Much as I love Danny I voted yes. I agree with everyone who said that his first responsibility was to Reuben. His mind set was totally that of a police officer, not of someone who had a child who he was responsible for. As soon as he heard gunshots his first thought was to that situation, and once Reuben cycled away it was like out of sight out of mind. Once the immediate situation was over he should have at least phoned to check that he got home safely, he didn't even seem to think about him until he saw his body. Something should have clicked before then. I feel bad for him though. He made a bad mistake and knows it and it's going to haunt him. But I think he was torn. His instinct was that of a CSI, to help out, and he did what he thought was best at that time.
^That's how I feel, and why I voted yes, too. I feel bad for Danny, and by no means do I think it was intentional, but his bad judgment did possibly contribute (not cause) to a boy's death. :lol: :lol: :lol: So true. Good point. I definitely feel bad for Danny, and I think he's going to be blaming himself for this for a long time. It's a shame, because essentially it was a fatal misstep, and one he can't take back. Most mistakes don't have consequences that severe.
Hmm, this is a tough question to wrestle with. As someone who relies heavily on instinct, my reactions to the situation were exactly on par with Danny's. The absolute first thing was to make sure that Ruben gets the hell out of there (am I allowed to say that here?), and the second thing was to secure the situation and help whoever's been hurt. Heck, Danny's a cop! Someone is running with a gun, people are screaming, someone's bleeding - get Ruben out of there as fast as possible, and then help the civilians. Danny told Ruben to go straight home by himself because they were so close. What if they hadn't been close to home, though? I can't imagine Danny leaving that scene, where innocent people could get hurt, to take Ruben all the way home. I think he would've put him inside a nearby store perhaps, had someone watch him, told him not to move, and then run to secure the scene. Again, first reaction - get Ruben out of harm's way, and help the people who have been/could get hurt. Danny yelled for Ruben to leave before he saw the perp running into the subway. For all Danny knew, there could have been a murder, or a man on a shooting spree... Danny could never have left, not when he had the responsibility to protect and to serve. And if Ruben is so close to home and can get there on his own... What happened was a horrible, tragic, twist of fate. Danny will blame himelf for the rest of his life. I don't think Rikki will blame Danny as much as he will blame himself. I vote "no".
Something that's bothering me the more I think about this ep. If Danny hadn't happened to be in the morgue at just the right time to see Ruben brought in, when would he have thought about checking up on him? When would Ruben's mother have thought about checking up on Danny? When would Ruben's mother or Danny have found out that he was dead? I can understand why Danny sent Ruben home (don't agree with it but still understand it) but as soon as there was another police officer or CSI on the scene, then Danny's first priority should have been checking on his other responsibilities, i.e. Ruben. And that to me is both irresponsible and unforgiveable.
I agree that made no sense and made both Danny and Rikki look irresponsible. That was one gaping, ugly plot hole that no one bothered to fill.
I still don't think Rikki comes off as nearly as irresponsible as Danny. She trusted the care of her son to someone she obviously believed would take care of him. I bet Ruben looks up to Danny a lot. Couldn't you see him asking Danny to take him for a long bike ride or to the zoo or something like that? I could. And Rikki probably didn't freak out because hell, Danny is a police officer, of course Ruben is safe with the guy! She did say she was "starting to" get worried when they were gone all day, so what she probably thought Ruben talked Danny into spending the day with him. I'm sure she would have appreciated a call of some sort, but she had to have a great deal of trust in Danny in the first place to let him take Ruben to church.
True. I don't think Rikki was as irresponsible as Danny either. But to me it just seemed as if that part of the story was just ignored. The only thing the audience knew was that Danny and Ruben were going to the bike blessing at 7:30 AM. When Danny returned to the appartment to give Rikki the news it was dark out. If I were Danny I would have called to make sure Ruben got home safely. On the other hand, if I was Rikki and they weren't home by afternoon, I'd call and see what the hell was going on. It would have nothing to do with how much I trusted Danny, I'd just want to know why they're not back yet. And I think the description of Rikki's character showed that she would've done the same. According to the character description, Ruben was her whole world to the point of everything in her life being about Ruben. I think Rikki's comment of "the line must've been really long" or whatever it was indicates there wasn't a whole lot of thought put into that part of the story. There's no way I would think a bike blessing that started at 7:30 AM would take until well after dark, no matter how long the line was. I think that whole aspect of the story was a huge plot hole that shoul've been addressed. I don't think the intention was for the time elapsed to be as long as it appeared. Part of that thought stems from the fact that in the other story, Flack, Stella and Lindsay went into the warehouse when it was light outside. They were only in there a couple of minutes, yet when they came out it was well after dark. I think the ball was dropped big time when it came to the time elaspsed, and that made Danny and Rikki look more irresponsible than perhaps they should've.
Good point about the lapsed time--that was a HUGE continuity error (the warehouse part was glaring) and I wonder how it slipped by. I do think it would be natural for Rikki to wonder and call Danny to check up on Ruben, but we don't know what she did during the day. It's possible she went to work or ran errands or did something other than sit home and watch the clock. That's speculation, but I just got from the way she answered the door when Danny knocked that she had noted that they'd been gone a long time but wasn't worried, and I assumed that was because she trusted Danny.
I assume she trusted Danny too but still, if it were me, I would have called just to check up on them if they hadn't came back in at least three or four hours. The one thing that I do think was irresponsible of Danny was not calling to make sure Ruben got home. I know he started working the crime scene but it wouldn't have taken a couple minutes to check on him. I don't think Mac would have minded if he had done that.
It's really a tough question because there are things that say he is responsible for his death and things that say otherwise... but in the end, though i really like danny as a character he is responsible for reubens death... i don't want to repeat everything that has been said but the kid was 10 and when you are 10 you can't estimate the danger of a situation... if he would have been 16 that it would be different but with 10 you depent on someone who is telling you what to do in a dangerous situation... and heard and saw that there was a shooting going on after he sent reuben home so it could at least make sure that reuben hasn't been hit by the bullet... I also understand that you see things (especially shootings etc.) as a cop different than a "normal" person... but the most important thing was to take of Reuben and he didn't do so... so yeah he is partially responsible for his death