When CSI concluded in May, we were left with a critical cliffhanger of Ray Langston having been stabbed. This week’s premiere resolved what happened, introduced us to some new faces, and revealed a lot of emotion. 

Indeed, season 11 started CSI viewers out with one of the more tender episodes I have ever seen. It seemed like nearly everyone was being more sensitive during "Shock Waves," as evidenced by taking a look at some of the key characters:

Catherine: She discussed talked with Nick about how she felt after Warrick’s death and how she had thrown herself into her work. When she asked Nick if he would want himself as backup right now, it was very powerful.

Nick: He was clearly rattled by both the shooting and the bomb. You could see this at the end when he freaked out trying to reload his gun. Thankfully, Catherine was there calm him down and wrangle him back in.

Ray: He had a combination things going on. First, he refused to take morphine for his pain, as he said it clouded his mind. Second, he seemed very despondent when Dr. Robbins came in to see him. He clearly has allowed Haskell to get into his head a little bit.

Dr. Robbins: Gave one of the nicest speeches of the episode to Ray. When he shared how he had felt when he lost his legs and how he has now gotten past that and still dances with his wife, I was near tears.

Sara: While I didn’t totally understand sitting in the locker room just staring at her locker, her reply that she was too tired to go home reminded me of how despondent she had gotten before leaving the show in season nine.  While I am very glad she is back, I pray we don’t see her go down that dark road again.

While the personal and emotional sharing was very well done, the best part of the episode was the introduction of Kacey Monahan, CSI’s first full time bomb technician. Kacey is being played by the always amazing Sienna Guillory.

I was not sure what to expect after reading the news that Guillory would be joining the cast. I have to say that I was totally blown away by this bombshell of a character. Allowing her to use her British accent was a brilliant touch. She is to bombs what Grissom was to insects and I can’t wait to see how her character continues to interact with the team. 

And the reason they now have a full time bomb tech is that this is going to be the “season of the bombs." Every season there is some form of ongoing story. Last season was the Jekyll and Hyde murder, the year before was the miniatures killer. This year looks like it will be a bit more explosive with bombs being the choice for this bad guy method of operation.

I'm glad to have CSI back. While I am will miss Wendy (Liz Vassey) and I am still very disappointed that we did not get to see Hodges and Wendy’s relationship actually take off, I am consoled by the addition of a sassy new character Kacey and some of the best writing I have seen on the show yet.

What did you think of the episode? Did Justin Bieber do a good job in his acting debut? Or was that hair just too distracting?

Jim G. is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.