Directed by Duane Clark
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn & Pam Veasey
"Unspoken" is the 4th episode of Season 9 and the 184th overall. It originally aired October 19, 2012.
A political rally the Messer family is attending is interrupted by an assassination attempt and Lindsay is injured during the ensuing chaos. The perp discards his gun, which results in the accidental death of a little girl.
Tropes for the episode:
- Abuse Mistake: The would-be killer, a teacher, had been falsely accused of inappropriate behavior with one of his female students.
- Affectionate Nickname: While she's in the hospital, Danny calls Lindsay "Montana" for the first time in quite a while and it makes her smile.
- A-Team Montage: The first 22 minutes or so contain no spoken words, but feature several ''Green Day'' songs as the team go about their lives and jobs.
- Chain-Link Fence: The perp outruns Flack at one point, ducking down an alley with a fence at the end. He scales it, but injures his hand on a spoke at the top and his ball cap falls off, giving the team two pieces of evidence to analyze.
- Condensation Clue: Jo spots something on Lindsay's hospital room window, which Danny reveals with the steam from his coffee cup.
- Death of a Child: The little girl, after the gun is found and goes off accidentally.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The assassin goes to Lindsay's hospital room intending to kill her because he knows she can identify him, but changes his mind when he sees a drawing Lucy made for her. Killing a mother would hurt her child, which is against his convictions.
- Fruit Cart: Foot chase variant, played for drama. The shooter fires at the stage during a political rally, then takes off through the crowd. He shoves a concession cart out of his way, slamming it into Lindsay who suffers a concussion.
- I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: The little girl's best friend knew enough to remove the magazine, but didn't realize there was still a bullet in the chamber. When the gun goes off as he's playing with it and the girl gets shot in the stomach, the boy is in shock; later, he's afraid he'll be going to jail for it. The officers assure him they know it was an accident.
- In-Series Nickname: Danny hasn't called Lindsay "Montana" in quite a while, but does so at her hospital bedside which makes her smile in spite of her injuries.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: In a flashback, the assassin's former boss fires him after witnessing him briefly hug a little girl who got knocked down and scraped her knee. The woman tells him his behavior is making her and others "uncomfortable."
- My God, What Have I Done?: The assassin is devastated when Don informs him that his gun was used to kill the little girl.
- No-Dialogue Episode: For the first half anyway. Closed-captioning on a tv screen and a text on Danny's phone are among the creative ways the plot is advanced.
- Selective Slaughter: Even knowing she could identify him, the shooter refuses to kill Lindsay once he discovers she has a young child.
- Sickbed Slaying: Subverted when the man sees Lucy's drawing in Lindsay's hand as she's asleep in her hospital bed and changes his mind about killing her.
- Single Serving Friend: Mac meets his friend, Dr. Kevin Phillips, for coffee to ask for some advice with his speech aphasia. Kevin tells him that out of respect for their friendship, he won't sugar-coat his answers. Not liking what he hears, Mac walks off saying, "I'll call you later." Dr. Phillips has never even been mentioned before now, and is never seen or heard from again.
- Straying Baby: Four-year-old Lucy wanders off from Lindsay at the rally.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: The shooter follows an injured Lindsay to the hospital, knowing she can identify him. He decides against killing her when he sees the picture Lucy had drawn for her...killing a mom would be detrimental to a kid.
