As a season opener for a crime procedural, this episode handled a difficult subject with grace and sensitivity. Most Americans can remember exactly where they were and what they were doing on September 11th, 2001. It can be very easy for a fictional portrayal of the events of that day to go very, very wrong/anger a portion of its audience. I was a little wary of this episode, based on the promos, and promised to turn off the TV if the show crossed any lines for me.
The writers made a wise decision to focus on the human element. The audience goes back to 9/11—not to relive the memories and emotions of that day in-depth—but to see how that day shaped the characters we love and know at the crime lab. The deep friendship between Flack and Danny is the result of a chance encounter on dusty streets. In the chaos, Sid and Hawkes turned a dusty store into a makeshift hospital and morgue. Jo was in D.C., scrambling to do her job and keep her kids safe.* Adam was in college and blissfully sleeping off a hangover. Lindesay was watching in Montana.** Then there is Mac, who was looking forward to a night at the opera with his wife and lost the light in his world.
It was nice to finally meet Claire Taylor, played wonderfully by Jamie Ray Newman (who I first met as Laura Cadman on Stargate: Atlantis). With only three scenes and a handful of lines, Ms. Newman convinced me that Claire was smart, funny, happily married, and made Mac Taylor laugh so easily. I couldn’t help but wish that Claire hadn’t gone to work that day or had managed to get away in time. It would be nice to see Ms. Newman come back again to play Claire, but for that to happen the show would have to jump the shark, as the saying goes, and I would prefer for that not to happen.
It would have been nice for Ms. Kanakaredes to return as a guest star as well. There was always the strong implication that Stella was there for Mac when Claire died, and it would have been nice to see that deep friendship being put to the test onscreen.
The case took a backseat as the B storyline, and provided several moments of amusement. Adam’s monologue, complete with distinct accents and gestures for Jo and her visitor, was hilarious for its accuracy and the final remark: “Awkward!” It was jarring to see Danny in patrol uniform, but oddly enough, the (neatly trimmed!) beard and moustache only makes Danny look cuter in uniform. (Yes, I am perfectly capable of being shallow). On that note—yes, I do feel guilty for noticing this—Flack in a patrol uniform is also cute. Possibly cuter than Danny. The entire Mike White/Black scene, played for laughs, was amusing, mostly because I have seen it in real life.
Knowing Gary Sinise’s deep involvement with the USO, the closing speech at the Brooklyn Memorial Wall made sense. It worked with the mood and character development (flashback?) of the episode as a good closing touch. So overall, it was a lovely, well-done episode that hit the right notes.
*I’m not sure that the Hoover Building has a line-of-sight to the Pentagon. However, everything in D.C. is so close together that it probably doesn’t matter. Also, according to the captions, Jo tells her mother to “take the kids.” Do we know how old Ellie (the daughter) is? Otherwise, who is this third child and where’s Jo’s (ex-)husband?
**I don’t quite buy her “bucket brigade” story, but I’ll let it pass as a representation of the national reaction that swept across the country.
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