I love the Ruben storyline, and always have. I'm so glad it was Danny's storyline, because Danny is the perfect character to put in untenable situations because he's so emotional. He reacts so passionately to everything, and gets so sensitive about everything. I love that about him. The writers managed to totally avoid cliches with the storyline--Rikki could have blamed Danny and gone after him for Ruben's death, which would have been so cliche and over-the-top. But she didn't, and that allowed the focus of the storyline to remain on Danny's own personal guilt. That's what really hooked me. And Danny is completely unable to get over Ruben's death, because how do you ever get over the death of a child, especially when you feel responsible for that death. I thought it was incredibly well done. So I'm glad to see it's going to continue in season five, and with what we've had so far, I have faith that we'll continue to get a good story from the writers.
That made perfect sense to me. I agree that sometimes personal lives get too much focus, and although I love Danny drama in large doses, it would have been very intriguing to see how Flack dealt with a situation like the Ruben storyline. He has no problem telling Danny it wasn't his fault and that he needs to stop blaming himself, but that's easy when you're not the one who feels responsible. If the shoe was on the other foot would Flack be able to deal with it "better"/differently? Now that the promo for S5 has aired, I think I can say this without a spoiler box. If not, let me know and I'll fix it. Anyone who doesn't want to know about the promo, stop reading now! It looks like Ollie Barnes (the bodega robber) will most likely figure into Rikki coming back. I think either Ollie has pressed charges against Danny and Rikki either has to testify on his behalf or Ollie's lawyer has called her to testify against Danny. Or maybe Rikki really is going to trial for taking Danny's gun and threatening Ollie, although I don't really see that happening since she'd be a sympathetic defendant. Maybe Ollie's trial is coming up and Danny and Rikki testify against him. Maybe Ollie has brought a civil suit against Rikki for holding him at gun point. There are a lot of possibilities and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us.
I can't remember Flack having an emotional scene or story and it would be nice if he gets one, almost everyone had one Danny, Stella, Mac, Lindsay I'd love to see him struggling with himself. Like the other didor still do. The Ollie spoiler sound good
Absolutely seconded. Rikki forgiving Danny is right up there with that amazing storyline involving Brass in CSI:LV, the one where he accidentally killed a fellow police officer. I never forgot the scene when he attended the wake (I hope that's the correct term) at the deceased police officer's home and the widow was informed he was there, or the moment when she came out to meet him and instead of the cliche, predictable reaction of slapping Brass or something ... she simply put her arms around him and hugged him. It really put the other cops to shame, especially the ones who openly avoided him and stared hostilely at him as if he was some pariah who deserved the worst. I'm also glad to see continuity for it in season five! Hurray for continuity (*le gasp!*) and to TPTB for bringing back a lovely, talented actress like Jacqueline Pinol and a fantastic character like Rikki Sandoval! Oh man, way to make a plot bunny bite me in the butt. But seriously, that is a very intriguing idea! If it was Flack in the situation, I think he would have been the opposite of Danny; perhaps instead of blaming himself over and over, he'd think things through very, very carefully and not allow it to affect his job as best he can. Flack's a man by the book. Not to say he won't feel any guilt, because I'm sure he will, probably as much as Danny does. I just don't see him freaking out. Maybe talk to someone he deeply trusts. Of all the scenes TPTB picked, they picked the one of Danny punching Ollie. So yeah, I can see the possibility of Ollie pressing physical assault charges against Danny. How do you think will Rikki be brought in for testimony against Ollie if it's Ollie's trial? I'm just curious. Ruben technically died due to the bullet fired by the bodega's owner (owner's sister?) so maybe the prosecution will bring in Rikki to testify how Ollie's robbery led to her son's tragic death? Indeed. The closest he's gotten to having one was waaaay back in season one, when he had to arrest his police mentor in The Fall. It was definitely not an easy deed for Flack but angst-wise, it's nothing compared to what's happened to Danny throughout the show. :lol: