Carnelian, Inc. - Reinvention and Reward
Season 1 episode 17: When the team is ordered to follow up on a possible threat out in the Mojave desert, things take a strange turn.
The start of the team’s workday is disrupted when Lisbon receives an anxious visit from a state Marshall tasked with delivering a copy of an important missive sent through the chain of command from the Attorney General’s office earlier that morning. The threat reads:
At exactly 11:05am today, at latitude 35.047 and longitude 116.49 you will see an arrogant and greedy person punished with death and you will know I’m serious. Signed Joe Q. Public.
When Lisbon shares this order with her team, she explains they’ve been forced to take this case at the AG’s command. When Jane asks where they’re going, Lisbon states the location is the Mojave Desert, in the middle of nowhere. Deciding to look on the bright side, Jane suggests that after a 3 hour drive, they should probably have a picnic lunch and enjoy the desert views before heading back. Much to Van Pelt’s displeasure she’ll be staying at headquarters to cover the phones.
As usual, there will be no spoilers shared in this post so it can enjoyed by fans and new viewers alike. This is on purpose so I hope you approve. At the least it’s hoped to act as a reminder to rewatch the show, or to encourage others to check it out for the first time.
Context
The rest of the team arrive at the scene, sandwiches in tow, with the aid of Cho’s hand-held GPS. An annoyed Lisbon moves forward trying to ignore the guys’ conversation that sounds like they’re on a nature walk. As Cho marks the spot the coordinates point to there’s nothing to see. They are, however 15 seconds early. An impatient Lisbon decides the whole trip was a waste of time and it’s time to leave when Rigsby hears a strange sound that’s getting louder - enough for the others to hear it too. Suddenly a man drops from the sky, hitting the ground at full speed as the team is struck dumb by what they’ve just seen.
Recap
An hour later, after they’ve gathered their wits about them, they have been joined by local police and a forensics team and the coroner’s truck. There’s also a couple of news crews off to the side.
The victim is a David Whittaker, a Human Resources VP for Carnelian, Inc. Along with the rest of the six member management team, he was on an outdoor adventure retreat skydiving event at the time of his death. A parachute technician tells Lisbon and Jane the victim’s chute had been sabotaged, but when he’s checked the chutes the night before everything was fine. He added that the chutes were kept in an unlocked hangar at night.
The CEO of Carnelian, Inc., a private equity firm is Randall Faulk (played by Patrick Fabian) is a man sure of his own importance, willing to share that confidence with an unimpressed Lisbon as he tries to leave the crime scene without permission. She quickly reminds him of her role at the crime scene before allowing him to leave. Jane still hasn’t had his picnic. At this moment Van Pelt calls with more bad news. There is TV reporting on a message from Joe Q. Public, moving them to follow Faulk to his destination. As the management team talks about cancelling the rest of the retreat, Faulk disagrees, saying this is the moment to show resolve. Jane interjects that the killer didn’t seem to care which member of the assembled team was killed in the incident, giving them pause. They offer to share the company list of malcontents (anyone who ever complained or sued) for the CBI to look into. Van pelt checks this list against a list of employees at the airfield and comes up with one name on both lists. A man named Lee Skelling (played by Rodney Eastman).
Rigsby and Cho pick up Skelling for questioning back at HQ and they learn more about how he came to appear on the malcontent list as well as his alibi for the murder. With this information shared with the team, Jane wants to back to talk to the Carnelian executives. As Jane riles up the group with his questions he has to admit to Lisbon he didn’t really learn much as they head back, stopping at a fruit stand. Jane gives his thoughts on corporate retreats as Lisbon suggests he could learn a few things by attending a retreat or two.
As Jane and Lisbon are part way through the 3 hour drive back to the CBI, Van Pelt gets another cryptic message from Joe Q. Public, promising another member of Carnelian will die. Jane spends a few moments trying to decipher the strange message, then suddenly turns around to head back to the retreat cabin. He believes there’s a bomb in that building. As they discover the bomb, it starts the process of unraveling the mystery behind murder and Joe Q. Public.
I have to admit I enjoyed the opening scenes of this particular episode and laughed (perhaps inappropriately) at the discovery of the skydiver’s body. Jane’s whining added another dimension to the premise of what travelling into the desert meant to the team. We also see a moment between Jane and Lisbon that continues to define their growing relationship. There is some satisfaction at seeing consequences following actions that seem to be a staple on the show, but I’ll say no more!
They Said
In this episode there were these choice words:
Jane finds a fossil: “When this worm was alive all of this desert was the floor of a great sea, and there were dinosaurs swimming above us.” Jane gives the rock to Cho. Cho: “This is a goat turd, about six months old.”
Faulk: “Agent Lisbon, this is a career defining case if concluded successfully. Are you sure this is how you wish to proceed? With clownish games?” Lisbon replies: “I apologize. Mr. Jane is a consultant. His statements in no way reflect an official CBI view.”
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