I enjoy Jesse -
a lot. I think he's a wonderful addition to the team and interacts in a postive way with everyone. I like him if for no other reason then he treats Ryan with some freaking respect! (Actually, he treats everyone with respect! :thumbsup
I do think they need to be very careful, however. They may be over doing it just a little with Jesse and I really don't want to see a negative backlash. You risk alienation of fans who see their favorite character paying the price in being moved to the background, or in this case three characters remaining in the background, to promote the new characters. And the Jesse character may pay the price unnecessarily as fans target him as the problem, rather than TPTB, and begin to resent the character.
I understand the need to introduce the new characters and I think they are doing it very well by having Jesse and Walter work with the entire team. (I do have to say that Jesse teamed up with Calleigh all the time is a less than desirable development for me. Calleigh is my least favorite character and I'd be doing a happy dance to see her leave with Eric.)
I do believe that a part of the problem is there are a number of us who have been waiting, not so patiently, for several years now for Natalia, Ryan, Frank and Rick to get some respect. And we are still waiting (with it now beginning to appear more and more that Horatio is joining their ranks as a supporting player).
Everyone is going to see this season's developments from the perspective of their favorites. It's just human nature. My perspective is - I don't care for Calleigh anymore. If I'm forced to pick my favorites, they're probably Horatio, Ryan and Natalia (but, with the exception of Calleigh, I really do like everyone on the team - even the new guys).
So, for me, there is way too much Calleigh going on and no where near enough Natalia. And, yes. That bothers me. I miss Natalia and the special warmth and humanity she brings. Horatio appears to be fading into the background. That bothers me because he is a major reason I watch the show.
OTOH, we ARE seeing more team interaction and, IMO, better stories. I'm willing to be patient. Just don't let Horatio fade too far into the background, and please work toward resolving whatever the problem is with Natalia's lack of appearance - whatever that may be.
And if they want to have Calleigh and Eric get married and ride off into the sunset together - go for it! :thumbsup: I truly believe the show would survive.