(S04E25) Well this was easily the best of the three CSI season finales this year. It answered all the lingering questions (mainly, the mole) and it was coupled with one pretty intense case (finding the jerk who ordered the hit on Marisol). On top of that, it had so many twists and turns that I'll be impressed with myself if I remember them all as I write this up.
It's been at least a few weeks since last week's episode ended. Marisol has been buried and Horatio, with the help of Delko, continues to search for Antonio Riaz. They finally get a break when about half a dozen Mala Noche gang members are found brutally shot. Unfortunately, Riaz wasn't one of them. While investigating the scene, Jessop triggered a grenade wired inside of a barbeque grill. The blast launched him nearly to the other side of the swimming pool. Alexx pronounced him minutes later. I'm really not sure what the point of killing Jessop was, other than shock value. Well... I was shocked.
Horatio was able to trace the signature of the grenade to one of the Noche's soldiers. He didn't have much to say though. From here on out, the episode got pretty confusing. On a blind tip, the Feds show up and lock the lab down. Everyone is interrogated regarding missing funds from the bust on Star Island from last week's episode. First they made you think the mole was Valera. Then they made you think it was Cooper. Finally though, Natalia just came out and told Delko she was mole. It was incredibly anti-climactic. At first I couldn't figure out why, but it made sense later.
After questioning some more thugs, Horatio and Delko got some security tapes from local banks because they heard Riaz was doing business in the parking lots. In one of the tapes, Marisol was buying something from Riaz. The guy had been selling marijuana to sick people. Then he found out that Marisol's brother was a cop. And then the deal got even sweeter when he found out that Marisol was dating a cop that had been green-lit for a hit. Remember, the Noches have had it out for Horatio since the season premiere. Eventually, they catch up with Riaz at an airport before he shot a plane down. Again, there's more to this.
Back at the lab, Calleigh realizes that her friend Peter from Treasury was the last person to handle the money. So for a brief minute, you were led to believe that Peter was the bad seed. But then Calleigh spoke with Natalia, who said that she was the mole but she had only been passing on positive feedback to the Feds. She hadn't been selling out the lab for one second. That's when it all clicked. Peter's fiancé, the D.A., had been out to get the lab for some time. She snagged the extra bills when Peter wasn't looking and then tipped the Feds herself. She was determined to bring the lab down. Peter and Calleigh set her up and got the whole confession on tape. Now I wonder if this means if we'll see those two reconnect next season?
Oh here's a random question. The first time we found out there was a mole was back when Erica (that nosy reporter) told Wolfe about it on the beach. But if Natalia was only passing on good info (and nothing incriminating) to the feds, then why would Erica have found out about the mole at all? Am I crazy or does that seem a little inconsistent?
The episode ended with Horatio and Delko visiting Marisol's grave. A Fed shows up to let them know that Riaz is being deported to Brazil. He cut a deal and gave up a terrorist cell to stand trial in Brazil. Of course, once he gets to Brazil, he'll never stand trial. He'll get away. The Feds leave with Riaz and this exchange between Delko and Horatio took place:
Delko: This is on us now H.
Horatio: I know Eric. We're going to Brazil.
Now that's just a fantastic cliffhanger if you ask me. I apologize for how jumbled this recap seems. For those that did see it, way too much happened. But it was done well. I look forward to seeing what happens in Brazil, as well as what Natalia's future role in the lab will be. Even if she meant well, she still ticked a lot of people off.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-09-2008 @ 12:50AM
Kissa said...
Ok, this show is getting out of control! First they kill Speed whom I LOVED then they made Wolfe switch sides to work as a reporter, then they made that guy that Callie loved shoot himself now Alex is gone? Is anyone else starting to get really irritated about all this or is it just me? How can they have an prayer of keep fans if they keep killing all the characters we've grown accustomed to or making them into moles or somthing equally dumb? This is absolutely annoying and sloppy. Are they out of ideas so badly? WTF man? If I as a writer go through and killed all the characters my readers enjoy so much then they will stop watching! Doesn't these bone heads get it?
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5-23-2006 @ 12:11PM
Leah said...
Really? I was actually very disappointed with the finale. For some reason I had hoped that somehow Marisol would show up alive. I hoped that they had faked her death to mkae the Noches think she had died. I kinda figured that Natalia was the mole. I am actually quite pissed off that there were no major twists actually! Also...if Diaz was to be the BIG villain of the piece and maybe the next few installments of the new series...he should be played by a much bigger actor than the guy who played it. All in all...I thought the finale was not nearly as impressive as I had hoped! Oh well...one more series to not watch anymore. I am sick and tired of characters getting bumped for no ostensible reason except to have a blockbuster finale. And this just when you start to actually care for a character!
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5-23-2006 @ 12:52PM
MrAkai said...
All in all not a bad episode. I am suprised you didn't comment on the weird subtitles Diaz had.
First of all, his english was very intelligable, so they were not needed, and second, it looked like someone was ripping of the Brick (http://www.brickmovie.net/) trailer for no apparent reason.
With how productplacement happy CBS is these days did I miss what product they were advertising with the subtitles?
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5-23-2006 @ 12:54PM
Fullman said...
This is one of the finales, along with Prison Break and Smallville, that made me wish there wasn't a summer break.
There are so many things you could pull from this episode, how everything got tied together, how the mole actually turned out to be a good person (despite pissing everyone off), how Horatio and Ryan set up this plan to seed unique things to different people and see who said what, how the Noche gang was still after Horatio... everything.
What on earth is going to happen in Brazil, I wonder? My first thought is that Horatio and Eric are going to try to kill him, and since it's on Brazilian soil... the US government won't do much to stop them, especially with the circumstances.
Also, what's going to happen with the DA? She's meddled with so many cases and shut them down that you think there's going to be a lot of re-trials?
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5-23-2006 @ 1:00PM
Leroy said...
You didn't mention one of the oddest things about this episode: the bizarre sub-titles right over the middle of the picture every time Riaz spoke. Although he spoke heavily accented English, it was perfectly intelligible, making the subtitles superfluous. I detect a touch of racism or politicizing about immigration here.
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5-23-2006 @ 1:18PM
Jimmy said...
I thought the whole mole reveal was a major let down. They led us to believe it was going to be this major take-down of Cane's lab, but in the end it's just Caine as Super Cop getting away with everything. It was cool how the entire team, including those who are not so thrilled with how Caine runs things, came together to watch each other's backs. I hope this is the last we see of Peter. I just don't like his character. Also loved the cliffhanger. If they go to Brazil will this mean the return of Yelina Salas and Horatio's brother, Raymond? I hope so, Sofia Milos brought a lot to the show and she was an excellent foil for Horatio's over-the-top bravado. I also hope this doesn't mean the end of Natalia. It will be difficult for her character to integrate back into the team, but it would dramatic to watch. Something tells me Eva La Rue will not be back next season.
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5-23-2006 @ 2:10PM
Robert said...
I don't know guys. This show has become a major letdown, especially in comparison to the other CSI series. Maybe I haven't watched enough of Miami, but I thought Jessup was just another "redshirt" and the impact of his death (crazy slo-mo acrobatics included) seemed so heavy-handed. I know, I know, he's a police officer and that's always a tragedy, but it's almost as if H had more angst over his death than he did for Marisol.
I thought it was totally obvious who the mole was, from the moment it was mentioned several episodes back. Oh, let me see...fancy new lab with new supervisor who sleeps with investigators..hmmm. C'mon, and the fact that she confessed to Delko, and she never sold out the lab... Okay, she's the mole, but a "good" one. What a rip off.
And Riaz' strange subtitles? Looks like someone just had a wild hair and decided to go all Tony-Scott-Man-on-Fire-Domino-Lite at the end. But really, someone answer me this: why would the Feds bring Riaz (a known crime lord and presumably high-security flight risk) TO A CEMETERY? Just so H and Delko could glare at him as the Feds drove him off? Wha?
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5-23-2006 @ 2:56PM
Gordon Werner said...
To answer your random question ...
The D.A. probably knew that there was a federal informant there ... it would be quite easy for her to have someone (or herself) leak that fact to the media (as well as tips) to make it look like the mole was doing it.
As for Natalia ... all she has to do is show people what she was reporting ... then they will see that she wasn't trying to screw them over ... but rather commend them.
As for next season ... either it will start in Brasil ... or we will be hearing about the consequences of what they did in Brasil.
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5-23-2006 @ 10:29PM
smikwily said...
I saw the subtitles as more of an attempt to mimic Man On Fire (2004) than anything else. Some of the attempts at camera shots seemed similar as well, although not done near as well (if you liked the style of MOF that is...)
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5-23-2006 @ 11:26PM
paul said...
I think Caruso is the worst actor on tv. Besides that,he is basically a lab tech but is involved in more shootouts than the border patrol. The episode where he lead the SWAT team through the door in a shootout did it for me with this show.
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5-24-2006 @ 12:08AM
Sara said...
I, too, thought it was a weak finale and it appeared that Horatio had grieved and moved on, rather soon in my opinion. I kept hoping that Horatio was having some kind of bad dream, would wake up and Marisol would be alive after all. But then, that type of story line is worn and old.
As I have said before in this forum, the only reason that I watch is for David Caruso. When he leaves, so will I.
You have to give it to Caruso for sticking by the lousy writing of this program.
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5-24-2006 @ 1:46PM
ElementsUnknown said...
This is offcially the most ridiculous show on tv. I dont demand absolute realism from entertainment but why dont they just freakin change the name of this show from CSI Miami to MIAMI VICE 2006! They went from a show about foresenic crime investigation (which is being used to create great TV on both vegas and NY!) to a poor man's John Woo flick! The only value this show has anymore is for my wife and I to Mystery Science Theater 3000 the crap out of every episode.
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5-24-2006 @ 3:09PM
drew said...
ok, the mole, predictable. the ending, not as good as i hoped. i thought horatio would have murdered riaz, and since he and erik know thw crime world, they could pin it on another mala noche or something. i also didnt get killing jessob. 1 the character was pointless, 2. what did that have to do with anything?
it is obvious horatio and erik will kill Riaz in Brazil, and in te first sesaons there was so much talk of horatios brother, BRING YELINA AND RAY BACK!... all in all compared to the NY and LV finales, this was the best, CSI LAS VEGAS, was a complete load of crap to me! well i give tis episode 7.5/10.. the 2.5, for not buildign up a story line 4 the mole, and 4 not having the excitment i had hoped for
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6-02-2006 @ 11:34PM
Sharon said...
Also, you may think Caruso is a bad actor and that they should take this off TV. But ALOT of people want it to stay on. I admire Caruso and I think he is a great actor. You are making other people upset, but most people love this show and want it to continue. If you dont like it then don't watch it please. Because the people who do like it, your making us upset. We love this show so don't watch it if you hate it. Many of us want to enjoy it and want them to continue, and besides, do you think you could do a better job then Caruso? Act like his character, no. We are all our own character. LEt us enjoy the show, dont watch it if you hate it. They did this Storyline for a reason, some may not like it and some may do. And you cant say he is the worst actor on TV because there are other actors out there that you dont know about. And they toook Raiz to the cemetary because they are deporting him. Did you watch the last episode? They didnt take him just so Horatio can look at him. They are taking him to Brazil. And he is not the worst Actor on TV, many of us want this TV series to continue, if you dont then don't watch it! Please.
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6-02-2006 @ 11:37PM
Sharon said...
You all think you can do better then what they are doing now? Think again. These are professional actors! Try taking their place and see if we like it. And you can't say its the most ridiculous show, have you seen everyshow on TV, the anser I'm sure is no. So you cant say things like that! I for one, love this show and thought it was a great finale, because I've seen alot of episodes. Don't like it? Don't watch it. ALOT of people watch this show and love it, they want it to go on, as for all the people who dont like it, dont watch it! Watch something else
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6-21-2006 @ 7:08PM
Lia said...
Ya I was hoping Horatio to be happy...now is Marisol dead:( Season 5 It can be like Horatio Caine have a long lost daugther....I was hoping story like that:D
Can send CBS a e-mail for this?....sad...realy.
I think he will be great father:D:)
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6-21-2006 @ 7:22PM
Lia said...
Ya!! I just want Horatio to be Happy!!!Comon people. It's Sucks that Marisol is dead:( Hoatio seems sometime been lonley:d I like a story that he finds out he have a long lost daughter from europe:D Well maybe it's just me like that story:P next caine generations:P I just hope that it wil be on season 5:D when he come from brazil:P can we send e-mail to CBS? just wondering send e a e-mail that who like my story. not_girlfriend@hotmail.com
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7-14-2006 @ 2:36AM
jon baba said...
don't be surprised if delko, get's fired or killed
off this new season. also with horactio and delko
going to brazil on the first episode of the new season.
emily (calleigh) who i love, i believe should start to ween herslf off he showand explorer new projects and family life (she one of my best friends).
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7-19-2006 @ 1:26PM
drew said...
for whoever is interested, i found this info for the season premiere.
Horatio and Delko fly to Brazil to find the man responsible for Marisol's death. The search, however, is paused by Horatio's family troubles.
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7-27-2006 @ 10:34PM
Suckie, Rio de Janeiro- Brasil said...
I just love H. - David Caruso. He was here in Rio, and was great to know he was around recording one of the best series I´ve ever seen. I also watch the other CSI´s but for me the best is Miami. I love Alexx she is great. The only bad thing is that here in Brasil we´re only now going thru the end of this season. But I keep reading news about it on the net. I hope to have season 4,5,6,7,8.....
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