photo: cbs

Original Air Date: Oct 21, 2011

Maria – Sr. Reviewer
maria@thetwocentscorp.com

It’s the story of two brothers. One is a convict, a drug addict who insists he’s clean. The other is a promising basketball player. The drug addict is released and collected by his younger brother. The case comes when the ex-convict’s girlfriend is murdered. Meanwhile, the case prompts Flack to catch up on his alcoholic sister.

The body has multiple stab wounds, indicative of a crime of passion. The door wasn’t forced, meaning it was probably somebody she knew or that they had a key. There is a torn note from Hank, scattered in the blood. A message is written in blood, “Hank” and the girlfriend’s finger is bloody. All evidence points to Hank, the boyfriend, and he’s promptly arrested at a family Sunday dinner. It can’t really be that simple, can it?

There’s a lot of evidence and not much of it is adding up yet. Only 3 stab wounds have hilt marks and yet those were slightly shallower. There is a fragment of some kind of reflective plastic on her body. There is an odd blood drop found at the scene. Hmm.

Hank wants to speak to his brother, Riley, but Riley is so angry at Hank that the cops have to intervene. Riley screws up a note and throws it to Hank. A testament to their brotherhood and dedication to basketball and each other, a contract crafted when Riley was seven! But Riley has just about given up on his drug-addled brother. Mac asks about Don’s sister. I’m so glad the writers finally remembered that Flack has a sister!

The evidence is slowly becoming discredited. Sid realizes that the victim’s injuries left her paralyzed on her left side, yet it was her finger on her left hand which was used to write the name “Hank” in blood. She didn’t write it. Some knife wounds were pressed into the skin after the deed to make it look as though it was a crime of passion. If Hank is innocent, who else could have committed the horrific crime?

Lindsay has been investigating a blood drop which fell onto another blood drop at the scene. She was able to get two DNA samples from it. One belonging to the victim and the other is unknown. It isn’t Hank though.

Don pays a long overdue visit to his sister, Sam. She’s very savvy when sober. She understands her brother cares and she’s grateful for that, but she also knows he’s been guilt tripped into coming, probably by a case, maybe where siblings were involved, possibly addiction. I don’t blame her for her attitude. If there’s a wall between her and Don it’s partly Don’s fault for not checking in with her more often. Yet Don is determined to make amends.

Adam has put on a fantastic light show, projecting a hologram out of that tiny shard of material found on the victim’s body. It’s actually a business logo for a holistic company in California. Huh. Can’t wait to see how that’ll get explained.

In the meantime, we’re given another suspect in the form of a Nick Blount. His epithelials were found under the victim’s fingernails, he has a record of assault and of making drugs, AND he worked in the same place as the victim. Blount claims that the victim gave him a scalp massage after she cut his hair. Then Lindsay gets a call on her cell. Blount puts up a fight, but he’s arrested.

The murder weapon with Blount’s prints on it is found outside his apartment. A key mold was also found at his flat, which explains why there was no forced entry, but it still doesn’t explain everything. We still don’t know his motive. Unfortunately, Blount is hit by a car whilst trying to escape. He won’t be answering questions any time soon. The DNA found on the blood drop at the scene is not a match to Blount. Somebody else was there too.

Oh, the hologram is back in play. The company recently teamed up with an athletic apparel company, the same company which provides the kits for Riley’s basketball team. This is where the torn note found at the crime scene comes into play. The note mentions Riley going to play for Kansas, even though Riley has now made a verbal commitment to Red Town State. This is all about basketball! All about Riley!

Oh man! Don, I really don’t think stalking your sister is a good thing. Flashing your badge so you can see the job application forms she’s been filling out is actually a really sucky thing to do. I don’t blame her for being a little angry. She does see that he cares, but his current behavior is unacceptable. He’s overcompensating because of his guilt for avoiding her for so long, pushing her about her journalism career, pushing too hard. Sam is a smart girl though, and she calls him on it. She wants a job, but it’s hard with her record. Don doesn’t really have a right to judge her. He hasn’t seen or supported her through all the rejections. I hope he learns from this.

The case makes sense once the holographic plastic is linked back to Riley’s coach, Dwight Gavin. Riley wanted to play for Kansas, because that was his brother’s choice. Gavin was going to get a lot of money if he could poach Riley for Red Town State. This would be a lot easier if the brother was out of the picture, so Gavin paid Blount (who worked with the victim and had access to her house were Hank was living) to plant drugs in Hank’s bag, but the girlfriend found him doing so. Gavin’s DNA matches the other profile found in the blood drops. Gavin was the one who staged the scene to frame Hank.

Hank knew Gavin was responsible, but he never said anything because he wanted revenge. The CSIs make sure the police arrest Gavin before Hank can get to him. Hank has been given another second chance. Don is the one to take the switchblade out of Hank’s hand, giving him the lecture about family. Hank pays Riley a visit, building bridges. He promises he’ll stay clean, and since Mac says he’ll be checking in on him, I sincerely believe he will.

Things are better between the Flack siblings too. Don has found Sam a job… in the Executive Office of Media Relations to the NYPD. The NYPD is in the Flack blood, but writing is Sam’s passion. Sam is reluctant, understandably, but Don points out that it isn’t a hand out. It’s an opportunity. Siblings look out for each other, through the good times and the bad. I hope they both continue to look out for each other in the future too.

I have been looking forward to this episode for a long time, and I was not disappointed. Flack’s sister is a fantastic character and I’m really glad they brought her back. The parallels between the case and the Sam Flack subplot were highlighted within the dialogue. CSI:NY is back to the intelligent, character-driven yet case-based drama I love so much!

What are your thoughts on Sam Flack? Do you enjoy it when we explore the character’s personal lives, or do you believe that CSI should be strictly about the cases? Do you think Hank deserved another chance, or should he have been arrested for having a switchblade? I’d love to read your TwoCents about this episode, so please leave a comment.