Grade = A
for the best episode of the season so far....
I agree the pacing was slower, but the material was compelling and held my attention throughout.
There are probably a number of different routes the writers could’ve taken in depicting the Holocaust, but in the end, they were very judicious in their choices. The use of the neo-Nazi trophy rooms, the personal testimonials, and the story of the Schnitzler family were very moving and effective as was the simple yet very personal memorial at the close. It was tough to watch the fate of the Schnitzler family, but if we had only heard the words, the magnitude of Braun’s betrayal might have been muted. Kudos to the writers for their handling of this sensitive and emotional material.
As others mentioned, the guest actors were quite good in this episode – Ed Asner as well as the actors protraying Elgers and Lesnick. I figured that Klein had something to do with the murder but did not see the actual twist coming. And Yikes! Elgers is one scary guy. I have to admit my jaw was on the floor a few times because of the language in his interrogation scene, but it certainly added to the sense of realism.
As for the regulars, I think this was a standout episode for Mac. Gary Sinise got some deep, gritty material to work with, and he delivered on it. I think Mac may’ve run the full gamut of emotions in this episode – certainly a wide range. It was a bit odd seeing Mac mention God in one interrogation and in the other saying “Back in the day, I would’ve shot your racist %&@…” But such is the dichotomy of Mac Taylor and I guess it fits with the impression of intense emotion rigidly constrained. There was a moment during Elgers’ interrogation (after he alluded to Hawkes as an animal, I think) when there was a hard shift in Mac’s expression, and I wondered if he would totally lose it with Elgers, but just as quickly, he reined it in and took a different approach to get the information. Great acting by GS.
Danny’s run-in with Elgers also was a memorable scene. Seeing Danny lose control like that was troubling, but at the same time, it was interesting to see this dimension of the character come out again after seemingly lying dormant for a while. I will be curious to see where this storyline is going (assuming the writers pursue it.)
I also liked the Danny/Hawkes scenes, especially Danny comforting Hawkes and giving him a hug. I mentioned in another thread that Hawkes needs to have a closer relationship with someone on the team, and it looks like they might be trying to emphasize a stronger connection with Danny. Will be interesting to see how that develops and whether it impacts his friendship with Flack in any way.
Adam was great, too. Guess he got to ride shotgun with Mac on this one, and it was nice to see Adam being more comfortable despite a few awkward moments. (Too much information, indeed!)
Flack and Stella were sorta in the background here, but Flack still got a few zingers in, ”…I don’t speak ignorant.” (Go Flack!) And Stella got to play with that cool, giant touchscreen, so I can live with it,
There were a few nitpicks that kept me from giving the full A+, but they seem small compared to the whole, so I won’t bother with the detail….
Overall, an episode that moved me, made me think, and will stick with me for awhile, and that’s probably the highest compliment I can pay to an episode of television.
Well done, CSI: NY! :thumbsup:
for the best episode of the season so far....
I agree the pacing was slower, but the material was compelling and held my attention throughout.
There are probably a number of different routes the writers could’ve taken in depicting the Holocaust, but in the end, they were very judicious in their choices. The use of the neo-Nazi trophy rooms, the personal testimonials, and the story of the Schnitzler family were very moving and effective as was the simple yet very personal memorial at the close. It was tough to watch the fate of the Schnitzler family, but if we had only heard the words, the magnitude of Braun’s betrayal might have been muted. Kudos to the writers for their handling of this sensitive and emotional material.
As others mentioned, the guest actors were quite good in this episode – Ed Asner as well as the actors protraying Elgers and Lesnick. I figured that Klein had something to do with the murder but did not see the actual twist coming. And Yikes! Elgers is one scary guy. I have to admit my jaw was on the floor a few times because of the language in his interrogation scene, but it certainly added to the sense of realism.
As for the regulars, I think this was a standout episode for Mac. Gary Sinise got some deep, gritty material to work with, and he delivered on it. I think Mac may’ve run the full gamut of emotions in this episode – certainly a wide range. It was a bit odd seeing Mac mention God in one interrogation and in the other saying “Back in the day, I would’ve shot your racist %&@…” But such is the dichotomy of Mac Taylor and I guess it fits with the impression of intense emotion rigidly constrained. There was a moment during Elgers’ interrogation (after he alluded to Hawkes as an animal, I think) when there was a hard shift in Mac’s expression, and I wondered if he would totally lose it with Elgers, but just as quickly, he reined it in and took a different approach to get the information. Great acting by GS.
Danny’s run-in with Elgers also was a memorable scene. Seeing Danny lose control like that was troubling, but at the same time, it was interesting to see this dimension of the character come out again after seemingly lying dormant for a while. I will be curious to see where this storyline is going (assuming the writers pursue it.)
I also liked the Danny/Hawkes scenes, especially Danny comforting Hawkes and giving him a hug. I mentioned in another thread that Hawkes needs to have a closer relationship with someone on the team, and it looks like they might be trying to emphasize a stronger connection with Danny. Will be interesting to see how that develops and whether it impacts his friendship with Flack in any way.
Adam was great, too. Guess he got to ride shotgun with Mac on this one, and it was nice to see Adam being more comfortable despite a few awkward moments. (Too much information, indeed!)
Flack and Stella were sorta in the background here, but Flack still got a few zingers in, ”…I don’t speak ignorant.” (Go Flack!) And Stella got to play with that cool, giant touchscreen, so I can live with it,
especially since it looks like Stella and Flack will get some meaty stuff to deal with (i.e., the coin case and the finale events, respectively) in the remaining episodes.
There were a few nitpicks that kept me from giving the full A+, but they seem small compared to the whole, so I won’t bother with the detail….
Overall, an episode that moved me, made me think, and will stick with me for awhile, and that’s probably the highest compliment I can pay to an episode of television.
Well done, CSI: NY! :thumbsup: