"Chaos Theory" is the second episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's second season. The show stars William Petersen as CSI's fearless leader, Gil Grissom, with Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Jorja Fox, and Paul Guilfoyle rounding out the rest of the investigatory ensemble. 

In this episode, the CSI squad hits the philosophy textbooks as part of the search for a missing college student. Paige Rycoff vanished from her dorm room just minutes before she was set to drop out and head home. And campus is populated with no shortage of sketchy characters who may have sought to do her harm. 

CSI rookies Áine and Kevin shine some ultraviolet light on how the episode balances fun procedural cheesiness with sophisticated and satisfying storytelling choices. And stick around for the twist! A dead end might be the worst place to be on a missing persons case, but the conclusion to this episode is as lively and memorable as anything.  

Beware, this review contains spoilers!

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