Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Criminal Minds comments thread for episode 8.10 "The Lesson"



Here you can post comments about the Criminal Minds episode 8.10 "The Lesson" Directed by Criminal Minds star Matthew Gray Gubler.


Enjoy tonight episode!

14 comments:

  1. Going too far. Too gory for 9pm

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  2. I agree that for a CM ep, this one was out there. I mean out there. I already tweeted Janine that she gets the sickest CM writer award, hands down. But in a good way. Yes, the breaking of joints scene had me cringing and withering in my chair. But the dance scene with the girl puppet was amazing. And OMG! Stop the presses!! They found Hotch! And the M.E.?? I've always thought that to do that job, you had to be a bit "out there" (no offense, MHO only). But this one was a bit over the top. However, there were so many great scenes. Morgan and JJ was just special. And so was Blake talking to Reid. And my two heroes rode in to make the arrest!! Be still my foolish fan girl heart!! But what really blew me out of the water was the ending. The little man was a puppet? WOW! I never saw that coming. And I wondered if the audience was real. It was a perfect shot by Director Gube to reveal at the end that they weren't. And, to that comment, only Gube could have directed this episode. Plus the elevator scene was just great!! "Hubba hubba." I LMAO!! Did I mention they found Hotch?? Rockie's score: 9.90 only for showing the joints and bones being broken.

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  3. "Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another."-Thomas Merton

    Go to a quote search engine or even Google and enter the word love and you will get a limitless number of hits. Yet they chose one written by a Trappist monk. Thomas Merton is a fascinating character.

    Interesting parallel relationship: A Trappist monk and a girl who must feel "trapped."

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  4. This one wasn't great but it wasn't terrible. It certainly was strange. It looked like a horror film from scifi channel. The writing was a bit weak. Some of the scenes were not necessary.

    The dislocation thing didn't bother me because I've actually seen contortionists do the shoulder rotation thing and not hurt themselves, but I know in reality that dislocating something is not fun. Gubler should know that since he dislocated his knee. Dislocations don't always hurt right away, but later on they start to throb.

    I wonder if these surviving victims were able to have their limbs fixed enough to be able to walk and such afterward. That would be a horrible recovery period though. This show has forgotten that we are supposed to care more about the victims than the unsubs.

    It was way over the top and not believable, but it still had my attention. If it had not been CM I still might have watched it because of Brad Dourif.

    The part at the end with Reid was sad. I was reminded of Reid running to the bathroom to puke when he was about to see his father for the first time in 18 years and when he saw his mother in "Fisher King I" and couldn't bring himself to go talk to her so he ran out.

    The opening scene just didn't make sense. It was not necessary to the plot and they could have cut it quite a bit shorter and just shown the guy waking up. Had this been a feature length film, it would have been ok to keep the part with the laughing patient antagonizing the orderly/nurse-- even if it didn't seem realistic. Realistically the nurse would have just ignored him. If he let the guy get to him he would have just lowered his morphine dose so he would be in pain, rather than raise it.

    It seems like JSB tries to throw hallucinating people in to most of her episodes. It happened in "13th Step", "Proof", and now this one. She also likes to have a psycho laughing maniacally. She had that in "13th Step", "Proof", "The Pact", and this one. They just don't strike me as realistic behaviors and make me roll my eyes. They are more like hokey movie villains that don't belong in a drama like CM.

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  5. (continued)

    I am not sure that the assessment of the stalker was right. For some stalkers, ignoring them only makes them enraged and more dangerous. This is supposed to be an erotomaniac and sometimes ignoring them does cause them to lose interest. Some stalkers will back off if they are intimidated or threatened. That is how I got rid of my stalker-- or I should say, how my father got rid of him for me.

    Anyway, I think it would have been cool if they'd had time to have the ending extended a bit to have something with the season long unsub. Like, wouldn't it have been cool if it hadn't been just that Reid was psyching himself and he actually was being watched? What if the feeling of being watched was legit and instead of Mauve's stalker, it was his? (Mauve is the name that showed up on some people's closed captions-- but to some it sounded like Reid was calling her "babe").

    I didn't like that Reid scared the crap out of his girlfriend by saying he thought her stalker was there and she ran off in a panic (after apparently having enough time to drop off the gift for him?) and rather than call her to tell her it was a false alarm, he looks at the gift and smiles. Really? So he is feeling good while she's terrified out of her mind and probably pissed herself? ugh. Bad writing.

    Did anyone else get a creeper vibe from the guy standing near the door of the restaurant just before Reid went in?

    I did like that Reid was marching over to confront the guy that he thought was the stalker.

    But seriously, if Reid thought the stalker was there, he has a gun (he should have had it with him) and he could have defended her if need be.

    If this stalker is so dangerous, why doesn't she have a restraining order? Or does she?

    It still would have been neat if the episode had ended with someone snapping photos of Reid or having a creepy angle to make it look as if someone was spying on Reid from afar.

    I don't like the idea of Reid psyching himself out for no reason.

    I hope they don't do anymore really weird unsub heavy ones like this. I want them to come up with some fresh realistic ideas-- not combinations of themes from previous episodes that really stand out. This one was a mix of "Uncanny Valley" (the girl paralyzing women to make them in to human dolls), "Psychodrama" (the guy held people hostage and forced them to act out some fantasies inspired by his incestuous abuse from his mother) and "Reflections of Desire" (unsub had incestuous relationship with his mother and kidnapped women who looked like her when she was younger to force them to act out a part in a film his mother did-- complete with the guy hallucinating an applauding audience while being led away by the police).

    I want to see Hotch have nightmares about the "audience" in that theater. :P Gubler did a good job of picking creepy objects for that.

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  6. I forgot to add that I do sort of like that they have a thread through the series of a stalker watching the team and that Reid's girlfriend has a stalker and that a few episodes involve stalkers-- but at the same time I wonder if they are overdoing it.

    I liked Reid's reactions to talking about the stalking victims and how they feel. I just wish that Blake wasn't the only one to notice his emotions when he was talking about it and that Hotch had not seemed so clueless.

    I really didn't see much of Hotch in this one and wish they would give him more to do. Like maybe he could talk to Reid to ask what is going on or at least ask "Is everything ok?"

    I want to see them be out somewhere and they are being watched and Reid senses it (Reid is the one who seems to pick up on those vibes) and Hotch notices Reid is apprehensive and asks him what is up. Remember in the pig farm episode when Reid turned to Hotch and said "Ever get the feeling that something is going to end badly?"

    I will say that despite the really over-the-top unsub and unrealistic behavior of the characters, I think JSB's writing is improving. Ignoring the computer search stuff from Garcia (which was just bad writing), the team at least made some logical conclusions from the evidence rather than making sudden leaps with no real explanation.

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  7. i have to say that i hated the last scene with the team in the lift and the look on Jj's face when they said that Reid had a girlfriend i am really tried of this like no one on the team is able to be happy expect her and will like her face said ugh someone likes Reid thats so wrong ireally hate her so much since she came back and i wish she never came back Morgan has changed since she came back before he liked even loved Reid, like in pervious seasons 1-5. then she came back and he really changed towards him like all through S7, i hated him then, and i dont; see any improvment,maybe in the apprentichship but that was now to keep the fans happy. every time she makes fun of Reid he laughs as does second least liked chatacter rossi, Reid is in my ophion the only one who should be happy, i liked that he was going to confront what he thought was the stalker for her but so sad that he got that wrong and he could not meet and have their date,and dinner at the Restaurant which was nice one 2.i agree a lot with the above statement he should have called here back and let here know that it was allright to halp clam her down and not make her so worried, i know that in Zugzwang 812, they finally meet cant wait for that one, i think she is so nice and the right girl i hope for Reid. we will have to see how that ep plays out for them both judging be the pics not a good one. Ann.

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  8. My favorite Janine episode so far. Yes the scene with the poor woman getting her shoulders dislocated was painful to watch, could have done without seeing that but otherwise fine episode. Gubler did a very good job at directing and acting. The unsub story was very interesting and sad. Could feel how desperated he had been as a kid for help, any help even from puppets, to save his dad. Never thought that the dwarf was actually a puppet. Nice twits! The fact that there really was no one in the theater save for Adam and his victims was another great twist.

    Liked all the scenes with Reid talking to his girlfriend but especially the one at the restaurant. Many sees Reid as a weak looking guy but he does have courrage, him getting up and trying to confront his girlfriend stalker was very good. This makes me like Reid even more.

    Totally loved the scene with Morgan and JJ. Those two are really like Reid older sibblings. Of course Morgan will make fun of his little brother having a girlfriend. Love how JJ told him how she so didn't believe him! I do like JJ even if I miss her as the liasson officer I'm still like her especially in that scene.

    TOTALLY adored the elevator scene, first Morgan having fun at Hotch expense, finally those two are not angry at each others! I missed this Morgan, didn't like the angry/distrustful Morgan that we got in prior season.


    So far I am liking season 8, would totally LOVE it if we had more Hotch, hope we will see more of him in the second part of season 8

    I'll give this episode a 9.5/10

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  9. Oh forgot to mention that another scene that I really like was Blake talking to Reid and being supportive of him. I must say I really like Alex Blake which surprises me as Emily Prentiss was my second favorite character, after Hotch!

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  10. Ann, I was a bit puzzled by how incredulous JJ seemed over the idea of Reid dating someone. Was her one football date with him really THAT bad? Or is it more that she thinks of him as a little brother and can't imagine him dating? But she knew about Lila so it shouldn't be so far-fetched to her.

    Even though my brother is a disgusting unemployed slob who is over 30 and still lives at home with Mommy and doesn't bathe, I still don't react that way to the idea of him possibly dating (although that has never happened).

    I am tired of the writers acting like Reid is so inept/weird that he couldn't date someone.

    There are plenty of highly intelligent and strange nerds who are married.

    I did like the way Blake talked to Reid. Her voice took on a softer tone and I really felt like she was having a genuine conversation with him and was concerned. I don't get that with her interactions with the rest of the team. Her interactions with JJ in particular are not good. The line deliver from both of them often seems insincere when they are together.

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  11. Although the writing wasn't the most stellar I've ever seen.I really liked this episode.In fact it's the first episode of JSB's that I would watch again in it's entirety.Well maybe except for that annoying scene at the beginning and the scene where the girl got her shoulders dislocated.

    I am glad that it's Alex who is Reid's confidante in this matter.
    For one she has proven herself trustworthy.She has known about the girl and hasn't blabbed it to anyone else on the team.I was amused when Alex referred to her as "Phone booth girl"I also have the feeling that Alex's relationship with the man who is now her husband,may have started out similar to what Reid's relationship with this girl currently is.Plus I happened to feel there's good chemistry between them and it seems to come across in the scenes they have together.

    JJ's attitude about Reid having a girlfriend irritated me,but then again these days JJ herself is a source of great irritation to me.

    IMO they need to stop pairing Alex and JJ together.It just doesn't work.Both actresses come across as being flat.

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  12. I do agree that something seems off when JJ and Blake interact. I don't know what it is. I don't know if they lack chemistry or what. In interviews they seem to get along fine together. I don't think there is anything personal, but they just don't bring out the best in each other. Maybe its more because they aren't really interacting with each other so much as somewhat reacting and there is no depth to it. They are always just spitballing about the case. Have they had any moment where they were interacting on a more personal level? I still haven't seen the season opener.

    I did notice the "uhoh" look on Blake's face when JJ said "Reid's got a girlfriend!" (in an incredulous manner) in the elevator.

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  13. The BEST episode of Season 8!
    Matthew Gray Gubler is a very merry very talented director. I have to say that the cinematography in this episode is top-class; the crew must be geniuses, I suppose. Haha!
    The horrifying scenes were, well, horrifying, and really striking! Amazing too!
    Spencer Reid is beautiful; I know that boys are not suppose to be, but he just is. ♥
    I'm sorry but I do not like Alex Blake. She's intelligent, that's clear. But her character is becoming to seem like a replacement of Emily Prentiss. I mean, come on, they're both experts in linguistics! And hello, it was Emily whom Reid revealed his intense headaches to! So if Blake was not there, and Prentiss was, it would have been Prentiss Reid would confide his secret love interest to. But then again, Prentiss is not in the BAU anymore (does that withhold my right to complain about the Prentiss-Blake replacement? hope not!).
    And speaking of Prentiss, even though she's not IN the BAU, she is surely WITH the BAU! It's her home of course. Home that her feet left but not her heart. Please make mention of Emily Prentiss in the next episodes!
    Overall, I love this show even if the "special" relationship of Reid and whoever that girl is, hurts me infinitely.
    Kudos CRIMINAL MINDS!

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  14. Prentiss was NOT an expert in linguistics! Prentiss didn't even have a specific expertise (except maybe in super spying but I try hard to forget that...) She spoke Spanish, that was established, and had some little knowledge of languages and cultures of places she lived in with her Ambassador mother. That is not knowledge in linguistics.

    JT replaced Paget in the cast but Blake is not a copy of Prentiss. Reid can have a friendship with Blake independently of his friendship with Prentiss. And unless there is a specific reason to reference Prentiss I don't see a reason to do so. They only reference Gideon - and Elle - when they need to make a point and that should be the case with Emily too.

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