Episode 75
Locard's Exchange (04-10-05)

Brief Synopsis: In a race against the clock, Jordan, Garret and Woody attempt to track down evidence to a string of brutal murders which occurred over two decades ago in order to keep the alleged killer behind bars.  Meanwhile, a hit-and-run accident sends Lily's mother to intensive care as she fights for her life.

So technically this episode had a few problems for me, but since 80% of the episode was really character based I’ll let them slide.  The one thing that didn't jive with me, however was the hair in the watch (1- way to easy to find the hair and 2-would the hair still be any good?).  I know they needed a solution, but it was way too easy and didn’t ring true.  It was a bit of a let down.  Especially after everything else they’d tried so far had led them nowhere.  Here they are in this big crunch working furiously away and then the watch falls into Jordan’s hands…   The other point that bothered me is the hospital wouldn’t give out information to Garret about Lily’s mom—he’s not family.  They’d tell Lily directly.

That said—this episode was more a focus on the emotional psyche of the characters.  And that I found to be quite entertaining and telling.

First we have the whole triangle between Bug-Lily-Matt (and you can add Garret, but he was more acting as a deterrent to Matt.  He's protective of Lily and thinks Matt is all-wrong for her and he made sure he did his best to keep Matt out of the way-even tells him Lily can do better).  I kind of like the rapport Matt and Lily have got going.  It’s filled with tension—and that makes it fun to watch.  And the two are total opposites so it just makes for fun scenes between them.

Bug's had a thing for Lily for so long now...  I just don’t think those two will ever end up together—Lily turned him down once and she’s really never shown any more interest than friendship in Bug.  That said I actually liked Bug’s testy personality today...we never see him cranky or upset.  Here he is unable to go to Lily either, because of this case.  Garret needs him in the lab.  He just wants to go comfort her and can’t.  I think he realizes Matt's trying to move in.  I don’t think there’s anything Bug can do to stop Matt.  In fact I think Lily’s starting to succumb to Matt’s sarcastic charm.

Lily: Poor Lily.  She’s had a rough relationship with her mother.  And for once she stands up and tells her mother to butt out of her life and the next thing Lily sees is her mother crumpled on the street, struck by a car.  They had me believing she’d be okay at first.  When Lily learned her mother had taken a turn for the worst though I figured the end was in sight.  I think Lily managed to gain some measure of peace in the end with her little speech and one last look from her mother.

Jordan and Walcott:  I was never a fan of Walcott (she’s the one you love to hate—great addition to the show—need someone like that).  I really liked her in today's episode.  I think she showed more compassion than I've ever seen from her.  She and Jordan were great together.  They’ve always been mortal enemies, but today they managed to be…well I’d go so far as to say compatible colleagues.  I love Woody's comments throughout—especially the one about them being two peas in a pod.  The look Jordan gave him was great.  Neither of them consider themselves to be like each other (and they're extremely different people, yet oh so similar) but they do both want to see justice done and they strive to serve the greater good.  Plus they’re both are willing to 'push the limits' to get this done.  To top it off, both were threatened by Emmett Parker—the killer.  It was a good episode for those two.  It gave them both a mutual respect for one another.

I loved Woody’s comment about Jordan and Walcott being so much alike.  I’ve been saying that from the beginning.  It’s nice to hear someone agree with me.

Emmett Parker was down right freaky.  I would have been scared as all hell and let Woody be on me ‘like feathers on tar’ (as he put it) till they had him back in his prison cell.

Garret: Well he's just in one big jumbled mess.  I don’t see anything heading anywhere between him and Lily, though he did get a little possessive.  Love the discussion Lily and Jordan have in the teaser about Garret and Walcott and the ‘tie’.   He still has feelings for Walcott...how that will get resolved is anyone's guess.  They’ve both mellowed a little though…the door’s still open with those two, though it does seem unlikely things will resume after Garret learned she was pregnant—with another man’s child.  Still, he does reach out to her at the end.  She pulls away though.

The plot was successful in providing great tension and emotional heartache, which in turn made our characters personality develop a bit more.  I'm all for seeing our beloved characters grow.

I did like the title too.  It was a fitting title since in the end (however feebly) it was the theory of Locard’s Exchange that proved Emmett’s guilt.

4 out of 5 Dead Bodies—a good, tense, emotional episode.

NOTE: Locard's Exchange Principal.

Every time an individual comes in contact with a place or another individual, something of that individual is left behind at the place, and something of that place is taken away with the individual. If your Aunt Bertha gives you a big hug and walks away, fibers from her clothes will be on your clothes and fibers from your clothes will be on hers. Your hair is constantly falling out. You leave it all over the place. Just look around your house. You pick up carpet fibers on your shoes, dirt from the ground. Your skin flakes off.