S01.E10: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

[LadyChaos]

When David Hodges goes missing, the entire CSI team searches for any piece of evidence that can help locate him, clear his name and save the reputation of the entire crime lab.

[janeta]

I guess the woman playing Hodges' wife wasn’t available…😊 Do we know if this is coming back?

Edited December 9, 2021 by janeta

[ottoDbusdriver]

Glad they found Hodges in time.  And he was cleared of Wix's plan to frame him.

Surprised that Allie wasn't grazed by a bullet when Tiny was shooting at her.

Certainly glad that Folsom and Allie didn't hook up -- though I did like that he melted her boyfriend's key for her.

Grissom and Sara looked happy riding the rollercoaster at the end.

And we get a hint of what the season long arc may be for Season 2 -- a serial killer, perhaps -- if there is a Season 2.
 

Edited December 9, 2021 by ottoDbusdriver

[laredhead]

I didn't get what Allie was doing with they key at the end.  Was the key missing from her key ring? 

Sort of a swift wrap up at the end.  I thought Hodges would have had a thank you speech written into the script.  Yes, it looks like they are setting up a serial killer story if the series is renewed.

[LadyChaos]

43 minutes ago, laredhead said:

I didn't get what Allie was doing with they key at the end.  Was the key missing from her key ring? 

Sort of a swift wrap up at the end.  I thought Hodges would have had a thank you speech written into the script.  Yes, it looks like they are setting up a serial killer story if the series is renewed.

Earlier in the episode, she told Folsom when he worked the pawn shop murder, she had the urge to throw the key Mark had given her into the pile of melting guns......because she never wanted to move in with Mark.

So Folsom took the key and melted it down for her....she's just holding it up, looking at the melted key.

[Pepper the Cat]

Hey Sara, 
instead of yelling at Hodges to wake up how about you get the paramedics in to treat him. 
 

Good episode. Hope we get another season.

[Raja]

The kidnapping to keep a civil case open was a plot twist too far. Just because Hodges pleaded out a criminal case  doesn't mean he didn't do more for civil case purposes. Everybody understands that trade is done to save effort, unless the legal system is pretending that it doesn't

[irisheyes]

48 minutes ago, Pepper the Cat said:

Hey Sara, 
instead of yelling at Hodges to wake up how about you get the paramedics in to treat him. 
 

Good episode. Hope we get another season.

To be fair, there were a couple of cops and like three CSIs (plus Grissom with her).  I’m assuming one of them had a radio. 😀

[milkyaqua]

3 hours ago, laredhead said:

Sort of a swift wrap up at the end. 

I thought that as well but at least it was wrapped up.  I do wonder if they actually found evidence say at Wix's house of his plans and whether or not any of the folks who helped him rolled over.

I did enjoy this season and I like the current cast for the most part even if Allie is a twit.

12 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Certainly glad that Folsom and Allie didn't hook up -- though I did like that he melted her boyfriend's key for her.

I liked that Folsom did that for her but I'm not so sure that TPTB aren't setting it up for them to hook up.  Heaven forbid you have a show with men and women working together where they don't have some sort of sexual tension or wind-up hooking up.

[slowpoked]

Did anyone catch what the serial killer write at the end? Or it was just some random scribbling?

[illdoc]

1 hour ago, slowpoked said:

Did anyone catch what the serial killer write at the end? Or it was just some random scribbling?

Near the bottom of this TVLine interview with the showrunner, they talk about the serial killer/the "writing" at the end/season two (if one)/etc. Maybe it will answer your questions: https://tvline.com/2021/12/08/csi-vegas-finale-recap-season-2-will-sara-and-gil-return/

[Cattoy]

First off, apologies for rambling.

I have to admit, I was really looking forward to this. I loved the first few seasons of CSI, and I hoped they'd recapture some of things that made it so good. I don't know if it was COVID restrictions or bad writing or what, but this thing was a hot mess.

Some general issues:

• There was no suspense. The show telegraphed Wix right from the start, and Sara said it was a frame from the beginning. It would have worked much better if the audience thought there was a chance Hodges was guilty, find out that it was a frame later in the season, and then uncover who did it. They picked the most unlikable character from the show because he was the one person people would believe had tampered with evidence, and they should have run with that.
• What was the point of Grissom's landsickness? (Yes, I know it was supposed to be a metaphor, but it didn't work.) They never addressed whether he had mal de débarquement or not, whether the medication helped or not, and whether he's going back to sea or not.
• Where was everyone? As much as I liked Grissom and Sara, the show was always an ensemble. I know it was canon that Catherine was a bad boss, but so much so that every single person Sara knew quit in the past six years? It felt like Sara and Grissom were in a crossover with some other show rather than being part of CSI. We saw more of Roby's son than we did of Brass, and that was not a good thing.
• Hodges is like family. Yeah, Sara had a crappy childhood in foster care, but that's a stretch even for her. Hodges had that creepy stalkerish fascination with Grissom, but he was never even civil to Sara. There's no way they consider him 'family' and any interest they would have had would be to find out who tried to kill Brass and save the lab.

Major plot holes:

• The storage facility
  • Okay, I live in the middle of an incredibly low crime area and every storage facility has multiple cameras. To my understanding, they can't get insurance without at least a camera monitoring who is entering or exiting the facility. Why didn't they check to verify that Hodges had ever been there or check the financials to see who paid for it.
  • Bigger issue - Wix had been renting it for 10 years. What if Hodges had died in that time? So many things could have gone wrong that would have made all the effort and expense wasted.
  • More importantly, Hodges had only been an expert witness for a couple of years. Wix picked him because he saw how unlikable he was when he hired him as an expert witness. If Wix had a time machine, he'd have all the fame and fortune he wanted.
• Where did Wix get a hand grenade? It's not like you can go down to the gas station and buy one. I'm still not sure why the lab would have sample grenades. It's not like they are typical weapons used by criminals. Even if they did have them, I don't believe a tech could take them from a secure lockup without someone knowing it.
• Wix was injured in that blast - his blood was left when he got hit by shrapnel. They even made a point of showing that the wound was still bleeding in a later episode. Why didn't they check him for injuries or compare his DNA? A wound that bad wouldn't have completely healed, especially since he didn't get medical attention.
• Why would a lawyer implicate himself by directly murdering Kline himself? He used criminals do to his other dirty work.
• The crazy dude who sent letters. Uh, it didn't matter if his case was overturned because of fake evidence - he was sending out terroristic threats from prison. That's a crime that would have kept him locked up. The prison guard who delivered the letters would have known that even if the motel guy didn't.

I'm still trying to figure out what the writers were doing. It's like they wrote so much stuff, but then they had to chop it to pieces to get it to fit. It makes me wonder if they had more episodes originally and CBS cut them down to 10. There were plot points that were started and then went nowhere. It reminds me of Honest Trailer's breakdown of the Superman v Batman movie. They made this complicated organizational chart of Luther's plan, where the whole thing would fall apart if just one of the steps didn't work. Same thing here. Try to kill Brass, make sure the guy has the cash on him, have Brass remember the serial numbers from a kidnapping decades ago, find the brewery, find the body, find the cash ...

And, honestly, the lab's reputation is still shot. Once a story gets out, people never completely forget it. There's always going to be questions on how Wix was able to do such a thing.

 

 

 

[slowpoked]

18 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Certainly glad that Folsom and Allie didn't hook up -- though I did like that he melted her boyfriend's key for her.
 

My impression from the first episode was that Folsom and Allie were already in a relationship before but it didn't work out. At least based on how the other CSI alludes to them being the next Grissom and Sara.

[Grizzly]

I hope Grissom and Sarah come back for season 2 but I think I'll watch it even if they don't. Vegas gives a much more interesting pool of possible crimes than Miami ever did.

To sink Wix, all they have to do is pull his fingerprints off the water bottle he gave Hodges.

[Raja]

2 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

I hope Grissom and Sarah come back for season 2 but I think I'll watch it even if they don't. Vegas gives a much more interesting pool of possible crimes than Miami ever did.

To sink Wix, all they have to do is pull his fingerprints off the water bottle he gave Hodges.

They made a time jump with the possibility of a serial killer newscast was also the conviction of Wix.

[LadyChaos]

I think the irony is that, Hodges witness testimony is the thing that sank Wix ..... because they had no concrete evidence against him outside of kidnaping Hodges.

[Msample]

If this show gets renewed, it’s gonna be behind the CBS streaming paywall I bet. And there’s no guarantee that William Petersen or Jorja Fox return.

[LadyChaos]

1 hour ago, Msample said:

If this show gets renewed, it’s gonna be behind the CBS streaming paywall I bet. And there’s no guarantee that William Petersen or Jorja Fox return.

JF has agreed to come back if there is, the one who hasn't agreed is WP.....and I think s2 will only happen if he agrees to come back. 75% of the viewers are GSR'ers...they'll need JF and WP to keep views up.

[roctavia]

I enjoyed this season a lot, it was a fun return to old school CSI and the cast I liked the most... never could get into the other iterations...

I would like a 2nd season since this was just 10 episodes.... but I'd be less eager to watch if no Sara and Gil.... and a definitely won't watch if it's not on regular TV... 

[juliet73]

This episode was pretty underwhelming.  This season was a complete disappointment.  I think if there's a season 2, it needs to be reworked, IMO.  Maxine is really the only "new" character I liked, but I could do without her son.  I wasn't really buying Allie as a CSI and I didn't care about her personal life at all.  And I certainly don't want to see a hook up between her and the other guy.  I would prefer if her character didn't return.  I think the additional characters need to be fleshed out more.  I feel like we know more about the quirky coroner than the rest of the CSIs/lab techs combined.  I could take or leave Grissom and/or Sara.  It would be nice to see a 1st year in the cast.  Explaining the equipment and procedures as part of their training would make more sense instead of constantly discussing all of the advancements that have been made to Sara and Grissom as if they've been living under a rock since they left.  Considering Grissom basically knows everything, I find it difficult to believe that he wouldn't have been reading up on all the latest technology used in law enforcement over the years.  

[SVNBob]

2 hours ago, juliet73 said:

Considering Grissom basically knows everything, I find it difficult to believe that he wouldn't have been reading up on all the latest technology used in law enforcement over the years.  

Then again, there is a difference between reading about new tech, and actually using it.  There's still some learning curve involved.

[Grrarrggh]

On 12/12/2021 at 12:55 AM, juliet73 said:

This episode was pretty underwhelming.  This season was a complete disappointment.  I think if there's a season 2, it needs to be reworked, IMO.  Maxine is really the only "new" character I liked, but I could do without her son.  I wasn't really buying Allie as a CSI and I didn't care about her personal life at all.  And I certainly don't want to see a hook up between her and the other guy.  I would prefer if her character didn't return.  I think the additional characters need to be fleshed out more.  I feel like we know more about the quirky coroner than the rest of the CSIs/lab techs combined.  I could take or leave Grissom and/or Sara.  It would be nice to see a 1st year in the cast.  Explaining the equipment and procedures as part of their training would make more sense instead of constantly discussing all of the advancements that have been made to Sara and Grissom as if they've been living under a rock since they left.  Considering Grissom basically knows everything, I find it difficult to believe that he wouldn't have been reading up on all the latest technology used in law enforcement over the years.  

Knows everything? Seriously? He left CSI behind to focus on other research in a whole other area of science. He's not going to keep up with something he thinks he'll never bother with again. I liked Allie more than whatever his name. His puppy dog eyes at her every episode was getting tiring. 

The judge that said the civil trial could go forward because of an unauthenticated video should be debarred.