Hope you've enjoyed today's episode, and remember that the next new episode won't air until March 25th!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 - 1017. Breath Play - Comments Thread
Hope you've enjoyed today's episode, and remember that the next new episode won't air until March 25th!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Strong debut for new CM writer Erik Stiller.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the episode despite not carring much about Kate teen girl Meg.
First, love that we had an old fashion serial killer. No weird reason to kill, just the good old garden variety serial rapist/killer. it was scary and creepy seeing him having what's looks like the perfectly ordinary family life yet It was disturbing how good looking the unsub was, he looked and sounded nice, up until he did attack his victims! Great work by the actor playing the unsub.
The unsub daughter will have years and years of therapy sessions after seeing what she saw! this was a great scene between father and daughter. Was sure he would kill her instead he did ran away!
Love all the reference to 50 shades of grey! Rossi was a total hoot! Really Dave, in High SCHOOL? and really David Rossi fame writer reads this this of 'litterature'? Oh and I am sure poor Reid lose some QI points while reading that book ;)
I love how Kate did tell the team about her pregnancy and told Hotch first, as she should. But really why was she not pull out of the field? even worse why was she on the take down of the unsub with morgan and JJ ( again them!)? Could they not have Hotch, Reid or Rossi? Where did they go? Ok TG was probably busy with post production but Reid and Rossi would have made more sense than Kate. Despite this minor annoyance, I enjoyed this episode very much.
I give this episode a 8.0/10, well done Mr. Stiller!
Rossi is kind of mature to pull down an unsurb. But i agree, if Kate is pregnant she shouldn't be on the field taking down an unsurb, this doesn't make sense, And JJ and Morgan didn't bother me. I liked Garcia and Rossi sense of humor
DeleteI don't know how I feel about this episode yet. I was quite disturbed by the unsub. I was annoyed by the"50 Shades/BDSM" aspects. I did laugh when Rossi found the munch? group so fast.
ReplyDeleteI like Kate a lot, her niece is annoying. She would definitely be pulled from the field when they found out she is pregnant.
I liked Garcia in this episode.
me too, barely see her this season, i like her sense and spontaneous sense of humor,she has character.
Delete@ CMRT, Carrroll, and Tammi Laura; From what I've been able to take away from, not only the episode, but also the show, TPTB aren't concerned with following the canon of removing pregnant agents from the field. They showed this way back when JJ was pregnant; again in 200 with disastrous results, and now this. My guess is they couldn't care less about the well being of the female members of the "team" as long as the case gets solved. It's a shame. This show strives for perfection when it comes to "Making it real", to fall down the credibility rabbit hole over something as simple as this??? That's just wrong...
Delete
ReplyDeleteI guess after the beating she received last week, Kate was to take medical exams and she knowed her pregnancy. So far so good, but I hope it's the last time she is in the field, which makes me anxious now is AJ's pregnancy, because I imagine that the production will include it in the plot. At some point they will have to bring someone else to cover their positions. And, yes, I imagine everyone will be watching Prentiss, but ask yourself to the idea, that will not happen.
Garcia was so cute, I just loved it, and I give an honorable 8 to the episode, was not the best of the season, but was not bad.
Plus Paget is on her own show now. Schedule wont always work out perfectly. As for AJs pregnancy hey may surprise us but I get the feeling it's being written in
Deletethey have to :)
DeleteSo it's my turn to pontificate about this latest CM episode while enjoying a small (gotta watch my waistline) Dairy Queen Butterfinger Blizzard. Life is good. :D
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I wasn't expecting much for this episode. First off, there was the comments made by Hanelle Culpepper in an article she said about this episode while talking about the last episode she directed. Those comments irritated me to no end. Then throw in a "rookie" writer; not promising. Don't get me wrong, I think its commendable that TPTB around CM give an young writer a shot. However, after last year's failure, I wasn't expecting a whole lot of good.
The thing with Meg doesn't really bother me. I mean, yes she's a spoiled brat. But having raised a sister that was exactly like Meg at that age, I've learned to be tolerant. And I did very much enjoy the chance to see Savannah again.
And I too did like how they announced Kate's pregnancy to the team. As CMRT mentioned, as long as Hotch knew first, like he should, I was OK with it. And it a was great team moment with Garcia being Garcia, Rossi being Rossi..... You get my drift; it was all very much in character for each one. And I caught a glimpse of a quick Hotch smile. This Hotch fangirl got her moment, albeit too brief.
But wait! The case is in Madison, Wisconsin? As in my home state of Wisconsin? Be still my foolish heart. Yes Rossi, you are right on all accounts, including the mosquitoes. And of course, with things in your home state, a good CM fan looks for how accurate they truly are. The map on the board of Madison was spot on and the Green Bay Packer banner hanging in the squad room was a great touch by the set department. The crew missed on one count, but it was minor. The license plate on the unsub's car had the correct top banner for the plate. But plates in WI are three digits followed by three letters. And yes, being a resident, I would be the only one to catch that; so no deduction in points on that.
This episode validated another reason for me not ever wanting to read "50 Shades of Grey". However, if that plotline allows Erik Stiller to write some classic Rossi lines like this episode had, I'll live with it. Erik gets mucho style points for that!
I wasn't too thrilled to see the unsub up front again; however, it did fit in this episode. The episode moved along at a respectable pace and everything seemed to fit together. And OMG, therapy for life for the poor daughter. And in a way, Mr. Stiller tied the plotlines of the A story with the B story together in a way. That was a nice touch as well. It wasn't the strongest script or case in the world; but I'll give rookies a break.
Hanelle Culpepper, still on **** list (sorry that ain't going away soon), did redeem herself with a wonderful directing job compared to the last one she did on CM. Was it hard to see TG disappear again? Yes; but I've long said I understand the time commitment it takes for the actors when they direct. So I can't complain about that. And MGG, starting pre-production for his upcoming directing stint, I can understand as well. So what happened to Rossi? Sorry Erik, Rockie's point shaving knife comes out.
I personally didn't have a problem with Kate on the takedown. First off, it's a TV show and it was obviously JLH's ep to shine. So be it. And Kate being in the field? I'm of the feeling if the Kevlar fits, her doc is OK with it and Chris doesn't have his boxers in a bundle like Will did when JJ was preggers, let her get her chance now. Three months from now, her butt is sitting in the PD.
So all in all; with my low expectations for this episode, I was very pleasantly surprised.
Drats, my Blizzard is done; so is this review.
Rockie happily gives this one a B.
Although I think this, while being not the best episode, was an extremely strong start for budding writer Erik Stiller! He wrote each character (in character) perfectly, and the main reason I'm replying to you rockhotch31, I totally agree that the implausibility of Kate being on the takedown did not bother me one bit either! She is pregnant and the further along she is, the less plausible it would be for her to be on a takedown, so I say let her have her moments to shine while she still can! And, finally, Rockie I totally agree about being pleasantly surprised, because I, too, had low expectations for this episode! Love it when Im surprised in a pleasant way. Well said, Rockie!
DeleteThank you SCMA. :D
DeleteIt was OK. Too much unsub. I don't mind occasionally seeing the unsub upfront as long as there is plenty of profiling in the episode but I felt the unsub totally dominated the episode this time leaving little time for the team. I liked the parallels between the unsub family and Kate having issues about being pregnant with Meg but I really don't like the Meg subplot - they have made her so bratty she is a real cliche. Rossi was great in this - not so much the kindly old grandpa they have been making him recently and more the old hellraiser he really is. I didn't like Garcia in this at all - the good old magic computer was in full force bringing up instant information. There was some suspense to it - I really thought he had killed the girl at the end. It was OK. I wish they would focus more on the team than the unsub though - I think at least half the episode was given over to the unsub which is way too much. I give this a C.
ReplyDeletei like Garcia on this episode, i like her and Rossi humor and she wasn't too much on her pc finding instant information, ( it looked like she worked on that, but we just saw her once she had the info on her pc and screen. ) i don't like cAllahan's story either, i find her niece an unnecesary character.
ReplyDeleteSo here are my thoughts, once again I think Hanelle Culpepper knocked it out of the park with her great directing job on this episode. As for the writing, what a strong start for budding writer Erik Stiller!!! Well done Mr. Stiller! Every character was perfectly in character, and written very well (especially Rossi and Garcia). Contrary to presumably popular belief, I think showing the unsub early informed the plot quite a bit, making the first unsub-family scene all the more creepy. The announcement of Kate's pregnancy was done perfectly (heavy weight on the shoulders of a new writer and he surpassed all expectations). BTW, whoever said they enjoyed the fact that we were brought back to the concept of a garden-variety serial killer/rapist without some ridiculous motive... I absolutely agree! It was nice to see the BAU chasing a guy like this, good way to start writing for the show, Mr. Stiller!
ReplyDeleteGarcia was adorable, Kate was empathetic, the unsub was scary as hell (maybe because he was so hot and handsome and a family man, yet a sick animal behind closed doors)and I'm starting to think that they have made Meg a walking-sociological cliché on purpose. I proudly give this episode an 8/10. It could not have been easy to follow a masterpiece like "Lockdown," but I believe Erik and Hanelle pulled it off quite well. I am unprecedentedly excited for the superior Sharon Lee Watson's "Rock Creek Park." Add a director who has been with the show since the 9th episode of the series (Felix Enriquez Alcala), and we are in for one hell of a ride!!!! Only 13 more days lol; wake me up when it's March 25th!
Long live CM!!!!!
well say, agree with you.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I liked it, but had some problems I had to watch it again to see.
ReplyDeleteThe Good:
I liked Kate in this, both the way she was written and played by JLH. Her joking manner with Rossi and Morgan was nice, even her trying to parent the sulky teen was nicely handled (I liked the note on the dry erase board at the end where Meg has written GO AWAY!! and Kate writes NO!). It was plausible that she would be at the take down at this supposedly early stage of her pregnancy, so, not out of line, although I hope that in the next few episodes they pull her to a less physical role.
I liked seeing Savannah totally separate from Morgan. She was smart and sympathetic (and gosh she's pretty!)
The Bad:
No profiling to really explain what caused this unsub to unsub.
Too much unsub.
The slight smacking of blaming the woman I get from some of the male writers who seem to blame the wife for the unsub unsubbing. (I'm looking at you, BZ)
The awful Meg storyline. What a whiny little bitch.
The disappearance of Reid in the middle (although this may have been filmed when Matthew was sick and doing his promotional screenings of Suburban Gothic, so maybe they covered for him a little).
The rape scene, long and gratuitous.
Garcia…. Garcia…. what more can I say?
The Weird:
Spencer reaching out and firmly touching Kate's belly (!) as he said congratulations…. where the heck did that come from in the Spencersphere?!
Well said Suegypt! I agree with you on this although for me the bad outweighed the good making it just OK in my book. I hadn't noticed Reid touching Kate's belly so had to watch again to see it after you mentioned it! Weird - and very out of character for Reid! One of those Reid/MGG crossover moments I think.
DeleteThe Weird:
DeleteSpencer reaching out and firmly touching Kate's belly (!) as he said congratulations…. where the heck did that come from in the Spencersphere?!
During her pregnancy, JJ encouraged Reid to touch her belly and feel in general more comfortable around her pregnant self. Reid has grown and matured in the years gone by, and has helped to give birth a baby, so I understood that gesture with Kate as a way to show precisely that.
The slight smacking of blaming the woman I get from some of the male writers who seem to blame the wife for the unsub unsubbing. (I'm looking at you, BZ)
DeleteCan you explain to me what do you mean with this? Don't understand where you're coming from, and I'm curious :-)
I have just found a few instances where the male unsub is totally to blame but it's made to seem like his wife or female SO is really responsible. Pay It Forward comes to mind.
DeleteIn this episode, at least the mother was redeemed by the child and her concern for her. But that scene where unsubHubby leans over her and she starts to respond, and then the baby cries and she launches off the sofa, it definitely made you feel like his behavior was being excused somewhat because she was focused on the baby.
kind of agree about Reid. the unsurb was very well done, Sometimes i like to watch them soon in the ep, like in "the big wheel". And Garcia? no complains at all she was great
DeleteOne too many viewers seem to have missed the profile, or at least parts of it, so... taking it from the Criminal Minds Wiki, they've it verbatim and this Knight is in lazy-Friday mode! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAfter finding the book in the last victim's house, and learning how popular was and how it linked all the victims, they profiled:
Based on the area's demographics, the unsub is a physically-fit white male in his mid-30s to 40s, who is a homicidal dominant with an interest in roleplay. It is believed that his charisma has allowed him to latch onto women who are interested in a popular erotic romance novel called Bare Reflections, and that the unsub and his victims are consensually recreating a scenario from it, in which the male protagonist introduces the female protagonist to BDSM by binding her to a bed as they have rough sex. The unsub uses this roleplay to get his victims into a vulnerable position before his own fantasy takes hold. This has provided the unsub with a victim pool that could easily drop its guard. His first victims were single, while his last two were married, indicating that he may be married himself and probably has a family. This unsub's M.O. takes patience and caution and is firmly rooted in a need-based desire, which means he will not be stopping anytime soon.
After the team deduced the killings may be triggered by the birth of his kids, Garcia could reduce the suspect pool to only one name, -the only father with kids born just before each murder,- and investigating that particular man, she uncovered a news article where he was named as witness to a "peculiar", even if accidental, murder. Furthermore, browsing his bank account movements, she discovered that after the birth of his 1st daughter, he and his wife went to counseling. THOSE 2 bits of information were used by the agents to complete their profile:
When he was twelve years old, Patrick witnessed his neighbors engaging in sexual foreplay. The act went terribly wrong when the couple tried out erotic asphyxiation, which resulted in the death of the wife, who was accidentally strangled to death by her husband. The incident was left imprinted onto Patrick's mind, and since he was still developing his love map, brutal erotic asphyxiation became his fetish.
Connie's birth put a strain in Patrick and Stacey's marriage, resulting in them seeing couple therapists. Patrick was still unsatisfied and eventually went to Bowen, Illinois, where he strangled a prostitute to death.
He repeated that pattern with the next 2 kids, but by the time the 4th is born, the novel had been released and was very popular. So...
In 2015, he became fascinated with an erotic romance novel called Bare Reflections, which depicted many forms of BDSM. Although it did not feature erotic asphyxiation, the book's content spurred Patrick (who was still dissatisfied with his marriage) to seek out women who read the book, court them, and then kill them during sexual foreplay copied directly from the book.
It drives me up the walls when they use the Unsub to explain the Unsub's story and why they do what they do. I agree with you all that a bit less of Unsub would have made this episode even better, but fact is everything we learned about his pathology - especially the whys, and a good chunk of the hows, - came from the profilers (not even Garcia; she was used as intended, to find the data guided by what the profilers were telling her to look for).