1. Lady Heather’s Box (3x15)
This is the ultimate episode in the life of Catherine Willows as it brings closure to a big part of her history with the death of her ex-husband, Eddie. Catherine & Eddie’s blow-up at Lindsey’s play; Catherine rescuing Lindsey from the car filling with water; Catherine being told by Sara that she can’t be on the case; Catherine getting the call that they found Eddie’s body and Lindsey looking at her through the glass door, instantly knowing what happened by the look on her mother’s face; Catherine staring at the small bullet hole in Eddie’s body in the autopsy room, then being told by Doc “You can’t say goodbye in an autopsy room”; Catherine continuing to work on the case involving Lady Heather, even though her mind is elsewhere. Catherine confronting “pink-haired lady” in the interrogation room and being pulled out by Catherine. Catherine crying uncontrollably on her bed while being comforted by her daughter.
2. Built To Kill Part 2 (7x02)
The intrigue actually begins in the final few minutes of Part 1, where Catherine wakes up in the hotel with no recollection of how she got there or what happened to her, and ends up doing her own rape kit. Part 2 brings a continuation of that horror along with so much more. In Part 2, it’s the car crash, Lindsey being kidnapped, her rescue, and finally Catherine’s estranged father, Sam Braun, being gunned down in public and dying in Catherine’s arms.
3. If I Had A Hammer (9x21)
This is another episode that brings back Catherine’s past in a slightly different way. This time, we are drawn back to one of Catherine’s cases as a rookie CSI. We see Supervisor Catherine come to the fore here, even though the outcome has serious ramifications for her. She’s trusting her team to prove or disprove her initial findings of this case more than a decade ago. It’s great to see her up on the roof, and her astonishment as she discovers the hammer in the tree. She also seems to be having fun when taking apart the interior of the car. Some great Catherine/Brass moments as well, including the “don’t let him live rent-free in your head” scene. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, the episode also reunites Marg with Henry Thomas – who worked together on the movie “Happy Face Murders”. It was great to see the subtle reference to that in the show when Catherine discovers his fingerprint has a unique “smiley face” design.
4. Burked (2x01)
We go back to the early seasons for this classic. This is the introduction to Sam Braun, who at this point is just a “family friend”. Their relationship hasn’t yet become estranged as Catherine hasn’t discovered that he’s actually her father. This episode gives us a glimpse of Catherine dealing with a case from a semi-personal level.
5. After the Show (4x8)
Not only does Catherine have to deal with a killer who’s fixated on her, but she also has to deal with a pissed off Sara, who feels that Catherine took her case. This is a great look at how Catherine – with her previous career as a stripper – has trained herself to use men’s attractions to her as an advantage. Probably the greatest part of this episode is how she quietly teaches Sara how to use those advantages. “When you’re in my shoes, you’ll do the same thing.”
6. A Little Murder (3x4)
Another early season episode. This one shows Catherine’s guts and determination. After being assaulted while processing a crime scene, Catherine gathers evidence from herself, puts on a jumpsuit, and goes back into the house to continue processing the scene. As they gather evidence and narrow down the list of suspects to just a handful of workers, she goes face to face with her attacker and gathers the evidence she needs to convict him.
7. King Baby (5x15)
The struggle for Catherine to prove herself as a supervisor increases as the death of a very powerful man in Vegas is found dead on his front steps. When new lab director Conrad Ecklie declares “all hands on deck” and puts Gil in charge, Catherine isn’t amused. “I need help, not supervision.” She doesn’t hide her frustration after learning Gil & Sofia have finished with the autopsy and didn’t wait for her to arrive. She aims her wrath at him, even though he’s clueless as to why she’s upset. Making matters worse, her camera with the photos from the crime scene is stolen, and they end up being shown on the local news. When all is said and done, it seems that Gil finally got the message of how he had still been treating her as a subordinate instead of an equal. “I missed your passion and your tenacity. I even missed your tush.”
8. The Execution of Catherine Willows (3x6)
This was, in a way, a predecessor of “If I Had A Hammer”. This episode brings back one of Catherine’s previous cases – a case from her rookie year as a CSI. A man on death row is being executed – a serial killer at WLVU - and the execution is stayed at the last moment. Now an appeal is granted because of new hair analysis. With the granting of an appeal, all of the evidence in the three cases have been reopened. Now another murder is committed in the same fashion. A copycat, right? After the evidence from the initial cases are reviewed, the execution is back on. It’s another episode in which her integrity as a CSI was challenged, yet the evidence proving her right once again.
9. Inside The Box (3x23)
Catherine’s relationship with Sam Braun takes a serious about-turn in this one as she has evidence to prove that, not only was Sam a killer, but also that he’s her father – and that he’s basically known all along. He hired a gang of thieves to rob a bank – stealing only a certain safety deposit box, which contained evidence that could have incriminated him in a murder. After getting the run-around from Sam, she tests her own DNA against the sample of blood on the evidence. It not only proves her paternity, but unfortunately also gives Sam cause to have the case against him be thrown out.
10. Slaves of Las Vegas (2x08)
On the sheer value of an overall CSI episode (Catherine’s part not withstanding), this would probably be even much higher on the list. The reasoning being that it introduces us to the ever-wonderful, ever-enigmatic, greatest CSI recurring character, Lady Heather. Oh, and I also love Sara & Warrick’s “B” story as well. Focusing on this from a Catherine perspective, however, there are some wonderful moments – like Cath & Gil ‘playing in the sandbox’ to uncover the body; Catherine’s short scene with the plastic surgeon – “Trust me-- I've been in her shoes. I got out of them.”; Catherine processing the ‘play room’ with Nick; Catherine, Gil & Brass first meeting Lady H; who can forget one of the greatest Catherine scenes ever – her talk with Lady H about their daughters as Catherine is gathering evidence? There’s also Catherine & Gil tracking down the owner of the watch.
11. Felonious Monk (2x17)
This is one of my favorite early-season episodes. We see Catherine remembering back to her stripper days and how she ended up on the path to becoming a CSI. We owe it all to her mentor, Jimmy Tadero – and the murder of Catherine’s best friend, Stephanie. As Stephanie’s convicted killer is on his cancer deathbed, he still claims his innocence, thus prompting Catherine to look through the case evidence. What she finds is heartbreaking. It seems that Jimmy, who was also very close to Stephanie, decided to make the evidence fit the crime, thus fabricating a crucial piece of evidence to convict the wrong guy. With Jimmy furious with her for not only discovering the truth, but also for charging him with obstruction, Catherine still stands by him and says she’ll see him through this and help him as much as she can. It doesn’t hurt that Jimmy Tadero is played by the wonderful Bruce McGill either.
12. The Finger (2x14)
This may have been called the “what to do when you’re in the middle of a kidnapping case and how to leave clues for your CSI team to find” episode. Or maybe just “CSI 101”. When Catherine gets pulled in the middle of a kidnapping case, she does everything she can to leave her team clues: mark the money with glow-in-the-dark paint; preserve evidence by packing the finger in a glass of ice, then inconspicuously put the glass on the table in front of your co-worker who is eating there at the café with her boyfriend; leave skid marks on the road as you turn in to a driveway where you’re going to stop; drag your feet on the ground so they will be able to see your trail; drop the glow marker on the ground as you walk, so your team will know the money has been marked. After doing all of this and realizing that it was all an elaborate set up by the guy you thought was the victim, give him a jeerful applause for a job well done. Then remind him that he’s in jail.
13. Pool Shark (11x2)
The ghost of Sam Braun makes its presence again as the owner of the casino where the shark was in the pool was an associate of Sam back in the day. He doesn’t let her forget it either. “Sam’s little girl”. However, in the end, she earns his respect. The owner of a rival casino also gives her grief, but she handles it in quite the same manner that Sam used to. (no, I don’t mean killing them. I meant charming them)
14. Weeping Willows (5x22)
As great of a Marg & Catherine episode as this is, it usually doesn’t come high up on my list of favorites, and I’m not sure why. It may be because the scene I remember first & foremost is the very end with Grissom leaving Catherine standing in the middle of the PD hallway looking flabbergasted after his somewhat insensitive comments. However, this episode does have a lot of Catherine goodness, including her meeting a guy at a bar, having a little kissing action, then seeing him turning into someone totally different. We see Catherine’s mother, Lily, for the first time here as well, which is a wonderful addition to Catherine’s backstory. We also see Catherine going into “protector” mode to keep her family from a very possible threat. A big revelation for Catherine is the possibility that she may have been involved with a murderer. Then there’s the fact that she tries to cover up the fact that she met the guy, until it all snowballs into something she can’t control and is forced to face the consequences – which is not only the possibility of her being a key witness, but mainly the disappointment & hurt in her fellow co-worker & good friend.
15. Down the Drain (5x02)
Catherine getting down & dirty. Enough said. Okay, maybe there’s a little more to say about this one, like Catherine sloshing through the sewers & storm drains with Warrick (and looking damn fine while doing it); Catherine & Warrick’s ‘almost’ moment; There’s even a nice Catherine/Sara processing scene. (hey, I’ll take anything I can get with those two) There’s also a cute Catherine quip when talking with the bomb guy – “I don’t have a problem with authority”. Haha I think we know otherwise, Cath.
16. Boom (1x13)
Some may overlook this episode since it was in season 1 and the series was just gaining momentum, but this is a great episode for Catherine. First of all, she begins as the CSI with the most experience about bombs, and even explains some of it to Sara. When Nick finds himself in trouble and may be charged with murder, it’s Catherine who convinces the Sheriff to let her take over the case for 24 hours, and eventually is able to find the real killer, getting Nick off the hook. We get to see an early look at the tenacity & determination that makes Catherine the great investigator she is.
17. Crow’s Feet (5x04)
As much as I keep believing that I’m not a big fan of Season 5, this is the 4th S5 episode to make the list already. I guess the season had its good Catherine moments, with this episode being one of them. In this episode, we have Catherine questioning her age & looks, as two cases end up with women who have had cosmetic procedures being dead. We start off with a nice Catherine /Doc /David /Vartann scene as they think they might need a quarantine. Catherine gets a poignant pre-credit zinger: “Okay, it's my turn now. Clear the scene.” That’s my Catherine. The Catherine self-scrutiny begins after meeting with Dr Malaga, who seems to be fixated on her, even going as far as to create a CGI of how Catherine would look with some cosmetic procedures. The only thing I have issues with in this episode is that I wish it had been Catherine & Sara working together instead of Catherine & Nick. I think them trying to show Catherine's unease & acceptance of the subject matter would have shown much stronger if the questions Nick presented to Catherine would have come from another woman, like Sara, instead of a man. Then again, the question rises: Would Dr Malaga have still focused on just Catherine if Sara had been with her? Would he have avoided looking at Sara and kept talking to Catherine? Or would he have made both of them feel uncomfortable? I also wish they would have brought up more of Catherine’s past as a stripper (or at least some flashbacks) to make it more poignant from Catherine’s perspective.
18. Secrets & Flies (6x06)
Like “Slaves of Las Vegas”, this is another overall episode that would rank higher if you don’t take this from the Catherine perspective. This is our introduction to the new DNA tech, Wendy Simms. We get the “bugman” on a case by himself. The wonderful Jenny O’Hara goes up against Marg, and of course, the best part is that it’s a Catherine/Sara episode. From a Catherine perspective, we get the first meeting with Wendy. Catherine seems taken aback a bit by her directness. A cute Catherine/ Warrick/ Hodges moment (“You’re married. Don’t flirt”), which reminds us of the wonderful chemistry between C&W. There are a few cute Catherine/Gil moments as well. Those moments that were so prevalent in the first few seasons of the show, had become much rarer, so the ones here were nice to savor, including: “what would you do without me?”, “it’s always good to know what you don’t know”, and “are we having a philosophical discussion here or am I being reprimanded?” Along with Catherine & Sara working the case, you’ve got a bit of a C/S role reversal when it comes to stuck-up Dr Ryan. Catherine gets agitated and it’s Sara who steps in to calm things down. I also can’t forget to mention the reappearance of Tony Amendola as Professor Rambar, the handwriting expert. Love him.
19. Nesting Dolls (5x13)
As much as I love seeing the ladies together, that’s as much as I hate seeing them angry with each other. And boy, does this one have the Cath/Sara angst. To counteract the Cath/Sara blow-up and angst, this episode does have some lovely Catherine/Gil moments, especially at the beginning where he comes in early to help her chip away at the blocks of tarred bodies. When he damages evidence, he sheepishly decides it’s time to leave. And the end with Catherine & Gil’s staring match. Tension? Angst? Jealousy, perhaps? There’s also the cute Cath/Warrick/Nick moment in the lab where they’re discussing how “complicated” is the whole point of dating.
20. Redrum (7x13)
As with “Weeping Willows”, this episode may not be amongst the top of my favorites, but yet it’s a very important Catherine episode. Maybe it’s not a favorite because it’s “be mad at Catherine” hour, and the fact that she has no choice in any of it. The greatest part of this is how Catherine holds her head high when facing the wrath of her teammates after they discover they’ve been duped. She answers questions from them honestly, and even asks for Sara’s thoughts after she’d been silent on voicing her opinion.
21. Leaving Las Vegas (7x11)
It’s another round for Catherine & Adam Novak, beginning right away with her being interrogated by him on the witness stand. The verdict goes in his favor, but she’s not convinced & does more digging. Gil gives Catherine short notice that he’s going on sabbatical and she’ll be in charge. Catherine & Nick go on a road trip to Larkston, finding & processing evidence. Need I mention the part about Catherine interviewing Guffey in prison, and unbuttoning her blouse? I’m sure that was the first scene to pop in your mind when seeing the episode title, right?
22. The panty sniffer (10x16)
Catherine & Vartann (he’s now got a first name) ‘playing house’ in a hotel room. Sadly, it’s all a disguise and just undercover work to nail a couple of drug dealers. We get a mention of Lindsey. We finally hear some about Lou’s background, his divorce, his son who had been living with him, but has now left. Cath ends up in a struggle with one of the bad guys and Lou hesitates, but kills him before he can kill Catherine.
23. A Thousand Days On Earth (8x13)
The senseless death of a child always brings out the worst (or is it the best?) in Catherine. In this case, it causes her to lose her focus and accuse an innocent (but only slightly) man, when it was just a covered-up accident that didn’t even involve him. The most telling scene for Catherine being caught up & losing focus is with Gil & Hodges in the lab, when she gets upset at Hodges when he mentions that the girl was pretty. (H: Did I just piss her off? G: yeah, but she was already heading that way when she came in.) The final scene with Leo in the parking garage was scary and a bit of a realization for Catherine on how what she does as a CSI can have a major effect of people’s lives.
24. Living Legend (7x09)
Another episode for the ghost of Sam Braun to make an important appearance, through the memories of Catherine this time. Legendary mobster Mickey Dunn (who had asked a teenage Catherine to meet up with him back in the day to show her “the time of her life”) who had mysteriously vanished back in the 70’s has returned with a vengeance. The car that he supposedly vanished in was found, along with a skeletal body (which wasn’t Dunn). Meanwhile, several acquaintances of Mickey from back in the day mysteriously keep ending up dead. Catherine seems to be the one to give us the back story of it all with her ties to Sam Braun. When Mickey finally reveals himself as being alive, he recognizes Catherine as Sam’s daughter. It was Sam who kept Mickey from showing up to meet Catherine that night. And Catherine sets the record straight with Greg – “My father was not a mob guy.”
25. Feeling The Heat (4x04)
Again it’s the death of a child that brings out the emotions for Catherine. Here it’s the senseless death of a child who was left in the back seat of a car on a very hot day. Unlike “A Thousand Days On Earth”, Catherine is able to control her feelings internally as she sympathizes with the Winstons and believes the initial summation that they accidentally left him there. You can almost see Catherine thinking “been there, almost done that”. After collecting evidence, she can’t seem to comprehend her discovery that they did it on purpose because they thought the child was ill like their first one and they couldn’t stand to lose a second child the same way.
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