Max is in danger, and Chris is unconscious.
For a series on its last episode after a recent cancellation order, CSI: Vegas threw viewers straight into the action from the opening scene.
As fans say goodbye to the CSI team we’ve grown fond of for the last three years, CSI: Vegas Season 3 Episode 10 gave fans a conflicting farewell.
The revolving theme for this season has been the AI robots. Max still has Ocho in her lab from CSI: Vegas Season 3 Episode 5, “It Was Automation.”
So, naturally, everyone believed the bad guy they were after was the company’s founder, Truman Thomas.
But on the last episode of the series, fans got the best misdirect we’ve seen in a while.
‘Cause the bad guy was dead and, in fact, innocent all along. He was just a pawn in the wheel of a bigger plan.
Throughout the hour, an unnamed bad guy held Max hostage in a maze of tunnels beneath Las Vegas.
This misdirect was a bit out of left field, as there were zero hints all season to assume that everything related to the robots would trace back to foreign spies.
Did anyone see the twist coming that the robots were part of a secret mission from Saudi Arabian spies?
Seeing a familiar face from CSI: Vegas Season 2 return was a satisfying part of the series farewell. Sonya, the coroner that Jack replaced, helped the team find out who had Max.
It was also good to see that Allie’s decision to make everyone part of a team worked out in the end.
Each group played a part in putting the puzzle together, which led Josh and Chavez to the right place and time to rescue Max.
Although Max didn’t wait around for someone to save her. She did her part to save herself with an assist from her team.
But overall, the ending felt a bit forced and rushed. But what should we expect from a shortened season with only 10 episodes compared to previous seasons ending with over 20?
A lot got left in the air, and there wasn’t much of a conclusive goodbye for much of the cast.
Josh got reinstated after spending the season on limited duty and thin ice with Max. Penny finally decided to commit to Jack and set a date for their wedding.
And it looks like Max is finally on the path to a happily ever after with a man we had no idea about until the final episode.
How does a foreign spy know more about our favorite supervisor than we do? Not cool!
We don’t know how Chris turned out. He only became conscious before the show went off, but he didn’t look too good.
Then, there was the mess of a love triangle between Chavez, Josh, and Allie. The chemistry between Allie and Josh lingered long after the credits ran, as did the disappointment on Chavez’s face as the two walked away together.
Should we assume they finally explored their relationship on a personal level? Or do they stay friends and avoid the mess of dating one’s boss?
Max finally got rid of Ocho. But what about that injection she gave herself? Did she really put coded DNA into her body? Will she be able to retrieve it to use to bring down all the bad guys?
We didn’t see a goodbye for our favorite genius team dad. Beau was the group’s underrated star, yet he had little in the way of a final scene to bid fans goodbye.
Likewise for Catherine. The finale marks the second time we’ve had to say goodbye to CSI Willows. She was the only remaining cast member on the reboot that was also on the original.
Since the series is ending, seeing some other former members return for a brief scene would have been nostalgic. Grissom (William Petersen) and Sidle (Jorja Fox) appeared in CSI: Vegas Season 1 after leaving the original CSI years ago.
Or they could have brought back others who haven’t been on the reboot, like Greg (Eric Szmanda) or Nick (George Eads).
Overall, CSI: Vegas was an interesting attempt at reviving a past successful franchise. But the remake failed to capture the same pizzazz and excitement of the original despite having some of the OG cast return.
The final episode did not hit the mark as well as it could for a final episode. It did not do as well as achieving the final episode vibe that other shows master.
But that seems to be on par with the endings of many of this season’s series, such as The Good Doctor, Blue Bloods, and Station 19.
Fans have started petitions for many different series facing cancellations, but one hasn’t been started for CSI: Vegas.
Is that a sign that it wasn’t as much of a hit as the network wanted it to be? Will they try to remake another CSI spinoff, like CSI: NY or CSI: Miami?
What did you think of the way that CSI: Vegas ended things? Are you sad to see the series go? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
You can watch CSI: Vegas online right now!
Sara Trimble is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow her on X.
