TVSquad

(S02E24) Well, this was a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it was a finale that suited the mood and pace of this entire season - which was up, down, left, right, and all over the place. CSI: NY (and Vegas to some extent) is still very much individual, packaged episodes. There weren't many ongoing storylines this season (mainly Aiden and DJ Pratt). Miami (which has it's finale this coming Monday) is the only one of the three that's really broken the mold and become heavily serialized. Soap opera-ish many argue and I agree. I hope next season that NY heads in the same direction because I think it makes for better viewer involvement/investment... whatever you want to call it. 

The episode started with Mac and Don responding to a stabbed security guard in an office building. While investigating the floor, Mac found a duffel bag filled with C-4 explosive. Lindsay was outside and she helped clear the street block as Stella arrived. But then the bomb went off. Mac and Don didn't make it outside in time.

Homeland Security shows up (it was a terrorist act after all) and some weird H.S. agent is immediately introduced in classic CSI fashion. Anyone who didn't immediately realize that this was the guy behind it all needs to start paying attention to these types of shows better. He was cocky, had expert bomb knowledge, and kept disappearing. They always return to the scene of the crime. I think that's a rule if you want to be a professional bomber/murderer/psycho.

Mac and Don are finally recovered by Danny. Mac sustained mild injuries but he kept having flashbacks to his tour of duty in Beirut. Flack wasn't so good. Mac had to stop his bleeding by tying a shoelace around an exposed artery. It was pretty gory. Flack is transported to the hospital and brought to surgery. Oh, and where was Sid? He was in the credits as a guest-star but all we got was some voice-over. He had better be in every episode next season.

Did anyone else notice how there wasn't much "CSI-ing" in this episode? They were in the lab only once or twice I think after they recovered the shrapnel from Flack's chest. Good thing it just so happened to be the trigger for the bomb. It was a cell phone and anyone who returned a call to it could have set the bomb off.

Once they realized it was the Homeland Security guy, they raided his place to find out that he's been doing all sorts of research on Mac. The guy was delusional, he thought he was a Marine and what he was doing (setting all these bombs) was for the good of the country. So when they finally caught up to him, Mac was able to talk the guy down as if he was his military superior. It was actually a pretty cool moment when Mac realized what he had to do to get in this guy's head.

The episode concluded with the whole team standing vigil over Flack at the hospital. Hawkes finally took off. Then Danny gave Lindsay a ride home... anything going on there? Stella stayed with Mac for a while. It ended with Mac holding Flack's hand. He told him to squeeze "if you can hear me." Flack squeezed. I think he's going to be okay.

So it wasn't a huge cliffhanger but I look forward to seeing what happens next season for changes. As I've said already, Robert Joy (he plays Sid) needs to be added to the full-time cast. I'd like a more serialized feel, that'd be a good thing. Oh and I almost forgot. Jane Parsons (the British lab tech) was back again. She was in an episode a few weeks ago. I wouldn't mind seeing her back more regularly too. Hopefully we'll see some of these adjustments take place.