CSI: Cyber - 404: Flight Not Found - Review

If you're anything like me, you'll never want to fly in an airplane again after watching this week's episode of CSI: Cyber. This installment follows Avery's team as they attempt to locate a plane that has gone radio silent in midair. During their investigation, they figure out that the culprit is a Chinese terrorist who smuggled a signal jammer on the plane so that she would have the opportunity to kill a young girl about to testify against a fellow member of the Triad. Eventually making contact with the terrorist, the team tries to negotiate with her, but she responds by taking control of the aircraft and causing it to fall out of the sky. With the help of recurring character/Cyber consultant Artie Sneed, the team is eventually able to help the pilot regain control of the flight.

As for the B-story this week, Krumitz is planning a date with Agent Rosalyn Pierce, who worked with the Cyber team on the Red Crone case. When Pierce is unable to attend, Krumitz decides to take her on a video chat tour through D.C. 

At first glance, I expected that this episode would be a rehash of what we saw in the Season 1 episode "L0m1s," which also featured an in-flight cyber attack. Upon viewing this episode, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the episode was quite different from what we saw in last season's aerial installment. This week's case was far more action-packed than "L0m1s." In many ways, it reminded me of a thriller film like Liam Neeson's Non-Stop. Despite the limitations of a television budget, this episode had a lot of great effects that made the crashing sequence look convincing. 

This episode suffered in terms of its subplot. The Krumitz-on-a-date plot line could have been interesting, had it been given room to breathe. It was awkwardly tacked on to the beginning and end of the episode. I give the writers points for delving into the characters' personal lives, but not in this manner. 

Also hurting this episode was the reappearance of Artie Sneed, who has helped the team on different cases this season. After successfully helping to foil the terrorist's plot in this episode, Artie is invited by Avery to stay on with the team as a consultant. I do not begrudge the actor who plays Artie, but I have to admit that I rolled my eyes at the fact that he will be sticking around. His awkwardness and bumbling manner are a little over the top. The character is a buffoon, more of an annoyance than anything. If Artie is to stick around, I hope the show brings the character down a couple notches faster than that plane made its descent in this episode. 

At the beginning of the episode, Krumitz and Nelson meet NFL running back Emmitt Smith while walking around D.C. I didn't particularly get why this cameo was inserted into the episode. It didn't really serve any purpose in the long run, perhaps other than to help promote the episode. Although everybody loves a good celebrity cameo appearance, it would have been nice if there had been more substance to Smith's run-in with the Cyber team members.

About the Author - Liam Dacko

Liam Dacko is a student at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. He is majoring in mediated communication and minoring in journalism. In addition to writing for SpoilerTV, Liam also serves as editor-in-chief of Stonehill's biweekly student-run publication, The Summit. He is a lover of all things related to television. Some of his favorite shows include Arrow, The Flash, Criminal Minds, Scandal, The Middle, Homeland, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. He continues to have many sleepless nights over the cancellation of TNT's Dallas reboot.

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