Identity Crisis

Season 2, Episode 13, Aired
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Episode Summary

Grissom's nemesis, serial killer Paul Millander (Matt O'Toole), reappears and claims a third victim in this gripping episode. The latest slaying matches Millander's previous killings in that it recreates his father's murder, which Millander witnessed as a boy. In each case, the victim is shot once through the chest while lying in a bathtub. A nearby tape recorder contains the person's supposed suicide message. All three victims share the same birthday of Aug. 17---the date Millander's father was slain---with the years in descending order from 1959. So presumably, the killer's next target was born Aug. 17, 1956...which just happens to be Grissom's birthday.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (6)

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  • "Nerve-wracking" is as close as I can find to "chilling", which was my gut reaction to this conclusion of the Paul Millander story arc.

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By persekore, Jan 06, 2007 Report Abuse
    There were several things that really caught me about this episode, the first being the chill that I can still feel, even ten minutes and one cup of tea after seeing it for the second time. It wasn't a scary episode, by my definition, and it didn't bother me, but it did stick in my spine, somehow.

    I was glad that they waited before bringing Millander back into the series. Giving him a bit of time to be dismissed, save for one reference which acknowledges that he's still an active threat, seems to help him from becoming a cheap suspense trick, and added to his character. Paul was more than content to wait until the time was right, and the series was as well, which added to the impact of this episode.

    O'Toole deserves credit for the way he managed to act Judge Mason. The entire bearing of the man was different, the confidence he exuded that had me drawn to him, and the absence of the stutter that characterized Paul Millander made it clear that Mason wasn't just an act that was put on occasionally; he was a man, with a son and a family, and I got the sense that those things mattered. At the same time, I was as convinced as Grissom that he was the same man that we had seen before. There was something in him that was Millander to the bone, and it was very well portrayed.

    I enjoy seeing intelligence rewarded, although one might call death a dubious reward, and I can't say that there is any victory that Millander could gain that would fit into any conception of justice. The way this arc ended, though, left it with neither man gaining a clear victory over the other, whether or not Millander achieved his own ends, and I enjoyed the way that played out.

    Looking forward to other such poignant characters in the future.moreless

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  • This episode was amazing!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Shin_Inu, Oct 22, 2006 Report Abuse
    The plot of this particular episode was very clever and magnificent. Twists and turns that some would've never expected. Just amazing and brilliant. One of my personal favorites. I particularly liked how you couldn't quite tell what Millander was planning up until the end. It was hard to even tell if he'd get caught! I particularly enjoyed the fact that you have to interpret the evidence he leaves behind differently than regular evidence. It just blew me away that he was trying to tell a story with the evidence he was leaving behind. This episode was a fine conclusion to the Paul Millander story that began in the pilot episode of the CSI series.moreless

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  • The return of Paul Millander.

    9.6
    "Superb"
    By iceecatz, Mar 15, 2006 Report Abuse
    The final installment in the three episode story arc involving Paul Millander begins with a driver picking up a hitchhiker (Millander) and then turning up dead in a tub in a warehouse out of Vegas' jurisdiction. Grissom and Catherine are called to the scene because Grissom is addressed on the "suicide" tape. We learn that Grissom's birthday is the same day as all the previous victims and that his birth year is next in sequence for the killer. This time the killer is purposely leaving evidence behind. He leaves an ancient hair fiber with the victim. He leaves his prints on the bars of the jail for Grissom to run. Millander is both confident in his ability to outwit Grissom and ready to reveal himself. The team slowly connects the dots, researching Millander's past to find his mother and analyzing the DNA in the hair fiber. Unfortunately the hair fiber belongs to a woman. However, Catherine manages to lift a fiber from old clothing at Millander's mother's house and takes a stack of baseball cards with a print on them. This combination of evidence shows Millander/Mason/Paula Millander are the same person. However it is Sara who figures out that Paul Millander was once Paula. Millander is arrested and brought to trial. He chooses to represent himself causing his case to be the last on the docket that day. He uses this delay to escape from prison using a fake ID badge made from Grissom's ID. Catherine catches up with Grissom as he is leaving the lab and points out an irregularity in the tapes of the victims causing Grissom to leave the lab running. He rushes to Mrs. Millander's house only to find she has been stabbed. He then walks to the bathroom to find Millander in the tub with a suicide tape. Millander did manage to outwit him, choosing death over being convicted of his crimes.moreless

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  • The final instalment of the Paul Milander story line. Yet another unexpected twist in the enigma that is Paul Milander.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By edmorita, Jan 14, 2006 Report Abuse
    The final instalment of the Paul Milander story line. Yet another unexpected twist in the enigma that is Paul Milander. Throughout the entire episode, just when you think you know whay is going on, the show takes a totally unexpected turn. Proof again that Paul Milander is in every way Grissom's equal, but in the very end, Milander out smarts the wiley CSI for one last time.

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  • For sure one of my most favorite episodes.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By thepackleader, Oct 18, 2005 Report Abuse
    Wow, fantastic episode to say the least. Paul Milander is back once again. This time he has Grissom and the whole team rattled. A reference on a suicide tape to it being Grissom's birthday stirs up some serious concern that he may be next. In Paul Milander style he plants evidence for them to find and follow. Seriously playing them all, including Grissom. Milander's taunting style really spices things up just as it did in the first Paul Mialnder episode Anonymous. Grissom really get ruffled when it is mentioned that Milander is really intelligent. Saying that he may say that Milander is intelligent but he doesn't like it when others refer to him the same way!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Ths is the second time Grissom draws his weapon. The first time was in episode 1x06 Who Are You? Edit
    • Goof: At the very beginning of the episode, before Peter Walker picks up Paul Millander, the windshield wipers of the car move at changing speeds between outside and inside shots. Edit
    • Grissom's birthday is August 17 1956. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Krize identity (Identity Crisis) Edit
    • Music: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams Edit
    • Marks the last appearance of Matt O'Toole as Paul Millander. He previously appeared in the Pilot episode and the episode Anonymous. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Catherine: I re-read the backgrounds of Millander's victims. I think that he slipped up. You know how every victim reads the suicide note "I'd like to say 'I love you' to my mother"? Well, Pete Walker had no mother. (beat) She died in childbirth. Grissom: He never slips up. Edit
    • Paul Millander: Aren't you wondering about your birthday? Grissom: No. Paul Millander: Why I didn't kill you, since you were next? Grissom: No. Paul Millander: I've already picked my next victim, if you're curious. Grissom: It doesn't matter, Paul. You'll be in jail. Edit
    • Greg: Okay. The hair you found in Pauline Millander's bedroom two x chromosomes-- female. Grissom: You didn't beep me for that. Greg: Well, Sara had me compare it to the hair found in the tub at the crime scene. They're a perfect match. (beat) DNA identical. Catherine: So, her brother planted it? Greg: Well... Not exactly. Sara: Yeah, he planted it. He planted his own hair. Catherine: Millander. It's female hair. Sara: With endogenous testosterone. Pauline was taking male hormone injections. Grissom: Why? Sara: My theory? Sex change. Catherine: You know, when I was back at the house I saw several photographs of Pauline and nothing of Paul. In fact, the only proof of Paul is a hidden baseball card. Sara: There is no birth or death record for Pauline. Grissom: Paul killed Pauline. But he didn't murder her. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • The GSR on the victim's face is a reference back to Season 1 episode "Anonymous" where the mask with the two different sides that Millander showed Grissom. Edit
    • Catherine (picks up long hair from tub): Hello Dolly! Hello Dolly is a 1969 film in addition to being broadway musical. Edit

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