Big Developments Rock The Big Apple In ‘The 34th Floor’

CSI: New York resolves season six’s nail-biting cliffhanger in “The 34th Floor”—just in time to welcome a new team member to the New York Crime Lab. (Major season premiere spoilers after the jump!)

According to CSI Files sources, the premiere of CSI: New York‘s seventh season picks up where the season six finale left off. “Vacation Getaway” ended with the sound of a gunshot as Shane Casey (Edward Furlong) held Danny and Lindsay’s daughter Lucy hostage in their apartment. When “The 34th Floor” begins, the identity of the shooter is revealed: Lindsay kills Shane to protect her family. Mac comes to the scene as the body is removed from the apartment. He embraces Lindsay while Danny holds Lucy—safe and sound after her ordeal—a few feet away.

The episode then skips ahead five months, and Lindsay is wearing her dress blues as Chief of Department James Sheehan speaks to the small group assembled for a press conference. Mac places a Police Combat Cross medal around Lindsay’s neck while her proud friends and coworkers look on from their spot beside Danny in the audience. Lindsay is being recognized for the bravery she showed when she killed Shane Casey. Mac smiles at her, but she seems slightly troubled.

Meanwhile, former FBI agent Jo Danville (Sela Ward) is on her way to the lab for her first day on the job. (As CSI Files previously reported, Ward is replacing Melina Kanakaredes [Stella Bonasera] in the cast. “The 34th Floor” will reveal that Stella has taken a job in New Orleans and left during the five month gap after the shooting.) When she gets to the lab, she discovers something shocking: a dead body. The victim is Sarah Nelson, an intern at the architectural firm one floor below the crime lab. Jo wastes no time getting to work as she helps solve the case alongside Mac and the rest of the team.

Lindsay finishes up her last day of department mandated therapy in the wake of Shane Casey’s death. She sits with the Combat Cross in her hand while the psychologist, Dr Jefferson, looks on. Lindsay doesn’t seem to think she deserves the honor, but Dr Jefferson reminds her that what she did was very brave. Lindsay has clearly heard this over and over again from her proud friends and family, but she’s not convinced.

Dr Jefferson is concerned about Lindsay, but Lindsay thinks the psychologist is just disappointed with their therapy sessions. Lindsay refuses to open up, and she refuses to cry or do whatever it is she thinks Dr Jefferson expects from her. When Dr Jefferson suggests that Lindsay should keep coming back for counseling, Lindsay lashes out at the other woman. She immediately apologizes, but Dr Jefferson is not upset. The psychologist points out that even after three months of sessions, she knows very little about Lindsay. Lindsay has put up a facade to hide her true feelings. Lindsay tells Dr Jefferson that all she needs to know is that Lindsay killed a man—the rest of it is none of the doctor’s business. Lindsay slams the door behind herself as she leaves, and she drops the Combat Cross into the trash can in the waiting room on her way out.

Please note that the above plot details have not been confirmed by CBS, Alliance Atlantis or Bruckheimer Films, and until such time you should treat this information as you would any other rumour. The above information comes from early script drafts and the details of the episodes are liable to change before the episodes are shown.

“The 34th Floor” will air on CSI: New York‘s new night and time, Friday, September 24 at 9:00pm ET/PT.