Catherine is naturally protective of her co-workers and doesn't take kindly to an outsider coming in to horn in on the case. "We can argue," Sara offers, "but two sharp women are better than one." With that simple statement, Sara calls out Catherine's behavior and offers a solution all in one. Reminding Catherine that they're on the same side, as women and as criminalists who want to uncover the truth reveals a lot about Sara's character.
Catherine has an increased role in "Cool Change." She feels both guilt over and responsibility for Holly's situation after encouraging the young CSI to stay until she solves her first case. Grissom initially wants to give the case to Nick, who didn't have any contact with Holly, but Catherine insists on taking it, and she won't accept no for an answer. Interestingly, Grissom accedes, proving at least in this instance, her will is stronger than his.
The audience also gets to see Catherine's brazen side when she calls the pager's owner and pretends to be a flirty young girl looking for a little fun when he picks up the phone. Catherine might be a bit unconventional, but her strong, forceful personality is evident from the get-go.
Grissom, now the leader of the CSI team, has to make the tough decision of whether or not to fire Warrick. Brass was in charge of the CSI team in the pilot but he's moved back to Homicide in this episode. I wonder if this was a network decision or if Anthony Zuiker's original plan was to have Grissom set up as a new leader for the show's first season.
It's much more fitting to have Grissom in charge of the "nerd squad" as opposed to Brass. Brass represents the old school, the type who barks orders and leans on suspects hard for a confession; Grissom is the new order, the type who uses science to figure things out and is a fount of obscure information and observations because, as he tells Nick, "It's our job to know stuff."
Grissom is a much kinder, gentler leader than Brass. He affectionately calls Nick "Nicky" and clearly views the younger CSI as his protégé. And he doesn't fire Warrick, saying, "If I let you go, I have to let me go." Grissom sees the graveyard shift as a genuine team, meaning they stand together.
As Warrick says earlier on, he was left alone at crime scenes plenty of times as a rookie; Warrick's mistake, gambling aside, was something any CSI could have committed. If Grissom knew the whole story, however--that Warrick was placing a bet for a judge--he might not have been so forgiving.
Review provided by CSI Files.
