What matters more: evidence or perception?
The debate over facts versus opinion raged on CSI: Vegas Season 1 Episode 7 both during the case of the week and the ongoing campaign against the Crime Lab.
A bloody horse trotting up to a casino was a great jumping-off spot.
Right off, we got to learn more about Josh Folsom, who becomes more interesting by the week.
So he wasn’t always a forensics nerd. Instead, after working at the racetrack to help pay off his father’s gambling debts, he fell in love with horses.
He was well on his way to becoming a large animal veterinarian when his mother got sick, and he had to drop out. That’s when he developed his new passion for forensics.
So that’s how he became that guy. You know, the one on every forensics show (back when forensics was all the rage) who never leaves the lab because he’s attempting to solve some esoteric mystery.
Also, he’s the one who’s so socially stunted that he can’t make any romantic headway with his equally socially stunted Indian coworker. This isn’t a TV trope. This is just their personal awkwardness, no matter how often they get thrown together.
Yeah, it’s frustrating for viewers. But it took years for Gil and Sara to get their act together. So there’s hope.
The point is that Folsom isn’t nearly as vanilla as he initially has seemed, although there’s undoubtedly more to come out.
Also, let’s start working more on Allie’s background. There’s got to be more than “came for college, stayed for the fiber analysis.”
I get it. Character development is sure to get short shrift with a case of the week and the ongoing Hodges drama. And it has, thus far.
This was another episode that reminded us that there’s more to Las Vegas than The Strip.
It was pretty intriguing that they could narrow the search grid by analyzing the substances on the horse’s shoe.
And any excuse to search on horseback is a good one. Allie rode suspiciously well for someone who hadn’t been a horse since she was a girl.
Once they discovered that the victim had operated a halfway house for teen murderers, there was no shortage of suspects: the boy wielding the ax, the girl who poisoned her father, and the boy with anger issues who had beaten his parents to death with a shovel.
And that didn’t even count the horse’s owner, who was blase about his horse but admitted to running into the victim’s car.
And, in the end, it was the victim’s son who killed him because he had chastised the son for stealing the horse and using it for unauthorized breeding. Not only that, but the son had earlier killed his younger brother.
So, instead of any of those apparent murderers having killed him, it was the good boy, his son, who beat him to death.
Perception was even more critical in Gil and Sara’s investigation of those framing Hodges.
Knowing who was behind the conspiracy wasn’t enough. Now the couple has to have proof that will stand up in a court of law.
They made the mistake of telling David and his lawyer that Anson Wix was behind the frameup.
Then Hodges stupidly went to confront Wix. Although Sarah stopped him before he could do that, the readout on his ankle monitor was sure to alert Wix that they were on to him.
The limited evidence that they could salvage from the Kline blast site at least connected to Wix’s sister Anna.
You would think that a woman with a debilitating illness would be a more sympathetic figure. But no such luck.
Instead, Anna took the position that forensics, that following the evidence, had robbed her brother of legal acclaim to which he was entitled.
Then she blasphemed to Gil by saying that facts didn’t matter and that whoever had the best story would win.
Well, she isn’t wrong. There’s a third of the country that believes the Big Lie and about the same amount that doesn’t believe in the science behind the Covid vaccine (and a not surprising crossover between those two groups).
Anyone can get affirmation for what they believe, no matter the truth, if they look hard enough online. Not society but only social media profits.
So, yes, Gil and Sara will have to uncover an irrefutable mountain of evidence to win this one. And they’re not there yet.
Maxine had a tough week. First, her son Bryan wanted to work as a host at a casino. She didn’t want him doing that since his grandfather was a gambler, and she was concerned that he might have the gambling gene.
If Bryan can’t work at a casino, however will he find work in Las Vegas? She seems to think that CSI work would grow on him, but apparently, that’s not happening. Fortunately, she came around.
Then Wix used his connections to have her demoted and suspended from the Crime Lab. That’s proof enough that someone higher up is pulling Wix’s strings. He wouldn’t have the pull to accomplish that on his own.
To follow the Hodges case, watch CSI: Vegas online.
How did you like learning more about Folsom?
How can Gil and Sara get ahead of Wix?
Did Maxine make the right call on Bryan?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.