CSI: For Warrick (Episode 901)

Don't go into the neon light, Warrick!

Previously on CSI: Sara broke my Grissom's heart when she left, Warrick got drugged up and screwed a stripper who ended up murdered in his car in one of the worst episodes ever, there was a strike, then Warrick was shot in the neck by Captain Underpants. It was not a good year for the Las Vegas Crime Lab.

Season nine starts off immediately after the shooting. Captain Underpants pretends that he happened upon Warrick's car and makes the 911 call. At a nearby newsstand, Grissom overhears the dispatcher and when he realizes how close he is, he takes off running and picks up speed when he turns the corner and sees Warrick's car. Forgetting all of his training, he pulls Warrick out, lays him on the ground, and tries to stop the bleeding. Warrick is still alive but barely as Grissom begs him to stay with him. Captain Underpants approaches and reaches for his gun when he sees Warrick is still alive, but Grissom has his back to him and doesn't see. Warrick gasps and chokes on his own blood, trying to warn Grissom, but he can't speak. His breathing slows then stops, and his eyes close. Weeping, Grissom clutches Warrick's body to him.

Catherine walks down the alley, passing a somber-looking Brass. Next is Nicky and when he shakes his head her face crumples. By the time she reaches Grissom, soaked with blood and watching Warrick being covered by a sheet, she's sobbing. Captain Underpants lies through his lying teeth that he came to the diner to tell Warrick he could keep his job. He heard the shots and came around the corner to see the "suspect" fleeing. Without actually naming names, he gives Brass every reason to believe the shooter was Pritchard, the dirty cop working for Gedda.

The sun is starting to rise when Ecklie arrives. He asks Grissom how he wants this handled and Grissom insists that his team work the case. Ecklie agrees and offers to give him a ride back to the lab so his bloody clothes can be collected, but Grissom says he's going to ride with Warrick. At the lab, Grissom and SuperDave escort the body into the morgue. Grissom asks a saddened Doc Robbins if he'll be doing the autopsy but Robbins says he asked the day shift coroner to fill in. Grissom walks through the lab and sees Mandy, Henry and Bobby crying in the break room. He meets up with Greg, who looks like he's making a monumental effort to keep from hugging Grissom, bloody clothes or no. He tearfully says he needs to help and Grissom directs him to get Warrick's clothes from the morgue. Grissom continues on, past a stricken Wendy, and enters Hodges lab to turn over his clothes. He takes off his overshirt and I know this is a really inappropriate time, but William Petersen looks brutally hot in a black t-shirt. He's giving me two tickets to the gun show, y'all.

Back in the alley, Catherine and Warrick collect evidence from Warrick's car. They find the shell casings and the gun the killer used and determine from gunshot residue that the shooter was standing outside next to the passenger window. Nicky thinks it's odd that the window was down, but the driver's side window was up.

In the station, Brass gives his best "henhouse, outhouse and doghouse" speech to the assembled cops. He tells them that Pritchard is their suspect and Warrick's shooting is the only case they have right now. In a casino somewhere, a mobster does a fist pump and "woohoo!"

Grissom, now wearing clean department-issue clothes, enters his office and finds Sara waiting for him. I do my own little fist pump and "woohoo!" She looks really pretty, with shorter, curlier hair. They hug and he holds her like he never wants to let her go. She cries and tells him that she caught the first flight out.

After the commercials, Grissom is telling Sara how hard Warrick fought to live. Sara says Warrick would've wanted to be with Grissom at the end and that he loved him. "Yeah, I loved him," Grissom whispers in reply. Catherine enters and she's startled to see Sara, but as happy as she can be given the circumstances. They hug, and when Nicky and Greg follow Sara hugs them as well. This is like the huggiest episode this show has ever had. It's kind of weird, like watching robots hold hands or something. Sara says she knows she can't help with the case but offers to make the funeral arrangements. Grissom is grateful and Greg offers to help. Catherine still has a key to Warrick's apartment because she picked up some clothes when he was locked up. The team discusses how Warrick wanted to be buried next to his grandmother and Nicky says after she died, they were his family. He adds that Warrick was right about Gedda and the police. "Let's finish this for him."

Captain Underpants, who can't leave well enough alone because he's an arrogant prick, comes to Brass' office to blather insincerely about how he was wrong about Warrick killing Gedda. He practically confesses to the crime when he says he's feeling guilty. Unfortunately, Brass' usually sharp cop senses have been thrown out of whack by Warrick's death and he doesn't pick up on the massive bullshit alarms going off. He even admits that he thought Warrick killed Gedda, too. Ruefully, Brass says the last thing he told Warrick was, "I hope you remember how lucky you are." Captain Underpants is like, "Awkward," and skedaddles.

Science Music Video. Mandy, Wendy and Catherine process the gun and using acid etching Catherine is able to extract the filed-off serial number. Meanwhile, Nicky works on Warrick's car and discovers that the stereo was turned down low and there are prints of some kind on the outside of the passenger window.

Warrick's apartment. There are half-emptied boxes everywhere and Greg observes that Warrick never really settled in. They go into the bedroom, where the bed is unmade. Sara says she used to make her bed and take out the trash every day in case she never made it home, but she stopped doing that once she left the job. She selects some clothes in the closet for the funeral while Greg gets Warrick's dainties from the dresser. Inside one drawer and he finds legal papers and breathlessly shows them to Sara. They're the results of a paternity test, showing Warrick had a son. He was also planning to sue Tina for custody.

Lab. Catherine tells Grissom that the gun is a dead end. She traced the serial number but it was collected as evidence in an armed robbery where Pritchard was the arresting officer. They walk into the garage and Nicky tells them about the prints, which are from knuckles. He also mentions the music being low, unusual for Warrick, and they all agree that Warrick never would have turned down his music and lowered his window to talk to Pritchard. Nicky's the first to name Captain Underpants as a suspect, arguing that he was the only witness and directed them towards Pritchard.

Grissom charges down the hallway and tells an intercepting Sara that whatever she's got will have to wait since he's got to go back to the alley. She says it can't wait and, later, they watch a DVD of Warrick's court-ordered psych evaluation for the custody case. Grissom is overcome when Warrick speaks glowingly of him and how much he influenced Warrick. "If I could've picked my own father, I'd've picked him," Warrick tells the therapist. Grissom looked gutted.

Grissom, Catherine and Nicky are in the alley re-creating what Captain Underpants claimed happened. Nicky fires two shots and Grissom runs over from where Captain Underpants said he was. He passes a club and remembers that there was loud music playing at the time Warrick was shot. The music is turned on and they do the test again, but Grissom's a no show. When Catherine radios him he says he didn't hear the shots, which means Captain Underpants could've have either. Somewhere in Las Vegas, a sleazy defense lawyer is gleefully plotting to suggest that perhaps Grissom's deafness is returning.

Later, Grissom lets Brass know that Captain Underpants is their main suspect now. Brass tells a story about his early days on the job. Captain Underpants, who was a detective back then, invited some of the newbies out to his cabin. It was nice, but not too nice, and as a former New Jersey cop that raised Brass' suspicions that Captain Underpants was on the take. It didn't help matters when he hinted that he could help Brass' career. Brass says he let Captain Underpants know he wasn't for sale and that was the last time he saw that cabin. Grissom remembers what Warrick said about Gedda's mole having to be higher up the LVPD food chain than Pritchard. Captain Underpants knew Warrick would never give up on finding the mole. The only question is the still-missing Pritchard. Grissom says if he's found outside of Las Vegas he's got an alibi and Captain Underpants is screwed. Brass suggests Captain Underpants knows exactly where Pritchard is.

And Brass would be correct. Captain Underpants lets himself into a cheap motel room. Pritchard is in the shower and Captain Underpants waits, eyeballing Pritchard's gun on the coffee table. When Pritchard comes out Captain Underpants goes into this weird spiel accusing Pritchard of murdering Warrick. I...don't get it. It's not like anybody else is listening in and they're both dirty cops and know they're both dirty cops, so why the charade? In any case, Pritchard realizes what went down and says Captain Underpants can pin it on him once he's safe in Mexico. Captain Underpants pulls his gun on Pritchard who is all, "Yeah, whatever, you're so not going to shoot me in a public motel in the middle of Las Vegas."

Lab. The team is presenting their evidence to Ecklie, who doesn't think they're wrong but he's forced to point out, as gently as possible, that the evidence isn't strong enough for a warrant. Ecklie is downright cuddly in this episode. Why no hugs for him? Although no prints were found on the gun or magazine, Sara suggests they print the bullets since Captain Underpants had to load them. Ecklie thinks it's impossible since they've never gotten prints off such a small bullet but obviously he doesn't know Mandy that well. Naturally, she's able to pull one partial that's just enough for comparison. She compares it to Pritchard's prints and it's not a match, then Catherine asks her to leave her own lab. She's confused but obeys and when she's gone, Catherine runs the print through IFIS and confirms that Captain Underpants' thumb has been very naughty.

Brass takes the bullet, so to speak, and calls a judge for a warrant. He stresses the urgency of the situation and when the judge seems to get a little hysterical at the idea of issuing a warrant for such a higher-up in the department, Brass verbally slaps him across the face. "I wouldn't call you for a warrant if I wasn't sure!" he barks. In the A/V lab, Nicky has Archie run Captain Underpants' phone records. I guess now that the CSIs have their concrete evidence the lab rats can be trusted? Anyway, one number turns up several times and it's to a cheap motel, a perfect hiding place. Alas, when the police arrive Pritchard and Captain Underpants are gone, by mere moments based on the ice in a glass. Nicky, who has been simmering with rage all episode, reaches a slow boil. Out on the road to Mexico, the evil buddy cops practice their Spanish and bicker about the radio. Sadly, Captain Underpants does not tell Pritchard, "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole."

In the motel room, Greg confirms that Pritchard left prints in the room. He and Nicky speculate that Captain Underpants was protecting Pritchard, but with Warrick dead Pritchard is likely to end up dead as well, taking the fall for Warrick's murder. Brass calls an unsuspecting Captain Underpants and gives him some bullshit information about the investigation, but it's all a ruse to trace his location. Brass keeps him on the phone long enough for Archie to find out where he is. In the car, Pritchard is starting to realize that he's being set up and frets about what will happen when they reach the state line. Captain Underpants assures him that he's too powerful to have his car searched but that's not good enough and Pritchard pulls his gun on him. Captain Underpants calls his bluff, daring him to shoot the driver in a car going 80 miles an hour, then taunts that he removed the bullets back in the motel. Pritchard lowers his useless gun but stares at Captain Underpants' weapon. No, that's not a euphemism. Ew.

The cops are closing in on the car, with assistance from circling helicopters. Back in the lab, Grissom notes that the signal stopped and warns Brass and Nicky, who come around a curve and find a broken guardrail. It looks like Pritchard was dumb enough after all to shoot his driver in a speeding car and he paid for it, as the cops find his dead body in the overturned car. Interestingly, the car is in a very similar position as the one Sara was trapped under by Natalie Davis. Coincidence? Nicky goes around to the driver's side, where the door is hanging open, and sees a large patch of blood with a trail leading off into the woods. Because he's not so much thinking as he is letting his fury drive him, he follows the trail without telling anyone. When Brass notices he's gone, he and the other cops fan out to search, because I guess that ginormous trail of blood is invisible to everyone but Nicky.

While Brass and the others meander about and give Nicky time to have a dramatic confrontation, Nicky finds Captain Underpants, who's lying on the ground with a nasty-looking gut wound. His gun is nearby and Nicky kicks it away, training his own gun on Captain Underpants, who is still trying to pretend he's innocent by claiming Pritchard overpowered him. As he rambles on, Nicky glares and occasionally grits, "Shut up." Giving up, Captain Underpants remorselessly confesses to killing Warrick and, playing on Nicky's friendship with Warrick, dares him to shoot. From Brass' position he hears a gunshot and races over to Nicky, who is standing over an unmoving Captain Underpants. Just when you think Nicky went past the point of no return, Captain Underpants stirs and Nicky tonelessly says he needs medical assistance. Brass cautiously asks about the shot. "A miss," Nicky replies. Brass gives him a knowing look, then heads over to arrest Captain Underpants.

Everyone has gathered for Warrick's funeral, including the CSI team, the lab rats, most of the officers and staff of the LVPD, and Tina with Eli, Warrick's baby who, like Warrick, will grow up without a father but will hopefully find a father figure like Grissom was to Warrick. Some are crying and others are dry-eyed but pale with shock. Grissom gets up to deliver his moving, heartfelt eulogy, which deserves to be transcribed in full:

"As crime scene investigators, we meet people on the worst day of their lives. They've just lost a family member, somebody they loved, often in a horrible way. A piece of their heart is gone and will never be replaced. The phrase we're trained to offer them - 'I'm sorry for your loss.' - as we know now, doesn't offer much. Warrick Brown was a young boy when his parents passed away, much too young to learn that life can be so tragically short. But I think that it taught him how precious life is, and so he lived life to the fullest each day, as if it was his last day. I was with Warrick on his last day. All the qualities that defined him - his tenaciousness, his deep sense of loyalty, his courage to risk his life for what he knew was right - all those traits were with him on that last day."

At this point Grissom starts to lose his composure and I, having been sniffly and teary through much of the episode, hit that ugly cry place. Grissom continues and I recap through the gasping, heaving sobs. My keyboard's kind of a gross mess right now, y'all.

"Just before he died, we were all having breakfast together - our team...his friends...his family - and Warrick was...he was...I'm going to miss him so much," Grissom finishes in an agonized whisper, so overcome with grief that he can no longer continue. The screen fades to black.

RIP Warrick Brown. You will be missed.