This could have been an excellent episode. I could have given it a damn good A+.
It was a nice change to have only once case, and what a case. It was interesting, it was different and it was extremely well acted. I'd never heard of Criss Angel before this episode. I'm not 'into' illusionists. I may now change my mind. That man can ACT. He was suitably creepy and sinister, and the enraged bellows he gave at the end, blowing the hair out of his eyes ... holy shit he was scary. You couldn't keep your eyes of him when he was onscreen - that is without a doubt the best bit of stunt casting I have ever seen. The rest of the casting was good also - loved the guy who owned the magic shop - he was a hoot.
Seeing as Danny Messer's character is being reduced to sappy goo, I can see myself perhaps only keeping this appointment television (if I do, and currently it's more likely NOT to) for Flack (and Adam who sadly didn't appear tonight). Flack was at his bitchy best tonight with Hawkes. That was a priceless bit of banter. I love the guy more and more each week. Attitude .. something that has been stripped from the formerly intruiging Messer.
The courtroom scenes were kind of intrusive - jolted me out of the case everyone was working on. But had it not been for the ending (more on this later), this could have been the big chance Lindsay needed to stand alone as a character in her own right. Anna Belknap gave a believable and emotional performance - while she was giving evidence on the stand I actually empathised with her character for the first time. But the minute Danny intruded on the scene, it wasn't about Lindsay anymore.
What were the writers thinking here? I have never seen so much juvenile, cheesy mush on a procedural show. These people are supposed to be adults. Danny hallucinating Lindsay walking down the hallway in the body of another woman was utter schoolgirl ridiculousness. Cue the fluffy bunnies and rainbows. I don't care how tired he was. Yes Danny, you are indeed losing your mind. Along with any credibility your character ever had. But please believe us when we say we understand - it's not your fault.
And wtF was the scene with Danny going home, looking at his mail, and stating 'follow your instincts' about? Did we need to see that? It was totally irrelevant and unnecessary. Was it supposed to hark back to Mac's eternal scolding of Danny to not follow his instincts but to rely on science? If so, it was very badly done.
I could have forgiven Danny and Lindsay holding hands as they were sitting down waiting for the verdict to be read out. He was supporting her. But it started to slide seriously downhill when Lindsay put her head on Danny's shoulder. It didn't look natural. Nothing from that moment on looked natural. The holding hands, Lindsay drawing Danny back to her, and the 'almost' kiss, looked so extremely awkward, unnatural and uncomfortable. The actors themselves looked as if they were thinking 'oh please do we really have to do this?' Oh and the music in that scene ... oh my God ... save it for the Lifetime Channel and Hallmark movies please - that was disgraceful. The 'music-picker-person' I adore so much must have had a serious brain fart at that moment. It made me want to squirm in my seat. It was soapy beyond belief and totally lacked the quality I have come to expect from this series.
Whoever gave the directive for this is sacrificing a lot. Most importantly sacrificing the talent of an actor who is worthy of much more than this clap-trap. Sacrificing the reputation of the show for quality viewing. And sacrificing the respect of long time & devoted viewers who actually
givea shit about character development, the intellectual component of the show, and more mind-bending stuff than 'who gets with who'.
We have to wait five weeks now for a new episode - and you know what? I couldn't give a rats arse. Seriously.
:lol:
