Directed by Deran Sarafian
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, & Carol Mendelsohn
"Blink" is the first episode of the series. It originally aired September 22, 2004.
Synopsis:
The bodies of two women are found and it is quickly determined that they were killed by the same person. The case leads to a third woman who is completely paralyzed aside from being able to blink.Tropes for the episode:
- And I Must Scream: The otherwise healthy paralyzed woman is suffering from Locked-In Syndrome, meaning she cannot move or speak. A respirator allows her to breathe. This is an actual condition for which there is no cure.
- The Backwards Я: The team finds the letters Б. and И. on a medical case and translate them as B. I., the initials of one of their suspects.
- Can Only Move the Eyes: The paralyzed woman lies flat on her back and can only blink.
- Christianity is Catholic: The episode, and thus the series, opens with Mac sitting quietly in a Catholic church alone at night, looking up at a statue of the Virgin Mary.
- Comatose Canary: Mac believes the woman in the coma is communicating with him by blinking as he asks her questions.
- Converse with the Unconscious: At the hospital, Mac explains to the comatose woman that he'll be photographing her and scraping under her nails for evidence. When he's done, he apologizes for anything that may have made her feel uncomfortable. He visits her later and opens up to her about things he has evidently told no one before.
- Married to the Job: Both Mac and Stella are revealed to be extremely devoted to their profession. He doesn't go home often, even to sleep; she listens to her police scanner even while in the shower.
- Once for Yes, Twice for No: Mac asks the comatose woman to blink twice for yes and once for no. Her condition justifies the Title Drop, inverted that is.
- The Paralyzer: The perp wants to put a woman into Locked-In Syndrome, but accidentally kills the first two he tries it on. His third attempt is successful.
- Remember the New Guy?: Homicide Det. Don Flack did not appear in the back-door pilot from CSI: Miami because the character had not yet been developed, but he shows up here as a full-fledged member of the team.
- Second Episode Introduction: If you count Miami's "MIA/NYC Nonstop" as the first episode, Det. Flack must've had that day off.
- Series Continuity Error: Possible. Mac tells the victim that he sat with Claire the way he's sitting with her, but it is revealed later in the series that her body was never found after 9/11. Perhaps he was referring to a previous illness?? If so, we have a serious case of The Unreveal.
- Start to Corpse: The very first scene has Mac being called to the site of a body dump.
- Tragic Keepsake: Mac says he got rid of everything that reminded him of Claire except for a beach ball he found while cleaning out a closet because:Mac [to the comatose woman]: Her breath is still in there.
