The Sara/Grissom Un-Romance Timeline

A.T.P : Season II:

1. Primum No Nocere
2. Felonious Monks
3. Chasing The Bus
4. Anatomy of a Lye
5. The Hunger Artist

 Primum No Nocere

PNN was, as far as a shipper's concern, a great episode. The storyline was tightly wrapped; the parallels worked, symbolisms and themes (testosterone, sex, dominance, dependency, civilizations) that closely referenced back to previous episodes.
In PNN we saw a nice change from the WithDrawn!Grissom. Cath's advice, the call and the plant had waken him, and he started to face his real feelings and express them in an honest Grissomian way. Grissom's sudden openness about this kind of matter suggested officially, first time ever, that there was more than professional feelings he had for Sara, and he recognized Sara's dependency to him by telling her that he started to appreciated beautiful things in life after he met her. 

(There were still some awkwardness when they sat together next to the rink)
Sara :(Sarcastically, bitterly) You just don't like sports.
Grissom : I like baseball. 
Sara : Baseball. That figures. All the stats.
Grissom : It's a beautiful sport.
Sara : Since when have you cared about beauty?
Grissom : Since I met you.
(Sara's jaw dropped. What was that? Silent...)
Grissom: Let's start from opposite goals and work towards the centre.

Grissom and David-the-unfun-coroner had an interesting talk about testosterones, and he started to flirt openly with Sara.

Sara: With all the sex these people were having, I should pick up hockey too.
 ............ 
Grissom: I always wonder what is Victoria's Secret..
Sara: Beauty, Grissom, remember?

Greg had been trying to impress Sara, but Sara shut the door in front of the door again and again. Sara was probably the only person in CSI who did not know Greg had a thing for her. The "Say goodbye to Greg" was especially intriguing. Was Grissom simply showing his new persona of appreciation? Or he was telling Greg that, "Sara is my Un-Woman, and she does everything I wanted her to do. Can you?". Testosterones. Territories..

Analyzing quotes from fellow GS un-shippers: 

• My PNN review
• VIgirl:
  It all ties in with the testosterone, dominance, sex discussion Grissom has with David the coroner in Primum, too. ... What this string of eps reveals is that contrary to the image the writers have been giving us since the start of this season, he is human and moreover, he is a GUY. Meaning, when provoked by the thought of his woman stepping out with someone else (the same woman who normally doesn't hide the love in her eyes, and thus makes him feel very secure in her feelings for him without demanding much in return), he has the same reactions as anybody else, only he handles them strangely. ...
  So by time we get to Primum, Gris has admitted to himself what was motivating his attempts to alienate Sara and that it ain't pretty. It's old-fashioned masculine sexual aggression channeled within "civilized society." Remember how wistful and dare I suggest, somewhat ashamed, he looks at the end of his exchange with the coroner? (Also, isn't it ironic that his aggression is all about being overly "emotional," which is his favorite criticism of Sara?) 
  
  Let's go back to title of the ep, too. Primum non nocere=="First do no harm." That's about Grissom. Grissom, who finally sees that he has to deal with "it" (i.e. Sara) before she goes away and who also sees that the first step is to do no (more) harm to her. He started that process with the gift of a living plant (another thing which can only persist if others do it no harm, and instead do it "good"). He follows up by offering Sara the most satisfying sort of compliment (i.e. "good") he can--acknowledging that she has given him perspective on the beauty of life (and I think, of living)....

** The beauty line was actually ad-libbed. Look what had it done to us!

Top

Felonious Monks

Grissom delivered his crime scene 101 remark, and Sara asked to state his source. (now, we all know how un-Buddha it was last time she asked that in Unfriendly Sky)
The new, "looking up from the microscope" Grissom exhibited his knowledge to Buddhism and became quite a Zen master..
Nicely, he asked Sara, "would you like to process the truck?", and had this "don't mess with my un-woman" look when Sara's present was questioned by the suspect. Gotta love the little politeness.

Top

Chasing The Bus

Sara was trying to picture the movement of the bus and the car when...Warrick had been a little GS relationship messenger since Sound of Silence; he noticed Sara had problem in Burden of Proof. Now, Warrick had his new mission:

Warrick: You've got that Sara look
Sara: You mean the Grissom look

Grissom figured out the reason of failure of the bus mechanics, but he did not know what made the tire exploded when Sara asked him. But Sara knew. (EXHIBIT A)

Later Warrick and Grissom were playing chess. The phone rang. It was Sara calling Warrick (and she said she needed him in the lab! wow. Usually Sara said that to Grissom!). Just as GSR shippers around the world looking straight at Grissom's face trying to figure out his "Sara-didn't-call-me" expression, "checkmate", said Warrick. (Sobell: "Has the student become the master?") When Warrick was in the Print Lab, he popped the one million dollar question --- "Why did you call me?" --- Sara didn't answer directly, but it seemed that she needed somebody to go to the bus company. Either she knew Grissom could not handle people, or she just wanted some quality time with her un-man.
When Sara and Cat arrived the garage meeting the team to witness the tire explosion, Sara gave a very... special... "Hi" to the team.. or Grissom only. Of course, Grissom did what he do best --- Gazing at her. SEE EXHIBIT B

Top

Anatomy of a Lye

Geek couple were on the case together!
First, we had Grissom holding Sara's arm at the bus stop while they went across the road side by side...(Exhibit A)

Grissom: "Let's catch the bus, should we?"

...BEFORE she nearly hit by a car. Needless to say he gripped her harder, for like a nanosecond...They soon initiated the Geek Mind meld on the night road with their brains humming.
(The last time we saw Grissom partially holding Sara's arm was in "Strip Strangler")

Those two always spark when Luminol is the catalyst.

Grissom: "You sure know how to light up a room". (exhibit B)

Those two really enjoy themselves; their minds worked as one, their brain waves were both on the same resonance frequency, and I almost hummed with them when Cat the match maker walked in ....

Cat seemed to know that those two could only count as one brain double the power when they worked together. She kindly pointed out the car-key problem after she told the lovebirds a sweet story of her and Eddie in her early days. Maybe the cuteness of the two reminded her of all the sweet memories? The lovebirds had exactly the same facial expression after Catherine's advice. (see EXHIBIT C) 

This episode made it obvious that Grissom started to see Sara as an equal; she deserved her independency because of her talent. Sara was no longer his young turd.
If this is not enough, try a little testosterone between Grissom and Greg. Those two got a bit territorial when Grissom learned that Greg had told Sara an hour earlier about the test result instead of cluing him in; Greg replied that he tried but Grissom was out, Grissom said that he never left his office, implying that Greg only told Sara the information earlier because he liked her. (It could also be a foreshadowing of Grissom's hearing problem. Perhaps the pager went off but he didn't hear it.). Having been defeated slightly, Greg said that when he told Sara about the result, Sara was way more fascinated about it than Grissom (meow!); Grissom replied that he was fascinated too. (meow! --- I see two male cats spraying. What about you?)

Top

 The Hunger Artist (season 2 finale)

This is one of the deepest episodes so far; like PNN, it deals with themes and issues about human natures --- control and symmetry. The A-plot (and only) features body dimorphism disorder, presented by eating disorders and an inside look to a supermodel's out-of-control life. However, the most telling moment regards Grissom; he is losing his hearing. He believes that not being able to listen affects his job, which is essentially his life. He is losing control of his life. Sara, trying to decode the model's day planner and finding clues for the possible murder, realizes the codes are daily intake and outtake (volmit) of food, and she cries, out of sympathy, for the model who tortures herself, believing herself is not "even", to stay in control. Sara took a major role for decoding. First she had adorable moments with Grissom when she consults him about deciphering the codes (crosswords puzzle) and crabs. 

Grissom realizes his hearing is degenerating; he walked out for an aimless semi-soul-searching trip through Vegas' underbelly and the Strip with music that says "I am drawn to her like moth to the flames". When he wanders to a place under the bridge, where the model was found, he saw a girl, the alive beauty, his flame, his soul mate, Sara. (you think I am stretchin'? Remember what Cassie The Flying Homeless Girl said: "You don't know what you are looking for until you find it." Cassie is the Zen master of this episode.) The following is the most haunting, beautiful, profound and telling scene in CSI so far (stretchin again? Those were written in stage directions!)

Grissom walked out Ashleigh Jame's apartment through the dark alley and The Strip of Vegas with Robbie Robertson's "Unbound" playing...
Exibit A.

With eyes afire
I am drawn
I am drawn to her
Like a moth to a flame
She leads me down
Unbound.

Turning around the corner, he reached the underpass, the crime scene; unexpectedly he saw Sara standing there. (Exhibit B) However, neither of them were surprised. Sara turned back when Grissom walked up to her and spoke: 

GRISSOM
"What are you doing here?" (and swiftly they exchanged positions)

(Guitar still playing....)

SARA
"Contextualizing. Shopping cart in the lab is like a lion in a zoo.
Needed to see it in its natural habitat.

GRISSOM (typical Grissom's asking witty question face)
"Question: How did Ashleigh James get from her loft to this
underpass?"

SARA
"She didn't walk." (turned her head)

GRISSOM
"I'm pretty sure she was pushed." (Both turned their heads to opposite directions, 2 or 3 times. "You can see WP make a conscious effort to start it. He has to turn his head 180 in order for JF to be able to mirror him. --- Devanie". Both had their hands in their pocket, arms bent the same way, opposite feet were propped Exhibit C . Symmetry.)

Sara sees the billboard.

SARA
"Grissom? Is that Ashleigh James?"

A beat.

"She was on her own billboard." 
(She turns toward Grissom, he faces her. Exhibit D )

GRISSOM
"Coincidence?"

SARA
"Somebody was making a point."

Grissom approaches the homeless ones to find evidences. He spots a scarf with blood stain on it, so he trades his jacket with the scarf, "I've got a gal named Sara, and she would loooove this scarf." (WP's Chicago accent! ;))

They had a rather cute exchange about crossword puzzles while they were trying to decipher the code system Ashleigh used in her day planner. 

When Sara found crabs in a piece of clothing...

SARA
I've got crabs

GRISSOM
Excuse me? (his reaction made me wonder...)

SARA
Yes, crabs. Take a look... (pointed to the microscope)

so Grissom took a look at the microscope. I love Sobell's recap for this: 

"Gil then looks up from the microscope to look Sara in the eyes and say, "They prefer the pubic and peri-anal regions. Their legs are adapted to grab hairs which are widely spaced. They don't usually nest in clothing. But when the clothing is being worn by someone with substandard personal hygiene --" 

There is this "Unfriendly Sky" Flirtatious way..

When Sara takes the master position and explains to the alternative weight-watcher system on the model's planner to the whole team, Sara mentions the model writes in margin "I am not even" everywhere. Grissom offers his intelligence by explaining how bugs prefer their mates, selecting by symmetry, "evenness" because these are sighs of health and fertility. In a room filled with people, only Grissom and Sara understand each other and up to the same thing. If you really think about the bridge scene and the bug-talk for a sec, you should remember that bugs and animals have special rituals of dancing before mating. Usually these rituals involve with symmetrical movements with each others. I am on the Platonic side in GS romance, but that bug talk and the bridge scene really make me think G and S are doing it. (Being smart and knowledgeable has never been so sexy!) If not yet, it's soon... they already preformed the mating dance!

Analytical Side: Besides the mating dance theory, the bridge scene also provides a symbolic switch between G and S. Both G and S are control freaks (ref to Slave in Las Vegas), but now as Grissom is losing control, Sara is gaining it; Grissom used to be in control and Sara hit the rock bottom in Burden of Proof. Sara is rising up to an equal to him, hence the symmetrical movements, which also explains the emotionalism/rationalism. In my review I took Sara as rational and Grissom was emotional in this episode, but I believe now that it will be more appropriate to say both of them are blends of emotionalism and rationalism (i.e: taking the "symmetry" aspect). Both G and S take their job as their life; the irony is that their jobs are all about science and objectiveness, and they devote their whole personal life in it. It is impossible to assign one to a character without examining moments that do not involve with the other. Sara was open to her emotionalism (and being extremely analytical at the same time); Grissom was reserved on the emotional side but we all know he has his weak moments from time to time, and the wandering is simply one of them. It is a sound explanation of why Grissom ends up under the bridge, that he has to his work, that he may not be as aimless as we thought first. However, the timing with Sara at the same place at the same time, not knowing each other will be there in advance... I can only say that it's fate, and we could have handed this over to Declan and Miranda if Mysterious Ways weren't cancelled. Symmetry...

Top

Your participations in subtext analysis, graphics and layout are desperately needed. Please email me or leave a message on my guestbook to count yourself in. Your name will be cited. Yes. "CITE YOUR SOURCE!" *lol*

Season Three