Brian Howe does a good job of making the man sympathetic, even as he’s holding his wife and child hostage and bemoaning the way his neighborhood has been sliding downhill. This gives Nick Stokes a chance to step up, and for
George Eads to showcase one of the CSI’s most appealing qualities: his caring side. Yes, he wants to rescue Wincroft’s family, but he does feel for the man, even though we know he’d never condone Wincroft’s actions. Nick is the heart of the show, and his appeal does get through to Wincroft. There’s a nice bit of continuity here, too: Nick is still clearly uncomfortable in hostage situations around guns. No, it’s not the same obvious fear that he showed in
“Who Are You?” when the gun was pointed at him, but his discomfort and unhappiness with the situation is written all over his face after he successfully rescues Wincroft’s little girl.