Random question from a fellow Sara appreciator - any favourite moments or scenes or things about Sara? Because let’s please ignore this sudden negativity again, our girl is FANTASTIC.
Oooh, this is such a perfect ask for today (tomorrow as I type this)—thank you, lovely anon! 💛 Sara is FANTASTIC. (I love her so much!)
I’m not going to lie: if this were any other day, this ask would probably languish in my inbox for days weeks months (like several other unanswered asks that I remain keen to answer), as I tried to come up with some sort of definitive account of all my favourite Sara Sidle moments, scenes, and traits, just because I’m like that. But today is Sara Sidle’s day (the 25th anniversary of “Cool Change,” 01x02, when Ms. Sidle first appeared on our TVs), so instead I’m going to give you everything I came up with while lying in bed today.
I love how much she cares about the victims, as seen in basically all of “Sex, Lies, and Larvae” (01x10); “Too Tough to Die” (01x16); and “Empty Eyes” (07x18), as just a few examples. See also her standing up for her victim’s importance in “Invisible Evidence” (04x07).
I love how she is so determined to do good (see, for example, her offering herself up as bate in “The Strip Strangler,” 01x23), despite life having given her some of the worst of what it has to offer (per “Nesting Dolls,” 05x13).
I love how she wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to the victims but is heartbreakingly determined to be “fine” when it comes to herself.
I love how much she cares about animals, as seen in her discussion with Grissom about how he should be more sympathetic to the senseless murder of an innocent gorilla, as well as her burial of the gorilla’s ashes, in “Evaluation Day” (01x22, pictured above).
I love how she cares for the people in her life, as seen, for example, in the way she looks out for Greg after his run-in with the violent mob in season 7: going to see him at the scene (“Fannysmackin’,” 07x04), pointing out to Grissom that he’s been having a hard time (“Burn Out,” 07x06), etc.
I love how kind and diplomatic she is in addressing this with Grissom, who’s been feeling burnt out himself. I love how she soothes (or tries to soothe) Grissom, as seen, for example, in “Gentle, Gentle” (01x19) (“Everyone follows your lead,” how soothingly she speaks to him when discussing the printers) and “Scuba Doobie-Doo” (02x05) (“Chalk”).
I love how she has feminist and otherwise progressive views, as seen in her discussion of high heels (“Swap Meet,” 05x05) and weddings (“Rashomama,” 06x22), as well as her vegetarianism, her choice of car (a Prius, per “Dead Doll,” 08x01), her desire to go off on the Sea Shepherd (“The Happy Place,” 09x02).
I love how sassy she is, as seen, for example, in “Blood Drops” (01x07), when she claims with a straight face that she has the little girl waiting in the car (“The windows are cracked”), or in “Happenstance” (07x08), when she tells Grissom, “I won’t wait up.”
I love how smart she is, as seen in . . . well, basically the whole series.
I love how determined, committed, and enthusiastic she is generally about her work: “If I needed someone to stay up for three days straight, I’d ask Sara” (“Ellie,” 02x10). See also, for example, “Wow, you got to go to the body farm?” (“Burden of Proof,” 02x15). I love how determined she is generally, as underlined by some of her unstated (in the show) background info: high school class valedictorian, emancipated from the foster care system, and full-ride scholarship to Harvard at 16, with further (graduate) physics studies at Berkeley after graduating magna cum laude.
I love how amused she is by Grissom’s eccentricities—the way she looks at him with lust in her eyes as he tastes toothpaste spackle off a college dorm room’s wall (“Chaos Theory,” 02x02), the way she laughs at his reaction to Greg asking whether he’d ever lived in the dorms (“Surely, you jest,” “Iced,” 05x23), the way she’s so amused at his excitement for visiting the body farm in CSIV (“Let the Chips Fall,” 1x05)—even though she shares that enthusiasm, let’s be real. Of course, I also love how she looks at him like the beloved weirdo (/affectionate) he is when he reminisces over “that smell” at the body farm.
I love how steadfast and determined and (to paraphrase Jorja Fox) mule-like she is in her love for Grissom. I’m so amused by the way she is basically shoving her breasts at her boss even when (I would say) his charms are at their nadir, in “Burden of Proof” (02x15). I love how she is willing to take a chance on asking him out to dinner in “Play with Fire” (03x22), even though she must know there’s a good chance it will blow up in her face (which it does for a while, until it doesn’t). I love the way she, say, tries to smooth things over with her boss and just ends up confessing her love for him again, basically (“Snakes,” 05x12). I love the fact that, despite everything she’s been through, she never gives up on love—or on Grissom. I love that, over a decade later, she’s still willing to give up everything for love (“Immortality,” 16).
I’ve tried to keep this about Sara even when it has to do with her feelings for and relationship with Grissom, but I’m a hardcore GSR shipper at heart. Although she is absolutely, 110% a fabulous character in her own right, the fierceness and steadfast conviction with which she loves her weirdo her man is one of the things I most love about her. I love basically every moment she shares with him. I love that she got her happy ending. 💕 She deserved it.
Also, I don’t know your shipping opinions, anon, but, the last time I got annoyed with someone’s attitude to Sara, I decided to channel my feelings more productively by creating this post where people could share what they love about her!
Thank you again for the delightful ask! 💛 If you (or anyone else) would like to share what you love about Sara, I would most certainly love to read it!
@csiat25: October 13, 2025: Happy Sara Sidle Day!
