Directed by Eric Laneuville
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn & John Dove
"Second Chances" is the 11th episode of Season 6 and the 128th overall. It originally aired December 16, 2009.
A reformed drug addict is found dead in an alley, having been run over by a car and set on fire. A second victim and a case of identity theft turn out to be connected to the first case. Meanwhile, the team help out with a Christmas charity.
Tropes for the episode:
- Christmas Episode: Closest thing the series has to one. It bookends with (during the opening) Mac & Stella taking a Christmas tree to the venue where gifts will be handed out to children of officers killed in the line of duty, and the team (some of whom are dressed as elves) handing out those gifts in the final scene. One of Flack's officers is recruited to play Santa. No mention of the holiday is made during the "case" part of the episode, tho.
- Insurance Fraud: The motive behind the scheme. The perps would take out life insurance on their victims, wait for the policies to mature, then fake accidents to kill them and collect the payouts.
- Marrying the Mark: One of the perps gets engaged to one of their marks. The other perp murders him. Stella tells that perp's "boyfriend" that he was next on their hit list.
- Recruited from the Gutter: The schemers had been "rescuing" homeless victims in order to prey on them.
- This Is the Part Where...: Flack and Stella are questioning someone on the street:Lisa Williams: Is this the part where I look at the bloody crime scene photo, break down in tears and confess to murder?Don Flack: Only if you did it.
- Vapor Trail: The fuel tank of the car that ran over the first victim is punctured, leaving a trail of gasoline back to the body, which gets ignited by the discarded cigarette of an unwitting pedestrian.
