Grade 'The Box'

[Half]

I guess now we know who's smarter...Mac or Horatio...Mac.

Didn't we already know that?

I'd like to revise my opinion:

I gave this episode a B+. It wasn't great, but I don't think it deserves to be called horrible. I've noticed all of the things that you guys have mentioned, but I just don't think it's fair necessarily to see everything from Lindsay's point of view. Now, I'm not condoning Anna's acting, or Lindsay's whining, or every problem that there is with the Lindsay half of this storyline. My point is that while Lindsay isn't perfect, Danny isn't either. He admitted that the Rikki thing was a screw up- no one can deny that. While, if they weren't together it wasn't necessarily cheating, Danny seems to either believe Lindsay sees or it such or believes that it was something that he shouldn't have done. Yes, Lindsay is most of the problem. But I can't really blame her for everything, because Danny has some responsibility for this as well. Now, you may argue that the point is that Lindsay seems to think he has no responsibility, but it's classic Lindsay. It takes her a while to come to terms with things, and everyone pays while that time is slowly moving. She's scared, and she doesn't necessarily know if Danny is there for her. Not the baby, her. It's not about the baby. It's about whether she feels she can trust him with her.

In regards to Danny's tell-all conversation, while at first I found it random I've come to the opinion that it sort of makes sense. There are certain things that you just need to talk about- things you just need to say, no matter who you're speaking to.

And about the whole hand thing at the end, and that last scene in general- I actually feel different about the hand thing than I did before. To me it suggested that they're slowly coming back together, but they're not there yet. I expected Lindsay to say something to Danny about the fact that the couple seemed to know things they shouldn't, but she just stood there, and I think that means that she's come a little ways from what she used to be. I think there's a possibility that Lindsay has changed (a little tiny bit) and become a little more mature than she was when she was blatantly angry at Danny in the middle of the lab without thought to the fact that other people were there that didn't know why she was upset. I really was expecting some sort of hissed anger, but she seemed muted. I don't know, maybe I'm just seeing things.


About the topic on whether babies ruin lives- Well, some of the kids in my Class are pregnant, so their lives are pretty much ruined. When it comes to adults I think it's a toss-up. If you can handle it, it's not going to ruin your life. If you can't, and I'm still not too sure about D/L, you might be having problems.

 

[RearWindow]

I thought this episode was pretty good -- maybe a B+. A couple of things I can't get passed...

Danny asking if Lindsay was sure she was pregnant. Really? Are we in 8th grade?

Danny opening up to complete strangers. I agree with the PP who mentioned it would have been better to see him discussing this with Flack. And who doesn't want to see more Flack?

The motorcycle ride. Not sure what the point of this was?

The baby cut out of the stomach storyline didn't hold my attention because I kept waiting for Lindsay to say those two words. I was a fan of D/L back in seasons 2 and 3 but have since lost interest. He seems way too mature for her and I just can't get passed her hair. Shallow, I know, but the short do doesn't work. It makes her look old and mean.

Love Flack and Adam.

 

[roximonoxide]

If you're really submerged in the drama that argument is a bit of a cop out don't you think?

Actually, I don't think it's a cop out. For me, assessing character intent and critiquing finished product are two separate endeavors. That's one of the things I enjoy about reading the reviews, we're all coming at it from a different angles.

I wasn't suggesting that your overall critique was cop out on any level, I loved hearing some new and well rounded points of view on the episode, not to mention when it's expressed in polysyllables. I thought we were talking solely about assessing character intent when you suggested you "defaulted to “He’s fictional. Why does Danny do anything?” That said, if every time you begin to consider a character, their motivations and intentions, you can just fall back on "well, they're fictional so it doesn't really have to make sense." That kind of gives shoddy writing, or poorly developed and delivered characterization an excuse, when well written characters and stories shouldn't need excuses. Motivations, while subjective, would be relatively clear unless of course they're intentionally withholding something to be revealed later, no?

While I agree with you, there is nothing I enjoy more than the occassional and well designed deviation from a formula, I think there's an important distinction to be made between suspense - wondering whats going to happen next, and wondering where this is going which I find more akin to disorientation.

Perhaps my word choice is misleading, but if I was disoriented I would have said so. "Where is this going" is different from "I am confused, get me out of here."

I didn't mean to imply you found it disorienting, but I definitely did find myself in suspense as well as a little baffled from time to time.

 

[Springmoon]

*bakes cookies for the NY mods*

Bribing gets you nowhere!

 

[Elsie]

Man, I wanted to enjoy that episode. And even from the original spoilers I did think it had potential. But that was all kinds of lame.

I'm not a Danny fan anyway, although I can usually be won over by Carmine's acting, but the majority of the lameness in this episode came from Danny, and Carmine's delivery wasn't great either. The whole speech thing he had going on was just awful, dare I say worse than Lindsay's 'monologue of doom'? I think so. It started badly, and then just got worse. And that's without mentioning the fact that he was saying it all to the harsh parents of the victim. The bike ride? Why? Stop wasting my time, if you can't fill an episode with something useful then at least fill it with something slightly less cringe-worthy than that! I don't care what, maybe Adam geeking out, or Flack doing some paperwork, or Sid cutting up some bodies, I don't care, but seriously!

Lindsay. Could have been worse. It wasn't awful, the emoting wasn't too bad, I can't understand why, if we're lead to believe that she and Danny care for each other, they simply never show it. I'm taking a guess that she isn't more than 8 weeks pregnant, but she's had more than one visit to the doctor, so just tell him! Oh, right, you know he's a loser so you decided you didn't want anything from him. Yes, that's simply my interpretation of this appallingly played out 'relationship'.

Meh, Sid and Hawkes were pretty good. Adam was adorable as usual, and Flack looked hot in jeans.

*bakes cookies for the NY mods*

Bribing gets you nowhere!

*Seriously needs cookies*

 

[cSiNyFrEaK30]

Well....just finished watching The Box...and I have to say...



:brickwall::brickwall::brickwall::brickwall::brickwall:




...that is all.

 

[babyjefer]

I thought this episode was absolutely fantastic. Carmine and Anna did a brilliant job and this was definitely one of the best D/L episodes ever!! TPTB really delivered for us D/L shippers - WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!


Excuse me, I've been lurking around here for some time, but thought I would post to say how BRILLIANT this episode was, so I hope you don't find me speaking out of turn now. I would like to ask a question to all of you who did not like this episode/DL/Lindsay/Anna. If you really detest her THAT much then why on earth do you watch the show? IMOH if there was an actor/character that I detested as much as some of you appear to then there is no way on God's earth that I would watch that show - no matter how much I fancied the pants off some of the guys on it. Obviously, I'm not sayin that only D/L fans can watch this show but I would honestly like to know what makes you watch it if you hate her that much.

 

[csimania19]

this ep wasn't that awesome, though it wasn't horrible either. it was actually okay. it was kinda gloomy for me, and i don't think it's all because of the d/l thing.

~ soo danny. his speech. don't really mind it. cool part was him talking with the vic's mom and dad. thought he was talking to his psychiatrist or something.

~ lindsay. she wasn't bad either. that's all i can say.

~ really awesome that sid and hawkes had a lot of scenes! nice to see em!

~ mac and flack with the suspect. really funny. esp how mac explained the law of thermodynamics dadada, and how he laughed at the suspect for beating himself up for nothing haha.

~ stella telling adam he was the best. so cute. lol. and casual flack. what can i say? awesome.

~ and of course, d/l. it wasn't that bad. it wasn't drama overload like what i expected. though it was kinda funny when lindsay was running (?) away from danny, then suddenly she says hey! i know the vic! that was so weird lol.

~the revelation scene.. didn't mind it. though too cliche that lindsay threw up before telling danny the news haha. and the last scene was kinda lacking. i thought they were gonna hold hands, and their hands were sort of moving i guess trying to feel each other of who will hold the other's hand first.

~ what was with the press release? angell wasn't present. aww. was looking forward to her actually.

welll.. i give this ep a... lemme think about it lol. two weeks till the next episode. a lot of time to discuss this ep.

 

[roximonoxide]

Excuse me, I've been lurking around here for some time, but thought I would post to say how BRILLIANT this episode was, so I hope you don't find me speaking out of turn now. I would like to ask a question to all of you who did not like this episode/DL/Lindsay/Anna. If you really detest her THAT much then why on earth do you watch the show? IMOH if there was an actor/character that I detested as much as some of you appear to then there is no way on God's earth that I would watch that show - no matter how much I fancied the pants off some of the guys on it. Obviously, I'm not sayin that only D/L fans can watch this show but I would honestly like to know what makes you watch it if you hate her that much.

I think this question has been answered six ways from Sunday at this point but I'll give you my spin on it.

Firstly, it's pretty unenlightened of you to suggest that everyone who doesn't care for DL, Lindsay or Ms. Belknap is watching for the sole purpose of drooling over some male co-star. Ignorant even, especially for someone who says they've been lurking here for a quite a while, which I would take to mean reading and digesting other's posts.

Secondly, this might shock you, but considering Lindsay's character was an addition in the second season a lot of viewers grew attached to this show and it's original cast long before Anna Belknap was installed. Personally speaking, I already had an affinity for Flack, Aiden, Mac, Danny, Stella, even Maka amongst some other characters who are no longer involved with the show. Then Anna was added. However much I truly detest Lindsay's character or Anna's portrayal I'm not so flighty that I'll drop my favorite show or my attachment to favorite characters like a hot rock, because one bad apple is gumming up the works. Call it hopeless optimism if you like, but I'd like to give the writers, whom I once felt like I was on the same page with for so long, the chance to show me that they have something good left in them, in the hopes that my loyalty and faith in their choices will pay off and deliver a truly worth while drama.

That said, can we disect an episode without resorting to the "Don't like it, don't watch it." defense? I hope it's the last time I or someone else has to answer this question, though I feel like that really is hopeless optimism.

 

[kinkapoodles]

If you really detest her THAT much then why on earth do you watch the show?

Lindsay is only a small part of the show and so far I have no intention of dropping it just because I don't care for her. Like was said before, even with this baby storyline they're focusing on Danny. That's VERY telling.

Obviously, I'm not sayin that only D/L fans can watch this show but I would honestly like to know what makes you watch it if you hate her that much.

I was already invested in this show and the characters before Lindsay came along. Why should I drop it just because I don't like her?

IMOH if there was an actor/character that I detested as much as some of you appear to then there is no way on God's earth that I would watch that show - no matter how much I fancied the pants off some of the guys on it.

Then YOU have every right NOT to watch it. While the male characters are very easy to look at, I certainly wouldn't be that impressed with them if they couldn't act and I do NOT watch the show just because of them. I find the characters interesting, all of them except one and why should I have to like a character who cannot stand on her own two feet and must be permanently propped up by Danny?

 

[Faylinn]

ETA: I'm hardly the first responder, but...

If you really detest her THAT much then why on earth do you watch the show?

Mac, Stella, Danny, Hawkes, Flack, Adam, Sid, Angell - 8 positives plus 1 negative still gives me a positive result. Plus, I've been with the show since the beginning, and it's the only show I watch for which I'm also active in the fandom. I'm not personally going to give up the entire show because of that particular character.

More importantly, why should I give up the show just because I think Lindsay sucks? One can like something (a tv show, character, actor, brand of toothpaste, etc) and still not love everything about it.

 

[ejacksonian]

I have said my piece on Anna Belknap before, but I want to add something else: I think the wriiting for Lindsay is terrible. For all the good writing this show has, Lindsay gets stuck with the least best (euphemism) actor, the worst characterization (whiny attitude, general childness), and the worst storylines. They completely got off on the wrong foot with her, and they have stumbling, through whatever to the wall to see if anything sticks. Although we are stuck with the actor, I wished they find a better way to make less... of a distraction.

 

[mandy9578]

I was actually dreading watching this episode because of the D/L brouhaha. Anyway, with that said, I had low expectations for this one. Couldn't Lindsay be more obvious that something was wrong when she ran away from the health center when Danny saw her? I also didn't like how she made Danny the villain of the piece with her 'I know you!' quip to him. How very mature of you Monroe.

Flack in jeans was one bright spot though.

Adam with his crush on Stella was just too cute.

As for the case itself, I'm glad there's just one for this eppy, although I hate that it was somehow woven with the D/L baby news/story. Too much of a coincidence for my taste. BTW, it's really sick what desperate people do just to get what they want.

 

[kinkapoodles]

I have said my piece on Anna Belknap before, but I want to add something else: I think the wriiting for Lindsay is terrible. For all the good writing this show has, Lindsay gets stuck with the least best (euphemism) actor, the worst characterization (whiny attitude, general childness), and the worst storylines. They completely got off on the wrong foot with her, and they have stumbling, through whatever to the wall to see if anything sticks. Although we are stuck with the actor, I wished they find a better way to make less... of a distraction.

I feel the writing is bad for her but I cannot totally blame the writers. I have to blame the actress too. Sometimes I wonder if maybe they write her that way on purpose and one of these days she's gonna totally lose her mind and go on a killing spree. I've enjoyed the show since she's had less screentime and I'm looking forward to Lindsay free episodes while Anna is on maternity leave.

 

[babyjefer]

I wasn't implying that it should be a 'if you don't like it, don't watch it' kind of thing nor that people who do not like D/L only watch it for the other guys on it. It was just one reason that people may still be tuning in. I'm really glad that you all have valid reasons for still watching. That was what I wanted to know - the reasons you watched despite this character you did not like. I think it shows complete faith in the show as a whole that you are willing to put up with one person that appears to ignite a massive fire within a lot of you.

I did not want to offend but genuinely wanted to know why it was you tuned in. I asked this question over on a D/L forum and of course the majority of people said that D/L was one of the factors they liked it but there were also many other reasons they tuned in - probably the same ones as you do. I do not watch CSI:NY just for D/L but those are the bits I do enjoy best.