CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Season 8 Finale
Review by Lizzie Guilfoyle
INDIELONDON singles out notable episodes from our favourite television series for stand-alone reviews. On this occasion, we take a look at the season finale of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in season 8, an episode entitled For Gedda.
What’s the Story? In what might seem like the culmination of an ongoing storyline, Warrick (Gary Dourdan) is framed for the murder of mobster Lou Gedda (John Capodice) who, you will remember, was involved in the death of Warrick’s one-night stand – the stripper Candy (Cockroaches).
Why so good? After two surprisingly mediocre episodes (The Theory of Everything and Two and a Half Deaths) it’s reassuring to find CSI: Crime Scene Investigation back on form with a season finale guaranteed to enthral and shock in equal measure.
Digging a Little Deeper: The episode begins with what appears to be an unrelated case – two bodies crashing through the bottom of a coffin. One, however, turns out to be that of Lenny Harper, the Private Investigator hired by Warrick to spy on Gedda.
Needless to say, Grissom (William Petersen) and the rest of the team stand by Warrick who, incidentally, inconveniently suffers amnesia – even when he’s found covered in blood at the scene of Gedda’s murder, his gun and handcuffs undisputed evidence. Not surpisingly and with a nod from an unusually sympathetic Ecklie, they mount their own ‘unofficial’ investigation.
Dourdan, as a man who’s as much a victim of the crime as the victim himself, is superb, displaying emotions as diverse as despair and anger. Which is not bad for someone who, on the very day of filming, was arrested on drugs charges after being found asleep in his car at 5:14am!
And although you know in your heart of hearts that Warrick is innocent, his recent problems (with drugs – Zolpidem to help him sleep, Modafinil to help him stay alert – as well as the break up of his marriage) have made him more intense, more prone to sudden bursts of anger. Not quite the Warrick we came to know and love – which leaves an uncomfortable element of doubt.
But as almost always with CSI, the truth will out and Warrick is released from custody. Which is, of course, a wonderful red herring for it lulls you into a false sense of security, making you question reports of him leaving the series. But with a little under ten minutes still to run, you all too quickly realize that you’ve been ‘had’.
Nevertheless, the ending (or perhaps that should read the end) when it comes, is all the more shocking, particularly as it also finally exposes the department mole – a man directly involved with the case, one who had even offered the hapless Warrick a deal if he admitted guilt.
This is CSI at its very best – an episode that belongs to Warrick who, and I’m sure I speak for many fans, will be sorely missed.