Re: The Great Ship Debate
This is the first time I’ve posted on the shipper thread since I’m not a shipper, but I just had to share my views on the various relationships that Grissom could experience (I don’t much care one way or the other about other relationships in the LV series and I don't watch Miami nor NY). Two warnings though: GSR is definitely not my cup of tea, and it’s gonna be a very long post! So here we go:
1: Chemistry
Between Grissom and Catherine, the chemistry I see is one of a great friendship that has developed over the years. Cath and Gil are comfortable with each other, they share some of their secrets, they’re not afraid to tell each other exactly what they’re thinking and they’re honest with each other. He can also flirt with her because he knows she’ll be flattered by it and will not take his flirting as a “declaration of love”. There’s a twinkle in his eyes when he smiles and looks at her and his smiles to her are genuine. Imho, she’s also the only one he could have talked to about her “tush” in that unforgettable moment! Furthermore, Cath is the only one apart from Brass to call him by his first name, which implies a great deal of familiarity.
Between Grissom and Lady H., there was an instant physical attraction. He really is “into her” from the very first moment. She lives in a completely different world from his and, being a man who loves learning and discovering new things, he is obviously fascinated by her lifestyle and, of course, by her “physical attributes”. Which man in his right mind wouldn’t be! By talking with her later, he discovered that she was also very intelligent, which attracted him even more. Intelligence really is a great turn on. He took every opportunity to be with her and, most of all, he “lost his balance”… We all know what that means. With her, he’s not afraid to show his sensitive side. With her, he really shows how sensual he can be.
Now to Grissom and Sara. They met at a seminar he was giving some time before the Pilot, she being the “student” and he the “professor”. We don’t know if something happened between them at that time, but I seriously doubt it. I heard his comment about having been interested in beauty “after he met her”, but I take that as something he might have said to Catherine or any other beautiful woman in the lab. He never invited her to have dinner with him as he did with Sofia; he rejected every invitation she made when the two of them would have been alone. He even recoils and frowns when she touches his face during an investigation! You never do that when someone you love touches you… Yes, he took her home after he’d been called to the police station, but he would have done that for any of his CSIs. Yes, he went to her place, but he wanted an explanation for her behaviour towards Catherine and Ecklie. He took her hand at that time to comfort her as he would have done for any woman he felt affection for. He likes her but he doesn’t love her.
2: Equality
Grissom sees Cath as his equal. He is on Catherine’s side when the time comes for her appointment as shift supervisor. He knows she can do the job as well as he can, he shows confidence in her abilities and actively supports her application with Ecklie.
Grissom also considers Lady H. to be his equal. She’s very self confident and is a very successful businesswoman, as she has proven with the Dominion.
Sara is definitely not equal to Grissom. Their relationship started as “student” and “professor”, as I stated earlier, and it continues on the same footing, them being “boss” and “employee”. One quote, given in a very stern voice, sums it up for me: “I hand out the assignments, Sara, this is not a negociation.”
3: Independence and respect
Catherine and Heather don’t need anybody’s approval to do their own thing. Catherine is in charge of her family and her love life, just as much as Heather is in charge of the Dominion and her own love life. They show self respect and don’t take crap from anybody, including Grissom.
On the other hand, I see Sara pursuing Grissom during 6 years and being rejected every time she makes advances to him, which for me screams “emotional dependency” and “no self respect” on her part. And yet, she keeps coming back, even after hearing his monologue at the end of Butterflied:
“It's sad, isn't it, doc? Guys like us. Couple of middle-aged men who've allowed their work to consume their lives. The only time we ever touch other people is when we're wearing our latex gloves. We wake up one day and realize that for fifty years we haven't really lived at all. But then, all of a sudden ... we get a second chance. Somebody young and beautiful shows up. Somebody ... we could care about. She offers us a new life with her ... but we have a big decision to make, right? Because we have to risk everything we've worked for in order to have her. I couldn't do it ...”
Yes, he says he “could care about” her. You can certainly care about somebody without being in love with that person. He also plainly says he could never risk everything for her, which for me indicates that she really should get on with her life and stop believing in fairy tales.
***
As you could see by reading my very long post, I think that Catherine is a very good and faithful friend for him and Lady Heather could very well be his soul mate. As for Sara, I don’t see her bringing anything to him except for awkwardness, unease and problems.
So, where are we now? We’re at the end of the sixth season, after a finale that left a bitter taste in my mouth, a finale that contradicts everything we’ve seen during the first 5 years of the series. What happened? Is Grissom in his mid-life crisis? Is it his andropause kicking in? Or is it, as others have written elsewhere, only a dream? I absolutely don’t know.
The only thing I do know is that I don’t buy it for a minute. “Secret romance that has been going on for a while”? TPTB, please give me a break and go back to the first seasons. Go back and watch how the characters have been portrayed when there was continuity in the series. Go back and learn to know and love the characters as Quentin Tarantino proved he knew and loved them in Grave Danger.
This way, your ratings will stop dropping and CSI will go back to its rightful place: the number 1 series on television.
