Grade 'Open and Shut'

I gave it a b- I didn't really like it that much. The cases were good, just the way stella acted. It was understandable, I just didn't like it. When she lashed out at Lindsay, it seemed a bit unprofessional. I love Stella, just that part ruined the whole eppy for me.
 
The cases on CSI:NY last night were unspectacular and predictable. I called the A case before the first commercial break, and no one in the B case was sympathetic enough for me to care. There was, however, some spectacular character development for Stella, and kudos to the writers for once for steering away from the cliche. It would have been all too easy for the case to truly be a case of Abused Woman Trapped in an Unwinnable Situation and let Stella have a moment of sappy bonding. The fact that the supposed victim engineered this little plot after reading the details on Stella's case in the paper was a nasty little twist, and though Stella handled that realization with feisty panache in the interrogation room, the revelation and subsequent accusations of hypocrisy clearly stung, as evinced by the closing shot.

I also liked the argument between Stella and Lindsay, and not, as so many others have said, because it was Lindsay being ravaged. I thought Lindsay handled herself admirably in that instance by walking away rather than escalating the drama. Yes, she was huffy and nettled when she left, but I don't know anyone who wouldn't be after being ambushed like that. Stella was way, way out of line, especially since Lindsay was doing exactly what Stella and Mac had taught her and examining the evidence from all sides. It would have been nice to see an apology, but its absence was not entirely surprising, given Stella's periodic lapses into irritating sanctimony.

Mac's decision to approach her as a friend rather than a supervisor at that point was a nice touch of realism. In a perfect world, he would have stepped in as a supervisor and told her that such outbursts were ill-advised and unprofessional, but Stella has never taken well to authoritarian "Because I Said Sos" from Mac, and he was smart enough to know that another approach was needed.

That's not to say that it was perfect. Some of the dialogue between Stella and Grace was hideous, especially the agonizingly lame, "Your home is the one place you're supposed to be safe" from Grace. Yeah, thanks, writers. Without that line, I would have been utterly unable to grasp the paralells between this case and Stella's. An anvil like that could cause fatal head trauma.

The B case was a joke, redeemed only by copious amounts of Flack sex appeal and snark. I know New York is a trendy city, but I don't give a toot about the machinations of the rich and stupid.
 
La_Guera said:
The cases on CSI:NY last night were unspectacular and predictable.
I would rather watch a show with sometimes spectacular and sometimes 'normal' cases. I love some of the really freaky ones out there, but it would seem boring to me if they were all like that. But that's just me...
I thought this episode was okay. Liked both the hilarious, and Adam is officially my favorite lab rat. Stella was perfect, and Flack was Flack. :D
I have some mixed feelings about Stella and Lindsay. Stell was wrong to completely freak out, but I think Lindsay could have been more sympathetic. More and more I agree with the statement that Lindsay only cares about Lindsay. Gold star stickers to whoever said that (sorry, I forgot :eek:).
I need some help from you guys... I though I heard when Danny and Hawkes were putting the hotel concierge's body in the van they made some comment about how gross the body was. If they really did say what I thought they said, it was very uncool. Did I just hear this wrong, or did I just blow it out of proportion? :confused:
 
I gave it a B-. It was okay but nothing special. Was nice that Stella got some continuity--at least the writers know to do it for some of the characters. Although there was lots of Flack, there's nothing new to say about him--he's still cute, still snarky, still capable and tenacious, still wearing ugly ties.
 
Rated it an A.

I love Stella episodes. She clearly is a great actress and when she is given a time to show it, I adore it. :D

And I love Syd autopsy scenes! Am I the only one who finds his processing scenes the most intriguing out of any of the CSI shows?
 
Top41 said:
Definitely Frankie! lol I do agree it was a pretty minor disagreement, but I think Lindsay gets a little carried away at times and forgets about the human element in the cases (like she did in "People with Money") and I wonder if this wasn't a bit of a lesson to her. I do like that she referenced something about Stella teaching her--that shows she is trying to learn, which is good!

When you put it this way, it makes me think of Lindsay as Grissom. :lol: Nobody get me wrong... I love Lindsay, but I couldn't help to laugh at myself when that was the first thing I thought of when you posted this.
 
One word: weak.

Weak characters, weak writing, weak cases. I'm starting to think they don't even care about what cases they're writing, as long as one of the crew will get emotionally involved.
 
vegaslights said:
And I love Syd autopsy scenes! Am I the only one who finds his processing scenes the most intriguing out of any of the CSI shows?

Nope. I really like those scenes too, for some unknown reason. They're just so captivating.
 
jorja_fan86 said:
I posted this over in the Stella/Melina thread & since it relates to this episode I figure I'll post it here. Who knows, maybe it'll spark some interesting debate on the dissection of Stella's character tonight ;):

If I was in Stella's position I would've slapped Grace right across that smug face of hers. However, Stella showed class & dignity when she replied, "Mine was in self defense. I'm a victim. You're a cold blooded killer." When she said that she made Grace look like the fool. Stella is good at knowing when to use her head & when to use her heart & during that moment she used her head. I mean, Stella finally found someone who she could connect to, someone who apparently experienced a total life or death situation. Stella, who is usually level headed, let her emotions rule the case. She was lead to believe that Grace was done wrong & she stuck with that, even when Lindsay seemed to point out the opposite. Seeing Stella snap on Lindsay, her own teammate, was so unexpected. Stella turned on her own co-worker to fall into a trap lead by a twisted lady. She also proved her loyalty to Grace when she talked about how they seem to focus more on the death then the actual to victims to Mac in the computer lab. However, when she came across that key piece of evidence that pointed to Grace as the killer the return of real Stella came back. The compassionate she once shared for a woman that basically betrayed her faded away. She was determined to put Grace behind bars & it showed when she keenly looked for the white shirt covered in blood. To me it seemed like Stella who was slapped in the face when she learnt that Grace lied to her the entire time. Because of that she’ll probably have a harder time trusting suspects before this incident. When you looked into Stella’s eyes as she walked out of the interrogation room you could see her anguish, her pain. It didn’t help that the memories of her abusive boyfriend came flooding back. Basically, it was a cruel joke & Stella was basically a defenseless puppet in the scheme of Grace’s ploy. Grace took advantage of Stella & that probably was her intention as well. Stella, or anybody for that matter did not deserve that. However, that happens when you let your guard down to a supposed victim. I think Stella learnt that it’s best not to get emotionally invested in a case as your judgment can turn out to be totally wrong. This episode shows us that Stella is human who makes mistakes like all of us. She's a real person with real feelings. She lets fantasy take charge of reality & that's normal.

Even if I wasn’t a Stella fan I still think Melina deserves an Emmy based purely on her work in this episode, if not for the other ones she did in the past. Melina is just awesome beyond words.

Any thoughts?

You nailed my thoughts exactly on this case. You rock, my neighbor in the gutter! :D
 
I agree with jorja_fan86, too. This ep had some excellent continuity and character development for Stella, and that (for me) made up for anything that the cases themselves might have been lacking. And it was nice (and realistic) to see that even though Stella is an old pro and has been a CSI for many years, she's still learning and evolving, discovering her weaknesses and finding ways to overcome them. Good for her! I think Open and Shut was an intriguing look into Stella's ultimate integrity and strength of character, and of course an excellent showcase for Melina's talents as an actress.

ETA: I also agree with vegaslights, I do love watching Sid in his element, processing the victims. And of course now that we know he has a young daughter, we can see him visibly blanch when another young girl ends up in his morgue. It's nice that they fleshed out Sid a bit, and gave him that sentimental side along with the oddball humor.
 
Just a quick question... did Flack call the model 'kid' or 'kitten'? Because either way it's hilarious, but I watched the episode three times and I still can't figure it out and it's driving me crazy! :mad:
 
I couldn't quite tell either. I'd swear up and down that he called her "kitten" but other people I was talking to said "kid". "Kitten" was inspired, if that's what he said.
 
:lol: He called her kid. Seeing his snarky side made me laugh & the faces he made while he was talking to the model by the pool side was priceless. This guy is the humour of the show.

Oh, and did anybody else recongize the actress who played Grace from her brief guest apperance on Seinfeld? She played Victoria, George's girlfriend on the final episode of season five entitled The Opposite. This wasn't the second time they used a Seinfeld character though. I still remember when Newman was in last season's episode Fare Game.
 
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