CSI: Cyber Season 2 Episode 1 Review: “Why-Fi”

Just when you think that the toys that you buy for your children are harmless and the home security system will keep you and your family safe from harm, this episode of CSI: Cyber makes you re-think that notion.

The episode begins with a Barbie-like doll named Marla instructing a little girl named Rae to do something for her. The little girl does as she was told and the scene shifts to the Cyber Division headquarters with D.B Russell (Ted Danson) telling Agent Ryan about cockroaches, to which he has attached a chip that can communicate wirelessly with the roach’s antennae. The two then have a little race using two of the cockroaches, saying that the loser buys lunch for a week.

I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction between D.B and Agent Ryan. It brings another level of humor to the show aside from the humorous banter between Nelson and Agent Krumitz. When Agent Ryan asked D.B how to stop the roaches from moving any further and the latter answered in the negative, an imaginary anime sweat-drop appeared behind my head as Agent Ryan hurriedly told Russell to get the runaway roach. I was also impressed by D.B’s knowledge of the Roomba robot vacuum as he told Agent Ryan its technical abilities to remember the layout of a room and the placement of furniture so that as it’s vacuuming, it can maneuver around the chairs and tables without toppling them over.

The imaginary sweat-drop returned when I watched the ending scene where D.B was flying a drone with a tablet remote and was unable to deactivate it after Agent Ryan tried to fly it. I chuckled a bit as Agent Ryan rushed inside to call the Pentagon, leaving D.B to figure out how to stop the drone from flying toward the U.S. Capitol building. I have a feeling that these two will make quite the team as the new season goes on.

There was a brief mention of the former Assistant Deputy Director Simon Sifter (portrayed by Peter MacNicol, who left the series at the end of the first season), who is promoted to a higher position, and Agent Ryan considers taking his place, but later decides not to because there are cyber criminals out there wreaking havoc in cyberspace. She is going to catch them one by one and being chained to a desk is not exactly her style. Good on you, Agent Ryan!

Back to the case of the week, the team is able to figure out the people responsible for the robbery/homicide and security system/doll hack. The hacker had used a method called war driving, the act of searching for Wi-Fi wireless networks by a person in a moving vehicle, using a portable computer, smartphone, or PDA, and manipulated the Marla doll via his computer so that he could tell the little girl to do his bidding. This then allowed the attacker/killer to come into the house and kill the little girl’s father in the process. It sure makes my blood boil at the fact that an innocent child’s imaginary friend could be turned into something dangerous.

Speaking of blood boiling, it seems that Agents Krumitz and Mundo are going through emotional issues of their own. Agent Krumitz testifies in court with regards to the death of Taylor Pettis, the man who killed the parents of Agent Krumitz and his sister Francine. Agent Krumitz says that it was all done in self-defense, from what Francine has told him that night in the car, but it is revealed, after the opposing counsel questioned him on the stand, that it was Francine who had stalked Pettis and then killed him in revenge for the death of their parents. Agent Krumitz then confronts his sister about not telling him the truth, but Francine tells him to stop feeling sorry for himself, move on, and be happy. She also tells him to forget about her and everything that’s happened so he can start fresh without any emotional baggage. Somehow I don’t think Agent Krumitz is going to forget his sister anytime soon given that she became the mother figure in his life and raised him to be the person that he is today.

As for Agent Mundo, he learns that his father has been diagnosed with cancer but is refusing treatment. Seeing a loved one suffer from disease is hard enough, but to see them refuse medical treatment that could potentially cure them is even harder. I have seen a loved one suffer through a terrible disease and passed away because of it so I understand the anguish that Agent Mundo is feeling as he talks with the bartender towards the end of the episode.

There was also a very shocking scene that made my eyes go wide. It seems that Raven and Nelson are secretly dating as the two share a shower together. I’m shocked because even though Nelson harbored feelings for Raven during the first season, he has never acted upon these feelings until now so it was a little in-your-face on the writer’s part to see this relationship take place. I wonder what the rest of Team Cyber will say if they ever find out about the two of them? Any theories?

[Photo credit: Richard Cartwright/CBS]