CSI: Vegas Season 1 Episode 9 Review: Waiting in the Wings

Hodges sunk deeper and deeper into the frameup against him.

Despite the best efforts of both the old and new CSI teams on CSI: Vegas Season 1 Episode 9.

It’s a shame that Hodges has been so deconstructed during this revival.

He used to be the snarky king of the lab, especially after Greg Saunders got promoted to junior CSI, with Wendy a close second.

It was likely getting married drained out of him that anger that fueled his outbursts. Or he just grew up.

But where is that know-it-all from the original series now? He indeed has contributed nothing to his defense, with Grissom, Sara, and all those who followed having to do the heavy lifting on his behalf.

Still, somehow Hodges managed to make himself a target through his work, first at the Crime Lab and later as an expert witness.

The biggest question going into the season (series?) finale remains who is behind this conspiracy.

It’s not Anson Wix. While he certainly has a mad-on against forensics, which has cost him many cases, he’s not the brains behind this. He’s just an opportunist who is looking forward to a big payday.

Guillermo implicated a cartel member as being the other person who touched the bills that Wix had given him. So could a cartel somehow be behind this frameup? Or was that mention merely a red herring?

Maybe. But what would be the cartel’s angle? How do they profit from having the reputation of the Crime Lab besmirched?

And politicians, even crooked ones, don’t want all those criminals flooding out of prison onto the streets of their tourist Mecca.

No, it would make more sense if it’s someone from Gil and Sara’s past, seeking to destroy the institution that’s so important to them that they walked away from their research to return to rescue it.

If that is the case, that person needs to be unveiled. It’s very late in the season to stage the big reveal, especially in what has been billed as a limited series.

Also, someone on the inside has to be involved, as our heroes are getting foiled at every turn. Guillermo wasn’t much of a witness against Wix. But somebody knew he was cooperating, however unwillingly, and that ended up getting him kill. And whoever did that was taunting Gil, Sara, and company.

The fact that Hodges got abducted on the way to visit his wife and forced to make an online confession also points to an insider being involved.

So what will the finale hold? A frantic search for Hodges, with some speck of evidence leading the way.

Maybe, to wrap things up, there won’t be a separate case of the week for Folsom and Allie. Instead, everyone will focus on the task at hand for a change.

If that’s the situation, this wasn’t a bad case of the week on which to go out, showcasing literal freaks as both the victims and the suspects.

And didn’t it seem appropriate that Hugo’s wife was also a freak performer and that he could identify the victims for Folsom and Allie? Yes, that seems about right for who would marry a coroner. And it also gave Hugo a little more needed background.

We also got to learn more about body modification. Who knew there was something more extreme than plastic surgery?

Once again, Folsom and Allie handled the Crime Lab’s upfront caseload while Gil, Sara, and the suspended Maxine worked on proving Hodges’ innocence. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

It felt like an opportunity lost as Folsom conducted cursory questionings of members of the freak-show troupe. So little of what could have been prominent personalities trickled through, with him more concerned with finding a weapon that was proven not to exist in the end.

It was an enjoyable twist when the culprit was proven to be the body-modification doctor himself, who fell in love with Tori, one of his patients. The case had to be wrapped up early, to allow time to set up the missing-Hodges storyline.

What was most important was some glacial progress on the front of Folsom and Allie as a couple.

We got to meet Allie’s boyfriend Mark. It had been previously intimated that Mark was dull, and, yeah, he indeed was.

The question was sparked of what did Allie see in him?

Mark, freaked out by the autopsy photos Allie was carrying around, tried to find her a new position without even asking her.

Allie got indignant, first at him and then at Folsom, who was uncharacteristically quiet when she asked for his usually free-flowing opinion.

The net result was a lot of soulful glances at each other, broken up by a revelation about the case. Yes, that bait-and-switch got old quickly.

It took Hugo to say aloud what we were all thinking: Allie needs to break up with Mark.

With only one episode left, it’s unrealistic to think that more than baby steps will be taken toward bringing Folsom and Allie together.

But at least she will get rid of Mark. She could sleep at the lab since she lives there anyway.

To view the devolution of Hodges, watch CSI: Vegas online.

Who’s behind the conspiracy?

Why has Hodges been taken?

Any chance Allie and Folsom get together?

Comment below.

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Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

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