little unsure. I mean, it wasn't so long ago that Grissom took off for the other side of the country without telling her. However, by the end of the episode, in those final moments, she looks at peace. He's trusting her. He's offering her trust, and I think she trusts him in return.
Overall, I liked this episode a lot. I liked the flawed characters, the symbolism, the writing, the flow of the episode, the face time for main characters, and the little tidbits to remind us that our main characters are human beings. It was a fun episode.
PS: Sorry for the novel.
