I give it a B+. Not as good as 'Unusual Suspects', but I enjoyed it.
I liked that this ep included everyone, especially Adam and Sid, who were on top form - Sid rambling on about John Does (loved Mac's expression when he was doing that) and Adam's 'stoner' impression when talking about the super-weed.:lol:
Danny and Lindsay.....separated? Investigating the case with other members of the team? *gasp* Well, it's about time. Loved seeing Danny and Flack working together, and Stella and Lindsay.
OMG, when that blood spurted up into 'drill man''s face at the beginning, I really thought he'd drilled that other guy in the eye!
Buried alive....*shudders*
Loved Hawkes and Sid playing 'Time Team', with their chisels and brushes and such.
Loved the look on Mac, Hawkes and Sid's faces when the guy was revealed as a gladiator.
Mac likes boxing? Is there anything he's not into? But it's good to know he has interests outside of work, and his admiration for Joe, as well as his anger and sadness at the waste of his life, was great to see.
but the biggest plus point for me was mac - well, obviously
actually i thought the mac in this ep was quite similar to "old" mac (ie from s1-2) in many ways: partly his obvious dedication to getting answers, but with a personal connection to the case rather than just wanting justice. the obvious sadness he had over this guy throwing his life away - actually that reminded me of "american dreamers" a bit, i guess the kind of pointlessness aspect of it.
i thought the scene of him in the apartment was excellent - one of gary's big strengths is that sometimes he acts best when there's no dialogue at all, and that was one of them. he's very good at saying a lot by saying nothing and it was lovely to see him get the chance to do that.
i liked his scene with the coach at the end - not being in the mood for games was just the right attitude to take, it sort of reflected the coach's earlier stance yelling at the boxers, although it was less overt. i think they both realised that neither of them would stand for excuses.
this season's really brought out mac's sportsgeekiness too! like others have said, is there anything he's not a secret fan of?!
and i loved when he casually slipped in a vonnegut title
I totally agree with all this. The scene in the guy's apartment, and the one at the end after the two officers took away the coach were fantastic. Gary can definitely act really well sometimes without actually saying anything, and we don't often see that anymore, so it was really good to see it again. Those scenes were incredibly powerful, I thought.
I liked too how the case was 'personal' for Mac in a more emotional way rather than a 'rational' way - just wanting justice. Thinking about it, it reminds me of American Dreamers, too, or of Open and Shut when he talked to Stella (i think) about the waste of the young basketball player's life. It's in these kind of episodes that we get to see that it's more than just a job for Mac, more than about getting justice, that he really does feel the emotional impact of cases, and the waste/loss of life really does get to him. And of course, that ties back to 9/11 and Claire, too.
Mac's admiration for Joe, a man who 'fought his heart out' and 'fought to the end' was touching, too, nice that Mac saw him as more than just a washed-up former sports star. That kind of ties into Mac's whole morality, his beliefs - he clearly admires people who work hard for what they've got and excel in their chosen field, and don't give up, and that sort of connects to his military past too.
I loved the little Without A Trace- esque moment at the end where Mac 'saw' Joe, and the frequent flashback scenes we got into Joe's life. It made him more human and sympathetic, and those WAT-esque 'ghost of the victim' moments always work well.
Once again, yay, a case focusing on regular people. Joe was very much the kind of guy you might see in a bar or wherever every day, a good man who lost a lot and was just trying to make a living.
Yay, they went to Brooklyn! It's not often our CSIs get out of Manhattan.
The coach is a crap doctor. They should have called 911. I know they probably didn't because of the illegal fighting, but Coach definitely should have stuck to coaching.
Loved Mac's final scene with the coach. Their earlier scenes (like when they were talking about Joe) made me think of 'Yahrzeit' and Mac and Braun. At first, Mac seemed to bond with the coach as they talked about boxing and about Joe (like Mac bonding with Braun when Braun was cleaning his watch and talking about how everything's digital nowadays), and shared their admiration for him (and their sorrow over what happened to him) and then Mac found out the coach was Not a Good Guy, just like with Braun in Yahrzeit. Whereas in Yahrzeit we got Super Pissy Mac, here we got Quietly Pissy Mac, which Gary played brilliantly, I thought. As you say, lisa, his not wanting to play games or hear excuses worked really well.
Mac mentioned Vonnegut? Damn, I missed that (i was very tired), what did he say? I just love when Mac shows he is an intelligent guy and evidently quite the reader. Though how he finds time for reading with his job and his love life and his sports interests, I don't know. Perhaps he really does never sleep, and stays up nights reading Vonnegut/watching Taxi Driver/watching boxing or motor racing!
Good ep.
Again, it seems the writing that flagged earlier in the season has really picked up again.
No mention of Danny's badge for 2 episodes now, or of Shane Casey? Really? I know that all plays a big part in the finale, but you'd think it'd get a mention.
