I'm giving it a 9/10. The use of characters/team interaction were by far the best in a very long time, imo, & it made this season #1 for me.
I liked that they were all a little more personable, even the characters who didn't have storylines - they didn't just sit in the background & "work" like they did in past seasons. They interacted on a more personal level, whether it was sharing a funny moment or a serious one, they seemed far more connected IMO (my list of examples would take up far too much space here).
The cases themselves seemed rather typical, but I must admit that after this long of watching the show, it's no longer the extras or cases that attract me; it's the characters & how they work/live.
I chose 'Sleepless in Miami' for favorite episode. Just a very cool episode from start to finish - loved every second of it ....which is quite rare for me. I also liked that while it was a serious incident for the one character, tptb didn't fail to incorporate some much needed laughter (like the 'oil on the forehead' & the coffee machine spitting out all the coins) & great moments between the teammembers such as the hospital scene with Eric, Ryan, & Calleigh; & Horatio/Ryan protecting Natalia. IMO, 'Sleepless in Miami' was a great example of what a character-centric episode should be like & what we should see from said character, & from the rest of the team (friendship, trust, loyalty).
'Hunting Ground' took second place. Ryan's "Needle, this is Haystack" is probably my favorite line of the season. :lol: I loved that Adam really put his heart into it & I can also totally appreciate the fact that he didn't make it about his own character. I also thought it was really sweet that after Rex had been commenting about not ever getting to drive a Hummer, Adam wrote it into the episode.