Warning: Spoilers for CSI: Vegas season 2, episode 2!CSI: Vegas season 2 seems to be hinting at a dark twist concerning Catherine Willows, but the series might actually be setting up a clever double bluff. Catherine Willows is back on CSI: Vegas in season 2, and as the crew is wont to do, she has brought her demons with her. Just like Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle spent CSI: Vegas season 1 being stalked by a killer with a vendetta against them, Marg Helgenberger’s Catherine has joined the titular team to get help with a personal investigation she is undertaking.
Catherine is searching for Grace, the student she mentored while she was still working for the FBI. Catherine is convinced that a sketchy casino is involved in Grace’s disappearance but can’t prove it, and the fact that the casino’s board of directors kicked her off and barred her from the premises doesn’t help. It does, however, make Catherine look a little unhinged when she shows up looking for answers, and this is where CSI: Vegas season 2 could be setting up a double twist.
Much like CSI: Vegas season 2’s True Detective-inspired monster turned out to be just a horror enthusiast’s weird creation in episode 2, the series could be setting up another twist that turns out to be a fake-out. Catherine’s pursuit of her vanished ingénue has led her to think she was seeing the missing girl in crowds twice now, only for her to then realize she’s imagining things. It seems Catherine might be losing her mind as she attempts to unravel the mystery of Grace’s disappearance. However, that could be exactly what the creators of CSI: Vegas want viewers to think.
Why Catherine (Probably) Won’t Be Wrong In CSI: Vegas Season 2
Judging by how often Catherine thinks she sees Grace, viewers could reasonably assume she is not fit to command an investigation into the girl’s disappearance. However, much like Gil and Sara, the CSI veteran is likely to be proven right by the end of the season. Since Catherine has been one of the franchise’s heroines for over a decade, it is much more likely that she’s going to be proven correct judging by the way that the case has panned out so far. Already, one of Catherine’s associates at the casino was beaten up and threatened when she got too close to the truth.
While Catherine seems to be too attached to the case to remain objective, the odds are that she is on the trail of Grace’s attackers, and they don’t want her to know it. Catherine’s obsession with tracking down her student makes her seem overly invested, but her instincts have proven her right so far, and she did find someone’s hidden grave in the desert, even if it may not be Grace’s resting place. CSI: Vegas season 2’s disappointing premiere proved that the show doesn’t always pull off clever reveals, but Catherine’s plot seems like an ideal setup for the series. By casting doubt on the CSI franchise veteran’s sanity, CSI: Vegas season 2 can convince viewers that Catherine is making up the case in her head, only to reveal that the villains have been trying to convince her of the same thing to keep her off their trail.
Episodes of CSI: Vegas air Thursdays on CBS.