I suspect we'll see something between Mac and Lindsay before she leaves, and maybe when she returns he'll put her on a case that will challenge her to see if she really can handle this job.
Remember that scene in "Stealing Home" when Mac is suggesting to one of the wives that she'd shot a man before so it would be easy to do it again, while Stella is standing there? I just imagined Mac doing something similar on a case with Lindsay next to him, talking to a suspect, and saying something like 'oh, so-and-so killed your friends, boo hoo' and then she just karate chops him :lol:...I think it's very early and I need to eat some breakfast.
As for Danny dating someone else--it's entirely possible (although I doubt they'd take the time for it). The character just doesn't seem like the type to wait around if he's been shut down more than once. I'm looking forward to the banter between Danny and Angell as well,
Top, and if the writers insisted on someone other than Mac dating someone else on the cast, it seems a better choice than two of the main characters dating since Angell is only in a limited number of episodes. But in the end, I think the characters should be in relationships with people outside the main cast, so we know that they have lives but it doesn't have to be addressed in every scene or in every episode (Stella's relationship with Frankie comes to mind, before he became a psycho). Yes, sometimes cops date cops, but there's a whole bunch of cops in NYC, not just the few that we see every week.
Writers have plans for their shows that change or just don't pan out.
I often wonder how often things change, from the first discussions in a room full of writers, through the various drafts of a script, to the actors, the directors, the editors--in the end, I wonder how close it usually ends up being to the original plan?
Alright, I personally know nothing about maternity leave or how they film episodes of NY, but I'm going to try to talk out Anna's absence since I've talked to
1CSIMfan on messenger about it (but I'm still confused).
So, if Anna is going to be on maternity leave for at least 6 weeks, she's definitely going to miss multiple episodes, but she could still be back before the finale. Are we assuming that February is all new episodes because of sweeps? Episode 14 is Anna's last one, and isn't it also the last episode in January? So February will be 15-18(?), which leaves six episodes for March-May. That leaves a lot of repeats, which they could time so that Anna misses the least number of episodes possible. However, unless they're filming scenes for her ahead of time, 14 should be her last episode until she comes back in early March, so it seems that she won't have any part in the sweeps episodes during February, and maybe one or two after that as well. Don't they film about a month in advance of the air date? So if she's filming in, say, mid-March, that puts episodes she's in on in ~mid-April, so they could have several new ones before the finale that would have her in them--3 or 4, maybe? If they air two new episodes in March, two in April, and two in May, that means that she could potentially film one or both of the April episodes and both of the May episodes. However, I have no idea how many episodes they're planning for each month. *shrug*
Since Zuiker said she's be back for the end of the season, rather than specifically saying for the finale, I'm thinking that they'll work it out where she'll be filming more than just the last episode. However, you can never account for unforseen circumstances, so it's possible that their schedule could still be affected. NY is a good show, and I think it has several seasons left in it at the very least, so right now the important thing is for Anna not to do too much or be too rushed to get back. If they have to push her character stuff back, it'll still happen, even if it's not until next season. I'd hate for Anna to have her first baby and then bust her ass trying to get back in shape and be back on the show. It will be nice if she brings her family to the set with her, like someone mentioned the other actors doing.
