^ I'll give you that he's definitely not the same guy anymore... but we
have seen Nick annoyed and/or frustrated by Hodges before. I don't think that's a new thing. And he was already turning away from Hodges spiel and looking annoyed before he said anything. I think it was just a case of Hodges giving him an easy line to respond to sarcastically, so he did.
Similarly, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary when Hodges said "You can flip a coin." In fact, Nick merely looked like he was thinking like he had a better idea, and then of course he said that very thing. I just don't see it, but I've already said it a hundred times, as have all the people who think it's some sort of foreshadowing.
So on to other things...
Starting the episode off with Nick in a suit- I know I don't really need to say anything here but...
Hell Yeeeeeaaaaahhh! Have mercy!
Yep, that's always a good thing in my books! :lol:
I loved the look on his face when Hannah comes out and blindsides everyone with her "I did it" moment. He had a total "WTF?!!!" expression and it was awesome!
I really liked how comfortable he was talking to Ecklie. There was no intimidation about discussing the case with "the boss" (especially when it's not Grissom, who he's probably more comfortable with to begin with) and it's cool to see there was none of the former distaste Nick had for Ecklie showing. Yeah, Nick was perturbed, but I didn't feel that it was directed towards Ecklie- more like he was frustrated that the judge only gave them 72 hours to go over their evidence. I liked how Ecklie told him just to "do his best". I really think Ecklie has a lot of confidence in Nick (and the rest of them as well) and he's really come a long way. Nick's not the only one who has developed over the years.
OK, case-wise: Right off the back, Sara and Nick come to represent the two opposing views of the case, although you never get the impression that they're at odds because of it, which is nice. I think these two have developed a healthy respect for each other professionally. Anyway, these differing theories set the pace for the episode and we the audience definitely find ourselves moving back and forth between the two suspects... or at least I did.
We do see Nick waiver a few times in his own belief that the brother did it, but I think that just shows he's doing his job. The evidence leads him places and he follows it. It's only natural that he doesn't like where it leads him sometimes.
Loved the high school stuff:
Sara: "I bet you really liked high school."
Nick: "Playing football, chasing girls, books when I wanted to learn something... What's not to like?"
This is the old Nick we all know and love. Very cute!
And I also thinks this shows the progression of the relationship between Sara and Nick nicely. In the old days, a comment like that from Sara would probably have been more judgemental, or would have carried more of the frat-boy negative innuendo behind it, but this time I think she was just making pleasant conversation.
Similarly, Nick wants Warrick's wife's niece to put her earphones on when they start discussing the more gruesome aspects of the case, which is just downright sweet and considerate. His mother raised him right! :lol: And you'll notice neither of the other two even considered it.
In the end, Nick sticks with his theory, and when Sara says she's sticking with hers (although she seemed sort of sheepish about it, like she didn't want to piss them off) Nick does have an odd look on his face, but I didn't read it as anger or anything. Maybe slight surprise? I'm not sure about that one, really. But I really didn't see any hostility towards Sara taking the opposing view.
And of course he was visibly pissed off after the verdict, and rightly so, as we find out the brother actually did it.
Whoh... I just had an insight, just now as I was finishing this. Do you guys see any parallels in the brother/sister and with Nick/Sara? Sara was sort of Grissom's brainiac prodigy when she came on the team, and Nick was the guy trying to prove he could do the job... Hmmm... Interesting...