Lady Heather

Lady Heather, or Heather Kessler, (played by Melinda Clarke) is a fictional character in the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She has appeared in four episodes. The first was Slaves of Las Vegas from season two and then in the season three special Lady Heather's Box. Three years later she reappeared in season six Pirates of the Third Reich and then again in the seventh season episode The Good, the Bad, and the Dominatrix.

Character creation

Lady Heather was created by writer Jerry Stahl. He has written some of CSIs most controversial episodes, they have also sometimes been the most watched. Melinda Clarke has said that she became interested in Lady Heather because of the contrasts the character has, "a multidimensional person who hadn't been seen, a dominatrix who was much more evolved — enigmatic and empowered".

Appearances

Lady Heather has a story arc which, apparently, concluded during her last appearance.

Slaves of Las Vegas

In CSIs season two, a [...] ocurs at Lady Heather's [...] club. When meeting her Gil Grissom becomes instantly interested in her. William Petersen has said that his character, Grissom, becomes attracted to Lady Heather because they are "both anthropologists. He's fascinated by her science, [a look at] the [...] psyche of human beings." In fact, during the episode, both characters appear show themselves attracted to each other and the [...] tension starts to build up, but nothing noteworthy occurs.

Lady Heather's Box

A year after her first appearance, Lady Heather appears again in CSIs season three. This time two murders, apparently unrelated, lead the CSI's to her club. The team is surprised to know that her business is going better than ever, and that she now even has a website: LadyHeather.com, which she called "Voyeurism in a Brave New World" (the website is a genuine one, but redirects to the official CSI page at cbs.com).

In this episode, Lady Heather opens up a little bit more to Grissom, letting him know that she has a daughter, Zoë, who's studying in Harvard. She also tells him that she is a diabetic. During this episode it is insinuated that Grissom might have slept with Lady Heather. They are both seen at her house at night, with Grissom approaching her in an intimate way, then it cuts to the next scene where they are both having tea during the day, wearing different clothes. The scene is very unclear, but William Petersen has said that his character did not sleep with Lady Heather. At the end of the episode, Lady Heather becomes a [...] suspect, and although she is later cleared, she seems disappointed that he ever suspected her and their relationship is damaged by Grissom's suspicion.

Pirates of the Third Reich

In 2006, four years after her first appearance, Lady Heather comes back in CSIs season six. This time Lady Heather's daughter Zoë has been murdered, and her body has been mutliated and dumped in the desert. She tells the CSI's that Zoë's father left her when she was pregnant. She also says that while Zoë was at Harvard she began seeing her own psychiatrist and became pregnant with his child. Lady Heather reported the psychiatrist to the AMA, which led to a mother-daughter estrangement. Zoë dropped out of college and eventually returned to Las Vegas, though she continued to abstain from contact with her mother, who did not know that she was in town. At Zoë’s autopsy, Doc Robbins was unable to determine whether Zoë gave birth to her child.

Racked with grief, Lady Heather sleeps with the main suspect in the case so as to obtain a DNA sample from him. When it has been confirmed that he is, in fact Zoë's [...], Lady Heather abducts him and takes him to the desert where she starts whipping him until Grissom comes and stops her. Grissom stops her with a safeword - in Lady Heather's Box, Lady Heather explains to Grissom that in a domination relationship, the slave is in control. This use of the domination code by Grissom points to the mutual understanding of the characters, and perhaps to the nature of the relation once enjoyed by both. The safeword indeed makes Heather stop and she takes brief solace in Grissom's arms. Heather is arrested for assault, but is eventually released from jail by a judge, allegedly a client of hers. Her story is left unresolved.

The Good, the Bad, and the Dominatrix

This episode takes place during CSIs seventh season, a year after the team last saw Lady Heather. This time she has been the victim of what seems, an attempt of [...]. She is reluctant to say who her attacker was. After another [...] takes place, the truth is revealed: Lady Heather has hired an ex-cop to find her granddaughter, and when he found Allison, Lady Heather attempted to gain custody of her. However, Jerome, Zoë's father, also learned of Allison’s existence and sued for custody. Even though Heather sold her business in an effort to prove she could be a fit guardian, the court denied her custody and visitation rights. Feeling that she had nothing left to live for, Heather sells the right to kill her to a man who fantasized about [...] women and uses the money to set up a trust fund for Allison. Her relationship with Grissom takes another turn, eliminating the [...] tension and evolving into a friendship. He is so deeply concerned about her state of mind, that he spends the night at her house and later arranges a meeting between Jerome, Allison, and Lady Heather. The episode ends with what seems a happier Lady Heather, she is no longer the cold vixen seen during her first appearance.

Appearances

  • Season 2 episode "Slaves of Las Vegas"
  • Season 3 episode "Lady Heather's Box"
  • Season 6 episode "Pirates of the Third Reich"
  • Season 7 episode "The Good, the Bad, and the Dominatrix"

References

nl:Lady Heather