Re: Grissom&Sara #23 - Hot, Butt-Kicking, Chainsaw Wielding
Hey everyone, I'm a newbie and this is my first post here, but I've been lurking for a couple weeks and I just have to say how incredibly awesome you guys are! Seriously, it's a wonder I ever get any work done considering how much time I spend here reading all your exchanges and laughing insanely
So I figured it was time to contribute something to the mix myself, especially since the board is kinda quiet now, so here goes:
I know the big question is WHEN did Grissom and Sara finally get together, and there have been so many polls and interpretations of the timeline and such, so I've been thinking about this and came up with my own crazy analysis of GSR overall--from the beginning up through when I think they finally crossed the line. (I know, I have too much time on my hands...)
I posted my thoughts on YTDaW and really didn't get much response, but it wasn't on one of the main threads, and plus I figured maybe it was because it was crazy long and maybe nobody wanted to sit there and read a dissertation on GSR...
. But since I know this is the home of crazy long posts, I thought maybe I could see what you all thought about it.
So here goes:
If you ask when did GSR start, it's a pretty loaded question, but I believe the easiest and most honest answer is to say that it started in 'Cool Change.' I'm not saying the relationship started then (I actually believe that it was somewher in between 'Committed'/'Grave Danger' and 'Bodies in Motion') but the little GSR "dance" that they have been doing for the past 6 years and 7 episodes clearly started right from 'Cool Change' when Grissom mentions he's bringing in a "friend" whom he "trusts." Those aren't words I think Grissom would just throw around. I mean, this is Grissom after all. And of course, there's the whole flirtiness and apparent comfort and ease they have around each other when we first see Sara. I believe that they were friends before Sara came to Vegas, in whatever capacity they knew each other. He saw her as a protege, and respected her intellect and abilities as a CSI, and she was probably a bit infatuated with him even back then (which is why she dropped everything and ran to Vegas the second he called) and also felt there was a lot she could learn from him as well. And of course, they were both attracted to each other, but I don't think it went much further than that at this point. However, once she came to Vegas, the feelings she had for him grew and it gradually turned from a mere infatuation to something much deeper. And I believe Grissom's feelings grew tremendously too, but he was so afraid of them that he began to withdraw more, while she was trying to get closer, and thus the GSR dance ensued.
Now, considering that this dance pretty much started from the beginning, I think there are some very important turning points throughout the years. During the first season, it's very much a mentor/protege relationship with a lot of flirting. Sara seemed to idolize Grissom kind of like hero worship (just look at how she looks at him at the end of 'Unfriendly Skies') and she still wants to impress him and be his "star pupil." However, they also begin to get closer, as in 'Sex, Lies, and Larvae,' and there's still that sexual tension/chemistry/flirtation thing going on. But at this point I think both of them are reluctant to do anything to jeopardize their friendship/working relationship for what can only be seen as attraction with just the possibility of something more, so they continue with their flirtation without taking it any further.
This continues on through the second season, but it's obvious Sara's feelings are getting stronger, (look at the face touch in 'Scuba Doobie Doo') and she's starting to want more than just a good friendship/working relationship with harmless flirting, which is why Grissom's thoughtlessness in 'Burden of Proof' bothers her so much. And I think Grissom started to pick up on that (with a little bit of Catherine's help) but honestly didn't know what to do about it (Hence the plant, his confusion about the "sentiment" of the card, and the resulting "From Grissom"). I think he knew her feelings were going beyond a simple attraction, and probably acknowledged that his own were too, but still didn't know what to do about it, which is why we get those little moments like in 'Primum Non Nocere' with the 'Beauty/Since I Met You' thing (Just another reason why i LOVE Billy Petersen
). But I think after the whole BoP wanting to leave/plant thing, Sara was beginning to try to distance herself from Grissom a bit, trying to keep her own feelings in check and get over him before it really started to affect work, which is why she gradually started seeing Hank through the end of Season 2.
Then through Season 3 we have the two of them really trying to distance themselves from each other (Grissom retreating from everyone because of his hearing loss, and Sara trying, and failing, to move on by dating Hank). Of course it backfires, which is no surprise because it's not like Sara can just get over Grissom--feelings that deep don't just go away. And I think that honestly, during this time Grissom isn't really thinking about Sara that much; he's too absorbed in his hearing problem, which is why I think we get some really inconsistent/cruel behavior from him to her (Look at the differences between how he treats her in 'Let the Seller Beware' and 'Blood Lust'--I don't think he's doing this on purpose; I don't think he's intentionally trying to jerk her around. He just doesn't consider her feelings as much as he should and doesn't realize the results of his actions, because, well, let's face it, he's Grissom.) So I think he's just really struggling (which is why I can excuse his behavior in 'Lady Heather's Box,' though i still can't watch that scene without cringing...)
So by the time Sara's "relationship" with Hank crashes and burns (pun intended
) she realizes at this time that she can't deny her feelings for Grissom anymore and really wants to see what could happen, so she boldly decides to do something about it in 'Play with Fire' (if I were her, I would've seen the lab explosion as a big warning to stop and wait, but hey, Sara's bolder than I am
) and what happens? The angsty scene to end (or begin) all angsty scenes. But I really believe that Grissom was being honest; he really didn't know what to do about "this"--he wasn't saying that there wasn't anything between him, just that he didn't know what to do about it. But I think Sara doesn't quite get this; she thinks he's just dismissing it and that maybe what she thought she saw wasn't really there.
So then we have them kind of at odds with each other for most of the beginning of Season 4, with the whole promotion thing and the 'Invisible Evidence' scene (I really can't get into that one because this post is already way too long as it is...
) . But I think THE BIGGEST turning point for them is in 'Butterflied' when our suspicions are finally confirmed and Grissom outright says that yes, he does have feelings for Sara, but he is too afraid to actually do anything about it--he's afraid that her feelings for him are fleeting and that she would eventually get bored and move on, and that he wouldn't be able to deal with that loss/rejection, so he does nothing. This confirms that Grissom's feelings are much deeper than we might have thought, because he's talking about how being with her would basically change his life, and he's not really ready for that so he does nothing, oblivious to the effect it's having on her. So now Sara knows this, and between this, the rough year she'd been having, the whole promotion thing, and her own personal demons with regards to her past that haven't yet been addressed, she kind of starts to spiral out of control, which is why we have the whole DUI thing in 'Bloodlines.'
I think that up until this point Grissom honestly didn't realize the effect his actions (or inactions) were having on her (I know, I'm always defending Grissom, but I cant help it! He's Grissom and I love him!), so this is one of the big wake up calls for him. So as he's starting to realize this, Sara is kind of retreating to deal with her own issues (when she's seeing the PEAP counselor and dealing with her traumatic past) so once again, they're still not quite on the same page. But I think once Sara dealt with her own issues, she was finally in a strong enough place to kind of move on, which is what leads us to what I believe is the biggest turning point for them--'Snakes.'
I really believe that Sara came into the conversation with Grissom in 'Snakes' willing to put all her cards on the table and ultimately get some closure and move on, but that this whole exchange was the first time Grissom really realized the magnitude and depth of Sara's feelings for him--that it was more than a mere crush or hero worship (look at the look in his face when she said "Why do you think I moved to Vegas?"). I believe that in this moment he wanted to do something to further the relationship, but that he just didn't know how to do it yet (When he says, "Let's..." who knows what he would've said? I really believe he wanted to possibly ask her to dinner or something but just couldn't quite do it yet) I think Sara picked up on that, which is why she cut him off before he finished--she kind of let it slide. I think she did this for two reasons, 1: she kind of wanted to leave the ball in his court--she had been the one chasing him for so long that she knew if anything was to happen it would have to be HIS move, not simply him giving into her, and 2: she also knew that there was more to the conversation that still had to be said--on some level she knew she had to reveal the skeletons in her closet to him, but wasn't really prepared to do it just yet, so she kind of wanted to end the conversation there until she was ready. Which is what brings us to 'Nesting Dolls' (OK, I swear I'm almost done. If you've made it this far in my long, long post, you can make it for the homestretch
)
So in 'Nesting Dolls' it's all finally out there, and I think that a big part of her reluctance to share the details of her past was out of fear that he would see her as weak, but as we see in 'Committed,' that's not the case. At this point she's already moved beyond her past and is really ready to move on, as she says to Grissom after the incident in the nurse's station. Now I think this is one of the big eye openers for Grissom, not just because he sees that she's put her demons behind her, but also because he's confronted head on with the fact that he could lose her at any moment, and that look of frozen terror on his face when he's looking at her through the windows shows how deeply affected by this he is. I think this whole ordeal sort of scared him into action a bit, and that, coupled with the fact that they were both finally in the right place personally to start a relationship, is what led to a newfound closeness between them.
However, I don't believe that they immediately jumped into bed together. I think at this point they just started to rebuild the friendship they used to have, and gradually get closer. And I think that after 'Grave Danger' their feelings were given even more urgency as they were once again reminded that any one of them could be gone at any given moment. I think that they continued to get even more intimate with each other in between the fifth and sixth season, but that they hadn't slept together by 'Bite Me.' I really can't find any justification for Grissom's comments in this episode other than that perhaps they were still feeling out how they could reconcile their fledgling romantic, and about to be sexual, relationship with their working relationship, and that the whole concept of "suffocating" each other came up a bit. But I think they managed to work out at least some of these issues and had probably slept together before 'A Bullet Runs Through It,' which is why I believe Sara is justified in "kicking" Sofia out of Grissom's office (Come on, does ANYONE like Spork?).
But at this point they're obviously still having problems balancing out the multiple levels of their relationship, hence the "thermite" comment in 'Daddy's Little Girl,' and the fact that they don't really seem to be working together as much these days--maybe they kind of gave each other space at work until they had resolved some of these issues. But when you do see them together, there are still cute moments, like the "gray hair" in 'Kiss, Kiss, Bye, Bye.' I think they had finally gotten everything worked out by the end of the season, with 'Poppin Tags' and the whole "mouth to mouth," and their general interaction in "Rashomama" and "Time of your Death," which is what I really believe those looks at the end are all about. They've both FINALLY completely fulfilled their fantasies
So that finally brings us to the comfortable intimacy we saw at the end of 'Way to Go,' and what we've seen all this season, with veggie burgers, "First Blush," "Are you volunteering?", "No, dear," and even the less pleasant moments as in 'Burn Out' where it's obvious they're comfortable enough with each other to say what they really think/feel even if it's not exactly what the other person wants to hear.
Now as long as TPTB don't do anything to seriously screw it up, I can be happy indefinitely
So that's it. Honestly, when I wrote it I did not intend for it to be that long, but once I get going with the GSR, it just doesn't stop. That, and I was also doing anything and everything possible to avoid writing a term paper
So what do you all think?
