Wednesday, November 26, 2014

CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1009. Fate - Comments Thread

This thread is open for you all to post comments and talk about tonight's new CRIMINAL MINDS episode, titled 'Fate', written by Janine Sherman Barrois.

Hope you've enjoyed today's episode, and remember that the next new one won't air until Dec 10th!

91 comments:

  1. I loved the episode tonight joe's acting was amazing.The ending scene had tears falling from my eyes.Plus I can not wait to see where this storyline goes I feel like Rossi will be a wonderful dad and granddad plus I hope everyone enjoyed this episode

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  2. Sadly, This is NOT a CM episode... This is As the World turns... There was no profiling, there was 'no' team.... The case was told by the unsub yet again..... and the book end with Rossi, while very well acted... is just too much... This is so far off cannon from the David Rossi who told Hotch that the only thing he did well with regard to marriage was make divorce lawyers happy...
    I'm glad that the tweetyboppers like the direction of the show... After 10 yrs I can say that not even my preference for Hotch/TG will keep me watching live....
    There was NO Reid??? next to nothing for Morgan... even JJ was sidelined... but Kate??? All over the place..... *sigh*...

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    1. I actually don't think that Kate was all over the place, her role and presence was balanced. However, it did have that soap opera feel and that was really...ehh. Of course we had the usual: Reid completely disappearing, and it was weird that even Morgan was off the radar (and I am not even a fan of Morgan). AT LEAST Hotch did not disappear.
      My scoring is 7 out of 10

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    2. about callahan... yes,she was all aver the places, her role wasn't inetresting at all. pairing with Rossi the whole time....

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  3. I'm looking for the song at the end of the episode. Can't find it it's driving me crazy

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    1. If you're talking about the "end, end" song, I can't help you. The song that was playing while Rossi was driving to the airport is one of his daughter Gia's songs. It's available on Amazon.

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    2. Oooppps! iTunes. Sorry.

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    3. I Wanna Be Where You Are by Gia Mantegna

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    4. The 3 songs in the episode are:

      - "Ain't Nobody Home" by Lenny Mack Band (Rossi's car before his coffee stop)
      - "Follow You Down" by Cajsa Siik (Rossi's car driving to airport)
      - "I Wanna Be Where You Are" by Gia (Rossi and Joy final scene boarding plane)

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  4. Let me start with what I DID like. Since Rossi is my second favorite character, I really liked his "B" storyline. And my two favorite BAU agents talking down Ellen was great. And it was good to see JJ showing her soft side.

    Sadly, that's it. I agree with Barbara this episode was not the Criminal Minds I've come to know and love since Season 3. There was NO team and NO profiling. One of the many reasons I've come to love CM is that it always made me think. This one was a no-brainer from the get go.

    Rockie's grade: a resounding D-.

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  5. I liked it so much better than the last couple of episodes. I absolutely relished lesser JJ/Morgan and a focus on Rossi. I loved that there was Kate teamed with Rossi. Still not enough Hotch, but there never is. I am sorry that Reid has slipped off the radar in most episodes and that he grooms his hair with an electric weasel. His hair actually made me laugh. I didn't like knowing who the unsub was right off, but it wasn't that bad for me. So this time I really can't bitch much and it gives me hope for the future.

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  6. Good acting by JM...haven't decided what I think about the actual subplot of the daughter. I miss Reid though. He's there but he isn't there.

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  7. Sadly not much to say, for now. good part all the Rossi storyline about the unknown daughter. JM was excellent and so was the actress playing his daughter.

    The bad parts was no profiling (why have a team of profilers if they will not do what they are suppose to do?), no Reid. What is going on with Reid/MGG this year?

    May have more to say later on, but for now pretty dissapointed especially since I enjoyed so much Janine's brilliant 'Strange Fruit.

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  8. I'm beginning to think that the costume department of CM should give MGG/Reid a red and white striped shirt and beanie, blue jeans, tan shoes and dark round glasses. Then he would be clothed in his true role: "where's Waldo-Reid?".

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  9. I really enjoyed this episode. Although I hate knowing exactly who the unsub is, I thought the unsub's story was very intriguing, so for me, that made up for it. I like having cases at the BAU occasionally - I feel like we get the entire team together more, and Garcia can physically interact with everyone. Not an every week thing, but I like it once in a while.

    I wasn't sure how I felt about Rossi's storyline going into the episode, but I ended up absolutely loving it. That teaches me to judge things before I see them. The actress who played Joy was brilliant, and I thought that the storyline was very well done. I almost cried when Rossi flipped on the police lights on the car so he could catch her. Ah.:)

    I also loved the end quote. The quotes are one of my favorite things about Criminal Minds.

    Can't wait for December:)

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  10. Operator: "9-1-1; state your emergency."

    Me: "I need to report an abduction."

    O: "And your name?"

    M: "Rockie. Please hurry."

    O: "What was abducted?"

    M: "My favorite TV show; Criminal Minds. You know; the one that made us adults think. The adults that carried Criminal Minds on our backs with the ratings through seasons 1-5."

    O: "I'm not sure I can help you with that Rockie."

    M: "Is your name Erica Messer?"

    O: "Yes, actually, it is. But I don't think I can help."

    M: "Yes you can. Here's what you do. You sit down all of the writers in the 'fabled' writer's room and you make them watch the magnificent Andrew Wilder penned S4 episode 'Omnivore'. When it's finished you look at your writers and say 'That's a Criminal Minds episode; with every member of the team involved, doing their job. Profiling.' And then, you make them write an episode that scares the crap out of peeps so bad that my sister made her hubby get out of bed to check and make sure all the doors were locked. TWICE! And most importantly, you remember once again that the adult viewers carried CM to its greatness. Go after the teenybopper demo; but do it with some clarity, and more importantly reality, sticking to the premise and cannon of this fine show."

    O: "I'll work on that."




    *shakes head* I just had the weirdest dream.

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    1. That's not a dream... that's a dang hallucination... I told you to stop using those funny mushrooms... *shakes head and goes to add the last 'shrooms' to my stuffing*

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    2. I have long believed that the current round of CM writers have never seen a single episode of CM from seasons 1-6. Pity...

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  11. I'm feeling kind of guilty. I decided a few weeks ago to not watch anymore CM episodes until I come here and read the comments. If it seems like either Hotch or Reid disappeared, or the episode was a JJ-fest, than I will skip it. This one will definitely be skipped as it appears Reid was MIA. I feel like I'm abandoning others to suffer for me.

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    1. If you like Rossi, there was a great storyline for him. To each his own, but I enjoyed it and thought that it added a new layer to his character. :)

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  12. I just had an epiphany! Maybe the Erica Messer and the writers all secretly work for Law & Order: SVU. They are engaging in corporate espionage and trying to drive all of the Criminal Minds fans to SVU. No other explanation makes sense for why they are willfully and deliberately destroying this show. I should say they have willfully and deliberately destroyed (past tense) this once-perfect show.

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  13. I posted some of this on another thread but I would like to get people's predictions for the "love letter" episode beyond what has already been published. Here are some of my ideas as to what it may contain.
    It seems like the only time we see Reid anymore, he is asleep on the plane. Maybe the love letter episode finally explains this story arc in that Reid has cancer. Why else would he always be asleep?

    Or maybe the real story arc is the ever increasing number of BAU members that have disappeared. It used to be just Hotch and Reid, but in Boxed In Morgan, Garcia and Callahan all disappeared too. Instead of, "Who shot JR?", we now have, "What happened to the BAU?" Hey FBI, dig up JJ's garden and basement. I guarantee you that she did it! Motive - she wants the BAU glory all to herself.

    Maybe the "love letter" to the fans will be an episode where Reid is actually awake or (gasp!) speaks. Maybe that is what Erica Messer means about going back to the original days of the BAU. Or maybe, it will be an episode where Hotch says more than, "Wheels up in thirty." Maybe a BAU team member will have a real emotional response to something they experience on the case.

    Maybe in the episode, JJ will wake up from her dream in which she is the greatest profiler of all time, the greatest fighter of all time, has the highest IQ of all time, is the most witty of all time, the most beautiful of all time, the toughest of all time, the overall greatest everything of all time... Then the TEAM solves a case all working together.

    Or the episode could go another direction. Maybe the true love letter to the fans is that the writers realize that Garcia still has a few lines because she is the only hacker. They will quickly rectify that oversight by making JJ the best hacker of all time. Then no one else ever has to have a line or the camera pointed in their direction ever.

    What are other people's thoughts as to how the "love letter" episode will disappoint fans?

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    1. That made me laugh, thanks, haha:)

      I'm not sure what I think will happen... But I don't know. I'm hopeful. Maybe they'll surprise us.

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  14. That was Not Criminal Minds.

    Far too much unsub.
    Unsub and her motivation upfront from the start
    ANOTHER female unsub.
    Little profiling.
    Garcia and her magic computer.
    Rossi story lifted from either bad soap opera or bad fanfiction.
    Cheesy ending.
    Most of team barely there or disappeared - and why oh why is Reid being phased out of the show?

    I am still watching now for two reasons:-
    1. MGG
    2. Hope that things will get better.

    Sadly both Reid and hope keep diminishing. I'm pretty heartbroken like so many others that this wonderful, unique show has been dumbed down so far.

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    1. Thanks, Mary. I'm so depressed I can't give a review, so I'll just ditto yours, especially your numbered points.

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    2. I'm just sitting here scratching my head as to how anyone, at all, could think that was a good Criminal Minds episode, let alone "awesome". Someone explain it to me. Some people must have lower expectations than I do.

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    3. MMh22 too bad if you are watching crimina minds just for Reid ( i love him), there are other interesting characters also. I love garcia, and her magic computer, also i would like to see her with the team working side by side,, not just pushing a botton, i don't see any tension there,,,,still remember the fisher king 2. secrets and lies, reckoner, risky buisiness, where the team was a team. Great episode for Rossi, don't really care for agent callahan. Wish more Reid Penelope intelligence, and team chemistry.

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    4. carrroll, I won't speak for Mary, but i'm only watching for Reid because that's practically all that's left of the show that used to be great, and he's hard to find anymore, and barely recognizable as the genius he was. I, too, wish for the show to be like it was "where the team was a team."

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    5. disagree with MH: Garcia was a tool to find info, info that profilers and Rossi request her to do, nothing else.... Agree Suegypt i miss more Reid brillant mind. They all were genious...from Hotch to Garcia. It's and ok episode, the unsurb story kind of predecible, no too much psicholoy, tension....Rossi storyline was ineteresting. and still Callahan and Rossi pairing....not for me. She adds nothing interesting really.

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    6. carroll I used to watch it for the clever profiling and how the team worked together as well as for Reid's unique character. Lately they only seem to need Garcia and her computer and JJ and we hardly see the others. Rossi's storyline this week was something I have seen over and over in fanfiction and really took the show into soap opera territory. I get that you like Garcia and of course she is a great resource for the team but, just as they have made Garcia a caricature of the person she started as instead of giving her credible development, they have also made what and how she finds on her computer totally over the top. I doubt any secret service in the world could find out the things she finds - much of which would not be available online in the first place! They should at least make it believable.

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  15. This is no longer a procedural drama.It is now a soap opera.Sad.I am now done watching Criminal Minds. Remember when it used to be a good show? :(

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  16. MH22 yes i love Garcia, one of my favorites, also Reid Hotch Rossi . this is a show, and some info she can find quicly,other wise it's ridicolous she being there and find nothing. But she doesn't use so much her own intelligence the way she use on previos seasons, same for Reid. I need to see more o a team, brillant Reid mind,...more suspense...and tension. forensic psichology etc and i guess you don't like Garcia and her pc, but i love when she check and found something important for the team, not just clicking her pc. my self i Don't enjoy callahan or even JJ/morgan in alsmost every scenes

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  17. MH22 you would be surprise how a hacker or intelligence service can find about anything or anybody, but yes, i enjoy more when she has to go around and makes more reserches...investigate with the team, and she isn't doing her job alone. And when the story is more creepy, the unsurb more disturbing", the profilers doing a deeper profiling....

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    1. Garcia should NEVER be in the field.... She is a technical Analyst... nothing more... Yes, a remarkable one because of her hacker background... but the character was never written to be anything more then a supporting role.... while KV is an excellent actress and I'm sure she enjoys the benefits of more screen time, what she's become is 'not' the vision that was planned for the character by the creator's of the show IMHO... JJ also wasn't supposed to be anything more then a supporting role and Morgan wasn't either. Reid was supposed to be the human equivelant of DATA from Star Trek, but they did tone that down.....
      Heck, Even Hotch was originally supposed to be Tall, Blond Hair, Blue eyed very christian married man...... While I get that even from the beginning characters were changed and refleshed out, the core is that this wasn't supposed to be an 'ensemble' show... it was developed with Gideon/Hotchner as leads... Followed by Elle, Morgan, Reid, JJ, Garcia.... Over time cast changed but undoubtedly the hierarchy of the cast wasn't meant too... Erica and Co. changed it all up.... much to the detriment of the show.

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  18. I have a question from the back row. When did Criminal Minds require a nude woman in a bed to prove a point? If this is where EM is taking this Criminal Procedural show, I predict the attention span of the peeps who watch this will be less than one cup of cold coffee. It's a shame really. It used to be such a good show. Something we could look forward to watching on Wednesday nights. Now --- Not so much. Just one gaudy, sensationalistic scene after another. Sad, Truly Sad. RTF

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  19. mary (MH22 right?) always complaning about same thing? tell me Mary do u agree about Garcia working side by side with the rest of the team like on House on Fire eisode? appart from the banter between Hotch and Garcia in that episode.

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    1. I do not complain - I comment critically. And I comment on the same thing if the same thing keeps happening - because, just sometimes, someone from the production takes notice of viewers opinions. Garcia was great early on - House on Fire was a long, long time ago now. In those days there were times when Garcia couldn't find the impossibly obscure information, In those days we had team, profiling and complex and chilling cases. And yes, I will keep commenting on how the show is dumbing down - at least until MGG and TG leave which is when I go too. I see no point in just saying everything is awesome every week when it is clearly not.

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    2. Carrroll, I've never seen Mary 'complain' to complain... Mary has always thoughtfully and intelligently given her opinions on each episode. Those opinions are based on the writing, directing, casting, etc...

      If you've watched CM from the beginning you can definitely see the slow degradation of Core Characters in favor of 'UNSUB" stories... Ed Bernero must be laughing over all this... Everything else aside about Ed B, he helped create a masterful hour of TV that this new guard has in my opinion ruined.

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    3. ed Bernero, Simon Mirren, Chris mundy, etc etc what a great writers. i like Jim clemente and Rick too

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    4. Andrew Wilder, and Erica's one time co-writer Debra were undoubtedly the best writers on the show... It was sad that they left.... Simon should have been given the position of show runner over Erica.... I believe that alot of the 'originals' were 'cleaned' out by Erica once she was given the reigns...

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    5. totally agree with MH22 in some things, way to much unsurb, less profiling, some characters dissaparences, less of Reid genious minds, but also less of Garcia genious minds. ( i don't complain about her magic pc, but yes, more investigation from her )Unsurb upfrond too early. Less team job..i miss hotch..more psichology .also.The end chseesy? it was nice Rossi storyline

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    6. Thanks Barbara. I try very hard to comment as objectively as I can. I do comment positively - see my comment on A Thousand Suns. IMO Sharon Lee Watson is the only writer among the current crew who has a true feel for the show and for continuity and I always enjoy her episodes.

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    7. I love Sharon's work... and am Looking forward to 10.10 which I believe is her episode.... I agree... Sharon has the only grasp on what he character's were meant to be.. which is surprising as she too only came on board in Season 7 with many of the new writers/directors/producers..... She obviously did her homework.... Should Erica be replaced for a Season 11 I would dearly love to see Sharon assume the mantel of Show Runner!

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  20. No Reid
    No Morgan
    No profiling
    No team
    Way, way too much unsub.
    Good acting (Rossi, Rossi’s daughter, unsub and family of the unsub)
    Nice that the case was local
    A pretty good case, though too much unsub and they let us see how she was portrayed rather than the team finding out and telling us as the episode went on. They should go back and re-watch the show, how it used to be. They could actually learn something from their earlier success, in my opinion at least.

    Rossi was good. He's one of my favourite characters, but as some of you mentioned it felt like a soap-opera, Grey's anatomy, cheesy soap opera scene that didn't belong in Criminal Minds.
    I don't think Criminal Minds will ever be as good as it was back in season 1-5.
    Nevertheless I enjoyed watching, I always do.

    Reid has faded away. I miss him. He used to be an important, lovely character who brought something gentle, humble and vulnerable to the team. Now they put his beautiful character in the background to collect dust.

    I do really miss earlier seasons, because then the show was unique, different, interesting and even beautiful as we got to explore each character in the team. The show was about psychology, sick minds and how they were made. Not anymore.
    I guess everything wears out in the end.

    However I would just like to say that Criminal Minds is my favourite show and I love it, regardless. It’s going to be two very long weeks until next episode.

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  21. Part 1/2

    The only way I can review this episode by Janine Sherman Barrois is by dividing it in two; the Rossi storyline and the case of the week.

    Let’s start with the part I really liked; The Rossi storyline. At first I was not happy with the idea of Rossi finding out he had an unknown daughter. Too soap opera like but I’m happy to say I did enjoy this storyline a lot. Joe Mantegna and the actress playing his daughter Amber Stevens were excellent! The first scene we see them together, when Dave bring his ‘stalker’ coffee after noticing her following him around for two days was priceless! Total Dave Rossi to go to her and confront her. When she announce to him right in the BAU that was his daughter that was a big hit to Dave who up to this point thought she was a wannabe writer bugging him. The best scene of the episode was when Rossi went to the airport hoping to talk to his daughter before she flew back home. Dave learning that not only he had a daughter but a grandson too! Talk about getting lots of unexpected news! Joe Mantegna and Amber Stevens had great chemistry together and I hope we see her again.

    As for what happened between Rossi and Joy’s mom back in Paris, had no problem buying that. Sometimes things happens not the way you planned them or expectation are too different to allowed to have a life together. Just wish Joy’s mom would have told Dave he had a daughter so at least it would have been his choice to be a part of his daughter’s life or not. Now both are left trying to build some sort of relationship after meeting for the first time.

    Have to say I so want to see granddaddy Dave with his grandson! Hope before the series end we will see that!

    This part of the episode gets a 10/10 !

    Not the other part…where can I start? How can an episode get it so right with the B storyline and fail so badly at the A storyline?

    First, the good part about the case, the fact that the unsub behavior was caused by an accident and that when she felt angered she could not stop herself from killing people in her way, that was interesting, was a nice twits. That is all that I liked about the whole case.

    I would have enjoyed it better if , again, the team hadn’t felt like they were not needed. Why oh why do we have to be told by the unsubs/follow the unsubs to understand why they do what they do? Why have a team of profilers if all they will do is tell the viewers what the viewers already know because hey we SAW/LISTEN to why the unsubs kills? Have said this often and really CM as a viewer I am tired of this. It is bad enough that CBS spoiled the episodes with promo, why do the CM writers writes episode where the team is just there to make sure those who were not paying attention to all of the unsub stuff gets a QUICK recap via something that the writer tried to pass as profiling!

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  22. One thing I just am struggling with is Rossi's ability to take a Bureau SUV, race to airport, and then just buy ticket and leave for who knows how long without telling anyone???? I know people will say we're supposed to assume he called Hotch... but that whole 'Can I come for the Weekend" and POOF it was instantly the weekend has me scratching my head....
    Very disjointed directing in this episode...

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    1. This episode, the storylines it had would have GREATLY benefit from streching on many episodes.

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    2. Ohhh Yes... that is with out a doubt.... I would have liked to have seen a 'slow' build up of Rossi's acceptance of this woman's declarations... But alas, she was from PI, to fangirl stalker, to daughter in barely a blink of an eye.... just not feasible to me that that kind of acceptance would come from such a season'd profiler/FBI agent...

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    3. Just my two cents worth. I can totally see Rossi accepting Joy w/o reservations. For me, with him being alone for so many years, why not take a chance on finally having a family. And I understood Rossi's comment about spending the weekend as he would come on a different flight. At least that's the way I took it. *shrugs*

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    4. My apologies; I just re-watched the last scene and when I watched the episode last night, I did not see the scene with Rossi holding two tickets.

      Once again, my apologies.

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  23. Part 2/2

    The casting in the episode went from awesome with Dave’s daughter to very weak with the unsub father and the actress playing the unsub didn’t feel right to me. Her acting seems uninspired.
    The actress in the opening scene was very good and the whole tension/suspense of that scene, not knowing if someone was really there then someone being there to OMG there is a killer inside and he/she will kill the poor woman was well done.

    I like the twist that actually the unsub was actually not a victim lashing out at people but was the one responsible for how people reacted towards her.

    Garcia was fun tonight and I enjoyed her interaction with Rossi. Another character I liked in this one was JJ who was good at the end when talking with the daughter.

    Maybe I missed something but how can the team get a profile out of pretty much nothing?
    Now for the really bad part; where the hell was Reid and to a lesser extend Hotch? Did Matthew Gray Gubler told the producers that he was done with the series after this season and the writers stopped writing for his character until they can write him off? Mind you, if Matthew wants to leave would not blame him, he got next to nothing to do on CM this season, I am sure he can do better and do more interesting projects then CM at this point. Same for Thomas Gibson, the man is an excellent actor who is, most of the time, wasted on CM. He too could do much better on something else.

    Liked the scene where Dave and this time Hotch talked down an unsub, nice to see that, sometime, trigger happy Hotch can be restrained ;) :D

    This part of the episode ( anything that didn’t have to do with Rossi and his daughter) only get a 5/10 because there was next to no profiling, Reid was non existant, way too much unsub ( once again) , casting for the unsub was weak.

    So, again have to be disappointed by a CM episode which I hate to admit because I SO loved Janine’s ‘Strange Fruit’ which was so brilliant. Tonight the brilliance was no present, the only one who did great in this episode were Joe Mantegna, who reminded everyone what a great actor he is and Amber Stevens who had inspired performances.

    This episode gets a 7/10

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  24. I don't know why I even bother coming here....almost every week there is at least one poster hating on JJ....I love JJ and watch mostly for her...Morgan is one I don't care much for. They each have their part to play and they play them so well.

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    1. Perhaps you come here to guarantee there'll be at least one poster loving on JJ… please express yourself! Just because many of us are finding fault with CM these days (which has to do mostly with the writing and show running for me, and they way they have changed the character of JJ), it doesn't mean your praise is invalid. Although there are places on Twitter and Tumblr where I just don't bother posting because they are just gushing over all of it, and descend en masse when someone proffers a criticism.

      At least here you won't be harassed as a Hater just because you disagree with someone else… that makes it, to me, one of the nicer places to post...

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    2. Susie, At Suegypt said maybe you come here to ensure there is a positive voice for JJ...

      Tell us why you like her so much. Do you like the changes the character has gone through? So you find those changes realistic? Is there anything that you would yet still change? Do you see any negative impact that the changes to the character has brought? (i.e. with JJ's relationships to once close co-workers)
      For me, it used to be JJ/Reid/Garcia as the psuedo 3 musketeers of the group... with Morgan/Emily as the daring duo and Hotch/Rossi as Mom and Dad.... Now that's been reversed or eliminated... and not to the benefit of prior character developement...
      If you're looking for a place to come that simply giggles and giddies over the characters and all is wonderful each and every week, there is 'no way' to move forward and evolve... My adage is why should they make things better or more interesting when the 'fangirls' love it all just like it is... That stifles growth of the characters, the show, and even the actors talents. No actor wants to become repetitive in their performances. They're creative professionals. I will add this though that growth DOES NOT mean 180 degree change... the growth of a character should always be done within the confines of the original development for the character. When JJ was 'taken' from the BAU it was because she was the top in her field with Communications...so much so that the Executive branch (white house) deemed it acceptable to take her from the BAU without her consent. What was returned to the BAU was not the same person who left... with the same expertise, sadly now for me she's just another profiler/fbi agent who could be sent to any field office.... And for me, that issue rests solely on the writers and show runners shoulders. I see it as it was so much easier for them to write the character so 180 degree changed then to weave an intricate and plausible story line for her to have grown in her role. The whole she was a negociator/interrogator who was needed in the middle east just isn't plausible... If that's what they needed there were SO MANY other's in the FBI more qualified then she was to do that. IF they had used her to contain some media mess in the region that was brewing I may have had less issues... But sadly the writers/show runner have forgotten that her specialty was Media Relations. And not profiling/interrogation/mediation.

      So, stay. Express your feelings. Explain the likes/dislikes or what ever else you are thinking.... And be assured that at no time will you be dis-barged because of your beliefs. Yes, people might debate you on things you say, but that's all part of what it takes for a good healthy discussion of a topic.

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  25. Mary,Barbara i like comments and critics that help writers.... but if Somebody says: Kevin to replace Garcia and "i wish" Alex Blake stayed and JJ is gone, that's not a way to help the show right MH222?,i mean Mary... I like Blake also, but i don't want nobody be replaced by others....some purist asking Garcia to be more " profesional" and she is but again she has to be serious, no complanin, no whinning etc etc because then she is not good for FBI , but seriously i miss when she was funny too, and proffesional too. Why no complaning about other tihings? it's ridiculous than the unit has an aeroplain, or Hotch and Rossi run after an unsurb? of course i agree: the important for me it's a team working and helping each other to learn and discover who is that "sick mind" doing or capable of doing something...studying their sick minds, theirs past their motivations, his background, etc etc the team job is important (everybody is important in a organization) and i personally enjoy the cast and cast scenes because this is a show, and i like to feel thae are more than "too professional people doing a job) then problably i would prefere a more realistic tv serie: a fbi poilice documentary. Agree sometimes some characters dissapear and other has mor air time...a good balance and a team it's necessary. because this show has a lot of mian characters and each cast has a lot of fans.... And the last (Callahan) is less important than the other we love for ears...

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    1. Ok.. Carrrol... I'm going to try to break all that down...
      Many people want to see characters replaced because the writing has now superceded anything that is even remotely realistic. Like with Garcia and her over the top sexually explict comments even when "TOLD" there's other people listening in on the conversation and she ignores it.... The writers today have no clue how to right innuendo subtly... It's always in your face and upfront... to the point of being vulgar.
      Jim Clemente made jokes about how the Real BAU does not have a 'jet' they flew/fly coach.. but it's TV and doing that opened another dimension for the 'team' to discuss the case pre and post....
      Hotch and Rossi 'rarely' run after unsub... Of late especially S9 and now S10 it's Morgan and JJ doing the chasing and take down. "Fate" being the execption to that. Even in the great "Boxed In" and "A thousand Suns" episodes... Yes Hotch was there but so was Morgan and JJ for A Thousand Suns and Rossi and JJ for "Boxed In"....
      Since this new group of writers has come on board with the show we have steadily seen less and less of the team solving the case and more and more of the stories being told by the unsub, or Garcia/JJ/Morgan connecting the dots mysteriously and 'POOF" we have profile and unsub to be caught.
      As for the personal scenes..... I love learning more about their lives outside of the BAU... but what is glaring to me now is that in years past that information was able to be woven like a fine thread through the tapestry of the show/case each week.... Now it's simply disconnected book ends with a case in the middle.... There's a huge difference there...
      For me, these writers have taken well established well loved characters and put them on the back burner in order to put their stamp on the show via the unsubs. Which are the 'only' characters on the show that are uniquely theirs. Black and Kate while created during these writer's tenure still must fit into the mold of the already created BAU, so therefore they've either done to little to make them fit (aka: Blake) or now too much to make them fit (aka: Kate).

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    2. Carroll here is my comment to help the writers:-

      1. The heart of this show is profiling so please can we have some
      2. There needs to be a good attempt at continuity because, you know, some of us have watched faithfully for nearly 10 years.
      3. The characters need to have credible development. This means when you spot that Garcia's quirky and interesting character was liked by the fans you develop that and show her maturing believably not ramp her up into a childlike caricature. When JJ decided to become a profiler you don't make her Wonderwoman right off the bat. Or at all. And you definitely don't give her ridiculous storylines like her being headhunted to go catch Bin Laden!!!
      4. The cases should be solved by the experienced team of profilers not by Garcia pulling up in seconds some information that would never have been on line in the first place.
      5. The show need to have a team focus so that we don't get some characters hogging every scene. And please do not not sideline major characters like Reid and Hotch.
      6. The clumsy soap opera bookends are ruining the show. We always had the personal stories of the team but they used to be cleverly woven into the case stories instead of overshadowing them.

      I could go on but is anyone listening?? Oh and I actually quite like JLH. I loved Blake and wished she had stayed but so far, so good Kate.

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    3. Mary!

      Couldn't agree with you more... So I'm listening! :)

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    4. Mary, I'm listening, too, and agree. And Barb, you, too.

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    5. Mary,

      Agree witll that you listed.

      Carrol,

      You said "Why no complaning about other tihings? it's ridiculous than the unit has an aeroplain, or Hotch and Rossi run after an unsurb? of course i agree: ..."

      Why is it ridiculous that Hotch or Rossi runs after unsubs?

      "...the important for me it's a team working and helping each other to learn and discover who is that "sick mind" doing or capable of doing something...studying their sick minds, theirs past their motivations, his background, etc etc the team job is important"

      I agree.

      General comment on my part; some feel that some of the characters could act more professional. well this is a TV show and not the real FBI so of course the writers do have some lattitude when it comes to the characters. Would someone like Garcia really work at the FBI? probably not but neither would Reid according to Jim Clemente.

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    6. CMRT, I really don't care what JC says about almost anything. The character of Reid was created by a TV show to a certain canon we bought into. If Santa Claus was a profiler who had been introduced to a story I came to buy into and enjoy as a profiling show (has Jimmy been naughty or nice?), it might not be realistic, but, it's the show I TUNE IN TO SEE.

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    7. Yes but the same can be said with JJ, some tune in to see the kick ass, know it all, profiler that some of us cannot stand. and really what you are saying is what I am saying; this is a TV show and the writers do have latitude and this is why we have Garcia and Reid, if the writers had stick to a strick redering of agents that really do work at the BAU, they and we can now add JJ to the group would not be part of the show.

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    8. Exactly Suegypt. Reid has always been a part of CM's canon. Where as superwoman JJ profiler extraordinare and superhacker Garcia, who now appears to have the same level of genius that Reid does,and her magic computer have not.

      I am all for character development, but that is not what has been happening here. I'd say it been more like character assassination. And EM and her people are not only guilty of that but of character negligence as well.

      As for JC himself, while I still feel he's one of the best writers on the show, he lost quite a bit of credibility with me when he tried to justify that ridiculous implausible JJ story line the show came up with for the 200th episode.

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    9. I'm just going to jump in here.... I'm not addressing JC's comments because quite frankly when he was Rah Rahing the whole JJ story that was as a member of the crew and NOT in IMHO a FBI agent.
      What I think as far as the other characters is this.... Except for hotch's portrayal (suit/tie) ALL of the other characters make for great TV characters, but they would never pass muster getting into the FBI... Reality is that no matter how smart Reid was he'd have to be just as qualified as anyone else to be in the FBI, he's have had to go through the academy just like everyone else. JJ while 'titilating' as super agent kick ass woman WOULD never be in the field in her capacity.... No lie folks, I know real FBI agents and they are SEXIST... there aren't that many field agents that are women.
      Garcia no matter how 'great' a hacker/computer expert she was would 'never' be in the field.... Even when the FBI hires true life hackers, they are never used the way Garcia is. They are used to decode and re-code potential threats to government systems.
      I know we all have our favorite characters, and for me in order to enjoy the show I need to suspend alot of the 'realistic' to enjoy the show. And while I can suspend some of the reality (Reid, Garcia, Morgan and even Rossi, plus the jet, fancy office etc) I can't suspend the absolute dreck that was written for JJ.... and her portrayal as of S7....
      I know my Brother-in-law WISHES that he had access to a Media Coordinator or even a Tech Analyst.... Hell he told me that only Tech Analyst he's ever met is the one that came and unscrewed up the file he was working on when powerpoint crashed.

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    10. Barbara; In your opinion, Considering the flack CM is STILL getting over 200, will they ever pull the show? I realize that rewriting history is a really fanciful way of doing things, but that episode has been a lemming from the initial screening. The power dived, augured in, episode In question has detracted largely, from the quality of the show in general. Maybe Heartbroken is right. Could the EM staff writers be intentionally undermining the show?
      I look forward to your response. RTF

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    11. Robert,
      No I don't think CBS will pull the show because of what EM and the writers have done. The ratings still are very good for a 10yr old show. What could terminate the show is if TG, JM, even MGG are so unhappy with the direction of the show they don't sign for S11 or more. MGG I believe is signed for this year with a 1 yr option... so it falls on TG and JM... and yes, some people have other preferred characters on the show but the bottom line is that TG is the lead... if he doesn't sign CM is over. JM has said he will stay until the end of CM's run. KV, AJC, will sign if contracts are acceptable as both realize they won't get another top 10 show in their careers, SM has said he's done after S10, but frankly I believe if his movie isn't the success he dreams it will be he'll stick around. If he doesn't he'll be back doing daytime soap opera's. JLH she more then likely has contract for S10 and option for S11, but they could drop her and no one will really blink.
      As for the writer's intentionally undermining CM... I don't think it's that, I think they're more trying to put their stamp on the show and as the characters are and were completely developed before they came on board the only way to do that is with the unsubs and subplots. I think if CBS wants to keep CM (And CM is HUGELY profitable for CBS/ABC) around they will make changes with the show runner and writer's room. We should start hearing things around February. Of course TG will not sign until after he and his people see what the others are offered, so we might not know until much later if he's on board for S11.
      But this is all my opinion, and I could be way off too....

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    12. Barbara, Thanks for your response, insightful, as always. I agree with most of what you say, although with MMG, he can't be happy with the amount of screen time he's getting. From the interviews I've seen, I don't think his ego will get in the way in regards to screen time. He appears to be soundly based on the quality and not the quantity, but something will need to break soon for him. Could his directing be the cause of the lack of screen time? It would be a much better story than to let him languish on the sidelines.
      Personally, I'm looking forward to what happens in a couple of weeks with 10-11. I'm dreading, to the point of cringe, what EM is going to do with this PTSD episode. If this is anything like the other "Love Letters" she's sent to the fans ... Well, I'll save my responses for that episode. Personally though, I've had about all I can stand from her. I know most of you administrators think she's a sweet woman, but the melodramatic, soap opera style of writing, is not to my taste.
      Again thank you for your response, RTF

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    13. First I'll work backwards.... Just because Admin's or people like myself who are vocal do so with respect and intelligent opinions DOES NOT MEAN we are 'onboard' with all these crazy changes and plot lines... I for one will be the first person to say that Erica has done such a disservice to the show that she needs to go. There are 100's of employees of this show that she's jeopardizing by continually favoring certain characters over others and allowing her writers to do the same thing... My adage for any of the actor's is 'why stay somewhere, where your career is languishing?"
      As for MGG, I know alot of people love his acting, love his directing and love his character. Real world though is that after CM he will have limited opportunities to find another top 10 show. He may stick more to directing and guest spots, but for right now, CM keeps him in the spotlight no matter the amount of screen time.... And he's paid very well for the amount he's getting.... (less work, lot's of pay)...
      As for the PTSD episode, I'm hoping because TG has actually said he was excited with the direction (I'd have to find the articule where he said that). Considering that for 200 he said virtually NOTHING about the episode itself, just that it was a milestone for any TV Show to reach, his comment about this episode is virtually a ringing endorsement. I also have read that Hotch is prominent in the episode (as he should be considering he's the boss) and I hope that means he's going to force JJ to face her problems and in my perfect world maybe realize she needs to step back to a more comfortable place for her until all this is worked out? Maybe stay more in the stations and do what she was best at Media work.???? Of course I could have been slipped a crazy mickey and be hallucinating this too... To which I will wind up crying and diving INTO my bottle of Rum and screwing the lid back on....

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  26. again not because JLH is the new cast, i loved Rossi from the first moment also Prentiss and Blake but also because i don't like her as an actress. And she is all over the places and situations. No fair for the old cast.

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    1. I like JLH but that said she is not among my fav, yes Hotch, Rossi, Reid, Garcia comes before her, then JJ ( she would have been higher on my list had she not been so transformed from the original JJ) and Morgan.

      That said, JLH if I go by the credits, CM female lead so yes she will get more screentime than most.

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  27. I keep wondering if one was to make a list or petition/ whatever to CBS and/or the powers that be,that states the major longing for much better team balance (aka not leaving Reid, Hotch, etc) behind in the dust, profiling, LESS super ninja JJ, if they would even blink. I think it's rather obvious fans' concerns but yet, it just keeps getting worse in that sense.

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  28. Autumn, I think the problem is, they are not looking past their noses (Twitter, Tumblr), and those of us who put thoughtful criticism on blog and old fashioned media like that are secondary, maybe tertiary (read ignored) to the T-buzz.

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    1. the rage at the studios is social media, even hiring actors/actresses will not be entirely made on resumse and acting abilities but on how many followers they have on social media. Let's not forget TV shows are only made to sell the viewers commercials products, making arts comes seconds even making it interesting is not always second in the minds of those making decisions at the broadcasters (NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, CW).

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    2. @CMRT: Well if that's the case why then is Reid being ignored like he is since MGG has over 900,000 followers on twitter. But then you have AJC who has even less twitter followers than JM does and yet her character gets tons of attention.Likewise with Facebook because I believe only KV has less followers on FB than AJC does. Although, I'm pretty sure KV has more twitter followers.

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    3. Debra,

      Reread what I wrote; when HIRING actors/actresses will not be made ENTIRELY on resumes and acting abilities. Deadline have had articles about the impact of social media and actors with big following. Harry Bring even made a commend on twitter when replying to fans about JLH coming on board that she had a truckload of followers and the ratings would go up with her joining.

      As for Reid being ignore, maybe because as I have wondered in my other comment, MGG is leaving? I see no other reason why Reid is being ignored unless they have something big planned and will not talk about it.

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    4. Debra,

      to clarify; I understand what you mean, on CM MGG is one of those with the most followers, one would think they would write more for him, but my point was; having a big following on social media is a new parameters that can be included when an actor/actress is considered for a role, it isn't the only one; acting ability, being right for the role, resume etc...all this might be considered. It isn't with MGG at the moment on CM because he is already part of the cast and not in the process of being hired.

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    5. Debra,

      As for Reid being ignore, maybe because as I have wondered in my other comment, MGG is leaving? I see no other reason why Reid is being ignored unless they have something big planned and will not talk about it."

      While, I hope that MGG doesn't leave, I wouldn't blame him if he did. However, didn't he just sign a new contract? His old one was up the end of last season. I really hope that it's the latter, that there is something big for him, but I'm trying to not get my hopes too high.

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    6. Yes he did sign one last year that is valid for this year. if he signed the usual contract, he would have signed a one year with one year option, if that is the case CBS may decide to exercise their option if S11 is a go.

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    7. @CMRT: Thank you for clarifying that. Perhaps I should've been a bit more clear myself. I understood what you were saying about the role of social media today and the part it plays when it comes to the hiring of certain actors/actresses.

      And while it made sense to me that CM wanted to bring JLH on board partly due to her large twitter following, I guess I was totally confused that at the same time CM seemed to be ignoring Matthew huge following on twitter.

      I guess none of us really knows what is going on with regards to MGG/Reid. All any of us can do is speculate. And for many of us Reid fans that can be very frustrating indeed.

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    8. He was ignored A LOT in season 9 too, until the finale, but he didn't leave then. Maybe they are ignoring him now because of what CriminalMindsRoundTable said; they are planning something for him. May it just be that they are waiting for Jane Lynch to come back after glee is done, and that they want to plan for Reid when she comes back, (if she does come back)?

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    9. LIV00859 yeah, I really hope that they are planning something big for him. As I've said, I'd understand if he left but I don't want him to.

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    10. No, me neither. And I'm nervous about Shemar Moore too, cause he might be leaving.

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  29. gotcha. It's a shame because there are these very well-rounded, likeable characters that just keep being shoved to the side. I would stop watching if MGG left, but by this point, I wouldn't blame him. Nor TG. It just seems the more we say "enough with this!" the more they do it. I've only been a fan since February or March but I can already see the major change in the show. I still like it, mind, but If certain things were to change, it would be great.

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  30. This was one of those episodes that I like the IDEA of in terms of unsub and motivation, but I didn't like the execution. I did like the fact that the team did talk a lot about the crime amongst themselves. However, like most of Janine's episodes, we saw way too much unsub from the very first scene. Again, it would be more interesting to see the team deduce that and THEN see the unsub. Hell, my mother who is only a very casual Criminal Minds fan, also felt the same way about seeing the criminal from the get go and not liking it. I can't think of other crime shows that show the unsub right off the bat. They always focus more on the main characters and leave the unsub reveal to the very end, most of the time anyway. It doesn't add anything to the story in my opinion and it sort of renders the profile redundant for the viewing audience, because we have already seen more than the team knows. Also, and other people have remarked on this for previous episodes but it was especially annoying for me this time, but the absolute darkness of many of the scenes really detracts from enjoying the story.

    As for the Rossi subplot, while I didn't HATE it, I personally am not a fan of sentimental storytelling, so I was just squirming when Rossi started crying at the end of the episode. I didn't really buy that Rossi would meet, marry and divorce a woman all within the space of three months, but that is about the only plausible explanation for why his second wife wouldn't tell him she was pregnant, since he left her and all that. So whatever. I didn't love it, but I am not going to dwell too much on it.

    Some notes:
    1. Seriously, why does CBS pay Matthew well into the six figures for episodes, when he is basically a non factor this season? It's becoming quite ridiculous at how ignored Reid is.

    2. Does nobody lock their doors and windows anymore? It was amazing to me how the unsub was basically able to get into their homes. I don't buy that silly aside from Morgan that because she worked with doors and windows, that is how she was getting into their homes. Just because you work in some sort of design career, that doesn't mean you can pick locks or break into windows. There wasn't any signs of forced entry at any of the scenes, so one has to presume everybody was leaving doors unlocked.

    3. I hope Rossi called Hotch to come pick up the government vehicle he lent him so it's not just sitting at the airport.

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  31. This episode bothered me on a lot of levels. I usually can't stand Janine's writing, and while this wasn't as bad as many of her episodes, I really didn't care for it. I'm tired of her scripts being "The Unsub Show" and the secondary plot with Rossi bothered me. It was cute that he bought his stalker a coffee, but the whole plot with the ex-wife didn't ring true. I have no problem believing that Rossi could have fathered a child in or out of wedlock, but the story Janine came up with was corny, cliché and implausible. As with her other scripts, she didn't bother to check what had already been established about the character's past. Rossi is supposed to have been one of the original members of the BAU. The BAU was established in 1974 as the Behavioral Science Unit. The BAU is considered and elite division of the FBI. If Rossi were already in the BAU at its inception, he wouldn't have been living in Paris in 1984 and he wouldn't be moving back to the US because he was "moving up in the FBI." He had already achieved elite status. Also, we were told that he left the BAU to write books and do book tours and lectures. So Janine's story just doesn't work. But like all her other lazy writing, she could have written something that worked out with what we already knew about Rossi. He didn't have to be in Paris. He didn't even have to be married to a woman to get her pregnant. Janine just gets a kernel of an idea and tries to force it to fit into a CM episode. If anything contradicts what we already know or just doesn't plain make sense, she doesn't care. She figures the viewers are too dense to notice. And the fact that no one else on staff points these discrepancies out to her makes me even madder. I'm with those of you that think CBS should fire Erica and she should take Janine and several of the other writers with her. They should stop putting their money into guest stars and invest some money in good writers and researchers.

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