"Willows in the Wind" Discussion **SPOILERS**

[byline]

My main issue with this episode stems from CBS. They spoiled nearly every major thin--Laura Gabriel's involvement and the resignation--through promos and photographs. It's ridiculous. I thought it was a very solid episode, and I'm glad they went with that final scene, but CBS needs to pay more attention to what material they release.

My husband said the same thing. It bugged him that a month in advance, CBS trumpeted this as being Cath's goodbye, and then basically gave away a ton of spoiler info prior to the episode being aired. So it removed any suspense we might have felt otherwise.

 

[Crumbs]

I thoroughly enjoyed both parts to the story, and I thought it was a worthy storyline for Marg's exit. Whilst I thought it didn't quite feel like CSI, as it was for a special occasion I can forgive the writers for it and I think it sort of fits Catherine's character as well.

I think I actually preferred Ms. Willows Regrets a little more than Willows in the Wind. It was more about the investigation and it was the first CSI in a while which has put me on the edge for the entirety of the episode. WITW felt a little slower and I wasn't too keen on how convenient everything seemed to be, it would have made a bit more sense in having Ms Kitty and Ted Jr a little earlier on rather than having them seemingly pop up out of nowhere. Kitty had some pretty hilarious lines though. :lol:

Catherine making a miraculous recovery I can live with. It's not like she was running into gunfights or anything but maybe a limp or something might have made her injuries seem more believable, or possibly having her be shot in some place less vital.

I loved the continuity in the episode, to Jimmy Tadero, to the pilot, I liked how it appeared to be almost like a celebration of Catherine's past. All that seemed to be missing was Lindsey and a Sam Braun reference. I also loved the scene where Nick, Sara, Greg and Brass find DB's SUV at the beginning, it nicely showed the characters that have been there since the beginning (minus Doc Robbins) working together.

This was also a great team episode, nobody was left in the lab and it was even great to see Hodges and Henry out in the field. I was initially worried it would just be a Cath/DB fiasco but screentime was pretty well distributed as a whole.

I can see how people thought the goodbye scene seemed rushed at the end, but I see Marg's exit being more "temporary" than Billy's. I feel like Marg will be back for a guest spot relatively soon whereas Billy seemed almost determined to distance himself away from the show to try new things. Even though I love the episode,I got a little annoyed with the personal goodbyes in One to Go and I much preferred Marg's more swift, no-faff, exit. Grissom's was far too dragged out and it felt too much like a series finale than a character goodbye.

As for the final scene, I liked it. Although again, it seemed a little out of the blue considering Catherine/Morgan's relationship was barely shown on-screen and that Morgan hasn't shown much Ecklie angst since CSI Down. Loved the "King Kong on cocaine" line again though.

Overall though I thought it was a fitting exit for a fantastic character which ranks among my favourites (although not quite up there with my top episodes). The only thing I think it personally lacked was a little forewarning and possibly pacing. I personally thought that maybe WITW would have worked better as a 90 minute episode but alas, some things aren't always feasilble.

Ms Willows Regrets gets a 9.0/10.
Willows in the Wind gets a 8.8/10.

 

[bill_az]

Someone asked about the "walk away" line. That was probably adapted from Langston's line to Sarah in the hoarders episode from 2010. Sidle and Nick had a testy exchange in that episode; it was Langston's way of trying to smooth things over.

Coincidentally, it might also tie into the theme song for the show, "Who Are You?" by The Who. The song starts, "I woke up in Soho doorway, a policeman knew my name/ He said, You can go sleep at home tonight, if you can get up an walk away..."

 

[Ladybronco]

Someone asked about the "walk away" line. That was probably adapted from Langston's line to Sarah in the hoarders episode from 2010. Sidle and Nick had a testy exchange in that episode; it was Langston's way of trying to smooth things over.

Coincidentally, it might also tie into the theme song for the show, "Who Are You?" by The Who. The song starts, "I woke up in Soho doorway, a policeman knew my name/ He said, You can go sleep at home tonight, if you can get up an walk away..."

That's an interesting way to look at it Bill!
To this day, Who Are You remains one of my favorite songs, going back to when it was released my sophmore year in High School. Guess I'm not afraid to state my age after all :lol:

Since the phrase has been brought up, I also have to say that another of my all time favorite songs is Walk Away, by The James Gang, when Joe Walsh was still with them.

 

[Dark CSI]

Hmmm. I don't feel this episode was as strong as Ms Willows Regrets. While I liked elements of it such as Ecklie telling Agent Pratt that he thought he was the mole until McQuaid was revealed to be and DB giving the hooker the 'get out of jail free card,' most of the episode felt a little trite and try too hard.

For starters, I find it very hard to believe that Catherine could have been shot in the abdomen and mere hours later be up chasing criminals around still looking perfect. I also felt that she and DB didn't need to spend quite such time 'out in the cold' and that they would have been plenty safe back at CSI. However, I thoroughly enjoyed DB's reaction to everyone's surprise that he was in a strip joint (loving DB just a little more with every episode. He's officially moved to second position after Greg as one of my favourite character). But I did feel that Catherine could have had more air time with the original team and I'm sorry but that closing scene with Morgan? What the heck was that?! I get that scene was put in to hark back to the pilot but putting in a scene with a character that Catherine had never seemed all that close to just so they could use the 'King Kong on cocaine' line again was weak writing. Weak, weak, weak, weak.

I thought Catherine's closing speech was terribly cheesy and I did not enjoy it at all. It felt rushed, overly sentimental and a way for Marg to say her goodbyes to the cast on camera. She and George Eads did a very good job with looking emotional (and i did like the nod to DB when she said she was leaving the team in good hands because I wholeheartedly concur) but everyone else merely looked bemused, like they weren't quite sure why they were there.

And Catherine's joined the FBI? Bit of a step down after the big job offer the Mayor made her at the begining of the season. Moreover, it was offered to her by an FBI agent? Um, can they even do that? I really liked Agent Pratt's earnest, boy-scout with a hint of a stick-up-his-ass manner and I thought the actor who played him was really good (actually, I would like to see him back again on CSI because I liked him immensely as a character, especially his interactions with DB) but offering Catherine a job? Really?

I don't want to complain anymore about this episode because it pains me to say so many things about such an episode featured in such a strong season (that and I really thought CSI were past the ovely dramatic, 'lets throw a lot of bells and whistles at them to distract from the lousy writing' of the Langston fiasco). I really thought CSI let themselves down with this one, which is a shame because it started so strongly with part one.

 

[Half]

I kind of liked the end scene with Morgan. I picked up on the reference right away, and it looked a lot like the booth from the first episode, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. It was a "passing of the torch" of sorts, with, like in the first episode, Cath giving a tip to the newest member of the team. But this time, instead of being called away, she's staying there by herself essentially watching her life as a CSI walk away with Morgan. Also, I felt like it was believable to have it be Cath and Morgan because Morgan seemed a bit confused as to why she was there, too. Like she wasn't quite sure why she was the one having dinner with Catherine right after she has said goodbye to the team.

 

[Ninja1088]

This is where the Ted Danson coming on will help the show. He is a breath of fresh air after Laurence Fishburne and interacts much better with the rest of the cast.