Ryan Wolfe

CSI character
csi_serie=CSI: Miami
color=#FFFF99
name=Ryan Wolfe
born=birth date and age|1981|7|3
city=Miami
job=CSI
rank=CSI Level 1
Sidearm=Berreta Model 92FS
family=Uncle Ron, unnamed parents, unnamed niece, Brother Tim
seasons=, , , ,
portrayer=Jonathan Togo
first=Under The Influence

Ryan Wolfe is a fictional character in the show "", portrayed by American actor Jonathan Togo.

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Characterization

As portrayed by Togo, Ryan Wolfe is a man driven to succeed. He displays a desire to impress his superiors coupled with ambition (c.f. episode 303, "Under the Influence" and 523, "Kill Switch"), but he can also be impulsive and emotional to his own detriment (as in episodes 425, "One of Our Own" and 505, "Death Eminent"). This latter characteristic may lend to Ryan's gambling issues (see 503, "Death Pool 100;" 522, "Burned"). The character's attention to detail and devotion to sidearm care reveal an outright, if relatively mild, case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. This contrasts with Tim Speedle (as portrayed by Rory Cochrane), whose carelessness contributed to his own death in episode 301, "Lost Son." Ryan Wolfe's sense of personal ambition comes into conflict with his friends when the glamour of television blinds him into making rash judgments (c.f. episode 523, "Kill Switch").

Character's background - before CSI

Ryan Wolfe, a former patrol officer, is hired after veteran CSI Tim Speedle is killed on the job. He has a strong background in science, majoring in chemistry at a Boston College and now pursuing a master's degree in genetics. His studies take a back seat to his job; he graduated top of his class at the police academy, well on his way to a promotion. He catches the attention of CSI Lieutenant Horatio Caine at the scene of a bus crash. There and afterwards, Officer Wolfe shows great attention to detail and to the care of his sidearm, reflecting the fixation on minute details emerging from his obsessive-compulsive disorder (episode 303, "Under the Influence"). Wolfe's eye for detail wins Caine's respect, since poor gun maintenance led to the misfire at a critical moment that contributed to Speedle's death in episode 301, "Lost Son." Caine hires him almost impulsively after that.

When he first joins the lab, Wolfe has a difficult time with his co-workers. Eric Delko, who had been close to Speedle, is still angry over his friend's murder, and resents Wolfe as an interloper. Calleigh Duquesne, on the other hand, is concerned because Wolfe's first case is a possible vehicular homicide involving her alcoholic father, lawyer Kenwall "Duke" Duquesne (episode 303, "Under the Influence"). To some extent, Alexx Woods resents his coming and tells him that she doesn't "need any new friends" in Season Three episode Hell Night. However, Ryan grows on her and they become close. Delko seemingly never stops resenting his replacing of Speedle, and although, as Natalia says what they really need to do is to "go into a room and beat each other up"; there is an underlying camaraderie especially evident in Nailed.

Appearances

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In the episode 408 ("Nailed"), Wolfe is shot in his eye with a nail from a nail gun at a crime scene, leaving him with vision problems. He misses a key piece of evidence during episode 412 ("The Score"), and approaches coroner Alexx Woods for help. She had previously prescribed him an antibiotic (episode 410, "Shattered"), and is concerned that his eye troubles are more serious than earlier thought.

Also during the fourth season, Ryan works to uncover the identity of the mole in the lab, after reporter Erika Sikes reveales the existence of an informer. In the episode 425 ("One Of Our Own"), while the FBI is investigating the lab following an anonymous tip about supposed corruption, an agent brings up the possibility that Wolfe has keratitis, a condition that causes impaired vision, and implies that since Ryan was supposedly the last to handle the missing money from evidence, he stole it for himself. After this interrogation, Ryan goes to lab technician Dan Cooper and slams him against a wall, accusing him of being the mole in the lab, as Cooper is the only one (aside from Alexx Woods) who knew of his vision troubles. Cooper pleads his innocence, saying he merely let the information slip after one too many beers. Afterwards, Wolfe helps prove that the lab is not responsible for several thousand dollars in money missing from evidence, and that the last person to handle it had not been from their lab. There is powder from a latex glove on the re-taped evidence envelope. However, the Miami-Dade Crime Lab doesn't use that kind of glove because it interfered with evidence. This leads Calleigh to Peter Elliot, of the Treasury Department, who in turn mournfully exposes the true culprit: Elliot's fiancée, State Attorney Monica West (episode 425, "One of Our Own").

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Wolfe occasionally lets his emotions interfere with his job; in one episode, he stops a family from getting evicted from their home, and shoves the officer forcing the evictions. The officer files a complaint against Wolfe, which could have damaged his career. Horatio convinces the officer to drop the complaint, but warns Wolfe that he might not be able to protect him next time (episode 505, "Death Eminent").When colleague and friend Eric Delko is critically injured in the line of duty, Ryan and Calleigh Duquesne go to the hospital to give him blood, though they learn that it is too late for transfusions due to the sheer amount of blood loss. Ryan and the others then take turns at his bedside before going out to catch the perpetrators. Wolfe becomes angry to near-violence when they discover Eric's shooter, but manages to pull himself together (episode 515, "Man Down").

After Eric returns to work, he experiences difficulty in the performance of his duties, such as when he unknowingly doubles up evidence markers at a crime scene. Ryan notices this and sympathizes with him, recalling his own vision issues and frustration following his eye injury of the previous season (episode 408, "Nailed").

Ryan is fired from the department after lying to Horatio regarding his relationship to a man to whom he owed $10,000 in poker debts. Yelina Salas, private investigator and former MDPD homicide detective, observes Ryan meeting the man in a secluded area to pay back the money. She brings her video evidence to Horatio, who confronts Ryan. At the end of the episode, Internal Affairs Sergeant Rick Stetler informs Ryan that he has been fired and orders him to leave the building (episode 522, "Burned").

Ryan does not remain unemployed long, however. He finds work as a consultant for a local television news broadcaster. Using his forensic skills he reveals the face of a suspected carjacker on television, only to have the man turn up dead only a few hours later, a vigilante claiming credit for the death. Ryan faces a great deal of hostility from his former colleagues, particularly Calleigh Duquesne, though he does try to help as best he can by providing the names and numbers of people who called into the station with death threats for the carjacker. Ryan's cameraman is caught and nearly killed by a mantrap hidden in the sand to protect a stash of drugs. This, along with other evidence, helps to reveal the carjacker's true cause of death. Eventually, Ryan realizes that the sensationalism and glamor of television does not further the cause of justice. He leaves the station and reconciles with Horatio, who warns Ryan that his every action will be scrutinized closely. Ryan accepts this, and will evidently return to his former occupation (episode 523, "Kill Switch").

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Unfortunately, the bureaucracy within MDPD prevents Ryan from immediately resuming his duties at the crime lab and as such does not get paid. He finds temporary employment at a gun range, where he becomes integral in linking a weapon stolen from the same range to a man who murdered a parole officer (episode 601, "Dangerous Son"). Horatio Caine subsequently calls on Wolfe to serve as a bodyguard for a young woman being stalked by hundreds of people after a picture of her posted online made her instantly famous. While he takes his duties seriously (even foiling what he thought was a kidnap attempt), Ryan nonetheless exhibits disappointment that he can not yet rejoin the team (episode 602, "Cyber-lebrity").Because money is tight, Ryan then takes a job as an expert witness in crime-scene procedure. His first case brings him into direct conflict with Natalia, because he intends to challenge her protocol in collecting evidence because she did not take it immediately to the lab. Natalia believes that Ryan set her up (she went to the gun range where Ryan worked to keep an appointment with an expert shooter), to which Ryan heatedly points out that he follows the evidence (episode 603, "Inside Out").

Ryan is eventually reinstated (episode 606, "Sunblock"). At the end of the season 6 finale, Wolfe is sent a text message reading "It is done." This is sent after a shooting of Lt. Horatio Caine. Prior to this, he had been paged by someone while questioning a suspect with Calleigh. He leaves, telling Calleigh he'd explain things later.

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He finally is confronted by a very angry and confused Calleigh and Eric, both of whom believe he had a hand in Horatio's shooting. Wolfe, without going into much detail with them at the time, assisted in the staging of Horatio's death to help him go underground, and flush out the distributor of the fused alloy bullets, Saris. By the time they confronted him, Wolfe had already released Horatio's body to the coroner, who in turn released Horatio to the Feds. Horatio later surfaces, and proceeds to explain to a crestfallen Eric the plan in greater detail, as well as his selection of Wolfe to assist in the plan. He explained to Eric that this was to prevent endangering anyone else's career should the plan fail in capturing Saris.

See also

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*Jonathan Togo