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Wednesday, May 9, 2012
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Best episode of the season and worthy of season 1-5! We had lots of profiling, we did find out about the unsub from the team ONLY, we saw who the unsub was only at the end. We got to see the team through the years as they tracked that case and the reason Rossi was the one doing the narrative was because he was the one who had to made the deal with the killer! What an awful way to spend your birthday every year :(
ReplyDeleteCongrats to writer Virgil Williams who did a very good job on this episode!
I was about to post my comment, but you fine folks at CMRT pretty much said everything I was going to say. You folks ROCK!!
ReplyDeleteThis was just an absolutely awesome episode! Virgil wrote a great ep, and kudos to the CM Hair Dept. for getting the styles of the team spot on through the scenes. And a huge shout out to Felix Alcala, who always delivers a great ep from the director's chair!!
My only complaint - couldn't it have been Hotch shirtless? ;)
i really really liked it! it was refreshing, good episode is every way.
ReplyDeleteThe actual use of profiling and mystery in this one was refreshing and much needed. I really enjoyed the episode.
ReplyDeleteI was left unsure as to whether or not the 101 names or so were including or excluding the 40 names the killer gave Rossi up front. I am surprised that Rossi didn't try to negotiate for 2 names per year since the case wasn't solved until Rossi was already in his 50s and there were 60 names left. Neither one of them would live long enough for all of the victims to be named and give the families closure.
The only thing that really marred the episode and detracted from my enjoyment was the director's choices in filming techniques. I generally prefer a still camera but don't mind a panning camera if it is slow enough. I had a problem with it in this episode because the positioning of the camera was not optimal. I'm not sure why the camera was off to the side rather than facing Rossi from the middle. Had the camera been placed in front of Rossi with him centered in the middle of the team then each team member would have had pretty much equal distance from the camera. For some reason this left some people off to the side so Morgan, Reid, and Garcia weren't as easy to see. Especially during the introductions when I felt the camera panned away from Morgan a bit too quickly when he was introduced and then did not stop moving so Reid was blurry and then paused on Garcia.
Maybe if the camera had been centered and we had a brief pause on each character rather than continuous movement it might not have been as blurry. Also, Rossi being in the forefront with Morgan, Reid, and Garcia in the background might have affected the focus of the camera as well.
I can honestly say that while I know the hair department really tried, the detail shown by the new RED camera did not help matters at all. Rossi's wig was obvious. As was the clip ons or wig on Prentiss (the color was just a tad off) and Reid's season 5 hair looked sort of like a mullet (and even Matthew admitted this on Twitter). I'm not sure what they really could have done about those problems though. Oh yeah, it seems they didn't even try to do anything with Hotch's hair so he didn't look any younger at all.
In terms of the acting, I'd say the worst part had to be the students asking the questions. I felt some of the line delivery was terrible and not believable at all. Some of the reactions seemed to be overreactions. They were somewhat underwhelming in terms of their reactions to the pictures and descriptions of the mutilation. I was a bit puzzled when the one girl said "Eww" when Reid said something about someone eating the a uterus. Yes, I get that cannibalism is icky, but it seemed overdone in comparison to the lack of reaction to the actual photos of the mutilated bodies. I would have thought they would have been more horrified than they were by the fact that these women were mutilated and by seeing the pictures.
I don't know if it was because of the directing and the flow and how the questions were asked, but they didn't seem natural to me. I can't say if it was the writing of the dialog that fell short or just the execution, but it didn't work for me. I can get some of the rehearsed sounding questions if they were pre-selected by the students to ask, but some of the questions were supposed to be on the fly but sounded rehearsed. Does that make sense?
(continued)
ReplyDeleteDespite the minor bad acting nitpick it didn't stop me from enjoying the episode. I found it particularly funny that the one annoying interrupting student was named "Zimmerman" and wondered if it was to tease fellow writer Bruce Zimmerman.
I really loved seeing a flashback to JJ in the media liaison position.
It was great to see Matthew's uncle's glasses on Reid again. Haven't seen them on the show since season 6 when the director missed that he had the glasses hanging from his tie in a few scenes in "Reflections of Desire".
It was nice to learn that Hotch was an agent at the Seattle office in 1997.
I don't mean to end on negativity, but I need to express my biggest gripe about the episode before I close-- and that is again about the camera technique. At one point while the camera panned (Rossi was lecturing) there was a bright red spot on the bottom right corner of the screen that made me think something was wrong with my eyes. I thought there had been a light shining at the camera or something. I soon realized it was someone's hair. Now, I think the director was going for the feel of being a member of the audience, but it just didn't work for me. Especially since the backs of people's heads kept passing in front of the camera and was it was very distracting. Every time I was like "GAH! Stop it!!" It really interrupted the flow and feel of the scene for me and that is a shame because it made it hard for me to enjoy the dialog.
I just hope they avoid that technique in the future.
One more thought: Was the picture somewhat grainy or strange in the flashback scenes to anyone else or was it just my TV? it was like weirdly pixelated or something and I couldn't tell if it was deliberate or some sort of broadcast issue.
Hey every body i am from Irealnd and i just watached the finale promo to find out that i was RIGHT ALL ALONG THAT THIS WOULD BE RUBBSIH WHY cause it all about jj and not REID i was really looking forward to seeing Reid being the hostage not broing will i mean who cares about him lets get real here and once again i find myself disspointed in another criminal minds finale i mean what where rick Dunkle and Ercia messer thinking that this would be a good way to end the series that has allready been the worse that season 6 they have no idea what they are doing anymore and thats why the fans should have being aksed what we would have liked to seen this year but as we all know that dont fipping care what we think even though they always say they do as last night i was looking forward to seeing the promo and i knew that REID would be back home finding facts on a computer in Garcias office in flipping knew it and know i have been proven right but before i saw it there was a just a glimer of hope that REID would a bigger role this time but oh No JJ had be once again front and centre in this worn out and dried up show Rick Dunkle said that REID would have great moments well i guess this is what he meant little boy REID has to stay home and let the big boys run the show like perious jj i flipping knew it why MATTHEW would even want to come back next year is beyond me. sorry for ranting but i had to get all of this out somewhere we shall have to wait till next week to see but we should all talk afterwards we see the faliure thatis cm finale again. Catherine.
ReplyDeleteFantastic episode - that episode is the reason why I watch the show - now with only 1 more week left - we all have to wait 4 months for season 8 - that sucks - but the show is worth the waiting - thanks E. J Jahnes
ReplyDeleteDear Catherine, punctuation and paragraph returns are our friends. : )
ReplyDeleteI liked the episode, didn't love it, but liked it. I really wasn't that impressed with the flashbacks and found that the episode dragged and didn't really hold my interest that well. I guess it was because it felt more like a documentary than an episode of CM. I thought the students seemed a bit more like high school kids than budding criminologists and the stuff with Rossi and his birthday veered a bit into the melodramatic, but all in all not a bad episode and I'd probably watch it again if it were on.
It wouldn't make my list of best episode of the season. That still goes to Unknown Subject or Foundation. But, it was good. I was worried before it started that they'd feel the need to spice up the lecture format by having the team solve the case midway through the lecture. Have some surprising clue and then race off part way. I was glad they didn't do that. Also, since I'm not the biggest Rossi fan, I was glad that the rest of the team didn't get neglected. But, I don't think if I was a fan that I'd be disappointed on that score. It was much more of a Rossi episode than last week could be called a Prentiss episode.
ReplyDeleteThe flashback scenes were interesting and amusing. I was amused and liked that they didn't try to do anything with Hotch's hair. I'm not sure it's possible to make TG look younger. Very good looking man and he doesn't look his age, but I don't think they were going to succeed in making him look 15 years younger and thought it was wiser not to try. But, I loved the subtle differences in acting to convey him being younger. The eagerness and the difference in his demeanor with Rossi. Oh, and the Seattle thing is continuity. In the pilot, Hotch mentions that he worked in the Seattle Field office.
Honestly, I wouldn't say that any of the team actually looked younger to me. I just liked seeing how well they remembered looks from early on. Although the glasses on Reid didn't coincide with the timeline of when that scene would have aired if it had been an episode. 2006 would have been more accurate. Liked that they remembered Prentiss had curls around season 3. And having JJ in a dress. Although I think the style would have fit more season 1 JJ.
One thing struck me. The repeated mentions of how not having a press liaison was a problem in the early years and part of the BAU growing was getting one sounded weird, considering. And, a little bittersweet for me. Given how they made a big deal of JJ getting a "promotion" this season, I expected them to gloss over what she did. I certainly didn't expect them to specify it and how it helped the BAU in a different but important way.
Again, personal bias means the ending didn't hit me emotionally the way it would for someone else. But, intellectually, I appreciated it. The twist didn't come off as a twist. It didn't feel like the writer was going for shock value or patting himself on the back for how clever he was. And I don't think Rossi could have gotten a better deal or more names. That was the tragedy (aside from the birthday part). He had to have known that he'd never get all the names. Because in a way, the unsub really held all the cards. There was only so much that could be offered to him. And,I get the feeling he would have been fine with taking the death penalty rather than give out more names. I took it as more of a power play than a desire to avoid death. I mean, Rossi could have refused until he agreed to two names a year, but if the unsub said no, than none of the families would have gotten closure.
Funniest thing? Talking about the jet and stressing that yes, they really do have one. I mean, considering it's one of the aspects that most detours from reality.
One of the best episodes of the season!!! Even with the Reid mullet. Please don't do that again. LOLOLOLOL
ReplyDeleteCatherine, I think you were replying to the wrong post. LOL. Sure Strauss was in the promo more than Reid was, but the promo can be misleading. There were behind-the-scenes pictures of Matthew in a Kevlar vest-- so he will probably be at the scene for at least awhile.
ReplyDeleteNot to pick on you, but with all the allcaps you sound a bit like Chicken Little thinking the sky is going to fall. LOL.
Does anyone even remember that story?
Back to the episode, it did have its flaws. There was some melodrama with Rossi but it wasn't as overdone as Morgan's melodrama in "The Company".
I still think that no court system would ever agree to let Yates off the hook (not giving him death penalty) for a single name a year. No matter how much pull Rossi had, there were victims in multiple states and I don't think they would have been able to agree to that. He would have needed to offer all of the names up front or more than one per year (for a finite number of years).
I liked the episode for being out of the box. I did not like the deal. Anyone who can do the math knows that, probably, less than half the the remaining names would ever be revealed. Was it worth it to let him off death row to bring closure to half (or less) of the victims? Surely the writers could have come up with a more creative ending. And, I am a Rossi fan, but they overdid it on the drama. I do believe his character is much tougher than they portrayed as well as more resilient.
ReplyDeleteI loved the episode. Loved every Rossi moment. Joe Mantegna was great. His acting made me feel every emotion Rossi was going through. I felt so bad for Rossi. I loved how concerned the team was for him.
ReplyDeleteThe profiling was great and everybody contributed to the lecture. I liked that the episode showed how it sometimes takes 20 years before they catch a serial killer.
The students were a little stupid though and Rossi`s and Reid`s hair looked hilarious.
Overall one of my favorite season 7 episodes.
Anon, I agree. If they had about 60 names left and one a year-- yeah.. Not acceptable. The prosecutor would have demanded all of the names up front or the guy would have to take a needle. Perhaps if he agreed to 5 names a year or something they might have considered it- but I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteThe students were stupid-- and bad actors.
The hair.. LOL. Oh man.. I know Linda tried, but the hairpiece was awful and the wig was laughable.
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