I felt the need to kind of step back, because I had been playing this character for 11 and a half years, to reassess and regroup... and I'm excited about the great wide open, the future and all the possibilities.

So said Marg Helgenberger recently about her decision to exit CSI, which finally comes to fruition next Wednesday, as Catherine Willows says farewell. How will the character be written out? Your guess is as good as ours, following the events from last week's major episode.

Get your first look now at the beginning of Catherine's end, via the following CBS promo:

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.