Grade 'The Past, Present and Murder'

[JellyBelly]

I also only just got around to watching this one. It very much felt like a transitionary episode, setting us up for a finale that will no doubt be high drama. Mac is definitely a little supercilious in this one, which is kind of annoying. He's set his sights on Dunbrook, and while I'm sure it will turn out that he's right, it does go against his whole 'follow the concrete evidence' as opposed to the circumstantial. I guess we had the 'Mac got it wrong' last season so it's not likely to happen again for a while.

I actually like that it wasn't a character driven episode though. As much as I adore those, it's realistic to have one that is purely about the crime, albeit with 'Big Mac' thrown in for good measure.

I miss Danny though. He seems to blend into the background a little too much unless the story is centred around him. I'm not sure what's up with that. Earlier in the season they had some great Danny moments, particularly with his banter with Flack. It really does seem as though tptb struggle to keep all the characters going at once. Having said that, I do like that other characters have gotten a look in the past few episodes. I used to get annoyed that they didn't really give anyone other than Mac, Stella and Danny anything good to go with, so now I guess Danny is taking a bit of a back seat for the likes of Flack, Hawkes and Adam, which is only fair I suppose. I admit to wanting to have my cake and eat it though, otherwise what's the point in having cake?

I gave it a C.

 

[nwolfson22]

This episode in my opinion was kind of boring. I agree with the review posted on csi files.

 

[Curiosity]

I gave this episode a grade of C-. I don't think it was the worst of the season but certainly a below average effort.

There wasn't much suspense or action involved, and the amount of "talking" in the episode, especially conversations about evidence and the Mac/Dunbrook sparring, really slowed the pace.

And it didn't help that there wasn't enough context around the Mac/Dunbrook confrontations. In their previous encounter, there was wariness between them but also a bit of curiosity and even banter at times. Now, in this episode, there's strong animosity and numerous insults, but it's not really clear what's behind it, which makes both men look bad -- especially Mac, who comes across as if he resents Dunbrook's power (and money) and how it seems to make him "untouchable."

I've complained before about the way Mac is being written this season. Several times, it has seemed the writers are letting the needs of the plot drive the character's actions too much -- Mac following his "gut" instead of the evidence (as he also did with Joe in "Hostage/Veritas"), his overly compassionate attitude towards a would-be stalker who carried on an online relationship with her father, his apparent support/understanding for the officers who came down with "blue flu," his new role as fairy godmother to Danny and Lindsay, etc. Whatever, Pod!Mac.... I just hope the body snatchers decide to return the real Mac for season six.

Moving on, there were a few things I liked about this episode.

The appearance of Sinclair. I like that Sinclair is not written as completely evil or always well-intentioned, but as someone who must balance many different facets of the job -- personal, professional and political -- and who sometimes will be in Mac's corner and sometimes not. Mac needs a boss who can be a resource at times but also is not afraid to rein him in when needed.

The last scene between Dunbrook, Mac, and Flack. I agree with what someone else mentioned -- Flack looked like he wanted to stick his tongue out at Dunbrook after Mac told him to back off. ("Take that, Dunbrook! My dad sure told you....") :lol:

Spoiler: about season five finale

But when I thought about the spoilers for the finale, the scene took on a different light. Seem like there might be some foreshadowing in Dunbrook's comment that Mac is not equipped for this "war." And seeing Mac and Flack facing off against Dunbook (apparently with the upper hand for now) seems like set up for another confrontation down the road, especially if Dunbrook plays a part in Angell's rumored death. Poor Flack...he doesn't know what's coming.

It really does seem as though tptb struggle to keep all the characters going at once.

I agree. At times, this season I thought the writers have done a good job integrating all the characters into a single episode while giving them relevant things to do. But other times, they have seemed to struggle, and the result is that some characters get relegated to the background or worse get stuck replaying the same scene (e.g., Adam getting nervous around Mac or Stella).

Frankly, I think they are a bit heavy on the CSI side of things, especially in the lab, and it's tough to balance the screentime, especially when there is a single case and/or one or two significant guest stars are involved. Seems like they might need to come up with a way to incorporate more subplots (even situations that aren't case-related) into the episodes if they want to fully untilize everyone. There are pros and cons to taking that approach as well, however.

 

[Yumi696]

^ That sucks. Adam brings so much into the episodes...

Can't wait for next season then. More Adam!

I don't like how Mac's become... ever since he started playing the "politics" game, he's been so... arrogant. :scream:

 

[FlackFan01]

^ That sucks. Adam brings so much into the episodes...

Can't wait for next season then. More Adam!

I don't like how Mac's become... ever since he started playing the "politics" game, he's been so... arrogant. :scream:

I never even thought about it being a game of politics. But, you are absolutely righ about that.

 

[Robin]

I was rolling my eyes at Dunbrook/Mac exchanges a lot. Dunbrook sure got on the defensive pretty quick when being questioned.

One would think that he would have taken that woman's prints out of his data base after she died.

One would think there would have been some teeth marks in the candy fingerprints.

One would think that he or his son would have simply got rid of the gun after killing that clerk guy, instead of trying to modify it and then hide it in the office.

Well, we finally found out why those FBI officers wanted the flash drive so bad. And we found out that the clerk was killed probably because he stole the flash drive out of the evidence room.

I wonder if someone will find it or if it got crushed by the train.

I'm pretty sure there is a copy or two floating around.

 

[M-n-Mfan7]

They are wrapping up the flash drive on the finale'. At least according to Peter Lenkov a few weeks back.

It wasnt that bad of an episode. I thought that they had just dropped the flashdrive storyline, but they didnt. They were waiting for the right episode to bring it in too. The next episode is supposed to be one of the best this season....as my screenname says I am a D/L fan thru and thru.... so to me the best epi this season was green peice. And Im sure that 5-23 will be right up there with it... cause thats when we get to see baby messer. The pics are great btw... anywyas sorry went off on a rant......Yahziet.. is Peters fav episode he says in his last interview on the 20th.
Thank you to all those that have welcomed me to the site... I have enjoyed it so far hope to continue.

 

[kinehelene]

I gave it an B. I just didnt like it..
Hope next ep is much better....