The scene in which Grissom discovers Warrick shot and pulls him from the car is devastating. William Petersen pours his heart into the scene; the audience feels Grissom's shock and horror at finding his protégé gravely wounded. Warrick literally dies in Grissom's arms as Grissom, as he tells Sara later, tries to hold him tight enough to keep the life from seeping out of him.
Catherine is clearly gutted when she sees Warrick dead, his blood soaking through Grissom's shirt. We see the scene through her eyes as she approaches: Nick sitting forlorn, shaking his head, Warrick's body being covered, Grissom in shock at the loss.
The real emotional center of the story, however, is Grissom and Warrick's relationship. It was established as far back as the show's pilot episode that Warrick was Grissom's sometimes troubled and rebellious protégé. Warrick wasn't always the model CSI: he had gambling problems, a fierce temper, and for a while, a dependence on prescription drugs.
But, as he notes in the video of his psychiatric evaluation that Sara discovers and brings to Grissom, he had a strong figure to turn to for guidance and who set him straight, a man who, if it had been up to him, he would have chosen for a father. It's a heartbreaking moment, seeing Grissom watch the session, especially after Sara has gently told him that there was no place that Warrick would have rather been at the end than in Grissom's arms. "He loved you," she says, and Grissom replies that he loved Warrick, too.
If that isn't enough to make viewers reach for tissues, the episode concludes with a funeral service for Warrick. Grissom, the man who dreads speaking in public, stands up and offers a touching tribute to Warrick, saying that Warrick of all people knew how precious life was and how much he'd be missed.
Review provided by CSI Files.
