CSI: NY 8x02: Keep It Real

Original Air Date: 30 September 2011

Storyline: When an awkward teen is found dead, the team discovers that his efforts to win a sexy punk rock chick's heart may have gone a step too far.Trivia: Hawkes used to do some artwork when he was young.

Sean Marquette, who plays Josh Herman, also appears in the CSI episode "Internal Combustion".
Jake Busey, who plays Randy Davis, also appears in the CSI: Miami episode "Internal Affairs".

Review: I'm not all that excited about the way this season began. Danny not being part of the team is taking all the fun out of it, seeing how he was the one providing most of the laughs. Also, his mustache is bothersome. As for Mac, neither his departure nor his return had any real explanation and I hate plot holes. I also don't get why we have to witness so much of Jo's personal life. Not only is she annoying, but she's taking too much screen time and I really don't care about her or her kids.

Having said that, let's see about the case of the week. A college student (who did not look 21) is murdered while his girlfriend is sleeping in the next room. I knew who the killer was the minute the camera focused on his fingernails when Flack and Jo went to the guitar shop to talk to him. The best part of this case was the girlfriend's singing, Aly Michalka has a beautiful voice.
Thankfully, we're back to lab action, which is the main reason I watch CSI. My favorite parts were Adam trying to recreate a tear in the girlfriend's T-shirt by going through a broken window and Lindsay proving that the money found next to the body was fake. 
I'm still surprised every time Mac or Jo interrogate suspects, crime lab investigators have no place doing that, but this show is not always about reality.
The episode featured some fun moments, mainly when Adam and Hawkes bet on Mac's return date and when Lindsay arrived at the crime scene and pretended not knowing Danny. But of course we had our share of cheesy Mac moments, like his final words to the victim's roommate and showing off his wall of remembrance plaque.
Definitely not the best CSI: NY episode, but as long as they keep working crime scenes instead of talking about their personal lives, I'll keep watching. CSI: NY 8x01: Indelible Back to Season 8