spencer reid and sara sidle should make an "I-Have-A-Schizophrenic-Mother-And-Above-Average-Intelligence-And-I've-Lived-In-Vegas-And-Been-A-Crime-Fighter-And-I'm-Socially-Awkward-And-Also-Been-Kidnapped-Or-Almost-Blown-Up-A-Few-Times" Club.
I mean, it'd be a very exclusive club but at least there's more than one
Got to season 7 on my CSI rewatch and I need to talk about the final scene in s07e11, where Grissom is saying goodbye to Sara before leaving to go on his sabbatical. I mean, look at him. Look at what he does with his hands. *Agressively* Look at himmmmm. He's just a little puppy in love. And he does this right before whispering, "I'll miss you". I'm afraid I'm not gonna make it y'all
Do you think they discussed their awkward moments? Like, the comment about beauty? Or the straight up rejection right before his surgery? Or butterflied!!? The plaster? The strangler?? His general hot and cold treatment of her?
Because I can't help thinking about them so many years later after a rewatch and need an explanation!
**Based upon diagnostic criteria and as an actually autistic AFAB person myself
Subtleties of expression // unchanging facial expressions
Sara often keeps a neutral expression, very rarely showing a smile, but often showing a grimace when met with something unpleasant or when dealing with someone she deems immoral
When she experiences difficult emotions it is overwhelming for her
Any time Sara has a display of complex emotion, she has what could be described as a minor meltdown, often losing control of her body or becoming extremely irritable and unstable
Sensory Overload
In s3e22, an explosion in the lab injures Sara. Later, when she passes the lab under extreme duress, she has severe sensory overload due to the lighting. It's actually the best portrayal of sensory overload I have ever experienced.
Accessibility tools
Sara often wears extremely dark tinted sunglasses in most semblances of natural lighting, possibly to avoid sensory overload from photosensitivity
Sameness and social withdrawal
Prior to her getting out of bad habits, she admits that a victim's home is much like hers: stacks of the same takeout food out of repetition and avoidance of social encounters
Black & white thinking + a strong moral compass
Any time where Sara has a suspect who is very clearly some form of criminal or abuser she becomes disgusted by them, often confronting them and getting herself into danger.
Relationships
The only relationship maintained outside of workmates is with Grissom, someone who she's known for several years and always clicked with because he felt familiar to her (being heavily implied in canon as autistic). They work well together because of a mutual understanding of each other and how their brains work.