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A pounding tension headache prevented me from more coherent squee about CSI:NY last night, and so, here it is.
-Flack was absolute love last night, and I'm sure Eddie Cahill loved his meaty role. He was take-charge and no-nonsense throughout, and he did not hesitate to pull the trigger when push came to shove. He was upset that he had to take a life in fulfillment of his duty, but he wasn't a wreck, and as of now, I don't foresee any long-reaching psychological effects. Indeed, he was more than willing to pull the trigger again at episode's end and would have done so had not Adam found his courage and run into the line of fire to explain what was happening. That might bother him more than the initial shooting. Flack clearly buys into the fraternity of the police, and he would have been devastated had he shot two of his fellow officers by mistake.
-A character that is and should have long-term psychological damage from this incident is Adam Ross. I have no doubt that he blames himself for allowing the lab to be breached, and for being a coward. It's not his fault, of course; I doubt many could have withstood the physical punishment inflicted by the gang. Unfortunately, his self-assessment is going to look all the worse when juxtaposed against Danny's brazen ballsiness. How can Adam hope to find sympathy for his cigarette burns when Danny suffered a crushed hand, reset the mangled fingers without anesthetic, took a butt-kicking as a diversion, and saved the day with some sulfuric acid? I'm afraid that his hero-worship of Danny, coupled with his obvious self-doubt, will set him up for a dramatic crisis of faith down the road. He might even quit the lab in the misguided belief that he has betrayed it and his coworkers by his weakness and no longer deserves to be there. Adam will be interesting to watch in S4.
-Danny Messer was fabulous in the action portion of his role, but we were exposed to two Dannys in this episode-the proud, impulsive, badass Danny that captivated so many viewers throughout the first two seasons, and the schmoopy, spineless, fanfic tragihero of S3. Thankfully, the stomach-churning confirmation of the S.S. Dindsay was brief, and Danny was able to salvage his largely emasculated character here with a lot of vintage Danny lip. However, if the writers insist on writing this flaccid, uninspired ship, I'm not sure he can sustain his blend of machismo, street smarts, and decency.
-Hawkes got to shine here. We don't usually get to see the good doctor as anything but reserved, but even he has a set of Action!Mac Pants, it seems, because he wasted no time in getting the drop on the bad guys. He never lost his cool, used his wits(and his trusty, whirling bonesaw of death), and was instrumental in saving the lab. We even got to see him angry, and though it wasn't loud or demonstrative, it was unnerving. "You want to play dead? Turn around?" ~shudder~
-Stella was amazing, and watching her last night, I could easily believe she had worked Narco for six years. That vent drop was a thing of beauty. Wonder if she learned it from Mac?
-I usually deplore Action!Mac, but he was needed last night, and we got him in spades. The hydrogen bomb was ingenious, but methinks there must be repercussions for blowing up the lab. All open cases that were in the building will now be tainted, and their evidence vaults and records rooms will be ashes. If Gerrard or Sinclair want another go at Mac, there was their in.
-I usually like Peyton, but I found her pushy and manipulative in the opening scene where she "invites" him to London. She was using emotional blackmail, and her knowledge of his vacation time was creepy. Not to mention playing on his guilt by buying the ticket ahead of time so he'd feel obligated to go. The entire interaction was very needy and uncomfortable.
-The D/L relationship is a soul-draining mess. Lindsay, who could have been a strong character, has been made an avatar for every teenage girl who's ever slipped her fingers into her panties over Danny Messer. Mooning in bed over their "night of passion"? Check. Smelling a conveniently placed flower like she's in a Tampax or Dulcolax ad? Check. Schmoopy letter with even sappier voiceover? Check. Detached retina from rolling my eyes? Check.
Look, I have no doubts that Danny can be romantic when he puts his mind to it; in fact, I believe all of the characters can be, that all of them have softer sides. I explore the softer side of Flack in my fics, and I've had him do schmoopy things like picnics in Central Park and baseball games and clumsy love letters. No one can be a badass all the time. However, those moments should never be on display in a crime drama. Those are moments for a soap opera. Yes, Danny has a sex life. Good for him, but I don't want to see it. I find it ironic that fandom pillories those who subject it to their googy, masturbatory fantasies between themselves and Character X, but the powers that be are hellbent on subjecting their audience to theirs. Fandom should not have more restraint than its canon.
-Flack was absolute love last night, and I'm sure Eddie Cahill loved his meaty role. He was take-charge and no-nonsense throughout, and he did not hesitate to pull the trigger when push came to shove. He was upset that he had to take a life in fulfillment of his duty, but he wasn't a wreck, and as of now, I don't foresee any long-reaching psychological effects. Indeed, he was more than willing to pull the trigger again at episode's end and would have done so had not Adam found his courage and run into the line of fire to explain what was happening. That might bother him more than the initial shooting. Flack clearly buys into the fraternity of the police, and he would have been devastated had he shot two of his fellow officers by mistake.
-A character that is and should have long-term psychological damage from this incident is Adam Ross. I have no doubt that he blames himself for allowing the lab to be breached, and for being a coward. It's not his fault, of course; I doubt many could have withstood the physical punishment inflicted by the gang. Unfortunately, his self-assessment is going to look all the worse when juxtaposed against Danny's brazen ballsiness. How can Adam hope to find sympathy for his cigarette burns when Danny suffered a crushed hand, reset the mangled fingers without anesthetic, took a butt-kicking as a diversion, and saved the day with some sulfuric acid? I'm afraid that his hero-worship of Danny, coupled with his obvious self-doubt, will set him up for a dramatic crisis of faith down the road. He might even quit the lab in the misguided belief that he has betrayed it and his coworkers by his weakness and no longer deserves to be there. Adam will be interesting to watch in S4.
-Danny Messer was fabulous in the action portion of his role, but we were exposed to two Dannys in this episode-the proud, impulsive, badass Danny that captivated so many viewers throughout the first two seasons, and the schmoopy, spineless, fanfic tragihero of S3. Thankfully, the stomach-churning confirmation of the S.S. Dindsay was brief, and Danny was able to salvage his largely emasculated character here with a lot of vintage Danny lip. However, if the writers insist on writing this flaccid, uninspired ship, I'm not sure he can sustain his blend of machismo, street smarts, and decency.
-Hawkes got to shine here. We don't usually get to see the good doctor as anything but reserved, but even he has a set of Action!Mac Pants, it seems, because he wasted no time in getting the drop on the bad guys. He never lost his cool, used his wits(and his trusty, whirling bonesaw of death), and was instrumental in saving the lab. We even got to see him angry, and though it wasn't loud or demonstrative, it was unnerving. "You want to play dead? Turn around?" ~shudder~
-Stella was amazing, and watching her last night, I could easily believe she had worked Narco for six years. That vent drop was a thing of beauty. Wonder if she learned it from Mac?
-I usually deplore Action!Mac, but he was needed last night, and we got him in spades. The hydrogen bomb was ingenious, but methinks there must be repercussions for blowing up the lab. All open cases that were in the building will now be tainted, and their evidence vaults and records rooms will be ashes. If Gerrard or Sinclair want another go at Mac, there was their in.
-I usually like Peyton, but I found her pushy and manipulative in the opening scene where she "invites" him to London. She was using emotional blackmail, and her knowledge of his vacation time was creepy. Not to mention playing on his guilt by buying the ticket ahead of time so he'd feel obligated to go. The entire interaction was very needy and uncomfortable.
-The D/L relationship is a soul-draining mess. Lindsay, who could have been a strong character, has been made an avatar for every teenage girl who's ever slipped her fingers into her panties over Danny Messer. Mooning in bed over their "night of passion"? Check. Smelling a conveniently placed flower like she's in a Tampax or Dulcolax ad? Check. Schmoopy letter with even sappier voiceover? Check. Detached retina from rolling my eyes? Check.
Look, I have no doubts that Danny can be romantic when he puts his mind to it; in fact, I believe all of the characters can be, that all of them have softer sides. I explore the softer side of Flack in my fics, and I've had him do schmoopy things like picnics in Central Park and baseball games and clumsy love letters. No one can be a badass all the time. However, those moments should never be on display in a crime drama. Those are moments for a soap opera. Yes, Danny has a sex life. Good for him, but I don't want to see it. I find it ironic that fandom pillories those who subject it to their googy, masturbatory fantasies between themselves and Character X, but the powers that be are hellbent on subjecting their audience to theirs. Fandom should not have more restraint than its canon.