Why Lindsay Must Go (Part 3)

[AbbyD]

I just saw the pilot episode MIA-NYC today. It really drove home a point in regard to the most basic nature of Lindsey.

Contrast the behavior of Aiden and Lindsey.

In MIA-NYC, a rich couple on Star Island (Miami) is killed. A NYC undercover narcotics cop is killed. Mac and H make the connection to a freshly murdered mega-rich man and his wife in a super-posh building in NYC.

Danny sends Aiden to Queens to cover the Bodega he had caught, so he could work the cop murder.

Later, Mac assigns Aiden to work trace (in the lab) on the mega-rich murder. When Mac comes into the lab for the results, ***** Aiden thanks him for allowing her to work trace on such a big case!*****Not once, but twice! She thanked him twice!!!*******

Fast forward to Manhattan Manhunt.

Big case, lots of rich kids slaughtered in a penthouse. Mac calls the entire team to the penthouse, makes assignments, sends Lindsey back to the lab to work trace.

What does Lindsey do? Whines. Sulks. Gets snotty with Danny. She isn't satisfied with working trace on a big case. She is all bent out of shape because she isn't treated special and allowed to do the collection, etc. Apparently, the whole idea of seniority means nothing to her. The fact that she hasn't proven herself to the boss or the team yet makes no difference. She knows that she is special. She expects to be treated special and she intends to make sure everyone knows it.

Honestly, if she had worked for me I would have yanked a knot in her tail. One more incident of unprofessional behavior and she would have been asked to seek career opportunities elsewhere.

Oh, and by the way, Lindsey shows absolutely no adverse reaction to a room full of slaughtered teenagers. Her only reaction is that she feels slighted that she wasn't handed the cherry assignment.

 

[Kimmychu]

Top41 said:
Maybe they're saving that for next season. But the way Lindsay behaved towards Danny after Ruben's death was more of the same--her putting herself first.

This is why I see no happy ending ever for whatever DL is left on the show. She had so many chances to reach out to Danny or support him without expecting him to do things her way ... but she didn't. We're talking weeks, months here. For her to suddenly turn about and give him support like a good, sweet girlfriend after so long will just make me suspect she's doing it with a selfish ulterior motive. :lol:

Heh. Maybe that is what the writers will possibly write in season five for Lindsay's character.

mimefan said:
Am I the only one to think that Lindsay's like a leech to Danny.

:lol: Leech! I think that's a very apt word to describe Lindsay's role on the how.

AbbyD said:
Apparently, the whole idea of seniority means nothing to her. The fact that she hasn't proven herself to the boss or the team yet makes no difference. She knows that she is special. She expects to be treated special and she intends to make sure everyone knows it.

Another member once posted a theory that perhaps after the murder of her friends, Lindsay, being the sole survivor, was spoiled by her family to the point of it being very bad for her character. I can see how that applies to Lindsay's behavior today. Like you mentioned, lack of respect for authority, expecting everything to go her way and whining/sulking/getting snotty when they don't, believing she's a speshul snowflake, etc.

However, there was also the idea that a person's character is already well-formed by the time they're just little children, so if Lindsay received this 'spoiling' treatment when she was a teenager, it's probably safe to say the spoiling didn't affect her personality so much as it got to her head and made her assume she deserves special treatment all the time. :lol:

Honestly, if she had worked for me I would have yanked a knot in her tail. One more incident of unprofessional behavior and she would have been asked to seek career opportunities elsewhere.

Yep. Mac's character was turned OOC for the sake of 'closing an eye' to Lindsay's multiple mess ups. Yeah, she messed up more than once and every time, all Mac did was give her nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

Oh, and by the way, Lindsey shows absolutely no adverse reaction to a room full of slaughtered teenagers. Her only reaction is that she feels slighted that she wasn't handed the cherry assignment.

And people ask me why I think her PTSD attacks later were illogical, hilarious and painful to watch. :lol:

 

[Top41]

AbbyD, great comparison of Aiden's behavior and attitude versus Lindsay's. Aiden was enthusiastic and grateful to be allowed opportunities to do her job. Lindsay clearly thinks she's above a lot of it, and if she does her job, she should be praised for it. Kind of offensive, really. Have we ever heard Danny or Hawkes complain about having to do their jobs? Or Adam with that big puzzle? Lindsay's attitude is nauseating.

And good point about her having many opportunities to be there for Danny, Kimmy. I do think she's supported him by protecting him--like in RSRD and "All in the Family"--but emotionally she doesn't seem to have a clue what to do with him. He's so emotional, and she tries to put her emotions aside. I don't think either of them are wrong per se, just wrong for each other.

 

[dopebabygirl]

She just doesn't fit in she's odd man out - like a foreign substance
i just don't see any chemistry between her and the other characters
she should have stayed in montana

 

[Shytownmofo]

She just doesn't fit in she's odd man out - like a foreign substance
i just don't see any chemistry between her and the other characters
she should have stayed in montana

I so totally agree. She DOESN'T fit in. I know that's part of what's supposed to be her appeal, she's different. However, she falls nine miles short of the mark. I actually thought she did in Season 2, with the light and fluffy stuff, especially the Bow and Arrow scene in Stuck on You, but afterwards, no. That's why I actually thought her little "I Rock" scene in YODO was cute, because it was a reminder of the light and fluffy Lindsay.

She also does NOT have much chemistry with the other characters, especially Danny. Plus, whatever chemistry she does have is forced by those characters being so atypicaly and Out Of Character with her, especially every time she screws up. The way they've been with her....like the evidence left out in LWFM, the clipboard scene in RND or whenever . They pay such behavior no mind. Yeah, Hawkes gave her a look, just like he told her something in "The Lying Game" when she left Danny with just a card, but there's been no consequences for her actions.

I don't know what TPTB were thinking giving her the angsty storyline that she couldn't handle, or hooking her up with Danny, but they've made a real mess, and there may be no way to clean it up other than to sweep Lindsay out the door.

 

[Kimmychu]

Top41 said:
And good point about her having many opportunities to be there for Danny, Kimmy. I do think she's supported him by protecting him--like in RSRD and "All in the Family"--but emotionally she doesn't seem to have a clue what to do with him. He's so emotional, and she tries to put her emotions aside. I don't think either of them are wrong per se, just wrong for each other.

I used to think what she did in episode 4x13, asking Flack for help to find out what's going with Danny and lying to Mac, was her supporting Danny in a way. But when her Monologue of Doom took place, it cast the 'good deeds' she did for Danny in a wholly different light. Without the Monologue of Doom, I might have believed she really did what she did out of care for Danny but yeah, she railed on Danny and showed viewers that she had particular conditions (unfair and presumptuous ones, at that) she expected Danny to fulfill and that she felt she had the right to treat him like crap simply because he didn't.

From that, it seems to me she did what she did in episode 4x13 with the assumption Danny 'owed her' and should 'make it up to her', hence her Monologue of Doom later. The thing is that Danny never asked her to lie on his behalf or tell Flack about him being incognito, which means she never had the right to rail on him for 'not going to her for support' like she expected him to, much less treat him with the hypocrisy she did for weeks afterwards. She decided her own actions. For her to assume Danny 'should know what she wants' or 'do what she expects him to do' is very naive and stupid. That sort of naivete so does not compute with a supposedly professional CSI in her late twenties/early thirties.

dopebabygirl said:
She just doesn't fit in she's odd man out - like a foreign substance

:lol: Like oil on water?

Suddenly I am thinking of a petrol tanker crashing on the reefs and polluting an entire beach. The wreck just lays there but what it pours out is ruining everything around it. Kinda like Lindsay turning the characters around her into her props and ruining them.

Shytownmofo said:
The way they've been with her....like the evidence left out in LWFM, the clipboard scene in RND or whenever .

The clipboard scene was freakin' awful. If I ever had any respect for Lindsay, that scene would have removed most, if not all of it. Petulant, spoilt teenager comes to mind whenever I recall that scene.

I don't know what TPTB were thinking giving her the angsty storyline that she couldn't handle, or hooking her up with Danny, but they've made a real mess, and there may be no way to clean it up other than to sweep Lindsay out the door.

The Big Dark Secret was TPTB's attempt to get Lindsay into the limelight. Unfortunately for them, the court scene with Danny showing up completely took away the limelight from her and ended up shining on Danny instead. Hooking her up with Danny, Danny (and DL) is just her prop, which is very unfair on Danny and his development in the long run (and we've seen the damage it's done to him and Lindsay). So in hindsight, even the whole propping business turned out to be a lousy decision with very lousy results.

So yeah, unless Lindsay finally stands on her own without any propping, I can't see any way for her character to be salvaged.

 

[Top41]

I used to think what she did in episode 4x13, asking Flack for help to find out what's going with Danny and lying to Mac, was her supporting Danny in a way. But when her Monologue of Doom took place, it cast the 'good deeds' she did for Danny in a wholly different light. Without the Monologue of Doom, I might have believed she really did what she did out of care for Danny but yeah, she railed on Danny and showed viewers that she had particular conditions (unfair and presumptuous ones, at that) she expected Danny to fulfill and that she felt she had the right to treat him like crap simply because he didn't.

From that, it seems to me she did what she did in episode 4x13 with the assumption Danny 'owed her' and should 'make it up to her', hence her Monologue of Doom later. The thing is that Danny never asked her to lie on his behalf or tell Flack about him being incognito, which means she never had the right to rail on him for 'not going to her for support' like she expected him to, much less treat him with the hypocrisy she did for weeks afterwards. She decided her own actions. For her to assume Danny 'should know what she wants' or 'do what she expects him to do' is very naive and stupid. That sort of naivete so does not compute with a supposedly professional CSI in her late twenties/early thirties.

That's a good point--she did kind of have a "you owe me" attitude with him in 416, whether it be because she covered for him or because she felt because of what had happened between them, he should be confiding in her.

That whole thing was just handled badly on Lindsay's part. That's not the way you treat someone who is grieving. If she'd known about Danny sleeping with Rikki, I would have given her a pass for coming down on him like that. But she didn't. So it just came off as her being pissed because he was pulling away from her. And if it were out of the blue, again, I'd understand her anger. But she knew the guy was a wreck because he felt responsible for the death of a child. So for her to sit there and talk about herself and how she's tried to be understanding like she's some kind of saint just made me roll my eyes.

 

[privatename]

That whole thing was just handled badly on Lindsay's part. That's not the way you treat someone who is grieving. If she'd known about Danny sleeping with Rikki, I would have given her a pass for coming down on him like that. But she didn't. So it just came off as her being pissed because he was pulling away from her. And if it were out of the blue, again, I'd understand her anger. But she knew the guy was a wreck because he felt responsible for the death of a child. So for her to sit there and talk about herself and how she's tried to be understanding like she's some kind of saint just made me roll my eyes.

It was handled badly and she came of as completely childish and self-centered. So, the question is did she know how responsible he felt? Maybe she really was just too focused on how he was "slighting" her to even consider what was going on with him.

So yeah, unless Lindsay finally stands on her own without any propping, I can't see any way for her character to be salvaged.

I agree it would be a big step in the right direction if they had her stand on her own and disconnect her from Danny (and please if they do that, I hope they don't just then attach her to someone else) but I still have huge issues with the way Ms. Belknap acts or, in most cases, doesn't act. All her stories weren't bad and all her scenes weren't with Danny and even still those scenes were lacking because her acting was just not that great. So, even if they fix how they write her and the lines they have her say, I am still convinced that she should go and they should start over with another actress and another character because I just don't think that, as an actress, Ms. Belknap is right for this show -- whether it is because she isn't that great an actress or because she just doesn't fit in with this show and this cast, those dead fish eyes have to go. I am tired of being taken out of the show virtually every time she has a scene.

 

[dopebabygirl]

maybe it's just the fact that Lindsay wasn't in the show right from the beginning? And that is why we don'T like her

 

[WhosLaughingNow]

maybe it's just the fact that Lindsay wasn't in the show right from the beginning? And that is why we don'T like her

I don't think that's the reason. I mean, Adam and Sid weren't on the show right from the beginning but they managed to win a lot of people over.

It's not so much what cards you were given so much as how you play them.

 

[Shytownmofo]

maybe it's just the fact that Lindsay wasn't in the show right from the beginning? And that is why we don'T like her

I don't think so. Adam came in later, and a lot of us love him. It's the same with Angell as well. A lot of people love her, too.

With Lindsay, there are a lot of people who can't stand her. For me, it's her poor acting, coupled with the way she's come across in interviews like she just doesn't care or put any thought whatsoever into her character. Therefore, she's not convincing in her role, IMO.

Then there's the way she's been towards Danny. She's been a hypocritical little leech towards him. He's bent over backwards for her, and she's done precious little for him. As a matter of fact, when he was hurting, she didn't even extend a gesture towards him. I can understand her not "being good at (this) kind of stuff," but if you care about someone, you try, no matter how awkward it is; and she didn't.

Then there's the way he's been her prop for three years. It's really sucked the life out of Danny's character. I'm really hoping that TPTB let her stand on her own this coming season, and if she's not up to the challenge, they just show her the door.

 

[captain_nati]

As WhosLaughingNow and Shytownmofo said I don't think that we don't like her because she wasn't there from the first time. Aiden was there for the first season, Lindsay is there for three seasons now, and I believe that people still like Aiden more than Lindsay. For the simple reason that Aiden was open to everyone, was greatefull for just doing her job without asking more.
The way Mrs.Belcnap acts makes me think that she doesn't care about her role or the show. If anyone just read her interviews he will understand the frustration and dissapointment of the fans.
As for Danny, I've said it again. She wants him in her own terms. When she had the probem with the trial in Montana he tried to help, she didn't let him, and then he flew all the was there just to give her some strengthe. Whereas in this season, when Danny was grevving she didn't even try to help him. She was doing her job, being his partner, and she was just staring at him, waiting from him to open up without any push, any comforting words. When she finally asked him to go for a luch (Right Next Door) and he blow her off she got snappy and angry because he didn't act like she wanted!! Yeah I think that the reason I at least, don't like her isn't because she wasn't from the beginning...

 

[Kimmychu]

Top41 said:
That's a good point--she did kind of have a "you owe me" attitude with him in 416, whether it be because she covered for him or because she felt because of what had happened between them, he should be confiding in her.

To me, she always has an 'you owe me' attitude. :lol: It's almost as if due to what happened to her in the past, her friends getting murdered, she being the only survivor and all that, she behaves like the entire world 'owes her one' by going the way she expects it to for the trauma she experienced. Ya know, ala, "I went through a bad experience so if you don't feel sorry for me and do what pleases me/what I expect you to do, you're a bad/evil/mean person but I won't tell you to your face, I'll just be passive-aggressive to the extreme and make you look like the bad guy."

If that really is her game ...

privatename said:
So, the question is did she know how responsible he felt? Maybe she really was just too focused on how he was "slighting" her to even consider what was going on with him.

Considering even Angell approached Danny to give her condolences and talk a bit to Danny about what happened to Ruben, I highly doubt Lindsay had no idea how Danny felt. If she's that clueless, her claiming Danny is her 'best friend' is ... very sad. Unless of course, she meant Danny's her 'best friend' as in her 'slave who's supposed to run to her like a dog at her beck and call'. So if the case is that she really was so focused on herself, wow, Lindsay, there's this saying that goes, "What goes around, comes around," ya dig?

I am still convinced that she should go and they should start over with another actress and another character because I just don't think that, as an actress, Ms. Belknap is right for this show -- whether it is because she isn't that great an actress or because she just doesn't fit in with this show and this cast, those dead fish eyes have to go. I am tired of being taken out of the show virtually every time she has a scene.

Agreed, especially the last line.

dopebabygirl said:
maybe it's just the fact that Lindsay wasn't in the show right from the beginning?

Like some others have mentioned, Adam and Angell joined the show later and people love them! So Lindsay doesn't even have that excuse. :lol:

Shytownmofo said:
I can understand her not "being good at (this) kind of stuff," but if you care about someone, you try, no matter how awkward it is; and she didn't.

Bingo. That's what annoyed me the most about her Monologue of Doom later on. Srsly, saying to her boss she's 'not good at this kind of stuff' does not exempt her from any further attempts to reach Danny or terrible hypocritical behavior, such as treating a grieving man like @#$% simply because he didn't do what she expected him to.

 

[miss_blue]

Kimmychu said:
To me, she always has an 'you owe me' attitude. :lol: It's almost as if due to what happened to her in the past, her friends getting murdered, she being the only survivor and all that, she behaves like the entire world 'owes her one' by going the way she expects it to for the trauma she experienced.

Actually, since the trial when the bad guy was put away for good, she didn't have any problem regarding the childhood incident. It was like it almost vanished into thin air, and suddenly everything was all pink. No mention of it after Sleight Out of Hand, no emo behavior regarding crime scenes with blood, and no problem what so ever for testing a shot gun in All in the Family.

 

[Kimmychu]

miss_blue said:
Actually, since the trial when the bad guy was put away for good, she didn't have any problem regarding the childhood incident. It was like it almost vanished into thin air, and suddenly everything was all pink. No mention of it after Sleight Out of Hand, no emo behavior regarding crime scenes with blood, and no problem what so ever for testing a shot gun in All in the Family.

:lol: That just makes her character even more messed up then! PTSD doesn't go away just like that. :wtf: Then again her having PTSD out of the blue after her weird, spoilt brat behavior over being sent back to the labs by Mac because the scene was a mass teen homicide one was just as illogical. :wtf:

What I meant by her always having an 'you owe me' attitude is that she has it regardless of whether her past trauma's still an issue for her. She may not have had any new emo-ness in association with crime scenes and dead bodies, but her emo-ness and self-entitlement is definitely still alive and kicking! Just look at the way she treated Danny for most of season four! Poor guy.