16 Years Later, CSI’s Most Twisted Episode Still Lives Rent-Free In Our Heads

Throughout its 15-season run, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation became known for pushing the boundaries of what crime drama could be on network TV, and its most twisted episode is one that still sends shivers down the spine. Throughout its run on CBS, CSI and its various spinoffs regularly explored disturbing murders, complicated investigations, and morally challenging cases that established a far darker tone than the other procedural dramas on the air. CSI featured hundreds of cases in its original run, and its spinoffs each had their own brand of intensity, bringing unsettling cases to the forefront and resolving them weekly.

While CSI has tons of episodes that aren’t the easiest to re-watch, the most twisted episode of the series’ run is an unsettling hour from CSI season 11 called “Sqweegel,” which originally aired in 2010. The episode follows the LVPD’s CSIs as they investigate a case that literally twists and turns. When a series of murders is connected to a killer who wears a skin-tight black bodysuit, contorting their body in alarming ways as they cause chaos, the investigators have their work cut out for them. Throughout the episode, Sqweegel targets specific upper echelon victims with dark secrets to unearth.

Though it’s been nearly 20 years, CSI season 11 episode 4, “Sqweegel” is one of the darkest and most spine-tingling of the series. From the body horror that comes with the characters’ contortionist ways to the gruesome murders themselves, CSI created a deep, dark episode that truly lives in infamy.

Why CSI’s “Sqweegel” Is Still Unforgettable

Paramount

As one of the later episodes of CSI, season 11’s “Sqweegel” is one of the creepiest, most unsettling episodes of the show’s entire long run. With an actual contortionist coming into play throughout the episode, Sqweegel (also known as Ian Moone) has a hyper-specific type of victim he’s interested in. Only targeting local heroes who have dark secrets to keep, Sqweegel is looking for people who he can expose for their sinister ways. Initially ambushing his victims with a burglary or attempting to lie in wait, Sqweegel’s attacks are gory and intense, and when they aren’t fatal, they’re a warning.

While there are moments that seem slightly less gory than other CSI episodes, “Sqweegel” is exceptionally creepy for the way that it incorporates layers of actual horror elements with the procedural-style crime. With contortionist Daniel Browning Smith coming into do the work of Sqweegel in the black latex suit, the terrifying way he moves creates layers of suspense and intensity that then make his crimes even more sinister. Throughout the episode, seeing Sqweegel attacking his victims reamains one of the most unsettling things that CSI ever put on the air.

CSI’s Darkest Cases Defined Its Legacy

Although “Sqweegel” was only one of many episodes of CSI that was dark and scary, the series’ darkness was one of the many that defined the show’s legacy. Throughout the series’ run, especially with the fact that CSI as a franchise had six different spinoffs in the same universe, there were dozens of dark episodes that made procedurals as a genre try to step up their game. CSI began a push that shows still try to top today, creating cases that are deep and psychologically difficult to watch, but create a fantastic mystery over the course of 42-minute episodes.

Nearly two decades after its initial broadcast, episodes like “Sqweegel” make it clear that CSI is one of the most dark and enduring shows that defined the procedurals of the 2000s. Enduring because it combined a compelling mystery with a terrifying subject and a genuine emotional arc from its victims, the episode is just one of many examples of CSI making waves in the network TV procedural space of the era. While many procedurals have tried to create similarly unforgettable cases, CSI managed to create some dark and twisted episodes that still resonate years later, ensuring a lasting legacy.

Release Date

2000 – 2015

Showrunner

Carol Mendelsohn

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  Eric Szmanda

  Greg Sanders