Some serious time warp whiplash going on here :lol:
I guess "months" could also to help allay Danny's eventual miraculous recovery and Flack's Chronic Screw Ups.
So. Stella & Monroe had pen pals (and it was mebbe a fun nod to Melina to have Stella's residing in Ohio), while Mac continues to have a villainous fan club. More criminals sending him clues in the post, helpful and considerate that they are, just in case the CSI's aren't capable of collecting them at the scene. Or mebbe he forgot to leave the one, and wanted to make sure they got it. Better late than never and all. I'm glossing to make a point. I suppose the fact that there was a scene of the perp asking "do you know where to find me, do you even know where to look" means it's really all about his disfunction and is not truly about Mac; later Stella also summarized that the compass had been send to "them," the labs, as opposed to Mac, that may also suggest its not gonna be another Mac/Perp Match Made In Heaven. ...One can live in hope. Cos I really
really hope.
Onto eppie proper. Just skimming.
The opening sequence was hugely visually impressive, from the overheads to the apartment to the crime scene. I was already liking this show better than last week by the time the first commercials hit. Continued in the processing montages after the break too. Nice. Later also noticed a nice contrast between a manic ambience with the serial vs the crime scene and ongoing processing.
Immediately noticed a suddenly stubbly Flack, and later conversely that Messer's beard had thinned out. Those clever wardrobe and make up people
, letting us know Flack's sliding while Messer's got new determination and fire. and yah, no stretch of the imagination to suspect possible DLL foreshadowing, Messer & Lucy taking steps together
:lol: Perhaps that Uplifting Element hinted at way back when. Hoo. Ah. So original. But. Not a bad DL scene all the same, ya know, if we really gotta keep having 'em atall. Sigh. It may be I've developed a certain tolerance due repeated and prolonged exposure, but I'm sure it's taking a toll somehow. Their other more casual exchanges were worse.
Yay Sid returns. :bolian:
Mixed feelings on Haylen. Doesnt' matter if I like her or not. Hoping she's gonna be good for the show. Undecided on both points still. Her first appearance: The "all you have to do" grated. She's not necessarily out of line, but she is vaguely irksome. Nobody "has to do" anything, but her oh so overwhelmingly charismatic and personable approach to matters has been oh so duly noted... :shifty:
. I'll come back to her inna bit.
After the 3 card monte chase, we got a decent suspect and a grumpy Flack and a sharp Stella. Upon opening his mail later Mac was mad fierce scowling too :lol:. ...Wierd vibes man. Weird :lol:. The episode had become a little disjointed, and I was waiting on it to knit itself into gear proper once the case was underway. It did seem to take awhile.
I noticed for the longest time that Sheldon seemed to be the only one actually doing any lab work, and thought at the time at least he'd be happy to see Haylen, if no one else was. (Gee, no, Adam wasn't a deliberate non-presence early in the ep for any particular reason at all). Oh right. Monroe was there too. She did a lot of purposeful frowning in this episode. It's an expression she seems to feel is useful in conveying many and varied things in many varied situations :lol:. Apparently it never gets old. Whaddaya do. I guess it's also That Look, the one Messer was teasing her about :lol: Many and varied things, at least to her. "...I do not think it means, what you think it means..."
Sorry. Late. Tired.
Was a really great scene with Cliff Angell and Flack in the precinct. It's the kind of scene I was hoping we'd get, and I'll thank the writers for that. Flack had a great episode and Eddie was solid, as always.
Mac and Hawkes had another fun sequence, if short; regarding the first compass with the marred engraving "guess he didn't want us to find out" / "...no. But I wouldn't let that stop you..." And then of course Hawkes was left to his own, again, to do the processing :lol:. Better sequences for that too this week. And yet, quickly becoming a pet peeve, still moments of pairing sound fx to camera cuts especially leading to breaks. Hugely freakin annoying.
Back to Adam. He was a noticeably late entrant into the hour, and seemed to be brought in only because Mac, in a head tilt wha?, signed Becalls's grant and brought her into the labs unnanounced. I might be mildly appeased by the stipulation Haylen's only there part-time/twice a month. That, and, while it's still huuuuuuugely predictable in the dynamic they're setting up, AJ plays his part in the matter so damned well it's hard to begrudge. Adam got some great lines and fun moments, but, bestill my heart, so did Sheldon :lol: Crime Scene Hottie? Sheldon? Really? :lol: I dunno if he said that just to poke at Adam, cos it surely isn't a way he generally refers to his NYPD colleagues. If it's a way to set up Haylen as not being given proper respect so she can then show off her own awesomosities, then so much the worse. :shifty: Unsure what to make of that. I prefer to hope it was part of poking Adam.
Better bit was "...this is gonna be good."
I could live with Haylen around for awhile, not to see her, but to see the others responding to the circumstances. Which is really partly the point of having her here at all. An iron sigh and refusal to ponder her potential backstory and whatnot, for now I'll just enjoy the scene between the Sheldon and Adam, which was the best part of her being in the show tonight.
The bit processing the compass-by-post with Mac, Adam & Haylen tho, well :shifty:
. After establishing a huge area of ground to cover in the city, south to north, looking for the next possible victim, Flack & Co are sent to pound the pavement. Meanwhile, the others return to science, and within 90 seconds (but time is relative in NY...) know exactly where to look. Like cheating on a scavenger hunt or something. They could have saved the NYPD untold man-hours if they'd only waited a minute or two.
I mean, if they're being budget conscious and all. Compass. Filmy surface. Mass spec. Latin thingy translation. Closed display. And it's
just. that. simple, folks. See what happens when your villains care enough to send the very best.
More impressive visuals and moodiness leading to finding victim no. 2, and in processing. Odd that Flack was ducking out on a scene, he's not done that before. We find out he's hoofing it to head to Cliff's place, which I was happy to see followed up on in the hour, I thought the earlier scene mighta been it. And yes, while Stella commented to Mac this week about Don, whereas Mac had commented last week but directly to him, you'd think one or both of them might also have clued in that it was Jess' birthday. Well. Except for the fact the show regards that sort of thing as ...Fluid.
Was another great bit for Don sitting outside, and another nice inclusion of a past episode material. It's nice to see it being used and that it's not all just ephemeral weekly. Clueing in are we. My thanks and appreciation, writers.
I will admit that as soon as we had another late-nite Mac in his office scene, I was thinking here we go, another envelope waiting right? No, but a message from ...Sid? Wow. Uh oh. He said "I'm Sorry..." like the notes - quick run run run down to autopsy not Sid noooooooOooo - oh good. He's fine.
. I wuz worried. I was. He's been beaned down there before :lol:
But there was left a compass that was literally unfixed, unlike the others, symbolically un-glued, if you will. And so that's where we're left hanging, as fog machines billowed nicely in the lighting and the perp vanished therein. Some curious hmms in all the retro related materials, including asbestos no less. But no real momentum, not to me, beyond knowing the apparently disturbed and troubled killer "has work to do." Kind of an ambiguous and wandering villain and storyline for one who provides direction.
Well. Was a better show than last week. I was far more drawn in by the visual style, especially in the beginning and was very happy to see it continue thru the whole hour. Was a good looking episode and the sound was better too. We had Sid. Yay. We had Sheldon looking very good in his glasses. (Danny who?
Messer, if Sheldon gets to keep his I won't poke you so much about yours missing anymore :lol
It was an uncapped ep, no pressure built up, just kind of open, felt a little aimless instead of driven. It's not one that will have me wondering about the second and third installments really. The killer's a little to random to feel ominous (whereas sometimes random would actually increase that, here, not really). Puzzling. Not menacing somehow. Creepy? Yes, at the end, kinda :lol:
A half step from a C average in terms of the case, a whole step for character elements and bits of humor. A demi shuffle back for some cheezy lines and predictable scenes. So I guess that makes it an odd dance of some sort. :lol: Call it a C+ to B-. Meh. Alright. B-. Reluctantly. Visuals and style and a few bits and pieces rest kicked it up. Getting better. Hope it continues. Waiting for an ep to really put it all together.
