Synopsis  

In the wake of the season 12 finale, Russell’s granddaughter (Katie) has been kidnapped, Ecklie has been shot, Nick quit, and Finn may be in danger.

Ecklie is rushed to the hospital, where the pellets from his injuries match a rifle in the backseat of a car which matches the description of the car fleeing the scene. Curiously, his injury starts to heal the fractured relationship between him and his daughter, Morgan.

Nick, drunk and belligerent, is beat up and arrested, and thrown in the drunk tank, before he returns to work. While he works the case, he doesn’t decide if he wants to come back to work or not by the end of the episode.

Outside the Russell house, Sara finds an LVPD flashlight, as well as trace that links the kidnappers to an older building. Not being able to trust the majority of the police now, the CSIs resort to only using personell vetted by Brass. Finn is taken by one of the corrupt cops to a club where they’re holding Russell’s granddaughter in the back. She attempts to sneak Katie out through the air ducts, while staying behind to fight the kidnapper’s henchmen and buy her time. This nearly ends terribly for Finn, and only the timely arrival of LVPD saves her. Katie, meanwhile, is re-captured. The CSIs track down the evidence to a house in the desert, where they find Katie and her kidnappers.

While the case concludes well, Russell is left with a lingering fear that his wife will leave him over his work, and the inherent dangers.

Review  

After texting Finn to inform her about Russell’s granddaughter, Sara is on hand for when Ecklie is loaded into the ambulance. She and Greg split the load, and Sara heads to the Russell house. While Sara urges Russell to not work the case, he argues he doesn’t plan on the case going to court.

Sara also tries to find Nick, leaving him messages, and finally picking him up from the drunk tank because they need his help. She drafts him back to work for the case. Nick helps Sara work through the evidence, including the note left at the scene, which reveals the fingerprint of Lt. Paul Kimball, McKeen’s number one guy and the kidnapper.

As the episode ends, Nick, Sara, and Greg are sitting in the break room again, just as they did in the season twelve finale. Greg asks Nick if he’s really quitting, which brings an argument between Sara and Nick about when Sara left the lab.

Notes  

• Sara doesn’t feel like she ‘quit’ the lab so much as took a break to get her head on straight.

Quotes  

Sara: I didn’t come here to talk, Nick, I came here to drag your ass back to work. So how many drinks have you had exactly?
Nick: Mmm…. Not enough.

Greg: Sounds like the LVPD is making a comeback. How about you, Nick?
Nick: What about me? I don’t know, I haven’t talked to Russell yet.
Greg: This isn’t about Russell.
Sara: Words have consequences, you know. I mean, if you say you quit, you need to mean it.
Nick: You quit.
Sara: Well, yeah, but I didn’t say it out loud. I left a note at reception for Grissom and I walked right on out of here–
Nick: And you’re still here. So don’t preach to me about integrity, okay?
Sara: I’m not preaching to you about integrity–
Nick: Kinda are! A little bit, don’t you think?
Sara: I went away for a little while, and I got my head together–
Nick: You’ve got a lot of nerve to talk to me about quitting, you really do–
Sara: I needed a break–
Greg: Alright alright alright! This is not how family treats each other! Well. Yes it is.

Gallery  

Images ©CBS (2012) - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation from the episode 'Karma to Burn'.