"Bobby..you're free."
Absolutely riveting, emotionally potent episode of CRIMINAL INTENT finally brings the Nicole Wallace story to its conclusion. This is as good as it gets. Robert Goren's life has been through the proverbial ringer in more ways than one. I wish down the road his life had ended better, because Lord knows he's had his share of crisis. A long term illness his mother finally succumbed to. A junkie/gambler brother(Tony Goldwyn, in a heartbreaking cameo)who falls prey to Nicole Wallace--his body found at the street below from his apartment, it is discovered that Frank Goren was poisoned in the old Nicole Wallace method, through a needle, injected with succinylcholine. The truth that Bobby was in fact the son of a notorious serial killer(the late Roy Scheider, who was especially chilling in his part)is made known to Eames and boss, Captain Danny Ross(which has Goren going ballistic because he's considered a suspect in his own brother's murder). Attempting to visit his mentor's serial killer daughter, Goren finds out she was in a coma after biting her tongue out. Wallace does appear to be sending Goren and Eames on a wild goose chase to find her(or Goren's missing nephew, Donny)..that is until a heart found in a special suite is DNA matched to Nicole Wallace which has Bobby in a state of denial. John Glover is nothing short of exceptional, returning as Goren's profiling mentor, Dr. Declan Gage, who is believed to have been poisoned by Wallace, just not with a fatal dose. Declan, however, may have some crucial knowledge as to the whole situation involving both Wallace and Frank. The final ten minutes in the interrogation room between D'Onofrio and Glover is sensational..the acting by these two is powerful stuff. The Goren character, his damage and mental anguish, is wore so effectively in D'Onofrio's performance. To get such quality acting on a television show should be commended. The star power in 45 minutes, from Olivia d'Abo to Goldwyn to Glover, no matter how small their parts might be, is amazing. It is something fascinating to see that the Nicole Wallace character ends in such a rather non-spectacular way, completely unheralded, yet through Glover's unflappable Declan, its quite a revelation.
Absolutely riveting, emotionally potent episode of CRIMINAL INTENT finally brings the Nicole Wallace story to its conclusion. This is as good as it gets. Robert Goren's life has been through the proverbial ringer in more ways than one. I wish down the road his life had ended better, because Lord knows he's had his share of crisis. A long term illness his mother finally succumbed to. A junkie/gambler brother(Tony Goldwyn, in a heartbreaking cameo)who falls prey to Nicole Wallace--his body found at the street below from his apartment, it is discovered that Frank Goren was poisoned in the old Nicole Wallace method, through a needle, injected with succinylcholine. The truth that Bobby was in fact the son of a notorious serial killer(the late Roy Scheider, who was especially chilling in his part)is made known to Eames and boss, Captain Danny Ross(which has Goren going ballistic because he's considered a suspect in his own brother's murder). Attempting to visit his mentor's serial killer daughter, Goren finds out she was in a coma after biting her tongue out. Wallace does appear to be sending Goren and Eames on a wild goose chase to find her(or Goren's missing nephew, Donny)..that is until a heart found in a special suite is DNA matched to Nicole Wallace which has Bobby in a state of denial. John Glover is nothing short of exceptional, returning as Goren's profiling mentor, Dr. Declan Gage, who is believed to have been poisoned by Wallace, just not with a fatal dose. Declan, however, may have some crucial knowledge as to the whole situation involving both Wallace and Frank. The final ten minutes in the interrogation room between D'Onofrio and Glover is sensational..the acting by these two is powerful stuff. The Goren character, his damage and mental anguish, is wore so effectively in D'Onofrio's performance. To get such quality acting on a television show should be commended. The star power in 45 minutes, from Olivia d'Abo to Goldwyn to Glover, no matter how small their parts might be, is amazing. It is something fascinating to see that the Nicole Wallace character ends in such a rather non-spectacular way, completely unheralded, yet through Glover's unflappable Declan, its quite a revelation.