Directed by Allison Liddi Brown
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn, Zachary Reiter & John Dove
"Today Is Life" is the 17th, and final, episode of Season 9 as well as the series itself. It is the 197th overall episode and originally aired February 22, 2013.
A riot breaks out after a white policeman shoots an unarmed black man after a jewelry store robbery. The case leads Mac to make a life-changing decision.
Beware of spoilers below!
Tropes for the episode:
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The rioting mob storms the precinct while Mac and Don are there, forcing them to defend themselves in a massive free-for-all along with the other officers.
- End-of-Series Awareness:
- Ironicly lampshaded in the title, "Today Is Life," taken from the words of the last Victim of the Week, an innocent man in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- The audience is reminded that Danny and Lindsay are expecting again, that Sid has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and that Don, Sheldon and Adam have all found love again.
- Mac, who began the series as a widower, gives a heartfelt voice-over monologue which quotes the victim and wraps up his own feelings about his team and life in general. He then proposes to Christine, who happily accepts.
- ISO-Standard Urban Groceries: Downplayed. Christine walks home with a bag of groceries. The only thing showing is a roll of paper towels. Mac takes it from her and places it on the steps. It isn't dropped, spilled or emptied, just used so show where she's been while he was waiting for her.
- Murder by Mistake: Ultimately the victim was just in the wrong place at the wrong time: he looked and was dressed like one of the robbers, and the cop thought he was the one who fired the gun at him.
- Series Fauxnale: Zigzagged. Like with Seasons 7 & 8, this episode was written as a finale just in case the series was cancelled; this time it actually happened.
- Shoot Him, He Has a Wallet!: The cop shoots the unarmed man because he sees him reaching into his jacket and mistakes him for the guy who was shooting at himself. Turns out, he was reaching for the engagement ring he'd just purchased, to make sure it was secure.
- Title Drop: The victim's girlfriend tells Mac it was part of the way he signed off in all of his letters to her. Mac quotes the young man in his voice-over Inner Monologue near the end of the episode (see Quotes page, link above for entire text).
- Took a Level in Badass: Adam, who has been known to occasionally slack off at work, takes it upon himself to go back to the scene and collect more evidence, single-handedly proving the victim's innocence; then, braves the rioting mob to hand-deliver that evidence to Mac at the precinct when he can't get either of his supervisors on the phone.
