CSI: NY 8x09: Means to an End

Original Air Date: 2 December 2011

Storyline: The investigation into Ali Rand's rape continues as the crime lab suspects her of lying about every detail of the night she claims to have been with John Curtis. Trivia: Michael Weston, who plays Frank Waters, also appears in the CSI episode "Kill Me If You Can".Review: I was ready to move on from the John Curtis story (and implicitly from the focus on Jo), but the showrunners just didn't want to let this one go. From my point of view, spreading these three episodes for the run of the season and put some other stuff in between would have been better, but on the other hand, I'm glad it's now over and we can maybe see something else that's not Sela Ward's annoying character.

Other than having to put up with Jo, in both the present and flashbacks from the time she was handing the Curtis case back in her FBI days, I somehow enjoyed the episode though. What I didn't like was the almost complete absence of all the other CSIs, especially those of Flack and Messer, who add the much needed humor and, let's not forget, eye-candy to this show. On the other hand, having Michael Weston guest star as Jo's former colleague, Frank Waters, was enough of a treat, since I've had a crush on him ever since he played a private investigator and Cuddy's much younger boyfriend on House. 
The investigation into Ali Rand's allegations and her subsequent murder went to a predictable end - senator Matthews' involvement in staging her rape just to get John Curtis behind bars for what he did to his daughter was easily spotted for anyone familiar to CBS' crime procedurals. I wonder when did the suspense end and how long can they keep this going on. 
Starting the episode with the end and then tracing back to the events leading to that end is again something so overused that it's become boring. Whenever you see one of the main characters on the verge of dying, then see the "48 hours earlier" intro on the screen, you can be sure that everything will turn out OK. I wish these tactics would be left aside, since no one is really falling for them. 
There's not much else to say about this week's installment. It's clear to me that this show is struggling to find its pace again, since it's been on the verge of being cancelled after last season, but instead it just brings generic ideas that were used before over and over again.CSI: NY 8x08: Crossroads Back to Season 8