And the water keeps filling up the car. And the trunk. And you’re running out of air.
That, my friends, is how season 9 of CSI: Miami ended for Natalia Boa Vista (Eva La Rue). The person on the pier is none other than Lieutenant Horatio Caine, played with great relish by David Caruso. It’s also how season 10 begins, but with one crucial difference: Horatio’s suddenly not on the pier. He’s at a nice, outdoor restaurant, with his beautiful wife, Marisol (Alana de la Garza). He sits, and they hold hands. “I just got here,” she coos. “Let’s not waste another second.” They hold hands. In any other scenario, this would be a nice, touching scene for a character—Horatio—who doesn’t always get screen time devoted to his personal life. The only problem is that Marisol was murdered six years ago and this is a hallucination, something Horatio realizes as his shirt becomes bloody at the exact place in his side where the scumbag, Randy North, shot him. “You have to go back,” Marisol tells him. Then it’s Natalia’s face, dripping wet, then back to Marisol’s. Am I watching Inception or CSI: Miami? Doesn’t matter when the scene works.
With no other option, Caine does what he’s supposed to do: he dives in and tries to save Natalia.
He succeeds, naturally, and the two of them are whisked away to the ER, Horatio muttering Marisol’s name over and over again. No sooner do they arrive at the ER than they are both up and raring to go after Randy North (Ethan Embry) and the main baddie for this episode, Jack Toller (Callum Keith Rennie). Now, I’m all for macho cops doing macho things, but, at the time, I was thinking “Oh, come on now. Horatio’s been shot through-and-through on his left side. He’s going to have to let the rest of his team pick up the slack right?” Nope. This is Horatio Caine we’re talking about. He’s a bulldog when he sets his mind on a culprit. And he’s got his mind set on Mr. North.
For those of y’all who dog CSI: Miami because of Caruso, I still don’t get it. The man brings gravitas to this role. Yes, it’s a cop on a network police show so the depth is not always called upon, but, within that framework, you can do a lot of good work. Caruso again demonstrates his control over the Horatio character in the quiet moments. Just after bagging North, Horatio’s alone in his car. He’s in wilting pain, anguish creasing his face. He hallucinates again, seeing his wife, knowing that the only thing he has to do to be with her again is to stop trying too hard. Just give in, and he’ll be happy. He can’t, of course, because Jack Toller is still out there.
Actually, Jack and his new “girlfriend” are having a bit of car trouble. They need radiator fluid. Under duress, she goes to a 7-Eleven to get some fluid and cigarettes and filches a disposable phone. Using the security camera to zoom in on the serial number of the phone, the CSIs track the calls that are, oddly, all to one number: that of Randy North. Horatio, clearly going downhill with pain, forces Randy to divulge a key fact: Jack’s probably after a necklace Randy accidentally took from him. Ah! Time for another decoy, this time, in a train yard.
Now, one thing to know about Randy. Yes, he’s a scumbag for shooting Horatio and dumping Natalia into the trunk of that car and trying to drown her. But he’s only doing it for his kids (explained in detail in last season’s finale recap). Randy tried to set his life right after his time in the pen—and succeeded—he just had the misfortune to be Jack’s cellmate. All Randy wants is to be a good dad to his kids and, after Natalia failed to help him last season, he thought drowning her would be a good thing. He also thinks, therefore, that things might go a bit easier for him with the CSI team if he does their delivery of the necklace to Jack. Well, it being only 45 minutes into the hour, things go south with the transfer and Jack is in the wind again.
Which prompts our CSI folks to do what they do best: process the evidence. They examine the clothes Jack wore back when he incinerated the other young women, the very act that earned him a ticket to prison. The noxious combinations of residue on Jack’s shirt leads Walter and Calleigh to zero in on the one place in Miami where those chemicals are found: the landfill. Sure enough, Jack’s tied up a poor lady and put the necklace on her. With wanton cruelty, he laughs at her fear, and forces her to say, “Jack, I’m ashamed of you.”
In that cool camera effect you only find on this show, we get to see a young Jack being verbally berated by his mother. It’s downright hateful. His mother smoked cigarettes and burned her son with them. Now, with her necklace on his victim, and a can of lighter fluid he sprays around the area, Jack can do to her what he could never do to his mom.
But not today. The CSI’s show up, Horatio included, although he should be in a hospital bed as bad as he looks. He and Eric chase Jack through a warehouse with bits of junk formed into huge squares of trash reminiscent of the opening scenes of Wall E. Horatio stops Jack and, oddly, Jack just lies there. Horatio’s gun hand is shaking, he’s pale, and can barely stand. Jack probably could have taken the lieutenant, but, this way, he can escape from prison again and give us another chase.
There was a lot to like in last night’s season 10 premiere. I enjoy Big Episodes like this because it gives everyone involved—writers, actors, etc.—a chance to dig in and explore these characters. I’m really hoping that the theme of the job and the heavy price it demands of a person is explored this year. In a show this old, new ideas need to be introduced, especially if new characters are not forthcoming. CSI: Miami is still a good show and the style of this particular brand of storytelling is one I, and many others, enjoy. Indeed, the entire hour, #CSIMiami trended on Twitter.
Let’s hear it for the return of CSI: Miami! Surely I’m not the only one who still prefers this version of the CSI franchise. So tell me, [puts on sunglasses] what did you think?
Scott D. Parker is a professional writer who discusses books, music, and history on his own blog, and is a regular columnist for Do Some Damage.
what was the song playing at the very begining where horatio is talking to marisol?
I dont care wat everybody says about the season premiere of miami. I LOVED IT! Everybody tries to find a fought or something wrong about the show, like they dont no wat great t.v. is until u watch csi miami. I absolutley love jonathan togo & csi miami! Jonathan togo all the way baby!
I’m with you and am not at all embarrassed to admit I watch this show. I too was briefly taken aback at Horatio’s quick turnaround. Yes, we did see pain in his face at several points. A determined man.
Look forward to the coming season.
New Town by Hot as Sun
I really enjoyed the conversation between Natalia and Ryan. It showed the depth of their friendship and trust in each other.
So did Natalie die in the trunk of the car? I havent seen what happened to her yet…..
No, no, Keith. Horatio rescued her–of course!–and whisked her to the ER. See paragraph 5 and onward.