Directed by David Jackson
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn, Pam Veasey & Bill Haynes
"Heart of Glass" is the 16th episode of Season 3, and the 63rd overall. It originally aired February 14, 2007.
Synopsis:
A dead woman and a spent bullet are found in the bathtub of an apartment not belonging to her, but she has no gunshot wound. Across town, a man has bled to death in his trashed apartment and the only witness is his sister, who is adamant that another woman was there in spite of there being no evidence to support her story. Mac finally makes his and Peyton's relationship public. Stella is exposed to HIV at one of the scenes but tells no one. Peyton gets miffed with Danny for bringing a civilian into the morgue and for picking on her about Mac.Tropes for the episode:
- Added Alliterative Appeal: When Don expresses surprise that Mac shows up at a scene, since he had the night off, Mac replies, "My dinner date dumped me for a dead body."
- Candlelit Bath: The first victim breaks into the apartment of a guy she wants to get back together with, sets up the classic scenario with a bottle of wine, rose petals leading to the bathtub, candles, etc., expecting him to come home soon. Turns out, he'd sublet the place to someone else, but that's not the real problem. Upstairs neighbors hear a gunshot and call the cops, who find this woman dead in the tub along with a bullet fragment, but she has no gunshot wound so the team has to noodle out what really happened.
- Deadly Bath: The first victim draws a bath and dies from electrocution from the noisy exhaust fan in the ceiling where a bullet (fired by an upstairs neighbor), which had nicked a wire, is caught until she dislodges it.
- Electrified Bathtub: The female victim doesn't realize the running exhaust fan has been damaged. When she stands on the rim of the tub to touch it, a toe slips into her bathwater completing the circuit and she gets zapped.
- Exploding Fish Tanks: The male victim gets fatally injured upon crashing into his aquarium.
- Rage Against the Reflection: The man's sister suffers from a condition where she doesn't recognize her own reflection. She kills her brother by accident, trying to oust the "intruder." Then, at the precinct, she tries to attack "her" with a chair when she sees herself in the one-way glass in the interrogation room.
- Scenery Censor: There's an Imagine Spot showing the reflection of the first victim in a nearby mirror when she's standing up to touch the thing that ended up electrocuting her, but the camera is angled so that the tub's spout blocks the viewer from seeing anything below her collarbone area.
- Sequel Episode: Stella's HIV scare will continue for a few more eps.
- 'Tis Only a Bullet in the Brain: The bullet from the first scene is fired from the apartment above, by a husband trying to kill his wife. His first shot (this one) misses; he hits her the second time, but still doesn't kill her...she does complain of a massive headache, tho.
- Very Special Episode: This one and the next few were done in cooperation with KnowHIVAIDS.org, and a PSA featuring Melina Kanakaredes aired after each of them.
