Nice one, it was worth watching, especially the Flack-Sam scenes, and I find the little boy´s acting skills pretty impressive. Adam is just Adam, thank God for that :lol:. Good team work, interesting case- could TPTB please keep that level, then they wouldn´t have to worry about ratings
Oh, Flack, sweetheart, I love you so. That Flack remains a sweetheart despite the radical shift in his worldview and sense of self in the wake of Angell's murder and his decision to execute her killer is evident in his interactions with Sam, the young eyewitness. I've always suspected that Flack would be good with children, and I wasn't disappointed. Flack was compassionate and tender with Sam in the precinct bathroom, helping him wash his brother's blood from his hands and providing him with a fresh shirt. And his compassion didn't end there. He tried his best to shepherd Sam through the ordeal as gently as possible, and it was wonderful to see the normally hard-nosed Flack doing his best to make a child laugh by creating goofy pictures on his precinct laptop. While Flack might no longer think the best of himself, he clearly still wants to believe the best of Sam. When Hawkes and Stella first approach him with their suspicions about what really happened, Flack adamantly refuses to countenance the idea that his young, vulnerable charge could be involved in a bank robbery, or that Sam would lie to him. "He doesn't have it in his DNA to lie like that," he tells Stella, and challenges the "scientists" to find hard evidence to support their hypotheses. I just wish that Flack's trust wasn't constantly broken and disappointed. He trusted Gavin in "The Fall", only to find out that his mentor had tampered with evidence to protect his illegitimate son; he trusted Truby" in "Consequences", only to discover that he had murdered a paintball player to hide his drug-dealing; he trusted the department in "Rush to Judgment", only to nearly be bulldozed under by an IAB eager to protect the department at any cost. And now, he trusted Sam, only to find out that he had lied to him in order to hide the truth about the back robbery. Flack's trust has yet to be validated by anyone in whom he's placed it, and it breaks my heart. Just once, I wish Flack would be right. Not only does it hurt my fangirl's heart to see such a sweet character so routinely disappointed, but it doesn't speak well of his instincts as a detective when he's constantly wrong. Even when his trust isn't being broken and trampled into bleeding dust, he's seldom right. His initial impressions of a situation or suspicions about their involvement in a case inevitably turn out to be incorrect, trumped by science or Mac's infallible Gut of Great Justice. How can he be taken seriously as a homicide detective with an immaculate record and a sterling reputation if his success rate in interpreting the evidence is worse than that of a weatherman in Florida? I'm tired of him being made to look like a reactionary idiot in order to elevate the CSIs. Besides, being a reactionary idiot is Stella's racket. It was exceedingly rich of her to be the one to tell Flack that he had to let his emotions go. Isn't this the same woman who ripped Lindsay's head off when the latter had the temerity to point out that the evidence pointed to the wife's guilt in "Open and Shut?" The same woman who let a murderer escape in "Cold Reveal" because she was her foster sister, who killed to escape her molester? The same woman who defied Mac's direct orders and pursued Sebastian Diakos because he attacked her in S5? Who pissed on her badge in "Grounds for Deception" because she was so damned bound and determined to get her man and protect her precious Greek heritage? The same woman who jumped down Sid's throat with both feet in "Rest in Peace, Marina Garito" because she didn't want to believe that her death was a suicide? Stella has zero credibility when it comes to telling people to let their emotions go, and she came off as a giant honking hypocrite. The sentiment might have been valid, but Hawkes would have been a better messenger. Eddie Cahill is a joy to behold. His quiet removal of the cup from Sam's fidgeting hands in the interrogation scene spoke more elegantly and eloquently to his broken trust than any overblown speech ever could have. Whereas Gary Sinise is often howling bombast, Cahill brings a rare and delightful subtlety and grace to his performances. He is a credit to his profession, and I can't wait to see where his career takes him. A rare treat made better by the refreshing lack of Mactimony. A-
Flack is a great guy, and I felt for him in this episode La Guera. Sadly, like many of the other cases, Flack put trust in someone only to find out they were lying. Unlike the other times though, there truly wasn't any malicious intent and I imagine Sam felt bad lying. This is a twelve year old kid who saw his brother get shot, fears going to jail and is trying to protect his mother. Unlike the others (with the exception of Trudy) I don't believe there was any malicious intent in lying to Flack or someone trying to take advantage of that trust, just a scared kid.
Meh...it was okay Mac likes carrots in his pizza sauce. Flack got wrapped up in the little brother way too quickly. Why didn't the boys just give the Rolex to their mom to sell instead of wearing it to school and getting it stolen and then robbing a bank. I actually yelled out loud at the bus scene. Ugh...he even went under and everything. And then they go, "He's gone." Well...duh! Even on magical shows like CSI:NY if you get hit that hard by a bus you're going to die. LOL! It was probably the best scene in the episode, though. I could be wrong about this, but isn't this the second guy that has been hit by a bus while running away from Flack? Also, all that shooting at the building. I heard glass breaking during that time. Not very safe shooting into other people's apartments. Someone else could get shot. (I know this is TV and everything, but it's still very reckless). The way Stella approached the guy who stole the watch wasn't very bright either. She left herself wide open if he did happen to have a weapon. But, of course SuperMac would have gotten there in time regardless. So, the boys rob a bank at gunpoint and they're not going to jail? Does CSI and Flack get to make decisions like that? The ending was predictable and hokey, complete with Flack standing there to watch the older boy wake up. Again, magical. Aubery seems to be likeable. She doesn't come across as needy as most of the women that Mac has been with.
I'll comment while I watch since I missed it the first time. Lots of good visuals so far: Flack with the kid washing his hands. Danny all hunkered down on the curb. Danny, Lindsay and Hawkes walking down the alley. Ha. They finally gave the cheesy line to someone else. Not sold on the mom for some reason. Cute kid. Flack's good with kids. Liking the music during the evidence montage. ooohhh. Mac and Stella taking down the bad boy. Holy crap what a long word. methyl- and 10 other syllables. Where did Danny go? He's been here and gone in the last two episodes. Oh Sid. You do know how to ramble on. Well there's Danny! He's looking so fine these days. Healthy and sexy again. Danny and Flack on opposite sides of this one. Good conflict. Adam, what are you doing...so goofy and adorable. Oops, there's Mac again. backpack, backpack who's got the backpack. Flack, stop leading the kid. You're giving him way too much to work with. And aren't all kids supposed to have an advocate when questioned? Ah yes, the old "pinging the cellphone trick" Well lookie there! Ouch, my knees... Geez Louise, I didn't see that bus either. Isn't that the same book Adam had? Oh, so now it's red dye. Did we know that before? Now they should have known that the dye was of the bank robbery variety, shouldn't they? Isn't it a special one of a kind sort of thing??? Oh please, $933.00!!! What, no change??? Poor Flack. He's been snookered by a kid. Liking the mom more in that scene. And of course the kid has to wake up before the show ends. Nice music. Mac and Aubrey were cute. My eyes got as big as Macs when she suggested "her place". He sort of looked relieved when she clarified that, didn't he. A good episode overall. Had the feeling of the old show that I used to love and couldn't wait to see on Wednesday night. I could use a few more of these.
Flack said that the District Attourney and the Bank decided not to press charges, so it wasn't down to the CSI's or him. My guess is that they figured the kid would be tried as a juvenile anyway, and it'd be very bad publicity for the bank if they went after a 14 year old who just wanted to help his Mom. (because of course, robbing a bank is much better than maybe suggesting to her that she could sell a Rolex and get rent money for a few more months) I figured from the start that it wasn't just a simple robbery with shooting, but I thought that maybe the boys had had the watch stolen and then faked the shooting themselves so they wouldn't get in trouble, only the injury was worse than intended. To be honest - and maybe I'm just a bit too cynical for my own good - but I didn't exactly have a lot of sympathy for a kid who disobeys his mother and wears an expensive watch like that to school. Not to mention one who thinks that armed robbery is a good way out of trouble. I hope that Flack makes it damn clear to him when he wakes up that he's the luckiest kid in the city and that if he ever pulls a stupid stunt like that again he'll end up in Juvie.
Very entertaining episode.The story was very emotional and became important for Flack,who had some conflict with the CSI's about the bank robbery.Mac's love interest was back(I'm actually anticipating the next episode to see what will happen with Peyton too). I gave it an A-.
Finally got to see it. Just points as tapped out, otherwise won't even get a comment posted on this before the next one airs. Too tired to edit or fiddle with this much. Suspect that tenses could be mingling etc, but meh, it's been that kind of week . I liked the intro. The pov run, the pizza bit, and an understated premise by which to include Aubrey. I liked the follow up hospital sequence with Mac and Stella, and that it was inter-cut with flashbacks to the events in question. The near-melodramatic, dire, hard times of Sam and his family were quickly established, complete to a mom working three jobs and father gone. Wasn't much of a leap to guess the watch was the fathers, etc., but, for all the lack of surprise with the set up, how it was portrayed was well done. The kid playing Sam, Aaron Refvem, was solid thruout, and the early interaction with Flack promised a similar run thru the ep that did not disappoint. Rolled my eyes briefly at discovering Lindsay and Messer together on scene, cos they can't ever be separated, but the show thankfully decided not to include a spoken reminder of their union. Well. Besides the brief "babe" moment. Was nice to see Messer, Messer & Hawkes doing legwork & following a trail of evidence. The show suffered it's ususal fx on cuts & inserts, and later more sirens/traffic on cityscapes, but had some reasonably moody and subdued music for a change. Also thought having Stella & Aubrey each doing their own thing alongside each other at the hospital with Nick was a good scene too. Afghanistan got a brief mention for the benefit of those who did not watch Marina Garito, but still just a scene in service to the case and nothing else, both before and after Mac joined them. Nicely done. Another fun scene was Flack and Sam and dealing with mug shots. So far so good, early on. On all tiers, the alley, the hospital, and the precinct, it felt like each member was pursuing their respective trails of evidence. (Just be mindful of getting schputz on Don's monitor, ). Hallo Adam, was great to see you. Adding a fourth tier in processing, soon augmented by Stella, processing. Much processing processing processing. Some brief time passed and Sam completed his composite sketch revealing their first suspect, John Cook. Off to find him, and - doh, of course dumb-ass runs, kick his ass Stella - oh hey Mac. Nice one. The sentimental watch was now retrieved. The next tool employed by the investigation followed, the Interrogation Scene. And I say it like that because Flack & Stella discussed it as if that's exactly what it was, part of the rounds made to see what shakes loose, with Mac taking his shot in the room doing what they all would on their turn. Dude was suitably obnoxious and defiant, even in teh face of Mac . More processing, with Sheldon, this time. The easy gun from the alley. Dun dun dunnnnh. The next next tool, the line-up. And I say it like that cos that's how Flack and Mac discussed it, and what it did or didn't get them, with no judgement on Sam. I actually quite liked the Don/Mac interaction in this one. Also simply understated & in service. I then had some note that Mac, Stell, Lindsay, Adam, and Sheldon were about, so it musta been a recap of some sort. Twizt with the gun not being the gun, first herring, and not much headway made for all the effort to that point. Something to that effect. Yay, if not a Sheldon/Sid scene, an Adam/Sid scene will certainly do. Lesson on "shored" wounds, which was actually interesting and presented well, and also a key point. Well done, PTB. That's how ya do it. I also loved that Sid knew all about eco-friendly textiles etc, and that fit as much as it might have had it been Adam expounding on such in a different set of circumstances. I liked that the dialogue about evidence actually felt specific to Sid & Adam, to individuals and not interchangeable. Well done again. We even got a brief Sid quirk to end it off. Now that's what I'm talking about. Spread that kind of tailoring around, it's a good thing. We got another nice, low-key scene with Flack & Mac, talking about taking Sam back give them a guided tour of the crime scene. On another show I suppose that would be called a cognitive interview, . On scene in the alley with Sam, Flack, and teh Messerz. Was amused when Sam called Danny sir , especially with the more informal and relaxed set up between Don and Sam. More Adam. Doing - no way, ...ha, I don't believe it, a De Niro impression :lol:. Loved it, but hafta admit I thought it coulda been cut just a tad sharper. Otherwise brilliant. Fun wit w/ Mac walking in to cap it. Nice to see that dynamic getting some play this year in a few eps. So answers were found by grace of shored pork : the backpack shored Nick's wound, and the hunt for the bag became the next key thing, holding onto the thrunthru bullet. Gotta say, the ep was keeping the plot, investigation, and pace all linear and methodical. Got a scene with Flack inna a jacket. Nice to see, even without the ties. Another nice scene with Flack, Mac, Sam and his mom. Sure, it's a bit one note for what's being asked of him, but Aaron Refvem was consistently very good. I was very impressed with him. And certainly a great deal of the episode hinged on his performance. Thumbs up to him. Next clue revealed was the cell phone in the backpack along with the bullet. Which located it, along with a parole hit in Troy Castrol. Flack, Mac, & Stella off to find him, and of course on another shootout/chase - kick his ass Flac- *doh'ly f*ck*... erm. wow. Daaaaaat's a helluva way to go. Owie. I imagine there would be some serious paperwork involved after a chase turns into a shootout turns into being schmucked by a bus or big rig. That scene certainly got me by surprise, hugely :lol: Another well done from me. The next sequence opened up with a great shot from within the bag, and of course the phone and bullet were revealed, as well as the next twizt. Cash and bank dye packs. More nice shots with gelatin & ballistics. Stella and Sheldon were the next pairing to get a scene. I liked they were mixing it up. Good stuff. Next plot quirks, confirmed by bank staff, located a dozen blocks from the other crime scene, that they were robbed for a grand total of $933, by ballcap #2. While immediately understanding what was to follow, I was still happy to see what came next. Another of my wishlist items getting some due, people at odds within an investigation. Granted, here it was less about how to proceed and more about facing certain conclusions, but as with Marina Garito, I actually liked the inclusion of a scene where things aren't hunky dory between everyone all the time, regardless of who's in the right or wrong on any given occasion. Anyways. It was nice to see Don at odds with Stella and Sheldon due to his fondness for Sam, and the line "everything I'm hearing from the science guys is speculation" was doubly a good shot to take, even if not wholly accurate. As for pot/kettle issuez. It was all a bit mallet heavy in setting up the conflict, Flack as the lone voice in the face of teh grand CSIs so featured in the show's title, and so having the famously hotheaded Stella, and Sheldon, known also for a few of his own moments where sentiment trumped logic, being the so called voices of reason, was just part of the scene's ball of wax for me. The show's certainly not been consistent enough in having characters take and hold to certain thrulines for me to be more than vaguely tweaking a tired eyebrow. I suspect having Flack's attachment to Sam play out was more important than which CSI's were the ones to counter him in order to present the opportunity. What are ya gonna do. I'd rather there were occasional moments of butting heads than not, so I'll take it as it was doled out this week. On to the next good Flack/Mac/Sam & his mom scene, where it all came out. Was another emotional scene that was allowed to speak for itself, without external moralizing or narration, and where the line between perpetrator/victim was decidedly blurred. The ep really did consist of very ordinary people fallen upon hard times further caught up in a few of the worst days of their lives. A bit extreme in robbing a bank for rent money, but perhaps befitting Sam's and Nick's logic. And once again, the kid was really really good. "The family could use some good news." The ep closed out with the scene at the hospital, capping off Flack's promise to Sam, that he'd be there when Nick woke. Combined with the news that no charges would be pursued, and that donations were pouring in for the family, it was all typically Feelgood, Sentimental and Predictable, but not quite cheezy. Last point of restraint in the ep, Mac & Aubrey. Another one where they certainly weren't imposed upon an ep but worked within it. A wee fun headtilt moment was "if you had a prognosis, what would it be?" answered by "optimistic, cautiously optimistic," because while it was asked about Nick, it seemed also to play a layer between them. Ep also capped off how it began with the pizza challenge, which was fun. All in all, a good ep, and answered several points on my wishlist. Not mallet free by any means, but better than it has been of late. Had tonnes of processing scenes, but also had moments that felt like who was doing what mattered, and had dialogue specific to them. Had a decent mixing up of who was working with whom, liked the dynamics displayed, and I include Mac within that. Had all hands on deck again, though the Messers were about on par for Sid in how much airtime they got. Loved Sid. Must has more Sid next season, plz. The guest stars were solid. I loved seeing a gentler side of Flack too this season, and indeed like seeing Eddie get a different sort of material to play, much as I'm happy to see things changed up for the other cast members where able. Eddie was in fine form, but the ep hinged on the kid above all, and he delivered. The ep centred around everyday people. Had teh usual drama and even a bit of heavy handed rummaging about for heart strings, had some humor, and had a good progression thru the investigation. This is the way to go, PTB. Call it a B or thereabouts.
are the writers having sudden inspiration or sudden good story ideas? last week's ep and this week's ep were actually really good. this ep had a good story that wasn't over the top. the poor kids were just trying to help out their mom and all this unfortunate stuff happens. i'm glad nothing happened to them at the end. Flack was so good he's such a good character, Eddie Cahill plays Flack so well. i cracked up when he told the kid he got schmutz on his computer screen haha (that's one of my fave words to use lol). i was totally expecting for Flack and the mom to hook up so koodos to the writers for not writing a crap line with that. Adam..... LOVE HIM!! thank God for Adam b/c this show would be so drab without him. he did a really good Robert DeNiro impression lol. Mac's new gf isn't that bad i'm liking her so far. so all around not bad. eps like this are my faves b/c they're not over the top or trying too hard to be outrageous. it was just a good story about despiration and wanting to help. i can relate with the boys on the point where they wanna help their mom, they see she's working really hard and getting nowhere. my dad has a job but that's not enough and my mom has a little job that isn't too great and i hear all their problems with the bills. it's sad and i always wish i could help more.... i would never rob a bank but i would do what i can.
Great episode A+ Mac and Aubrey sharing pizza was nice, IMO. It showed the chemistry between them and how they're becoming more comfortable with each other. I know nothing 'happened', but this is just the beginning of whatever is happening between them, and they both seem to want to take whatever it is slowly, so it was nice. It was fantastic seeing Mac outside the lab, sharing pizza-wisdom with Aubrey and seeming so open and relaxed. Loved how they both switched instantly into professional mode when it all went down with Sam and Nicky, and I think Mac was pretty impressed by 'Dr Aubrey'. Flack and Sam were fantastic together. Great to see Flack out of the cynical cop role and really becoming emotionally involved in a case. He had wonderful, big-brother-type chemistry with Sam, which was perfect because Sam needed a big brother figure with his real big brother being hurt, and it kind of reflected Flack's own real big brother role with Sam Flack. Seeing Flack argue with Stella (go Flack! It's nice to see someone other than Mac argue with/challenge her on a case!) and Hawkes. It made the nice point that the team don't always agree. Stella showed support for Flack at the end too, which showed that professional disagreements aside, they are still very close. Stella telling Flack to let go of his feelings could be viewed as hypocritical given her behaviour in RIP Marina Garito, but I see it as just human. It's easy to give out advice when you're not the one personally affected by/emotionally involved in a case, and perhaps in her own way Stella was trying to warn Flack of the dangers of getting emotionally involved, after her experience during the Marina Garito case, she didn't want him to be hurt when it turned out Sam was more involved than he initally claimed to be. Adam doing De Niro was fantastic, he's so funny, and loved that Mac confided that Taxi Driver is one of his top 5 films. Love Mac/Adam scenes. Adam/Sid were great. Sid sharing the foot odour info, thanks, Sid! Oversharing again, hmm? Dear Troy, well, that's what happens when you don't look both ways when you cross the street! Dear Stella, um, yeah, he's dead. Loved that 'Final Destination' moment, though. The kid who played Sam was great. Loved the whole story with Sam and his family, it was nice to see 'regular' folk be involved in a case for once, reminded me of s1 and s2 before it was practically all rich/wealthy folk. I also think the bank and DA deciding not to press charges was realistic, given the kids' ages, cirumstances, the fact that Nicky took the bullets out of the gun, and the public's response to the whole thing. Wondeful episode, with a great case and some brilliant character moments. My one and only gripe is: Seriously, can Danny and Lindsay NEVER be separated now? Are they stuck together with invisible, stretchy superglue? I'm sure most married people who work together aren't together all the time!