CSI:Miami 10.3 "Blown Away" Review

As three tornadoes rage over Miami, Ryan (Jonathan Togo) and Walter (Omar Miller) respond to a call out at a trailer park. They arrive to a CS and try to protect the evidence and Walter suggests they cut around the carpet to preserve as much of the evidence as they can.  However the tornado hits.  Walter finds a closet for them to shelter in but Ryan tries to move the DB.  Walter throws him a lifeline in the form of some tree lights but can't hold onto Ryan.  He's blown away as the title suggests.

Horatio (David Caruso) and Delko (Adam Rodriguez) come after the two but arrive too late.  They look for Ryan and Horatio hears him.  The search is on for the DB and Natalia (Eva La Rue) says Tripp is searching for her parents among the evacuees.  Her parents arrive and are adamant she's not their daughter, Ellie (Hayley Chase) as she's at Miami Dade.  They didn't check her room when they left.  Natalia runs into a man  who makes a run for it. He calls himself a scavenger and was stealing.  An object is recovered from his bag which Natalia calls a satellite dish.  A rescue dog locates Ellie in a tree and Walter offers to buy the dog the best Porterhouse going.  Ellie must have been a heavy sleeper not to have heard her parents rummaging around the place.

Walter finds the 'satellite dish' is a weather data collection 'thing' as Natalia calls it and he notices the writing on the side has been worn down.  He determines the magnetic pull will be stronger on the inside when he places a magnet there and the iron fillings will cling to it, revealing a phone number.  How come Natalia didn't know all that.  Seems like it was just a lesson for the viewer too.

Horatio has put Walter up for a commendation for saving Ryan's life but he doesn't want it, since he doesn't think he did this.  Notice Ryan and Natalia are the ones who really get put through the wringer on this show and get hurt more frequently than anyone else.  Oh and the sharp projectile hitting the closet door reminded me of Ryan getting hit with the nailgun.

Ronnie (Jamie Bamber) and Leon (Bernardo de Paula) claim to be stormchasers and are in it for the money rather than data collecting, which was a clue, where better to find loot around than in the middle of a storm where no ones around.  Walter finds the data collection dish had a camera and he manages to pull some footage which shows a car and a person outside the park.  The licence plate is identified to Travis (Chris Sheffield)  Ellie's boyfriend, as ME Tom (christian Clemenson) pointed out she was wearing a Claddagh ring.  Travis is an ROTC cadet and wanted their relationship kept secret until he receives his commission in the navy.  He went to look for her and hung around for 20 minutes.  Natalia says there's more to his story and Horatio replies, "there always is."

As Delko concludes his search for survivors, a dog with a bloody paw approaches him, leading him to a man with a wound on his neck.  The wound is bubbling and ME Tom tells him he's still alive.  Delko has to put a tube from a pen in his throat to enable him to breathe and before doing so, he removes a piece of cloth from his wound.

Delko asks Calleigh (Emily Procter) if she can look after the dog as she was looking for one.  She identifies the material as being a parachute belonging to a weather testing probe.  See everything leads back to those shifty storm chasers.  She finds the probe was fired from a potato gun and constructs one of her own.  The probe is still inside the man and must be removed or it will kill him.

Ryan returns to work and he and Walter examine the probe.  He recalls Pa is the Pascal unit for pressure and is used to measure barometric pressure.  They determine the probe was fired before the tornado struck from the readings.  Thus this is no longer considered an accident.  Leon and Ronnie ID the man as Jared (Phillip Jeanmarie) who wanted to be part of their team.  Leon thinks he's dead and conveniently enough Delko finds a bag of loot in Jared's car causing him to change his mind about him.  He's gone from a poor Vic to criminal.  Well that was quick of him to rush to judgement, especially since the evidence isn't even in yet.

ME Tom finds Ellie was pregnant and Travis knew.  Now his CO also knows and he claims he changed his mind about keeping the baby and was there to apologize.  He asks for a lawyer.  Ellie's cheek has traces of steel wool, ketchup and flour which Natalia thinks she could have had for breakfast.  Oh please - as Walter says you don't eat steel wool.  These can be used to make homemade brass polish.  Travis admits he couldn't help her and she died cos he froze.  She was attacked by Leon and Ronnie.  Jared tried to help her and  he was chased.  Horatio tells them Jared called 911 since that led Ryan and Walter to the CS.  Ronnie blames Leon and Leon adds it was all Ronnie.

Ryan and Walter share a moment, Ryan says Walter did save him as he let go of the lights which allowed him to hold onto the pipe.  Walter turned down his commendation.  They can't Hi-5 cos of Walter's hands and Ryan's knuckle, so they bump shoulders.  Delko tried to make Walter look stupid at the beginning and even called him as such - but Walter adds "it was a tornado."  What would he have done?  Delko's too busy later on trying to turn Jared into a thief just cos he finds the loot in his car.  Doesn't for a second think it could have been planted.  Especially since the evidence showed the probe was fired before the tornado hit.  Not to mention he and Horatio driving through the brunt of the tornado to get here. Don't like Delko, never did since season 1.

Ryan says surviving an F2 tornado will get them free drinks for life.  Also Ryan mentioning being called Dorothy when he returned to work, so that must make Walter Toto.  The tornado was probably the highlight of the episode.  The last disaster Miami had was the tsunami in 3.7 Crime Wave and that was an excuse for a bank heist, so this plot wasn't that original.  The suspects were obvious since there wouldn't be that many people crazy enough to be around in an F2 tornado.

Horatio telling her father, Grant (Louis Herthum) Ellie was with people who care was a nice touch, we haven't seen much of his caring side in  a long time.  Not surprised Jared didn't open his eyes when Delko came round since the last time he was was there set him off on a convulsion, but he sheds a tear.