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hollygl125 · 1 year

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#who knew

*insert The Who song lyrics here*

This was supposed to be a footnote to one of the chapters I'm posting tonight. But it's an introductory chapter of about 500 words, and the footnote is about 1500 words, and that seemed a little disproportionate. So I'm posting it here instead.

On that shrewd detective Jim Brass:

Yes, I 100% think Brass knew something juicy about Sara and Grissom (so that’s what’s true in this story). What he would have told Catherine if he hadn’t been interrupted is a separate question.

In “The Good, the Bad and the Dominatrix” (07x23), Catherine says to Brass, “Okay, come on, Jim, give it up. I know you know something about Grissom and Lady Heather.” He responds, “I know something a lot juicier than Grissom and Lady Heath—,” but he’s interrupted, and we never get to hear his gossip. So what did he know?

Clearly the writers want us to think of Sara and Grissom. In this episode, they’ve already been playing up Cath’s lack of knowledge of Sara and Grissom’s relationship (and the awkwardness that creates) with Catherine’s comments to Sara about Grissom and Lady Heather.

That’s what Paul Guilfoyle (Brass) would want us to think, as well. In 2006, WP told TV Guide: “Sara and Grissom are not going to let people find out, which makes it even more intense. I don’t know who would find out first or how they’d react. I do know there are several actors dying to be the one who finds out. [Laughs.] Paul Guilfoyle has already gone to the writers saying, ‘I’m the one who knows!’” [The link to that article is in the comments.] (How cute that the rest of the cast was excited, too!) So Brass’s “juicier” comment feels like an indulgence of that request by the writers.

Aside from that, though, it’s also hard to imagine Brass not knowing something is up between Sara and Grissom:

[Bullets (points) after the break.]

Everyone at CSI seems accustomed to Sara and Grissom’s relationship being kind of weird for a professional context (although they see less of the weirdness than we the audience see), and that presumably is why they don’t notice when Sara and Grissom start dating. Brass, by not being with them quite as constantly (although still quite a lot), probably also has the most critical distance and may be in the best position to realize, hey, something about the weirdness of the two science nerds is weird in a different way.

Brass apparently pays attention to Grissom’s potential love life—see his comment on getting a sports car rather than engaging with Lady Heather (“Lady Heather’s Box” (03x15)).

Brass is the only other member of our crew (aside from Sara and Grissom) privy to Grissom’s monologue in “Butterflied” (04x12, original air date January 15, 2004). Honestly, if he doesn’t have half an eye on what’s going on with the science nerds from that point onward, he’s not much of a detective. I know Grissom doesn’t mention Sara by name there, but he had spent the entire episode acting like a crazy man because a woman everyone seemed to agree looked like Sara was murdered, and then he starts going on about someone young and beautiful—Grissom doesn’t exactly become closely acquainted with that many young and beautiful women. (Although Melinda Clarke is younger than JF, Lady Heather seems like she’s supposed to be older, maybe closer to Catherine’s age, given that she’d married before having a daughter who was already at Harvard in the early seasons. Also, am I the only one who didn’t really think Debbie looked that much like Sara? Is that just because I too am a tall brunette?)

Brass is also the only member of our crew to become aware of Sara’s possible drinking problem while she’s having it—and this happens barely a month after “Butterflied” (in “Early Rollout” (04x15), original air date February 19, 2004). I would expect he has half an eye on Sara specifically from that point onward as well. He notes he had similar difficulties while in Jersey, which is what makes him so attuned to Sara’s problem. Of course, he also had a workplace affair back in Jersey (“Hollywood Brass” (5x20)), so he should be similarly well positioned to recognize those signs….

Given his observational skills, Brass must notice that our two lovers stop being mopey fools and start being much happier at around the same time…. He probably also notices that Sara gets a bit mopey at the time Grissom goes off on his sabbatical in season 7.

Before Grissom’s sabbatical, Cath and Nick contemplate Grissom having a girlfriend. (He has shaved his beard, lost a little weight, and been leaving when shift is over.) Both later show or state they didn’t know who that girlfriend was (Cath in “The Good, the Bad and the Dominatrix (07x23) and Nick in “A La Cart” (08x02)). But they don’t have the same contextual information our shrewd detective has. (Catherine seems to have contemplated Sara and Grissom having a past at one point, but by season 7, as most clearly evidenced in 07x23, that has apparently passed from her mind.)

Post-sabbatical, our work-obsessed entomologist actually complains to Brass (“you owe me one”) about Brass getting him out of bed on a Saturday morning (“Fallen Idols” (07x17)).

Sara and Grissom are, by season 7, not doing such a great job of being discreet. I mean, lingering touches at a crime scene surrounded by onlookers (“Living Doll” (07x24))? I think, if Natalie Davis can figure it out, Jim Brass can.

So, yeah, based on all the above, I have a hard time imaging Detective Brass hasn’t figured out something “juicy” is going on between our two science nerd lovebirds. (Let’s be honest, again: if he hasn’t, he’s not much of a detective.)

I think Brass, unlike Sara and Grissom apparently (near the end of season 7, at least), remains discreet about this. I don’t think he talks to them about it. Having been a supervisor in criminalistics, he knows lab policy forbids their relationship. It’s one thing for the two science nerds to keep their private lives private, but if he gets involved then it’s approaching a conspiracy or a cover-up.

I think he’s kind of dying to talk to someone about it, though, which is why he makes the “juicier” comment to Catherine. Of course, I’m not sure the writers contemplated what would have come out of his mouth if he hadn’t been interrupted. Telling Catherine her teammate is screwing their supervisor (or, conversely, her supervisor is screwing their teammate), contrary to lab policy, is not idle gossip about friends. It’s a pretty big deal, and it puts all of them in a really bad position. Brass knows this.

I think Brass makes the “juicier” comment because, yes, he is dying to tell someone. I don’t think he would have said even that much if he’d ever talked to Sara and Grissom about the situation, though, because either they would have further impressed upon him their desire for secrecy or they would just have come clean to everyone; I’m inclined to think the latter because they wouldn’t want to put him in an awkward position. I also don’t think he’d actually have revealed the secret to Catherine if allowed to continue speaking; I think he would have said something cryptic or innocuous (or maybe have created his own interruption) in the end because, again, he understands what a big deal it is.

A related question is whether any of our CSIs know what’s going on before “Living Doll” (07x24). As already noted, Catherine and Nick don’t. Greg later claims to Nick that he knew (“A La Cart” (08x02)), but I think he retroactively convinces himself he was aware of something between them.

If I can imagine one CSI knowing, it’s Warrick. He’s the one who told Sara she didn’t like other women in Grissom’s life (“Sounds of Silence” (01x20)). He’s the one who had at least one awkwardly spaced elevator ride with them (“Chaos Theory” (02x02)), among other awkwardly spaced encounters. He’s the one who didn’t get a veggie burger (“Built to Kill, Part 1” (07x01)). Especially considering how he feels about Grissom (and given his very real awareness of how Grissom has forgiven his past mistakes), I can see him figuring out something was going on and just thinking, hey, if they can find a little bit of happiness in this crazy world, good for them—and then not saying anything to anyone. His look of surprise in “Living Doll” (07x24) would not, then, be surprise at the relationship but surprise that Grissom finally said the quiet part out loud.

Anyway, that's just my viewpoint; yours may differ!

#csi #gsr #otp: gsr #sara x grissom #grissom x sara #sara sidle #gil grissom #💛: survivors in the night #survivors in the night: a las vegas love story #my thoughts and feelings on the two lovely science nerds

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