After a close call with a suspect, Mac re-evaluates his career and life at the lab doing what he does. He opens his first ever unsolved case and then solves it too; in what would have been the series finale.
Mac (Gary Sinise), Flack (Eddie Cahill) and Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) are on a raid . Mac crosses his crucifix, which he wears under his shirt and we didn't know that. Danny kisses Lucy's photo and, er, couldn't come up with anything for Flack, so he just puts on his badge. It's all about the job for Flack. Ahh how sad, there was nothing or no one for him to kiss. It begins to rain. Mac chases a suspect to the roof, where a struggle ensues and Mac is overpowered. The suspect reaches for Mac's weapon and holds it to him. Cue opening credits. Hey that suspect with the dope bag, was he really gonna flush that big bag down the loo, bit late for that. The gun jams and Mac takes it back, and gets it to work, and maybe looked like he wanted to shoot him or at least he would have shot the suspect if Flack and Danny hadn't arrived. Then again it's Mac and he wouldn't have fired, unless it was in self-defence.
The others go over cases in the conference room and Mac can only drown them out. Hey they don't normally sit down like that, unless they're on an active case and usually not everyone is there. The sounds from the, almost near fatality, all echo in Mac's ears, especially with Sid (Robert Joy) and his pen sounding like the trigger jamming. Jo (Sela Ward) notices something's wrong, as usual, which is great to see. Mac has 3 files on his desk and he wants to solve his first ever unsolved case. He says there's no pattern to Hexton's (Michael Irby) movements, 9 years ago. He'd move whenever they were close to him. His girlfriend, Jackie (Allison McAtee) never ratted him out. Jo questions Mac on why he walked out of the room. "I know you better than you think;" and she hasn't been here that long either. He uses the normal excuse of being Head of the crime lab so he can re-evaluate any case, anytime. Jo refers to herself as his colleague and friend but asks why this case and why now. (Cos the show might've been over and they wanted him to solve all his cases. Yet there are still some more outstanding cases, like the suspects that got away.)
Mac calls this case his last one. Jo tells him to use a computer instead of the stringing method on the map. Mac: "Old case, old habits." He meets Flack at the bodega where the robbery and shootings occurred. Hexton was bleeding from his GSW and they left through the door at the back. This was his first case as Head of the crime lab (and he didn't get anywhere with it.) Flack asks why he's looking over it now and Mac doesn't give him an answer, just replies, "no reason." There were blood drops where the things fell to the floor. Flack calls him 'buddy' when he asks if he's okay. No he's not and everyone can tell, well at least Jo and Flack.
Then we get a boring scene with Danny and Lindsay (Anna Belknap) about their future and she calls Danny's Pacino impression bad. He tells her he took the sergeant's exam and is awaiting the results. It will take him away from here if he passes. Oh and he actually said, away from her too. We wish. Hawkes (Hill Harper) examined the blood samples from the shooting, mostly belonging to Hexton, but he found a second profile from the epithelials on the purse using a different genetic analyzer (conveniently) this new machine picked it up. The DNA belongs to Olivia Dalton (Kayla Carlson) who was reported missing the morning after by her mtoher. Mac ascertains Hexton took her with him, along with his accomplice, Wes (Clayne Crawford) that's why they used the back door.
Her mother, Natalie Dalton (Lisa Sheridan) bought her the purse and she went out to buy her aspirin, she was more interested in drinking than her daughter. Mac's not here to judge her. No, but he has judged others in the past, even if they didn't warrant this kind of treatment, like the mother in 7.2 Damned If You Do episode, where he judged the son as being guilty and that his mother identified him as being their attacker, when she didn't. Jo talks with Jackie and says she wanted to be beaten by her boyfriend cos of what her father's put downs. She tells her about Olivia and and she gives Jo a postcard sent to her by Wes. The writing is practically invisible.
Boston, MA. Again the same rituals from Danny and Mac, with the crucifix and Lucy's photo has shrunk now, this time Flack gets to check his weapon. Said rituals will be forgotten in the next season no doubt. Mac still thinks about that night. Yes Flack, knew that ice bag was coming, he needed cooling down, ha. Hexton tells Mac that Wes beat him up and took Olivia, who had her chance to escape, but didn't take it. Was it cos she didn't want to return to her drunken mother - perhaps - or she identified Wes as a father figure she never had. Was she exhibiting Stockholm Syndrome.
Adam (AJ Buckley) brings up the writing on the postcard using infra red. Mac wants the writing sample put out on the billboards etc, like the face of a missing person, someone might recognize the unique style of writing. Adam refers to Mac's "out of the box thinking," which he isn't impressed with, again. Danny tells Flack they've got a hit from a woman named Samantha (Jeanette Sousa) in Twin City, Georgia, where they both head. Wes, under the name of Tony, left 9 months ago, with Olivia. He called her his daughter, Madison and 'princess'. She needs her heart medication. Lindsay doesn't get any hits on Dr Miller. Mac sending Flack and Danny to Georgia where they didn't find Wes, but he goes to North Carolina himself, cos Wes would actually be there. Mac posits normally the suspects keep the first names of the Vics and change the surname. There's a Madison Hughes in Shelby, North Carolina.
That was a bit obvious Flack turning up in the van and no one getting out. Wes goes for his keys and is shot and killed. Olivia pulls a gun on Mac, that's a second time he's had a weapon trained on him this episode, not mentioning the number of times he was shot at last episode. He talks Olivia into putting the gun down and tells her her mother looked for her and loves her. Olivia calls Wes her father. Mac tells Jo, Wes could have let her go at anytime, but didn't. Jo questions Mac as to why he didn't tell anyone about the roof. Mac was trying to work things out. Death "was staring me right in the eyes." Jo says she knows he must have questioned why him. Mac reveals when it was over, he asked himself what he was doing and how long he can continue doing it. Jo understands he needed to find closure with this case. Mac: "I've done a lot of good, maybe I've done my part." So now it would have been for the others to take over, like Danny with his sergeant status.
Danny passes his exam and calls himself Sgt Messer. Flack knocking down more doors in his same outfit! Hawkes and Sid in autopsy, where he gets a call from Camille, with a photo on his phone of her. So Mac walks away, leaving Jo et al. In the words of the song Holding On and Letting Go at the end, by Ross Copperman; "one door swinging open" again next season 8, luckily!
That's how 7 years would have ended and I have to say, not very satisfactorily. The producers and writers may have been happy with the ending, but I know many of us weren't. Fine to see Mac walking away into the sunset, or rather the street, but everyone else hardly got a mention. Jo watching him from the balcony, he didn't even look up to see her, let alone acknowledge her. Flack going about doing what he does (they had a similar scene with him in the Super Men episode; appears they can't come up with anything different for him; they didn't even try.) Same for Hawkes and Sid, at least Hawkes got Camille out of it all; and Danny passing his sergeant's exam. That came out of the blue. Though he always wanted promotion since season 1, even before Lindsay came along, but they had to mention the obligatory, it'd mean more money for them, line. It all seemed so hurried and rushed, like no one could be bothered to come up with a more fitting ending. The show wasn't and isn't just about Mac.
At least Mac actually raised a smile at Adam's antics; which will long continue, he's Adam after all. Mac didn't even say goodbye to anyone, maybe the scene didn't warrant it, thus leaving the path clear for another season. Only dilemma being what's gonna happen with Danny now he's a sergeant. Hawkes still with Camille, as I said and Sid hardly getting any lines. The last episode clearly concentrating on Mac and it's been done before, staring down the wrong end of a barrel, making people re-evaluate their lives and their choices. There wasn't much about Jo either, she just stays. Basically, the last episode concentrated completely (as said already) on Mac which if this was going to be the series finale, would have been rather unfair on everyone else.
Having Mac kiss his crucifix reaffirming that he's always had his faith, going back to season 1, even if he hasn't talked about it much over the past few years. Showing he still believes in good over evil, as we know, he's mentioned evil a few times this season, so it was only fitting he had his crucifix this episode. But showing Mac and Danny doing all that kissing this episode, was new, they've never done that before. Oh that didn't sound right, not kissing each other of course. They could afford to go out of state this episode, ha (though they weren't really) but to Boston, Georgia and North Carolina.
As I've said 2.19 Super Men episode had them all go on about their daily routines, which was kind of like this ending here. Indicating life will continue for everyone else; that their work: fighting crime never ends and when they finish/leave, someone else will carry on - the next generation even. People like Flack, Danny, Jo, Hawkes. In their never-ending quest to seek justice - oh okay - I sound a bit repetitive here, but that was the purpose of the ending in Super Men and here too. Just wish the ending had been more original. So this was the Exit Strategy: for Mac to solve his first ever unsolved case, which would have been his final case ever and leave. What would he have done.
Well at least I'll get to write about about another season and more importantly watch another season along with everyone!
Jeanette Sousa played the crossroads demon from the season 2 Cross Roads episode of Supernatural.
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