‘CSI’ Series Finale: Gil Grissom And Sara Sidle Ride Off Into The Sunset

CSI said goodbye Sunday night after 16 seasons with its most beloved former cast members returning for a two-part finale.

CSI Finale

At the center of the finale were erstwhile couple Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) and Gil Grissom (William Petersen). They’re pulled back together during the finale after Catherine’s (Marg Helgenberger) Las Vegas casino suffers a bombing. It’s believed that Lady Heather (Melinda Clarke) could have had something to do with it and that Gil, who now spends his time sailing the seas, is the best man to track her down.

Bringing Lady Heather into the mix gave the finale it’s love triangle, with Gil figuring out if the dominatrix had his heart, or if it had always been and would always be with Sara. In the end, show creator Anthony E. Zuiker decided to give fans the ending they wanted.

“I’d put some feelers out early on Twitter about what were some things the hardcore Twitttersphere wanted to accomplish,” Zuiker told Deadline. “And overwhelmingly it really was a sufficient closure between Grissom and Sara.”

While the closure with Sara may have come to Zuiker more recently, he’d imagined Gil’s story ending at sea since the series’ inception.

“We knew we wanted to start with him on a boat. Then we started to think about ending with him on the boat. And it just organically happened,” said Zuiker. “Once he’d gotten in touch with his heart and when he really understood that Sara was the only person for him, it was only fitting as a closure for the series that Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle would drive off into the sunset.”

As for the central case in the two-hour special, it’s determined that Lady Heather was set up by a disgruntled customer, played by Doug Hutchinson .

In addition to Fox, Petersen and Helgenberger’s return to the show, CSI regulars Paul Guilfoyle, David Hodges and Wallace Langham participated in the finale reunion as well. Ted Danson, who has been the star of CSI in recent seasons, will be sticking with the franchise with a role on CSI: Cyber.