Yeah that episode is one of those really conflicting cases that's not just black and white and can really split opinions.. On one hand, although what the daughter did was wrong, but as a surgeon she went on to save many more lives, so it was redemption of sorts for the daughter...she accidentally took one life but then saved many other lives in return, like the father said, 'greater good'. And she'll have to live with the guilt of her crime for the rest of her life. So some people may believe that she has already received her punishment.
But on the other hand, her father took the blame for her crime and went to jail for it, at the end of the day the wrong person went to jail, and that sends the wrong message.
So no matter which perspective you look at the situation, the case is still very conflicting...my opinions about this case are also mixed, I really don't know which side I stand on this, I pity all the characters involved in this case, I pity the father for taking the blame and going to jail for a crime he didn't commit, I also pity the daughter because it was clearly an accident and she clearly felt guilty for what she did, as a doctor she even tried to save the girl soon after but sadly she died, and I pity the mother because she lost her daughter and the wrong person was convicted for it.
I understand why the father wanted to protect his daughter by taking the blame, the daughter had so much more to lose if she were convicted for the crime, and as a doctor she's capable of saving many lives...sometimes you have to make certain sacrifices for the 'greater good'. But I also don't think it was necessary what he did, I mean, it was clearly an accident and the daughter did try to save the girl at the scene, it was unfortunate that she died. Would her life and career really be sabotaged so much because of an accident? Sure she would've gotten a criminal record and that could've tarnished her reputation, but she did try to save the girl also, so that should've accounted to something, would it really sabotage her entire life? And if father and daughter had just tried to explain everything to the mother properly, and explain to her that it was an accident and that the daughter did try to save the girl too, then maybe the mother would've been more forgiving and not so hell-bent on revenge. And at least the daughter felt guilty for her crime, she did say that she tried to convince her dad to let her take responsibility for her crime, but it was her father who didn't let her and insisted on covering for her. So I think the daughter still had a conscience, she knows it was wrong for her dad to take the blame and she felt guilty on both counts, and she'll have to live with that guilt for the rest of her life, some would believe that alone is also a form of punishment, and I agree, I don't think any amount of jail time could compare to the psychological torment of guilt to a person. Some criminals are so bad that even though they get long jail sentences but they never felt any guilt for their crimes, so they never learn or understand their wrongdoings and that leads them to continue committing crimes. While some criminals have a conscience, they may get shorter jail time but they understand the wrongdoings of their crimes and feel guilty and sometimes that guilt haunts them for the rest of their lives. I've heard stories of some criminals who were so mentally overcome by their own guilt of committing their crimes that they became so broken that they ended up destroying their own lives or killing themselves.
The guilt of accidentally killing that girl will haunt the daughter for the rest of her life, and that's a punishment she cannot avoid. And she tried to make up for her crime by saving as many other innocent people's lives as she can as a doctor, combined with all these reasons including the fact that the daughter also tried to save the girl afterwards, I'm not so harsh on the daughter...she knew what she did was wrong and tried her best to make up for her crime by trying to save the girl and saving other innocent lives afterwards. Although it's true that the wrong person was still convicted of the crime...I remember Mac did tell the father in the end that he will not pursue a case against the daughter, so in the end Mac accepted the father taking the blame.
The case was really messy and conflicted there's no doubt about that.
As for the mother being involved in a conspiracy to commit murder, although I do pity her for losing her daughter but yes what she did, paying a hitman to kill the father and later the daughter was wrong. If I remember correctly, Mac told the mother that he had no concrete proof that she was involved in that plot, even though we all know she was, and Mac probably did too...but he had no solid proof...the hitman didn't know who or what his client looked like and there was no photo to show that the woman is the mother, there was no money trail, no solid evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was the mother who hired that hitman. I think Mac knew in his gut that the mother was involved that's why he went to warn her, but if he wanted to convict the mother of conspiracy to commit murder, he needed solid proof and he didn't have any...unless the mother confesses to the crime herself, otherwise Mac had no solid case against the mother. But I remember Mac also told the mother that if he ever finds evidence of her committing a crime of any kind, he will not hesitate to arrest her and convict her of the crime. He just didn't have any concrete evidence to prove that the mother was involved in the conspiracy to commit murder crime at the time.
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9 years ago
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ScrystaLz
9 years ago
Jeez I was only voicing my opinion, and if you didn't bother to read my post, then why did you even bother replying to me? And somehow I sense some hostility from you by the tone of your comments, did I offend you or something?
And personally I disagree with you about Danny & Lindsay, I think they make a great couple on the show and I know plenty of other people who've watched this show like this couple too, and they're not even "fangirls". Sure I'm a Danny+Lindsay shipper and they are one of the main reasons I watch this show, even though I do like the other characters too. This case was so messy and conflicted that to me the scenes with Danny & Lindsay together are the only true joyous moments in the entire episode, without those happy Danny+Lindsay moments, this episode would've been completely messed up & all over the place. And exactly how did Danny+Lindsay become the "main focus" of the show? The couple only had a few episodes in total throughout the entire show that was actually mainly focused on their relationship, most of those eps were in seasons 5 & 6, and afterwards the couple only had random little intimate moments and flirting in some episodes, but I don't think they were ever too OTT to be distracting. Mac and Stella still had alot more focus in the show than Danny & Lindsay, and after Stella left, Jo filled that void. As much as I love Danny+Lindsay, I don't think they were ever the main focus of the show, their relationship was just a subplot that was mainly created for their character developments, I think the main focus of the show were always the cases and Mac & Stella, and then Jo, these 3 characters being the main characters still had a lot more screentime than Danny & Lindsay.
If you dislike Danny+Lindsay as a couple then of course you are entitled to your own opinions, I love this couple and they are one of the main reasons I watch this show and I'm entitled to my opinions too.
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kyliesca
9 years ago
I'm not a fangirl but I like Danny and Lindsay as a couple, I think they have good chemistry and they're good for each other. This "Greater good" episode was not great, the case itself was quite bad, it depicts convicting the wrong person of a crime as "ok" and that sends the wrong message. The only parts of this episode I like are the scenes with Danny and Lindsay and the birth of their baby at the hospital with everyone gathered in the end, they're the only upside to this ep.
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ScrystaLz
9 years ago
I agree, the scenes with Danny+Lindsay are really the only moments in the whole episode that was actually positive and joyous...the whole case itself was really messy & conflicted and kind of depressing no matter which perspective you look at it. Thank goodness for those happy Danny+Lindsay moments, that this ep wasn't a "complete" letdown.
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9 years ago
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ScrystaLz
9 years ago
I love Lindsay she's one of my favorite characters on the show, and I don't think she's a "Mary Sue" character at all, she has her flaws and she knows it, such as in the ep 'Vigilante' in season 7 we got to see Lindsay really struggling to deal with her feelings towards rape victims, she was so conflicted she didn't know what to do or how to handle them, she was struggling with trying to sympathize with victims but at the same time be committed to her job as a cop, and in reality many cops have to deal with alot of these struggles, having to sympathize with victims and vigilantes, but at the same time do their jobs as cops, and sometimes it's hard to deal with that. That ep alone shows how realistic Lindsay is, she even had to ask advice from Jo on how to handle the situation. And also in the season 7 premiere when she felt confused and had mixed opinions about receiving the combat medal for killing Shane Casey in her home but for also saving her family. She felt she didn't deserve it for killing a bad guy, even though she knew she did what she had to do to save her family. I think if I was in Lindsay's position, I probably would've felt the same way she did. IMO Lindsay is one of the most realistic characters on the show, she has flaws and she knows it, that's one of the main reasons why she's such a popular character on the show and why she's one of my favorites. I'm glad Lindsay's on the show, to me she's one of the best characters on the show because she's realistic. Why do you think the writers constantly "shoved her down our throats" as you put it? Many people love Lindsay because she's realistic and many find her likable, to me she's not a Mary Sue at all, so I don't know why you think she is, seems like you just don't like her, but whatever, that's your opinion.
And many people love or at least support Lindsay's relationship with Danny, in fact, they are one of the most popular on-screen couples in the CSI franchise, if not the most popular, many people think they have good chemistry and make a great couple on the show, and I agree, I think Danny & Lindsay really complement each other, they understand each other really well. Some of the people who like Danny+Lindsay are not even "shippers", but they still support the couple, and there are others who don't really care. But it seems like the people who actually dislike this couple (like yourself) are in the minority...and that's fine because non-supporters have the right to dislike this couple, just like the supporters have the right to love this couple.
It seems like we have different opinions about almost everything regarding this show, we seem to disagree on just about everything so there's no point in arguing over every little aspect. You are entitled to your own opinions and I am entitled to mine and we can't change each other's opinions, so let's just agree to disagree and leave it at that.
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