OMG EMILY WAS THE REASON WHY TONIGHT'S EPISODE WAS AH-MAZHING. When she started speaking spanish...oops there go my pants Her getting shot... OMFG BB ARE U OK? Her being a trooper...ILY Her teasing Morgan...ILYMORE Her laugh ... MARRY ME PAGET.
THIS EPISODE WAS EPIC THANKS TO PAGET BREWSTER.
oh by the way...WTF Did hotch look like a carrot? O.O
It was great to finally see Shemar Moore and Derek Morgan featured. He hasn't had nearly enough screen time in the last few seasons and it was a joy to see him shine. I'm looking forward to his long overdue story arc.
This episode I give 2/5 stars. One star for Prentiss' wardrobe (hat, white shirt etc), and one start for Paget's laughter and jokes.
So wait ... what was this episode about again? All I remember is Prentiss. O.O Was there a case this week? Ohhh right. they just showed the unsub in the first 10 minutes again.
Maybe that's why JJ no longer tells the police officers what unsub means...since the "unsubs" are no longer actually UNKNOWN subjects.
Lol this episode was horrible. except for Prentiss.
I'm really glad they gave Morgan some air time and props, finally. And Kudos to Prentiss playing all cool about being shot. Loved the camera lingering on a shot of Gube's mismatched socks, too! Ha! And I liked the Morgan/Garcia chit-chat; maybe it'll get "teasier" again in later episodes?
I'm also getting really tired of the UnSub not being...Un. I miss the mystery and suspence. :(
I don't know. Everything seemed to be too neatly put together, if that makes sense. I think having Preston(?) be a racist, but not involved in the killings would have been more interesting. And, he orchestrated the original crime? Too much. Maybe the writer was afraid that if the original assailants acted on their own, that it would appear as if the unsub's motivation was sympathetic. But, I'd have preferred that it wasn't so simple.
I also don't mind seeing the unsub early, because first, I'm not really in it for the mystery of the who. Plus, knowing what they look like is not necessarily the same as knowing who they are. I mean beyond their physical features. But, what I don't like is finding out answers to questions by watching the unsub. This episode, team poses question, and instead of watching the profilers work it out, we cut to unsub showing us what the answer is.
This is also another in a string of episodes where the women on the team barely talk. And, it's frustrating for multiple reasons. One, the show used to be praised for how often female characters interact. Two, the men talk. The women talk to the men. (And, I don't mean just spitballing theories about the case. I mean real conversation). But, the women? Very rare lately. And, since for now we have three women (two who go out in the field), it should happen more and shouldn't have to be something they have to find a way to work in. It should be as natural and as likely as any conversation between Morgan and Hotch, or Reid and Prentiss. It's not unique (sadly) to this episode, but it's something I had to get off my chest.
I also think the ending would have been stronger if it hadn't been a joke and a laugh. Even if Prentiss felt the need to say it, let Morgan not be able to respond.
Okay, despite all that, I didn't hate the episode. I can't say I really liked it, but I save hate (or even dislike) for episodes that really bother me. This was just pedestrian and seemed to want to have everything wrapped up too neatly. I thought the opening was very good. It conveyed everything without the need to show everything. And, I know it's their job, but I really liked the 9-1-1 operator. The tactical training was also interesting. Because we don't see much of that aspect of the job, and the conversation between Morgan and Prentiss. But, was his tough love approach because of guilt about what happened with Prentiss? Also, the silent stares of the team as they looked at the bloodied rooms was effective. Also, related to finding out things from watching the guest stars, at least they showed the team working out that someone was staging the crimes to look like black men were doing it before showing the unsub, instead of the other way around. And, having Prentiss get to use her language skills is always good.
One weird thing? Rossi mentioning that Helter Skelter was taken from a Beetles song. Interesting factoid, I guess, but didn't fit in a profile briefing.
Yes, we did get to see the not so unsub in the first ten minutes but this time since the whole episode was not taken over by the unsub story and we got profiling and lots of the team working the case, then I had no trouble with seeing the unsub early.
For me bad episodes are like Proof and the Thirteenth Step where all we see is the unsubs. Where you feel that the team is one step behind the viewers in what they know. I watch to see the team get into the criminal minds, not to see Criminals tell or show us what they do and why. Have to say that this week and last week where good in that sense that not once did i think the team was one step behind what I knew about the unsub.
as for this Episode, loved it! Good Emily and Morgan moments. Like the training scene. The crime was interesting even if we got to find out early why the kid killed those people but then the mystery was not there it was in why the politician was involved.
Loved how Snarky Rossi was when he and Hotch arrested the politician!
I give this episode a 4/5 not as good as last week, I just LOVE the Hotch and Beth scene but it was very good.
Last week, I felt the episode was bland in comparison, and I for one did not particularly enjoy the Hotch and Beth scene. It just didn't feel like something that belonged in Criminal Minds. I would have given it a 1.5/5.
Moving onto this week's episode. It was fantastic! It felt like the old Criminal Minds was back. There was profiling, cognitive interviews (in Spanish, might I add, which was delightful), and a decent case.
The lack of female character interaction also did bother me. I understand that JJ is "Badass JJ", but she still is quite new to this whole guns and field, so I feel that she needs to learn from the other characters and interact more with Prentiss.
Hotch and Rossi were witty, but there is seriously something wrong with Thomas Gibson's makeup; he looked like an oompa loompa ... and that's putting it delicately.
Morgan and Prentiss shone the most for me in this episode. It was nice to see their training, and Prentiss speaking languages is always a nice bonus! However I will say that I am annoyed at the fact that this entire season has been about Prentiss comforting the team. I understand that they feel like they betrayed her, but not once (excluding Hotch, and only because he had her psych report and was worried about her performance on the field) did anyone stop to think about the suffering she experienced while she was alone in Paris trying to stop Doyle etc. And tonight was another prime example - Prentiss gets shot, tells the others to "not worry" and then comforts Morgan in the end. When are the other characters going to comfort her?
Back to the languages ... It's been a while since Prentiss had a lengthy dialogue in another language. There was the French with Doyle which was flawless, and now the Spanish. Kudos to Paget Brewster for doing a fabulous job!
Also, great job to the wardrobe department, everyone looked stunning tonight. Prentiss' white shirt was to die for! :)
Overall, I give this episode a 4/5. It was a gigantic improvement from last week, and I will definitely watch it again this weekend!
Its been established since Season 2 that Emily Prentiss compartmentalizes. But tonight, my heart broke, literally. To hear and see her being shot so unexpectedly, and then for her response to be "I'm good, I'm good, Go!" was truly heartbreaking. Prentiss always tries to deflect on her own emotions, as shown later on with the jet scene and her joking with Morgan.
In Season 6, she practically went on a mission to find Doyle by herself. She didn't tell the BAU, because she was concerned for their safety, and that's just the woman she is. She puts her family before her own life, as seen in "Minimal Loss". Prentiss has gone through so much suffering, emotionally and physically, and so far the only sign that she is hurting is that line "I'm having a bad day," but beyond that there has been nothing.
Paget is leaving after this season, and so Prentiss needs a honourable sendoff. Both Gideon and Elle left because they could longer handle to job etc. Prentiss should not leave Criminal Minds this way. In season two, she told Hotch that she belonged in this unit and ever since, she has fit in seamlessly. She's been through so much, so for her to leave because she just can't handle it anymore, it's disrespectful to the character. Prentiss should leave on a high and happy note. It's time she found happiness, true happiness.
If the season 7 finale is the last time I will be seeing my all-time favourite female tv character, I want my last memory of her to be filled with happiness. It's the least Emily Prentiss deserves after 6 years.
"The lack of female character interaction also did bother me. I understand that JJ is "Badass JJ", but she still is quite new to this whole guns and field, so I feel that she needs to learn from the other characters and interact more with Prentiss."
I have to disagree with this. Well, not the part of lack of female interaction. Obviously, since I brought it up, I agree with it. But, the idea that JJ is new to the field. This seems to be a common belief, but JJ has always been a full fledged agent. Season 7 is not her first time in the field. Or her second or third for that matter. Even if there's an increase since she's become a profiler, there are still multiple examples of her being in the field over the years, wearing kevlar because she was in situations that warranted her wearing them. And, I would hope since she was already in those situations, she had learned something before now. In situations where the use of her gun was a possibility, even if she ultimately didn't have to. But, she's shown to already be good with her weapon.
I'm not sure why the show implies that to be a field agent you have to be a profiler and that if someone is new to being a profiler it means they're new to the field. First, profiling is mental. It's studying behavior. The action stuff, chasing down unsubs or firing weapons is not profiling. You don't have to be a profiler to do that. That's what they do in their role as agents. Second, as I said, it contradicts what we've been shown from JJ through the years. No, she wasn't out there in every episode, but it happened enough throughout the years that she can't be called a novice. At least starting from season 3.
Now, JJ getting instructions about actual profiling? Fine. That, she's new to. Even with the often quoted "little bit of profiling" she did as a liaison, I'm sure there's a lot she could still learn. JJ being instructed on how to handle an interrogation with an unsub? Or, even better, JJ and Prentiss discussing how it feels to go one on one with an unsub in a room and how to cope with it. But, also, I want them to just talk as friends do. Not just as instructor to instructee, but as coworkers.
OK, I really liked this one. I liked the training bit at the beginning, I liked how we saw that Morgan and Prentiss are not really over Doyle, especially Morgan, not at heart. I did like the white shirt and the interview in Spanish and the teasing at the end to show that while they're not over it they *are* in the process of healing. And I *loved* snarky Rossi, oh I love that line.
But the biggest kudos have to go to the writer Virgil Williams and everyone who approved that script for daring to go there, especially in an elections year. Inflammatory speech from the campaign stump is a huge issue and it already has triggered violence in unstable individuals and yet no one wants to speak out. At least a fictional character dared to ask a politician to tone it down for the sake of public safety. It took a big, brass, ____ to say that these days and thank you for it.
I give it a 4/5. Not having any clue to the Unsub at all before the last reel would have brought it to a 5 for me.
Good episode, but does anyone but me find it odd that this team is suffering so much guilt and sorrow over what happened to Emily, but they never seemed to be phased by the fact that they failed when they allowed Foyet to murder Haley? Morgan's supposedly carrying around all this guilt over not being able to get to Prentiss in time, yet when he was actually in charge, calling the shots, and didn't get there in time to save Haley we never saw any sign that he felt guilty about that or any sign that any member of the team felt like they had failed. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they should blame themselves over either incident, they did the best they could, but their reaction to what happened to Emily versus their reaction to what happened to Haley is like night and day. In both cases they failed to save one of their own, but the reaction to the one failing is much stronger than the it was to the other.
Emily is their teammate and the team as a whole spent more time with her than haley. That is why everyone of them was affected expecially morgan who spent the most time with her in the field. In regards to haley the team spent more time concerned for hotch during the foyet ordeal and after haley's death because he is who they are attached to not haley.
Yes, but shouldn't the team's feelings for Hotch and the notion that they had failed him have caused the same type of guilt and sorrow that the notion that they failed Emily caused? Shouldn't Morgan have been feeling the same type of guilt over having failed the man he cares so much about?
I don't think there is as much guilt because hotch was working with them the entire time they were trying to catch foyet. Even though he stepped down and morgan was lead he was still included. They did however feel very sorry for hotch and jack. Emily went off on her own without the team's knowledge and the team was racing to find her and back her up. They were gathering info and trying to protect her at the same time and got to her a few seconds late.
Hotch was working with them the entire time they were trying to find Emily as well so how does that factor into how much guilt would result from the failure? The team was gathering info and trying to protect Haley and couldn't get there in time as well. Where is the difference in the situations?
Obviously they weren't overly attached to Haley, but they all supposedly love and care about Hotch and should've felt like they'd failed him just as they feel they failed Emily, yet there was no indication that any of them carried around the grief and angst that some seem to be carrying around over Emily.
Like I said, it was a good episode, I just find it odd that two very similar situations garnered such different reactions.
I will reiterate that I don't personally believe any of them should feel like they failed anyone in either case, but understand that it would be completely human to go there and if they went there in one instance they should've gone there in the other.
no i mean hotch was working the team to find foyet and the team was not with emily when she went after doyle. so in a way it can be seen as the team didn't fail hotch they failed together. in relation to emily i think they feel they failed to protect her.
i loved this episode. my favorite part was the training scene. all agents have to be trained that are going into the field and to someone's comment they didn't say that the trainees were profilers.
Why do Erica and the writers continue to turn a deaf ear to us when we say we are tired of seeing the unsub so early in the episodes, sometimes even from the opening scene? That said, I did like this episode overall. There was some good team interaction, particularly Emily and Morgan, and the killer's motive wasn't obvious from the get-go. What I can't understand is why the writers from seasons 1-4 were able to give a balance of screen time to each member of the team and allow them to showcase their skills and gifts in the profiling and solving of the cases and the current writers are not. They seem to be clueless, and the chats only post the positive comments and a bunch of silly drivel so that the writers are never challenged to produce more interesting episodes. Still, at least we were not made to endure Stalker Chick in this episode so that was a plus. I'm tired of the team seeming to stumble on the answer rather than being portrayed as the trained and competent agents they are. And I'm also tired of the writers feeling that they have to make each and every unsub sympathetic. There's always some incident to try and explain why they are the way they are, as if it's not their fault, but in earlier seasons most were portrayed as the criminals they are. Think of Hotch's line in Natural Born Killers "Some people grow up to become killers. Some people grow up to catch them."
Now that I've had the chance to sit down and really look at this ep, it was a shoulder shrugger for me. It was another solid ep in the team profiling dept. and the Rossi lines were excellent (delivered in classic JM style!). To me, it always seems that when we get a Morgan ep, Hotch is basically window dressing, and IMHO, this was the same. However, I loved the Morgan/Prentiss scenes. The end one on the jet I've replayed five times. Damn, I'm really going to miss Paget/Prentiss. But what I loved about the ep was the directing. The shot of Reid's socks and his barely visible gun drawn and having the unsub hid while he delivered his rant at the end was superb. It was a metaphor for those that speak this hate but do it in the shadows. One thing that still bugs me is sure-shot JJ got two off and missed??? WTH!! *laughs* Anyway, not one of my favs of this season, but solid.
good observation about when we get a Morgan episode Hotch basically is just windows dressing. CM's episodes are much more solid when Hotch is given something meaningful to do.
Lol true yes JJ who is a good shot missed not once but twice!
It was a very good episode but I still prefer last weeke episode.
Agreed, I'm VERY tired of seeing the(un)sub so early. there are no mysteries there and you often feel like the team is way behind in what we know because we get to see what the (un)sub does before the team profile the (un)sub. I know it is now too late for the writers to changes things because they have already written all the scripts but I hope Erica will listen to fans and go back at not showing so much of the (un)sub and how they do things. We want to know why and how from the team working the cases not by watching the criminal commit their crimes.
What on earth is wrong with the look of this show? Several scenes in last night's ep were so dark, we could hardly see what was going on. And what's with the bright pink lips on all the guys? Everybody's skin looks sunburned or orange. Very annoying, I'm sorry to say.
Not particularly looking forward to next week's episode. I am in the minority opinion that the Hotch/Beth scenes are bleh, and do not belong in Criminal Minds. It makes Hotch look too much like Greg from Dharma and Greg, and it's a waste of valuable screen time, in my opinion. Last week's episode wasn't really noteworthy. Not as horrific as "Proof" or "Painless," but the out of character-ness kind of matched it to those episodes. Just my opinion.
Now, in regards to this week's episode, I can say that this is the first episode from Season 7 that I can say is good, and it's sad that it took them 15 episodes to get it.
Good? Hell, it was GREAT! I absolutely LOVED the training scene with Morgan where he came off as a hard-nosed super experienced agent intimidating his trainees.
I loved the Morgan/Prentiss interactions as I feel Morgan is the only team mate that Prentiss has the highest amount of chemistry with. It just feels natural and it fits so perfectly together. The scenes with her and Hotch feel forced to me, and I honestly find myself cringing at times.
Morgan being the one to take out the unsub was LONG AWAITED, I have to say. It appeared as though the writers were going a bit too far by having Hotch go trigger happy too often this Season. Kind of got annoying and repetitive.
I'm not saying that I enjoyed seeing the unsub die (although I do enjoy violence a great deal), but it was a nice change of pace to have Morgan as the one to take him out, as he fits more into the role of being the one to confront the unsubs without flinching.
I think it was a nice balance to have Hotch and Rossi arresting the mayoral candidate while Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ handled the unsub. I could tell it kinda hurt Morgan to have to take the kid's life after trying so hard to reason with him.
The ending scene on the plane was priceless. Really enjoyed it and I could feel the scene and what the characters were trying to convey to each other. Prentiss trying to lift Morgan's mood was funny too. The way she'd react when she'd say something and he'd take it serious. Priceless!
I'm looking forward to seeing what they have cooking for Morgan coming up around the 19/20th episode, since the writers have said they've planned an arc for him where we get to see his family. I feel it's long overdue. It's been about 6 years...
"Not particularly looking forward to next week's episode. I am in the minority opinion that the Hotch/Beth scenes are bleh, and do not belong in Criminal Minds. It makes Hotch look too much like Greg from Dharma and Greg"
Really??? have you ever watched Dharma & Greg? Probably not.
"but it was a nice change of pace to have Morgan as the one to take him out, as he fits more into the role of being the one to confront the unsubs without flinching. "
Really? Morgan is always the emotional one when confronting the unsubs, see 'Normal', 'Prince of darkness'. The one who never flinch is Hotch, see 'a Real rain', 'The tribe', 'there's no place like home', 'painless' just a few episode where Hotch took down the unsub without flinching.
"the training scene with Morgan where he came off as a hard-nosed super experienced agent intimidating his trainees. "
And yet he made the same mistake that he came down hard on the trainee for. He said so himself to Prentiss that it was his fault she was shot and that is exactly why he came down hard on the trainee because his( the trainee) actions would have cause the team member who was in the point position to get shot. Exactly what happen to Emily. Also, It was Prentiss who asked him if they really should split up. More than this, he was against Hotch going after the unsub without waiting for backup in 'Craddle to Grave' and told Hotch so in from Prentiss but he went into that house charging without even calling for backup!
Stay on topic or we will remove posts. The topic of this episode is 'A thin Line' and what happen in that episode. If you want to talk about another episode, post in that episode thread.
Also, remain polite and respectful to the cast, crew, writers and to other fans or again your posts will deleted.
Morgan/Prentiss shines again. I really love those two and Shemar and Paget's chemistry can't be matched in my view. It's beautiful every single time, and I love them both more than ever! This was the best episode of the season without a shadow of a doubt, and I'm not really a fan of this season tbch. I absolutely adored Derek more than ever this episode, he was so sweet. I felt bad for that kid though, and it hurt to have to see Derek kill him. As someone else said, it looked like it hurt him too. I can watch this over and over again. I really hope there's another episode as good as this one in the future. We need more Derek Morgan episodes!!! Theyre always the best ones!!! He's so very underrated and his character is just the best. Love him! Thank you Virgil for giving us such a beautiful episode.:)
I have to respectfully disagree with CMRT and I don't think what happened to Prentiss was Derek's fault because Derek went in solo and Prentiss was backed up by JJ. There was a man in there trying hard to kill the woman, and they had no time for backup. They had to be quick and precise. That's why Prentiss said "you do what you think is right, and the rest is the job." Valdez messed up in the training because they went in past where the hidden threat was, which left them open to getting flanked from behind, which is what Derek demonstrated when he jumped out and shot them all...except Prentiss. lol. Derek was hard on the rookie because he is protective over Prentiss, which I think is adorable. He isn't going to forget how he almost lost Emily and he's going to be guarded because of it. I don't see anything wrong with that. Also, he admits when he is wrong, as he tried to apologize to Prentiss and blamed himself for her getting shot. Prentiss disagreed and said it wasn't his fault, it's just apart of the job, and I agree with her. None of them would have expected the unsub to be firing as soon as they entered the house and they couldn't have rushed in shooting at everything before they identified who was inside. Gah, I just loved this episode so much!!!! :D
This is a tangent, but I had to get it off my chest.
CMRT said: "Also, remain polite and respectful to the cast, crew, writers and to other fans or again your posts will deleted."
The anon simply voiced his/her opinion that they thought Hotch with Beth was too similar to his role as Greg, and you replied "Really??? have you ever watched Dharma & Greg? Probably not.". I personally felt that the response was rather rude; the excessive question marks were unnecessary and the fact that you simply assume that the anon did not watch D&G is not polite.
How are we suppose to make polite and respectful comments if the CMRT admin are not even doing what they are telling us to do?
I will respectfully and politely post comments and replies, but I sincerely hope that the CMRT also does.
Respectful opinions, and constructive disagreement is welcomed, but insulting/foul-mouthed, malicious, or just plain disrespectful comments towards anyone are not, and will be removed.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
OMG EMILY WAS THE REASON WHY TONIGHT'S EPISODE WAS AH-MAZHING.
ReplyDeleteWhen she started speaking spanish...oops there go my pants
Her getting shot... OMFG BB ARE U OK?
Her being a trooper...ILY
Her teasing Morgan...ILYMORE
Her laugh ... MARRY ME PAGET.
THIS EPISODE WAS EPIC THANKS TO PAGET BREWSTER.
oh by the way...WTF Did hotch look like a carrot? O.O
It was great to finally see Shemar Moore and Derek Morgan featured. He hasn't had nearly enough screen time in the last few seasons and it was a joy to see him shine. I'm looking forward to his long overdue story arc.
ReplyDeleteThis episode I give 2/5 stars. One star for Prentiss' wardrobe (hat, white shirt etc), and one start for Paget's laughter and jokes.
ReplyDeleteSo wait ... what was this episode about again? All I remember is Prentiss. O.O
Was there a case this week?
Ohhh right. they just showed the unsub in the first 10 minutes again.
Maybe that's why JJ no longer tells the police officers what unsub means...since the "unsubs" are no longer actually UNKNOWN subjects.
Lol this episode was horrible.
except for Prentiss.
Please everyone, when posting leave a name at the end of your post this makes it easier to reply to.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
CMRT admin
I'm really glad they gave Morgan some air time and props, finally. And Kudos to Prentiss playing all cool about being shot. Loved the camera lingering on a shot of Gube's mismatched socks, too! Ha! And I liked the Morgan/Garcia chit-chat; maybe it'll get "teasier" again in later episodes?
ReplyDeleteI'm also getting really tired of the UnSub not being...Un. I miss the mystery and suspence. :(
I don't know. Everything seemed to be too neatly put together, if that makes sense. I think having Preston(?) be a racist, but not involved in the killings would have been more interesting. And, he orchestrated the original crime? Too much. Maybe the writer was afraid that if the original assailants acted on their own, that it would appear as if the unsub's motivation was sympathetic. But, I'd have preferred that it wasn't so simple.
ReplyDeleteI also don't mind seeing the unsub early, because first, I'm not really in it for the mystery of the who. Plus, knowing what they look like is not necessarily the same as knowing who they are. I mean beyond their physical features. But, what I don't like is finding out answers to questions by watching the unsub. This episode, team poses question, and instead of watching the profilers work it out, we cut to unsub showing us what the answer is.
This is also another in a string of episodes where the women on the team barely talk. And, it's frustrating for multiple reasons. One, the show used to be praised for how often female characters interact. Two, the men talk. The women talk to the men. (And, I don't mean just spitballing theories about the case. I mean real conversation). But, the women? Very rare lately. And, since for now we have three women (two who go out in the field), it should happen more and shouldn't have to be something they have to find a way to work in. It should be as natural and as likely as any conversation between Morgan and Hotch, or Reid and Prentiss. It's not unique (sadly) to this episode, but it's something I had to get off my chest.
I also think the ending would have been stronger if it hadn't been a joke and a laugh. Even if Prentiss felt the need to say it, let Morgan not be able to respond.
Okay, despite all that, I didn't hate the episode. I can't say I really liked it, but I save hate (or even dislike) for episodes that really bother me. This was just pedestrian and seemed to want to have everything wrapped up too neatly. I thought the opening was very good. It conveyed everything without the need to show everything. And, I know it's their job, but I really liked the 9-1-1 operator. The tactical training was also interesting. Because we don't see much of that aspect of the job, and the conversation between Morgan and Prentiss. But, was his tough love approach because of guilt about what happened with Prentiss? Also, the silent stares of the team as they looked at the bloodied rooms was effective. Also, related to finding out things from watching the guest stars, at least they showed the team working out that someone was staging the crimes to look like black men were doing it before showing the unsub, instead of the other way around. And, having Prentiss get to use her language skills is always good.
One weird thing? Rossi mentioning that Helter Skelter was taken from a Beetles song. Interesting factoid, I guess, but didn't fit in a profile briefing.
To Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteYes, we did get to see the not so unsub in the first ten minutes but this time since the whole episode was not taken over by the unsub story and we got profiling and lots of the team working the case, then I had no trouble with seeing the unsub early.
For me bad episodes are like Proof and the Thirteenth Step where all we see is the unsubs. Where you feel that the team is one step behind the viewers in what they know. I watch to see the team get into the criminal minds, not to see Criminals tell or show us what they do and why. Have to say that this week and last week where good in that sense that not once did i think the team was one step behind what I knew about the unsub.
as for this Episode, loved it! Good Emily and Morgan moments. Like the training scene. The crime was interesting even if we got to find out early why the kid killed those people but then the mystery was not there it was in why the politician was involved.
Loved how Snarky Rossi was when he and Hotch arrested the politician!
I give this episode a 4/5 not as good as last week, I just LOVE the Hotch and Beth scene but it was very good.
Last week, I felt the episode was bland in comparison, and I for one did not particularly enjoy the Hotch and Beth scene. It just didn't feel like something that belonged in Criminal Minds. I would have given it a 1.5/5.
ReplyDeleteMoving onto this week's episode. It was fantastic! It felt like the old Criminal Minds was back. There was profiling, cognitive interviews (in Spanish, might I add, which was delightful), and a decent case.
The lack of female character interaction also did bother me. I understand that JJ is "Badass JJ", but she still is quite new to this whole guns and field, so I feel that she needs to learn from the other characters and interact more with Prentiss.
Hotch and Rossi were witty, but there is seriously something wrong with Thomas Gibson's makeup; he looked like an oompa loompa ... and that's putting it delicately.
Morgan and Prentiss shone the most for me in this episode. It was nice to see their training, and Prentiss speaking languages is always a nice bonus! However I will say that I am annoyed at the fact that this entire season has been about Prentiss comforting the team. I understand that they feel like they betrayed her, but not once (excluding Hotch, and only because he had her psych report and was worried about her performance on the field) did anyone stop to think about the suffering she experienced while she was alone in Paris trying to stop Doyle etc. And tonight was another prime example - Prentiss gets shot, tells the others to "not worry" and then comforts Morgan in the end. When are the other characters going to comfort her?
Back to the languages ... It's been a while since Prentiss had a lengthy dialogue in another language. There was the French with Doyle which was flawless, and now the Spanish. Kudos to Paget Brewster for doing a fabulous job!
Also, great job to the wardrobe department, everyone looked stunning tonight. Prentiss' white shirt was to die for! :)
Overall, I give this episode a 4/5. It was a gigantic improvement from last week, and I will definitely watch it again this weekend!
-Elizabeth.
I have to get this off my chest.
ReplyDeleteIts been established since Season 2 that Emily Prentiss compartmentalizes. But tonight, my heart broke, literally. To hear and see her being shot so unexpectedly, and then for her response to be "I'm good, I'm good, Go!" was truly heartbreaking. Prentiss always tries to deflect on her own emotions, as shown later on with the jet scene and her joking with Morgan.
In Season 6, she practically went on a mission to find Doyle by herself. She didn't tell the BAU, because she was concerned for their safety, and that's just the woman she is. She puts her family before her own life, as seen in "Minimal Loss". Prentiss has gone through so much suffering, emotionally and physically, and so far the only sign that she is hurting is that line "I'm having a bad day," but beyond that there has been nothing.
Paget is leaving after this season, and so Prentiss needs a honourable sendoff. Both Gideon and Elle left because they could longer handle to job etc. Prentiss should not leave Criminal Minds this way. In season two, she told Hotch that she belonged in this unit and ever since, she has fit in seamlessly. She's been through so much, so for her to leave because she just can't handle it anymore, it's disrespectful to the character. Prentiss should leave on a high and happy note. It's time she found happiness, true happiness.
If the season 7 finale is the last time I will be seeing my all-time favourite female tv character, I want my last memory of her to be filled with happiness. It's the least Emily Prentiss deserves after 6 years.
----Jonah
All I can saw is:
ReplyDeletePaget's Laugh = HEAVEN
"The lack of female character interaction also did bother me. I understand that JJ is "Badass JJ", but she still is quite new to this whole guns and field, so I feel that she needs to learn from the other characters and interact more with Prentiss."
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with this. Well, not the part of lack of female interaction. Obviously, since I brought it up, I agree with it. But, the idea that JJ is new to the field. This seems to be a common belief, but JJ has always been a full fledged agent. Season 7 is not her first time in the field. Or her second or third for that matter. Even if there's an increase since she's become a profiler, there are still multiple examples of her being in the field over the years, wearing kevlar because she was in situations that warranted her wearing them. And, I would hope since she was already in those situations, she had learned something before now. In situations where the use of her gun was a possibility, even if she ultimately didn't have to. But, she's shown to already be good with her weapon.
I'm not sure why the show implies that to be a field agent you have to be a profiler and that if someone is new to being a profiler it means they're new to the field. First, profiling is mental. It's studying behavior. The action stuff, chasing down unsubs or firing weapons is not profiling. You don't have to be a profiler to do that. That's what they do in their role as agents. Second, as I said, it contradicts what we've been shown from JJ through the years. No, she wasn't out there in every episode, but it happened enough throughout the years that she can't be called a novice. At least starting from season 3.
Now, JJ getting instructions about actual profiling? Fine. That, she's new to. Even with the often quoted "little bit of profiling" she did as a liaison, I'm sure there's a lot she could still learn. JJ being instructed on how to handle an interrogation with an unsub? Or, even better, JJ and Prentiss discussing how it feels to go one on one with an unsub in a room and how to cope with it. But, also, I want them to just talk as friends do. Not just as instructor to instructee, but as coworkers.
OK, I really liked this one. I liked the training bit at the beginning, I liked how we saw that Morgan and Prentiss are not really over Doyle, especially Morgan, not at heart. I did like the white shirt and the interview in Spanish and the teasing at the end to show that while they're not over it they *are* in the process of healing. And I *loved* snarky Rossi, oh I love that line.
ReplyDeleteBut the biggest kudos have to go to the writer Virgil Williams and everyone who approved that script for daring to go there, especially in an elections year. Inflammatory speech from the campaign stump is a huge issue and it already has triggered violence in unstable individuals and yet no one wants to speak out. At least a fictional character dared to ask a politician to tone it down for the sake of public safety. It took a big, brass, ____ to say that these days and thank you for it.
I give it a 4/5. Not having any clue to the Unsub at all before the last reel would have brought it to a 5 for me.
- RF
Good episode, but does anyone but me find it odd that this team is suffering so much guilt and sorrow over what happened to Emily, but they never seemed to be phased by the fact that they failed when they allowed Foyet to murder Haley? Morgan's supposedly carrying around all this guilt over not being able to get to Prentiss in time, yet when he was actually in charge, calling the shots, and didn't get there in time to save Haley we never saw any sign that he felt guilty about that or any sign that any member of the team felt like they had failed. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they should blame themselves over either incident, they did the best they could, but their reaction to what happened to Emily versus their reaction to what happened to Haley is like night and day. In both cases they failed to save one of their own, but the reaction to the one failing is much stronger than the it was to the other.
ReplyDeletesf81387
ReplyDeleteEmily is their teammate and the team as a whole spent more time with her than haley. That is why everyone of them was affected expecially morgan who spent the most time with her in the field. In regards to haley the team spent more time concerned for hotch during the foyet ordeal and after haley's death because he is who they are attached to not haley.
Yes, but shouldn't the team's feelings for Hotch and the notion that they had failed him have caused the same type of guilt and sorrow that the notion that they failed Emily caused? Shouldn't Morgan have been feeling the same type of guilt over having failed the man he cares so much about?
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is as much guilt because hotch was working with them the entire time they were trying to catch foyet. Even though he stepped down and morgan was lead he was still included. They did however feel very sorry for hotch and jack. Emily went off on her own without the team's knowledge and the team was racing to find her and back her up. They were gathering info and trying to protect her at the same time and got to her a few seconds late.
ReplyDeleteHotch was working with them the entire time they were trying to find Emily as well so how does that factor into how much guilt would result from the failure? The team was gathering info and trying to protect Haley and couldn't get there in time as well. Where is the difference in the situations?
ReplyDeleteObviously they weren't overly attached to Haley, but they all supposedly love and care about Hotch and should've felt like they'd failed him just as they feel they failed Emily, yet there was no indication that any of them carried around the grief and angst that some seem to be carrying around over Emily.
Like I said, it was a good episode, I just find it odd that two very similar situations garnered such different reactions.
I will reiterate that I don't personally believe any of them should feel like they failed anyone in either case, but understand that it would be completely human to go there and if they went there in one instance they should've gone there in the other.
no i mean hotch was working the team to find foyet and the team was not with emily when she went after doyle. so in a way it can be seen as the team didn't fail hotch they failed together. in relation to emily i think they feel they failed to protect her.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but I just don't see any difference in the situations so I'm going to happily agree to disagree with you and move on. : )
ReplyDeletei loved this episode. my favorite part was the training scene. all agents have to be trained that are going into the field and to someone's comment they didn't say that the trainees were profilers.
ReplyDeleteWhy do Erica and the writers continue to turn a deaf ear to us when we say we are tired of seeing the unsub so early in the episodes, sometimes even from the opening scene? That said, I did like this episode overall. There was some good team interaction, particularly Emily and Morgan, and the killer's motive wasn't obvious from the get-go. What I can't understand is why the writers from seasons 1-4 were able to give a balance of screen time to each member of the team and allow them to showcase their skills and gifts in the profiling and solving of the cases and the current writers are not. They seem to be clueless, and the chats only post the positive comments and a bunch of silly drivel so that the writers are never challenged to produce more interesting episodes. Still, at least we were not made to endure Stalker Chick in this episode so that was a plus. I'm tired of the team seeming to stumble on the answer rather than being portrayed as the trained and competent agents they are. And I'm also tired of the writers feeling that they have to make each and every unsub sympathetic. There's always some incident to try and explain why they are the way they are, as if it's not their fault, but in earlier seasons most were portrayed as the criminals they are. Think of Hotch's line in Natural Born Killers "Some people grow up to become killers. Some people grow up to catch them."
ReplyDeleteNow that I've had the chance to sit down and really look at this ep, it was a shoulder shrugger for me. It was another solid ep in the team profiling dept. and the Rossi lines were excellent (delivered in classic JM style!). To me, it always seems that when we get a Morgan ep, Hotch is basically window dressing, and IMHO, this was the same. However, I loved the Morgan/Prentiss scenes. The end one on the jet I've replayed five times. Damn, I'm really going to miss Paget/Prentiss. But what I loved about the ep was the directing. The shot of Reid's socks and his barely visible gun drawn and having the unsub hid while he delivered his rant at the end was superb. It was a metaphor for those that speak this hate but do it in the shadows. One thing that still bugs me is sure-shot JJ got two off and missed??? WTH!! *laughs* Anyway, not one of my favs of this season, but solid.
ReplyDelete@rockhotch31
ReplyDeletegood observation about when we get a Morgan episode Hotch basically is just windows dressing. CM's episodes are much more solid when Hotch is given something meaningful to do.
Lol true yes JJ who is a good shot missed not once but twice!
It was a very good episode but I still prefer last weeke episode.
@jonishackley
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I'm VERY tired of seeing the(un)sub so early. there are no mysteries there and you often feel like the team is way behind in what we know because we get to see what the (un)sub does before the team profile the (un)sub. I know it is now too late for the writers to changes things because they have already written all the scripts but I hope Erica will listen to fans and go back at not showing so much of the (un)sub and how they do things. We want to know why and how from the team working the cases not by watching the criminal commit their crimes.
This episode was a million times better than last weeks!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Virgil and the cast and crew!
3.5/5 stars
Possibly because that is all she gets asked about???
ReplyDeleteWhat on earth is wrong with the look of this show? Several scenes in last night's ep were so dark, we could hardly see what was going on. And what's with the bright pink lips on all the guys? Everybody's skin looks sunburned or orange. Very annoying, I'm sorry to say.
ReplyDeleteNot particularly looking forward to next week's episode. I am in the minority opinion that the Hotch/Beth scenes are bleh, and do not belong in Criminal Minds. It makes Hotch look too much like Greg from Dharma and Greg, and it's a waste of valuable screen time, in my opinion. Last week's episode wasn't really noteworthy. Not as horrific as "Proof" or "Painless," but the out of character-ness kind of matched it to those episodes. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteNow, in regards to this week's episode, I can say that this is the first episode from Season 7 that I can say is good, and it's sad that it took them 15 episodes to get it.
Good? Hell, it was GREAT! I absolutely LOVED the training scene with Morgan where he came off as a hard-nosed super experienced agent intimidating his trainees.
I loved the Morgan/Prentiss interactions as I feel Morgan is the only team mate that Prentiss has the highest amount of chemistry with. It just feels natural and it fits so perfectly together. The scenes with her and Hotch feel forced to me, and I honestly find myself cringing at times.
Morgan being the one to take out the unsub was LONG AWAITED, I have to say. It appeared as though the writers were going a bit too far by having Hotch go trigger happy too often this Season. Kind of got annoying and repetitive.
I'm not saying that I enjoyed seeing the unsub die (although I do enjoy violence a great deal), but it was a nice change of pace to have Morgan as the one to take him out, as he fits more into the role of being the one to confront the unsubs without flinching.
I think it was a nice balance to have Hotch and Rossi arresting the mayoral candidate while Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ handled the unsub. I could tell it kinda hurt Morgan to have to take the kid's life after trying so hard to reason with him.
The ending scene on the plane was priceless. Really enjoyed it and I could feel the scene and what the characters were trying to convey to each other. Prentiss trying to lift Morgan's mood was funny too. The way she'd react when she'd say something and he'd take it serious. Priceless!
I'm looking forward to seeing what they have cooking for Morgan coming up around the 19/20th episode, since the writers have said they've planned an arc for him where we get to see his family. I feel it's long overdue. It's been about 6 years...
5/5 for this episode for me. :)
great episode
ReplyDelete5/5 favorite moment was when prentiss was imitating morgan lol
Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete"Not particularly looking forward to next week's episode. I am in the minority opinion that the Hotch/Beth scenes are bleh, and do not belong in Criminal Minds. It makes Hotch look too much like Greg from Dharma and Greg"
Really??? have you ever watched Dharma & Greg? Probably not.
"but it was a nice change of pace to have Morgan as the one to take him out, as he fits more into the role of being the one to confront the unsubs without flinching. "
Really? Morgan is always the emotional one when confronting the unsubs, see 'Normal', 'Prince of darkness'. The one who never flinch is Hotch, see 'a Real rain', 'The tribe', 'there's no place like home', 'painless' just a few episode where Hotch took down the unsub without flinching.
"the training scene with Morgan where he came off as a hard-nosed super experienced agent intimidating his trainees. "
And yet he made the same mistake that he came down hard on the trainee for. He said so himself to Prentiss that it was his fault she was shot and that is exactly why he came down hard on the trainee because his( the trainee) actions would have cause the team member who was in the point position to get shot. Exactly what happen to Emily. Also, It was Prentiss who asked him if they really should split up. More than this, he was against Hotch going after the unsub without waiting for backup in 'Craddle to Grave' and told Hotch so in from Prentiss but he went into that house charging without even calling for backup!
Administrator reminder;
ReplyDeleteStay on topic or we will remove posts. The topic of this episode is 'A thin Line' and what happen in that episode. If you want to talk about another episode, post in that episode thread.
Also, remain polite and respectful to the cast, crew, writers and to other fans or again your posts will deleted.
Thanks,
The CMRT administrator
Morgan/Prentiss shines again. I really love those two and Shemar and Paget's chemistry can't be matched in my view. It's beautiful every single time, and I love them both more than ever! This was the best episode of the season without a shadow of a doubt, and I'm not really a fan of this season tbch. I absolutely adored Derek more than ever this episode, he was so sweet. I felt bad for that kid though, and it hurt to have to see Derek kill him. As someone else said, it looked like it hurt him too. I can watch this over and over again. I really hope there's another episode as good as this one in the future. We need more Derek Morgan episodes!!! Theyre always the best ones!!! He's so very underrated and his character is just the best. Love him! Thank you Virgil for giving us such a beautiful episode.:)
ReplyDeleteI have to respectfully disagree with CMRT and I don't think what happened to Prentiss was Derek's fault because Derek went in solo and Prentiss was backed up by JJ. There was a man in there trying hard to kill the woman, and they had no time for backup. They had to be quick and precise. That's why Prentiss said "you do what you think is right, and the rest is the job." Valdez messed up in the training because they went in past where the hidden threat was, which left them open to getting flanked from behind, which is what Derek demonstrated when he jumped out and shot them all...except Prentiss. lol. Derek was hard on the rookie because he is protective over Prentiss, which I think is adorable. He isn't going to forget how he almost lost Emily and he's going to be guarded because of it. I don't see anything wrong with that. Also, he admits when he is wrong, as he tried to apologize to Prentiss and blamed himself for her getting shot. Prentiss disagreed and said it wasn't his fault, it's just apart of the job, and I agree with her. None of them would have expected the unsub to be firing as soon as they entered the house and they couldn't have rushed in shooting at everything before they identified who was inside. Gah, I just loved this episode so much!!!! :D
ReplyDeleteThis is a tangent, but I had to get it off my chest.
ReplyDeleteCMRT said:
"Also, remain polite and respectful to the cast, crew, writers and to other fans or again your posts will deleted."
The anon simply voiced his/her opinion that they thought Hotch with Beth was too similar to his role as Greg, and you replied "Really??? have you ever watched Dharma & Greg? Probably not.". I personally felt that the response was rather rude; the excessive question marks were unnecessary and the fact that you simply assume that the anon did not watch D&G is not polite.
How are we suppose to make polite and respectful comments if the CMRT admin are not even doing what they are telling us to do?
I will respectfully and politely post comments and replies, but I sincerely hope that the CMRT also does.
Thanks,
-PJ