Season 1, Episode 5: Friends and Lovers

Grissom is hit hard by the case he's on in this episode, and it's the first time we really see something get under the normally unflappable CSI's skin. At one point in the episode, Grissom outlines the three things that really get to him: men who beat their wives, sexual abuse of children and drug dealers who prey on kids.

This case obviously falls under the last category and it's evident in the usually cool-tempered Grissom's reaction to Ethan, the haughty, arrogant drug dealer who quotes the law to Grissom condescendingly. Ethan actually gets a rise out of Grissom, who vows to get him for murder. That Grissom fails in this is surprising, and Ethan dances in the hallway as he's let go. Jeff Parise injects both glee and arrogance into his performance as Ethan, and the audience is as disappointed as Grissom is when Ethan walks away scot free.

Grissom is similarly saddened by the outcome of the case. When Bobby's lawyer tells him she plans to argue diminished capacity, he tells her frankly and honestly, "I hope you win." Much as Grissom believes in following the evidence, even he can't fail to be moved by the fact that Bobby not only had no intention of hurting his friend, but that he didn't even remember doing it in the first place. The real bad guy, Ethan, walks free and there's nothing Grissom can do about it. To get away, he heads to the strip to ride a gigantic rollercoaster.

In a truly impressive sequence, the camera follows Grissom's face as his car climbs to the top and shoots down and around. The tightly-controlled Grissom doesn't let out a single scream or even a stray emotion as he zips along.

Catherine continues to stand in stark opposition to Grissom, though she would probably be interested to see his reaction to Bobby's plight. Catherine tells Nick when he quotes one of Grissom's quips to her that "Grissom isn't right about everything."

This is another novel approach from CSI: the hero isn't always perfect or right. Grissom is human just like the rest of the team, and while his methods as a scientist are inventive and effective, life isn't so cut and dry that science--or Grissom--can have the answer to every problem, especially when it comes to human emotion.

Even Grissom, who would approaches each case as clinically and scientifically he can, has things that get under his skin, like the aforementioned list. Grissom might strive for a dispassionate examination of the evidence, but that doesn't mean he's without feeling by any means.

Catherine, because she's so driven by emotion, clearly doesn't always see that. Here, she and Nick rather easily solve the puzzle, but for Catherine motive is a big missing piece. She's suspicious of Kate's story from the get-go, and the blood splatter on the wall and on Woods' shirt points to Julia's involvement. But for Catherine, the case isn't closed until she knows why the two women killed Woods.

The conflict between what the evidence says and basic human nature is a frequent theme early in the show's run; the CSIs aren't cops and their job is to deal with the evidence, not wrangle a confession out of a suspect or uncover the motive, but basic human nature means they'd naturally be curious about what causes one human being to take the life of another.

Catherine typifies this curiosity, but as this episode proves, even Grissom isn't always capable of remaining detached and emotionally objective.

Review provided by CSI Files.