Here we go! The penultimate episode of CSI: Vegas season 1, it's been an interesting ride so far. I wonder how the writers will wrap this up. The previous episodes have done a good job of revealing facts about the overarching story but at points nothing was clicking. A new issue would arise leaving the team back at square one. So I guess a lot is going to happen in the next two episodes!
A man and woman are burned alive. The dead bodies are found a few months earlier, with the horns and wings on the bodies are real. Funky! The victims are a married couple called the Tanners, performers. Poor guy (Jonah) was burned alive while his wife (Tori) was already dead before the fire. Their son confirms the identity of the bodies, but speaks to their job and colleagues with disdain.
Allie and Josh canvas the wings and find a red fabric thread which was out of place. During the investigation we also finally meet Allie's boyfriend!! They are out for a meal when Allie has a lightbulb moment determining the cause of death for Tori. On a different note, Alliw brought her files to the meal?! What?! Understandably, Mark gets pretty creeped out at the burned alive corpses! He later even gets her a job offer at a different lab. This does not go down well with Allie.
Our duo spoke to the surgeon who did the body modifications. The guy was a little obsessed with the angel wings (got a 2nd set made for his office). A suggestion from the surgeon on some slices on Tori's bones, takes them to our victims former workplace. Questioning colleagues quickly led to no suspects, but did suggest a murder weapon, Jonah's scythe, which was used as part of the act. However, the blade is missing. This turns out to be a complete red herring with the Tanners boss being a possible suspect, who is quickly ruled out due to no matching red fibres.
Luckily, eagle-eyed Allie finds a red thread on the bottom of Josh's shoe. Now just before this, Allie is given another job offer through Mark, and it's really starting to piss her off. She discusses it several times with Josh, who quickly avoids the subject. Why is she asking Josh in the first place? Going to your ex-boyfriend who is also a close colleague for advice probably isn't a good plan
Anyway, the fibre matched the surgeons office rug. Who immediately denied he committed the murder. He was also one of the last people to see the couple alive. To add to the incriminating evidence, Tori's blood was found at the scene. Tori's head had been pushed through the glass cabinet. The surgeon was giving her placebo drugs to deal with a surgical infection. He loved Tori so he made sure he would keep seeing her. However, his desperation only led to Tori and Jonah's death.
Our overarching story opens with the prosecution's opening statement, obviously painting David Hodges as the evil villain. Josh and Max are speaking to Anson Wix's client from the previous episode (Guillermo). They warns him he's a loose thread and Max's images will send him back to jail. Guillermo still isn't budging other than mentioning cash. Now the DA offers a Hodges a deal. 12 years for the dozen cases found in the storage locker. That's only if he confesses and says only those 12 were tampered with. They're doing this to save the crime lab from the fallout afterwards from wrongful imprisonment cases through Anson Wix.
Poor David, we all know he is innocent of this crime but it isn't looking good. His lawyer even tried to reduce the sentence to five years. Sara and Gil try and talk him out of it though, reminding him he'll be stuck in jail with the criminals he put away. Yeah, Hodges really wouldn't last five years in general population.
Jumping back to Max and Josh, Guillermo apparently was paid in old dollar bills which came from a 25 year old abduction case. Sara and Gil are tasked with analysing the money for, hopefully, evidence of Wix's presence. Penny is back to help the OG team this episode too! But no Chris this time. Maybe all characters will be back for the final episode.
Penny managed to amplify two DNA profiles present, one being Guillermo and another unknown. Back to Guillermo who came clean, the other man is Manuel Garza. He talked to Wix and handled the money. Guillermo only called the hit man. This is all very tenuous stuff. A defence lawyer or the prosecution could take this witness statement or evidence apart. Nevertheless, the team think they're going to prove Anson is behind everything... I think they are slightly delusional but I guess it could work!
There's a tiny scene between Penny and Grissom which I loved. Gil being a mentor to the recurring crime lab cast is so adorable. It reminds me why Gil Grissom is one of my favourite characters in the franchise!
Back to court, while the prosecution is proving their point, Guillermo is found dead. Well... that was unlucky! For both Guillermo and the team. Whoever did it took his tongue... yikes. It's very odd someone found him so quickly but it could just be as simple as someone followed Sara or Maxine.
Nearer the end, Hodges apparently posted a confession online and is on the run. But the confession was not receive the deal mentioned previously. He confessed to numerous cases being tampered. This is giving Anson Wix exactly what he wants, coincidence... I Think Not!
The confession location is pinpointed by Penny (MVP Penny this episode!). It led to a building across from the hospital Emma (Hodge's wife) will be giving birth soon. It also led to a dark and shifty area where it's obvious Hodges is in serious trouble. BOOM! The credits roll...
A much bigger cliffhanger than our previous episodes! Let's hope it is the last one and the show ends on a high note this coming Wednesday. I do get the feeling that there are too many loose ends though, Anson Wix or someone might get away. That's enough speculation however!
Please let me know what you thought of the penultimate episode of the season! Do you think someone will die in the final? Will everyone get their happy ending?!
- SarahR
