October 23, 2006: I Ain't Got No Santeria....
As if murder isn't creepy enough,
CSI: Miami decided to give us a full-blown Halloween episode this week. Delco pretty much summed up the plotline when he said, "We have a golf club, a coffin and signs of a struggle." Poor Alyssa. Her boyfriend and her best friend decided to kill her over a work-related snub and a whole lot of gold in a burial plot. I liked that for the first time on this show (at least in my watching), the criminal got away with her crime and no one went after her. That had always been one of my gripes, because every week it seemed a little too neat at the end; the good guys always won. But I guess even CSIs can't beat the protection Santeria offers.
Really though, this plotline seemed more of an excuse to put our investigators into sinister situations. Of course, Ryan, who claimed he wasn't scared of a "curse," ended up a believer by the end. On the other hand, I can't say that if I saw bodies moving around in the morgue, and had my hands subsequently go numb, that I wouldn't start to feel the same way. We may also have unwittingly gotten to the bottom of why Alexx talks to the dead bodies: when she first started dealing with them, she was spooked and her mind played tricks on her.
There were three really great scenes tonight. I thought it was cute when Eric and Ryan were in the graveyard at midnight (where it was dark and stormy, no less) and both looked as though they might wet themselves. Secondly, after her lab blew up, Natalia came out looking a bit like she belonged in
Dawn of the Dead. These little horror-movie touches gave the episode that little bit of legerity that make up the better
CSI: Miami episodes. The third and absolutely
fantastic scene was, of course, that of the car blowing up. I didn't even bother to stifle my laugh when Horatio said (in that way only he can), "Burn, baby, burn." The sunglasses, the little smirk, the slo-mo walk - it all added up to a classic Caruso scene-chewing. While this is likely to further stimulate the debate over whether he's good for the show, I for one really loved it just for being so completely hilarious (intentional or not).
I've been very much enjoying the little camaraderie scenes at the ends of shows this season. Last night's was no exception, with Calleigh explaining that she believes in karma - do I dare hope for a
CSI: Miami/
My Name Is Earl crossover? - though I was a little nervous that they lost the miniature coffin, which was one of the most important pieces of evidence.
Next week's episode is a repeat from last season, so if anyone is mourning Marisol, check it out. Otherwise, take a week off and gear up for what the previews promise to be more exploding cars come November.
