Villainess Review: Lt. Debra Hughes (CSI)

The CSI episode, "The Fallen," began with D.B. Russell being informed by Debra Hughes, a lieutenant in the LVPD, about a teen criminal who blew up a BMW belonging to a politician, with the meeting taking place before she sent her husband, Blake Hughes (a fellow officer and a subordinate), to the receptionist's desk. Afterwards, Mark Powell, a 16-year-old gunman, entered the station and shot Blake in his chest, and later fired more shots before taking Russell hostage. Mark also ended up killing another officer, Kenneth Matsuda, in his rampage.

As for Debra, she was at Blake's side as he was hospitalized following the gunshot, and it was at the hospital where Debra was encountered by Sara Sidle; an encounter that saw Debra reveal that she and Blake were having problems in their marriage, but things were improving between them. Sadly, Debra was later informed that Blake had passed on, leaving her immensely devastated.

The shooting was further investigated, and it ended up revealing that Mark wasn't working alone. His accomplice was only described as an online contact who spoke to Mark and gave views against the police, while also coercing Mark to shoot up the station. The reveal also contained a surprise: Mark's accomplice was a cop. Mark was in the process of surrendering; all the while, Greg Sanders and Morgan Brody searched the officers' laptops to find out who was contacting Mark. Speaking of Mark, he ended up shot by officers as he was reaching inside his vest, with officer Robert Dolan giving the order believing he was reaching for a gun. In actuality, Mark was reaching for his St. Christopher's medal, and as for Dolan, his laptop was used to contact Mark, and he ended up arrested, though Dolan couldn't figure out what was going on.

Sara later informed Debra about Dolan's arrest, though not only did she not believe that Dolan was the culprit, she stated that she already knew who the true mastermind was: none other than Debra herself. As it turned out, Debra and Dolan were illicit lovers, and regarding Mark, Debra knew Mark during his participation in the Police Youth Sports camp a year prior to the events. Debra's true target was Blake, and she contacted Mark online and manipulated him into killing her husband, even going as far as ordering Mark to start shooting just two minutes after she sent Blake to the receptionist's desk. As a result of Debra's evil plan, three people were killed, including her hired gunman, and when Debra was asked by Sara for a reason, the villainess said the following prior to her arrest:

"Because Blake was never going to let me go? He beat me? I did it for the insurance? I don't know, Sara, come on. Do you...do you really think that there's anything that I could say to you to make you understand?"

"The Fallen" was the 19th episode of CSI's 14th and penultimate season and aired on April 2, 2014. Scottie Thompson portrayed the episode's main villainess, Lt. Debra Hughes, and I have to say, I cannot find the words to describe Debra other than "pure evil." Actually, I can. Debra was conniving, callous, ruthless, manipulative, cold-blooded, and cold-hearted. Honestly, Debra's flippant answer to Sara's question regarding a motive was the biggest piece of evidence of how callous Debra was, giving the vibe that she just expected Sara to sympathize with her and accept her villainy. In all regards, Thompson truly portrayed Debra's evil and callous nature in that reveal scene, and prior to this, she acted out Debra's feigned emotion over Blake to absolute perfection.

Though Debra Hughes is Scottie Thompson's best and most evil role, it's not the only time she's played a villainess in her career. She also played vengeful villainess Lia Ramsey on CSI: NY, and appeared as the diabolical Emily Stern on Rizzoli & Isles. Fans of NCIS will definitely recognize Thompson for her appearances as Jeanne Benoit, and she also did a Lifetime movie, appearing in 2019's My Daughter's Ransom. Thompson also recurred on the recently-axed MacGyver reboot as the title character's ill-fated mother, Ellen MacGyver.

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