Eleventh Hour Had Mercury in Fridges, CSI:NY Has Pipe Bombs in a Van

Adam is playing street hockey with his friends, making fun of some girl’s boyfriend whose shot he just blocked. Adam chases after the ball as a white van explodes…ADAM! NO! And then a house explodes…is this CSI: NY or a Michael Bay movie?

Credits!

Adam comes to and sees the crime scene. A friend tries to make sure Adam is all right but all Adam can hear is cries for help. As the girl with the camera begs for someone to call for help, Adam and his friend pull someone from the wreckage. Sirens wail in the background as the FDNY pull up. Mac and Hawkes follow quickly. The guy Adam saved was the only one home, thankfully, as Mac takes care of Adam. He can’t help Mac much, just explaining the van and house exploded. The victim, Felix Redmond, is upset and wants to know what happened while Hawkes tries to calm him down. Felix explains his wife is with her parents.

The FBI approaches Flack, saying they will have to work together. Flack agrees as Mac searches the van. A kid with a camera is sent back inside while Stella brings a clue from a neighbor’s house. They realize they are dealing with a pro. Mac and Stella do math while Flack and I stare at them, confused.

Lindsay asks Danny if they need help but he rules it out, saying she’ll do enough when the crime scene comes to the lab. Apparently, Lindsay is going back to Montana to visit her mom so she can see her daughter pregnant. Lindsay looks forward to the day she can do that if her baby is a girl. Danny replies that no boy is getting near his daughter—there was no doubt he’d be a strict dad.

Back at the crime scene, Hawkes is surprised Felix walked away after his house collapsed. Mac tells them a story of other bomb victims who walked away. They figure Felix wasn’t the target and if something was supposed to happen on the block. Stella finds a busted pipe while Hawkes documents the remains of the white van. Mac and Danny divide and conquer the house—one upstairs, the other downstairs. Or what’s left of it. They try to put everything together, but we haven’t reached the second commercial break. Danny finds a victim under the debris, surprising the two.

NEW YORK! Our dead victim ends up on Sid’s table as he preps her for autopsy. He finds an injury to the back of her head with something inside. She died from a severed spinal cord, Sid tells Lindsay. He also confirms their vic was in the house. He also tells her that while he usually has strange evidence, he doesn’t. Lindsay wonders who she is as Stella brings Felix down to identify her. He breaks down, saying she wasn’t home.

Turns out it was his daughter, who was supposed to be at school. Mac doesn’t know why that street was chosen, unless someone on the block was planning to bomb somewhere else. They wonder if they are chasing after a terrorist or terrorists. Lindsay and Hawkes do some science. Lindsay finds two pipes are the same and they hope it will lead to a manufacture. Danny finds out the perp rented the van but uses the GPS to track down the guy who rented it last—Michael Elgers. He looks like a skinhead. Danny agrees. Elgers last arrest was on Francis Lewis Blvd…Hey, my aunt lives on there. Of course, Francis Lewis is very long, so it could be anywhere. Mac wonders if Elgers was aiming for the synagogue on the corner.

Flack drags the skinhead in for some talk. Elgers swears he didn’t mean to blow up anything. Flack, unsurprisingly, doesn’t believe him. Elgers says he remain silent until Flack mentions the van. That throws Elgers, who swears it wasn’t him. It’s not his signature, he argues, asking for a lawyer. Flack leaves but Elgers asks to know the race of the victim. Flack just says she’s dead.

Stella is down in the garage, finding a digital watch. They figure it was a trigger and the bomb was meant to go off when it did. Mac finds something inside the van, calling Stella over. Burn marks on the side, show that the van was reinforced on one side so the blast would be forced out the other. They realize that Felix’s house was the intended target.

NEW YORK! We see some workers working, at Felix’s business. People offer condolences over his daughter Alison. He says he’s still trying to figure out what happened. Felix says he deals with e-garbage, electronic stuff we throw out. Stella tells him the news that his house was the target. He’s shocked. Stella thinks it might be the contract he just got from the city. He rules it out. Stella offers her sympathy again and leaves.

Adam returns to the lab as Hawkes hails him as a hero. Adam is just glad to get away from the interrogations of FBI, DHS, etc. Hawkes gives him stuff to do and he’s actually happy. Hawkes joins a briefing on The Purists, eco-terrorists. I’m thinking CBS missed an opportunity to pair this with Eleventh Hour’s Minamata. They deal with anything that could harm the environment. Just property damage, no deaths. And while they claim responsibility, no charges have been filed. One of the members of the Purists was attacked by Elgers, cleared as his signature didn’t match. They figure Elgers was being set up, but unsure why The Purists would bomb a house owned by a man who recycles for a living.

We go to a club where a guy blows a cork off a bottle. Mac sees the display and shows his badge. The club is apparently “eco-friendly.” Mac asks about Felix but Teddy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Mac calls him a terrorist while Teddy argues he is doing his duty as God’s creature. Oh boy. Mac is just as incredulous as Teddy leaves.

Stella asks Adam what went through his mind. He replies nothing much, except for some kid beaning him in the head. He also feels bad because he can’t give them anything. Meanwhile, Hawkes finds a partial on the van’s rearview mirror. It belonged to Alison, surprising Mac.

NEW YORK! Mac views a protest, spotting Alison amongst the crowds. She was a member of The Purists, but they can’t figure out why she went after her father’s house and why she was in the house. Danny though is distracted by Lindsay. He tells Mac about his proposal and subsequent rejection. They have a heart to heart. Mac regrets not having children with his wife due to his doubts. Now he’s telling Danny not to let his own get in the way of happiness. It helps Danny and Mac tells him he’ll make a great father.

Stella searches the Chinese town Adam found. It has a lot of e-waste, apparently. The pictures aren’t so pretty. And it doesn’t look just like e-waste, but regular waste as well. Stella tells Adam that he may have found the motive. He sees a picture and remembers he saw her before the explosion. Lindsay brings Mac enough evidence for a warrant on Teddy Mayhem. They interrupt him in the middle of a planning session, saying people will be in his building. He burns it as Mac takes him in.

Stella shows Felix some of his business containers. One that ended up in China, which is illegal. And filled with e-waste comprised of dangerous chemicals. Mac doesn’t think it’s not worth a bomb to dealing with a cheat. Teddy’s too cynical to believe the government will help, though Mac says they are catching the corrupted ones. Stella, in the other room, catches Felix’s dirty business. People being paid to dismantle the e-waste full of the dangerous chemicals. Mac does wonder about Alison. He tried to show her the truth, but she didn’t believe him. Alison was trying to warn her dad. Hello, cell phone? But Teddy thought she didn’t have enough time and wouldn’t get hurt. Stella tells Felix why his daughter was in the house. And that he’s under arrest. Teddy is still smug in the other room, saying there are others. Mac tells him that they will get them.

Danny brings a confused Lindsay to the courthouse, saying she has to meet some friends. He brings her to the city clerk and she realizes what is going on. He proposes again, saying they could get married right then. Lindsay agrees. Aww, Monroe-Messer wedding! Stella and Mac are waiting inside to be the witnesses. And then there’s a nice montage of the two of them together. That was absolutely adorable! I’ve loved those two since Lindsay was introduced.

Exchange of the Week:

“No bodies at 3 AM, no double shifts with no sleep, a slice of pizza on the run.”

“Constipation, swelling of feet, tough getting up from a chair, constant urination. Wanna switch?”

“I already have all that. I just want the time off.” –Sid and Lindsay

Next week: Dead drug dealer, dealing drugs made of humans. Eww. And it’s married couple Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson (Wentz).

What do you think of the Monroe-Messer wedding? What about the upcoming appearance of the Wentzes? 

Likewise, Do NOT Piss Off Mac Taylor

Recap: Mac investigates a bank robbery and ends up being held hostage by…hey, it’s Joe! Oh, no, wait, it’s the guy who tried to shoot House back in the season 2 ender.

Stella is flying around, trying to find Mac. Who is trapped in a car sinking into Hudson River. Mac’s a former Marine. He’ll get out.

New credits! Hey, they finally added Robert Joy (Sid) and AJ Buckley (Adam). Great!

When we come back, Mac has gotten out of the car. Some bushes rustle menacingly but he glares at them and they stop. He rushes to a nearby road and stops a passing motorist, where the license plate reveals he’s in Jersey. He introduces himself to the driver. She debates whether or not to believe him or write him off as a crazy killer and speed off. She decides on the former and gives him a cell phone so he can make a call. Stella gets it in the helicopter. She and Flack meet him in Jersey, where news reporters are covering the scene. A body is pulled out of the water and Flack realizes it is their prime suspect. However, it is not Joe, who kidnapped Mac. He asks Mac what happened, but Mac’s suffering from a minor concussion according to the paramedic who even I, as a girl, have to admit is pretty cute.

Flack gives them the bad news. Jersey Brass won’t let them investigate the scene except for pictures. So they use their fancy, hi-tech devices to bring the scene back to the lab. Adam investigates tire treads while Sid investigates a 3-D hologram of our dead prime suspect. Meanwhile, Danny and Hawkes try to get Mac to go home. But he won’t. As they continue to investigate, Mac realizes he was shot. But the bullet didn’t hit him, just his shirt. Lindsay marvels at how Mac couldn’t have been hit. She and Mac believe it was slowed down by the passenger side window, something wrong with the load and Mac’s shirt material. And that’s because Mac ix-nays the idea of divine intervention, saying “God’s a scientist.”

Danny reveals that Stella found a child’s hair clip in the back seat. I think I had one just like it when I was little. New Jersey sent over the DNA and it had commonalities with Joe’s DNA and female. They conclude it is Joe’s daughter. Adam reveals Joe is still in New York and Hawkes gets a number the guy dialed in the car with Mac. Mac calls Joe, who is surprised but says he doesn’t want to go to jail. Mac realizes that Joe is working with someone as we cut to commercial break.

Flack is working the phones trying to get information on Joe. Adam pops in and asks if he can plug in his USB. Flack leads him to a room where Adam reveals he caught Joe on a river crossing tollbooth, dropping money. Facial recognition matches but the car doesn’t belong to Joe. We are left in the dark as to who it belongs to, except that it will upset Mac and Stella. Flack asks Adam not to tell them for two hours.

Mac flashes back to being trapped in the car and seeing Prime Suspect (Derrick) dead. Danny comes back and says a bullet matches one used in an earlier bank robbery but Derrick wasn’t killed by Joe’s gun. Danny believes Joe used Derrick’s gun which explains the upside down markings. Mac remembers his kit was left in the bank and asks for it.

We flash to a bar with dancing women as Flack shows up. He interrogates the bartender, Sam, about where her car is. She says she leant to a friend—Lauren—but doesn’t know said friend’s exact address. Just by sight. Turns out Sam is Flack’s sister as he says he won’t bail her out if she’s involved and neither will Dad. No wonder Flack didn’t want Mac or Stella to know. Lindsay finds a trace to run down.

A nervous Adam goes to Mac, apologizing for not telling Mac sooner. He reveals the car belongs to Flack’s sister and Mac says Adam should’ve told him. The lab assistant says he didn’t mean any disrespect. Mac gets a call and leaves in silence. Adam mutters, “That went well. Yeah.” He meets Flack, who has found the car. They jimmy open the lock and pop the trunk. There’s a dead woman inside, revealed to be the woman who helped Mac in the beginning. So she didn’t think Mac was a crazy serial killer…she was obviously in over her head in something else.

When we come back, Danny is questioning Sam. He asks why she leant Lauren the car and she responds she was just trying to help a friend. As she begs Flack not to tell their Dad as someone greets her. Looks like he’s a regular at both the bar and the precinct. Flack tells him to move as Sam asks him to let her live her life. He acts all big brother like and pisses her off. At poor Lauren’s autopsy, she was stabbed and tortured by near drowning. Joe did it, Mac speculated, because Lauren was his partner-in-crime. That’s why she was on the road and surprised to see Mac! Alive!

Stella and Mac go up to an old railroad track now covered in plants. The trace Lindsay was tracking down led them there. They find freshly dug dirt and start digging. They find Joe’s stash of fake IDs. Is one for a George Jurgens? They figure he’s stuck. Can’t go home and can’t leave New York. Joe calls, telling Mac he’ll get the money before the CSIs get him—no matter how good they are. As Stella gets Hawkes to trace the phone, Mac brings up the daughter. He tells Mac he’s trying to get a better life for her and explains poor Lauren’s death was an accident. She was dizzy from the near drowning, scared and ran into a pole.

Adam and Lindsay scan the fake IDs and find a real one. Joe’s name is Ethan Scott in this. Lindsay runs Joe’s background while it is revealed poor Lauren was a bank teller at the bank robbed in the season finale. She conveniently called in sick that day. Stella determines she was the inside agent. Stella says they found nickel shavings in Derrick. Danny explains a key was missing off the dead bank manager’s ring. Derrick swallowed it, which is why Joe killed him. So Stella goes back to the bank, where Joe is attacking a guard.

She chases after him, asking for back-up. They go to the roof, naturally, and continue their chase. Joe knocks Stella off the fire escape, leaving her dangling over NYC streets as the handle of the bag begins to rip. She gets her footing and climbs back up, ready to get Joe.

11:08 PM: I kid you not: “Tonight at 11…”

Lindsay finds Joe’s NYC family. Turns out they are on the run. Alerts are out on the entire family and Danny is tracking all forms of transit, including the SI Ferry. Adam finds out that the family is going to Toronto, leaving from Poughkeepsie. Po-Town! Love to Marist and my old Metro-North Stop. Mac says we’ll be playing by his rules. Stella approaches Mrs. Scott and her daughter. She’s shocked when Stella tells her about the bank robbery. Stella asks for her help. Joe lugs the money through the Amtrak station. I think they may be at Poughkeepsie as Mac calls Joe. They talk and it is revealed nearly everybody on that platform has a gun. I thought it looked a bit too crowded, but I figured it was because I usually took the Metro-North on Fridays.

Mac arrests Joe for murder, robbery, assault and battery. And pissing Mac Taylor off. Seriously, you don’t do that.

Next week: Maroon 5! Who would contaminate a Maroon 5 concert?