What a fun episode! I don't know if other video game fanatics (like I am occasionaly) but I thought this was kind of a funny episode. Though I highly doubt some video game addicts would go to such lengths as to kidnap others to 'use as playable characters' in a game if they were kicked from one they played. Who knows. Anyway loved the little hints of Rossi's gamer coming out in this episode as well as the Garcia/Kevin thing. I thought they were such a cute couple and how they broke up was sooo sad. Still have hope for a make up. Though I have my gripes with how unlikely people would create a real live version of a game and control the characters is and how the unsubs got the guns (anyone else curious???) and facility but overall thought it was a pretty good episode. 8.5/10
It was great to see Reggie Hayes as the Detective William Richards. People magazine's sexiest man alive? He is very sophisticated and serious. He has a few vital characteristics of a great actor, he can play a doctor, a lawyer, or this episode he played a detective; he displayed a free range of emotions and impulses expressed in the body and voice, I wish to see him again in the upcoming episode. I like to see Reggie Hayes' body and voice capable of telling all kinds of stories. =) I also noticed the Camden Kid from 7th Heaven.
I am sick to death of the theme where people start killing because of video games. Other than losing a Hell Mod, I don't see much of a stressor. And did they say that these kids were playing this game for many years? Would it even have been around? I don't think the writer ever really played an MMORPG. It was just ludicrous. Even more ludicrous than the unsubs confusing their fantasy world with reality was that they were able to pull this off on the first try. No practice or anything. The logistics involved were just too unbelievable. It had to be those specific kids all on that specific bus at that specific time on that specific route with no other witnesses around. The chances of that really happening are so low.. And why were they on the bus at 1:15pm anyway?
I would have found it slightly more believable if they'd mentioned that the unsubs had some sort of practice runs. Maybe first with grabbing people off of bikes or carjacking someone.
This sort of thing required organization and when we saw the unsubs they did not seem to have it together enough to have really pulled it off.
How did they get all of that equipment anyway? And if they were so great with the equipment, why couldn't they have just hacked the system and restored their characters or something? They could have gotten around the IP ban if they were IP banned.
The important details were glossed over and all we got was watching the unsubs and the victims-- which really bored the hell out of me. I would have turned it off but my cat knocked the remote on the floor so I couldn't find it.
We got very little of the team and practically no profiling. Suddenly near the end Garcia seemed to pull the names of the unsubs out of her a$$.
The stuff with Garcia and Kevin was cute and Garcia wasn't annoying in this one, but this episode was severely lacking.
Ugh. I hope the next episode is better than this one, because this was probably one of the worst of the season. I could not bring myself to care about any of the characters and only Rossi and Garcia seemed to have any personality.
Oh, and why did the girl run and hide behind Reid of all people? He's skinny as a rail. Don't you think Hotch would have been a better choice since he's slightly wider? If you're going to hide behind someone, pick someone who has the body mass to cover you completely. I did like how Reid escorted her out though.
I liked the transitions and the way this was filmed. There were some redeeming elements, but not enough to make it worth rewatching. I can't think of a single scene that I would want to watch again.
Btw, did the barn look like Tobias Henkel's barn to anyone else?
Other than the Rossi/Garcia moment at the end, I was not especially awed by this episode. Once again, I knew who the unsubs were in the first fifteen minutes. And Hotch was virtually non-existent in this ep. Again. Which I don't understand. These new writers have their moments, but they sure don't understand the character of Hotch. Being the BAU SAC does not mean you are part of the woodwork. Which makes it a very disappointing episode for me.
I agree with Rockhotch31 - The episode was good, but Hotch was non-existent and a few of the scenes with him seemed to me as though they were shot separately from the team and then added in. I understand that he already had his "moments" with the Reaper, than Beth,and now may be the time for his character to remain in the background - just like Reid and Morgan in the past but I wish the writers would be a bit more consistent with material for each character, each season. Perhaps as this season progresses, we'll see more of him. I'm getting serious "Hotch Withdrawal" with such few scenes on CM and no more tweeting!
did anybody see morgan in there?garcia should've gone down straight to him for the 'kevin-talk'....and i think they're getting married soon.rossi,the gamer,brought back the memory of him and seaver playing video games like fanatics back in season 6.I think the episode was really good!
The episode was ok, case was good if a bit hard to believe they could have pull this off and be so organized! Where would they take the money to set something like that?
Profiling was minimal. But I did find the scene with the two teen forced to play the game interesting. the tension was well done and the actors did a good job.
I did like Garcia in this episode, don't like Kevin but nothing new as I never liked him. LOVED the last scene between Garcia and Rossi and him taking away all her electronic gadgets. he sure knows her!
Adding my voice to others here who are complaing about not much Hotch. I am getting tired with VERY minimal Hotch in episodes. Why is it that the writers have to every season 'forgot' one character? Before it was Reid, now it is Hotch who is on the sideline.
anyway not much else to say about this episode, I much prefer Kim Harrison episode 'Into The Woods' which was so much more scary, creepy and much more interesting than much more recent work.
I agree with those who have noticed the lack of Hotch this season. I'm wondering if they're weaning us off of Hotch in preparation for his departure at the end of the season. Thomas signed a 2 year contract after season 6 so maybe he is not renewing this time.
I understand everyone's concerns about the plausibility of these two being able to access all the equipment and actually carry out this abduction. I wish there was some kind of quality control to these scripts, that someone would read them to discern plot holes, things that just don't make sense, etc. before they get around to filming. But I will say that this episode did hold my interest. It's just that I'm not watching CM to see new and unusual ways to kill people. I'm watching CM for what the show was conceived to be, a team of profilers getting into the mind of the perpetrators in order to catch them. This has been missing since Erica Messer took over as show runner. The current writers, sans Jim Clemente, just don't get it. This season overall has been better than season 7 so far, but I don't think we're ever going to get back to great profiling. And now with Erica taking on responsibility for another show, I don't know what to think. She can't even control this one. They have access to a real FBI profiler. Why don't they use him for ideas and to check whether or not something is possible?
The Reid mystery woman is intriguing, but I don't have confidence in this team of writers to really develop this storyline into something believable. It could be great, but I'm not optimistic. They have some interesting ideas. They just seem incapable of writing them so that the audience can really believe it could happen. This isn't supposed to be fantasy. And why, oh why, can't they give each member of the team something significant in each episode? The writers in seasons 1-4 were able to do that. Why can't these writers write for the whole team?
I agree with you completely, Jonishackley. They really need more quality control. I know it isn't easy and they have to contend with CBS putting their 2 cents in. I do think that one of the things the writers suffer from is something that I've caught myself doing when writing-- forgetting that the audience isn't privy to all of the details and forgetting to show those details that are essential for understanding the plot. This is when they need someone who does not know everything behind the plot to read a screenplay (that doesn't have the details that won't be on screen written down) so they can determine whether or not it actually makes sense. This way they can avoid some of those plot holes before filming. In this episode's case, that someone could have said things like "Wait, why are the kids on the bus at 1:15?" and "How did these two unsubs get their hands on all of this equipment- particularly the guns" or suggest alternatives like maybe throwing in a note that there were crimes of people being kidnapped by men in gas masks and then shot with paintballs or something.
Actually, I think it would have been more interesting if they were using paintball guns instead of real guns in this episode because I felt there was some disconnect in the leap from video games to actually killing. And then maybe the unsubs would have found the paintball thing to not be as satisfying and moved on to real guns-- but establishing how they got the guns would have been nice.
I miss the days when the team used to talk out the crime and say "Ok, I'm the unsub and I'm looking at this house. What am I thinking?"
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What a fun episode! I don't know if other video game fanatics (like I am occasionaly) but I thought this was kind of a funny episode. Though I highly doubt some video game addicts would go to such lengths as to kidnap others to 'use as playable characters' in a game if they were kicked from one they played. Who knows. Anyway loved the little hints of Rossi's gamer coming out in this episode as well as the Garcia/Kevin thing. I thought they were such a cute couple and how they broke up was sooo sad. Still have hope for a make up. Though I have my gripes with how unlikely people would create a real live version of a game and control the characters is and how the unsubs got the guns (anyone else curious???) and facility but overall thought it was a pretty good episode. 8.5/10
ReplyDelete-KMJ1337
It was great to see Reggie Hayes as the Detective William Richards. People magazine's sexiest man alive? He is very sophisticated and serious. He has a few vital characteristics of a great actor, he can play a doctor, a lawyer, or this episode he played a detective;
ReplyDeletehe displayed a free range of emotions and impulses expressed in the body and voice, I wish to see him again in the upcoming episode. I like to see Reggie Hayes' body and voice capable of telling all kinds of stories. =) I also noticed the Camden Kid from 7th Heaven.
Anyone else notice the kid from Ned's Declassified was one of the actors on tonights episode?
ReplyDeleteI am sick to death of the theme where people start killing because of video games. Other than losing a Hell Mod, I don't see much of a stressor. And did they say that these kids were playing this game for many years? Would it even have been around? I don't think the writer ever really played an MMORPG. It was just ludicrous. Even more ludicrous than the unsubs confusing their fantasy world with reality was that they were able to pull this off on the first try. No practice or anything. The logistics involved were just too unbelievable. It had to be those specific kids all on that specific bus at that specific time on that specific route with no other witnesses around. The chances of that really happening are so low.. And why were they on the bus at 1:15pm anyway?
ReplyDeleteI would have found it slightly more believable if they'd mentioned that the unsubs had some sort of practice runs. Maybe first with grabbing people off of bikes or carjacking someone.
This sort of thing required organization and when we saw the unsubs they did not seem to have it together enough to have really pulled it off.
How did they get all of that equipment anyway? And if they were so great with the equipment, why couldn't they have just hacked the system and restored their characters or something? They could have gotten around the IP ban if they were IP banned.
The important details were glossed over and all we got was watching the unsubs and the victims-- which really bored the hell out of me. I would have turned it off but my cat knocked the remote on the floor so I couldn't find it.
We got very little of the team and practically no profiling. Suddenly near the end Garcia seemed to pull the names of the unsubs out of her a$$.
The stuff with Garcia and Kevin was cute and Garcia wasn't annoying in this one, but this episode was severely lacking.
Ugh. I hope the next episode is better than this one, because this was probably one of the worst of the season. I could not bring myself to care about any of the characters and only Rossi and Garcia seemed to have any personality.
Oh, and why did the girl run and hide behind Reid of all people? He's skinny as a rail. Don't you think Hotch would have been a better choice since he's slightly wider? If you're going to hide behind someone, pick someone who has the body mass to cover you completely. I did like how Reid escorted her out though.
I liked the transitions and the way this was filmed. There were some redeeming elements, but not enough to make it worth rewatching. I can't think of a single scene that I would want to watch again.
Btw, did the barn look like Tobias Henkel's barn to anyone else?
Other than the Rossi/Garcia moment at the end, I was not especially awed by this episode. Once again, I knew who the unsubs were in the first fifteen minutes. And Hotch was virtually non-existent in this ep. Again. Which I don't understand. These new writers have their moments, but they sure don't understand the character of Hotch. Being the BAU SAC does not mean you are part of the woodwork. Which makes it a very disappointing episode for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rockhotch31 - The episode was good, but Hotch was non-existent and a few of the scenes with him seemed to me as though they were shot separately from the team and then added in. I understand that he already had his "moments" with the Reaper, than Beth,and now may be the time for his character to remain in the background - just like Reid and Morgan in the past but I wish the writers would be a bit more consistent with material for each character, each season. Perhaps as this season progresses, we'll see more of him. I'm getting serious "Hotch Withdrawal" with such few scenes on CM and no more tweeting!
ReplyDeletedid anybody see morgan in there?garcia should've gone down straight to him for the 'kevin-talk'....and i think they're getting married soon.rossi,the gamer,brought back the memory of him and seaver playing video games like fanatics back in season 6.I think the episode was really good!
ReplyDeleteThe episode was ok, case was good if a bit hard to believe they could have pull this off and be so organized! Where would they take the money to set something like that?
ReplyDeleteProfiling was minimal. But I did find the scene with the two teen forced to play the game interesting. the tension was well done and the actors did a good job.
I did like Garcia in this episode, don't like Kevin but nothing new as I never liked him. LOVED the last scene between Garcia and Rossi and him taking away all her electronic gadgets. he sure knows her!
Adding my voice to others here who are complaing about not much Hotch. I am getting tired with VERY minimal Hotch in episodes. Why is it that the writers have to every season 'forgot' one character? Before it was Reid, now it is Hotch who is on the sideline.
anyway not much else to say about this episode, I much prefer Kim Harrison episode 'Into The Woods' which was so much more scary, creepy and much more interesting than much more recent work.
will give this one a 7.0/10
This episode was awful.Way too much focus on the unsubs and not nearly enough on the team.There was hardly any profiling.
ReplyDeleteI think Kim must have been trying to steal Janine's title as CM worst writer with this crapisode she wrote.
Well anyway Reid was adorable,but then he always is.I did like the way the girl ran to him and how it made him smile.
I agree with those who have noticed the lack of Hotch this season. I'm wondering if they're weaning us off of Hotch in preparation for his departure at the end of the season. Thomas signed a 2 year contract after season 6 so maybe he is not renewing this time.
ReplyDeleteI understand everyone's concerns about the plausibility of these two being able to access all the equipment and actually carry out this abduction. I wish there was some kind of quality control to these scripts, that someone would read them to discern plot holes, things that just don't make sense, etc. before they get around to filming. But I will say that this episode did hold my interest. It's just that I'm not watching CM to see new and unusual ways to kill people. I'm watching CM for what the show was conceived to be, a team of profilers getting into the mind of the perpetrators in order to catch them. This has been missing since Erica Messer took over as show runner. The current writers, sans Jim Clemente, just don't get it. This season overall has been better than season 7 so far, but I don't think we're ever going to get back to great profiling. And now with Erica taking on responsibility for another show, I don't know what to think. She can't even control this one. They have access to a real FBI profiler. Why don't they use him for ideas and to check whether or not something is possible?
The Reid mystery woman is intriguing, but I don't have confidence in this team of writers to really develop this storyline into something believable. It could be great, but I'm not optimistic. They have some interesting ideas. They just seem incapable of writing them so that the audience can really believe it could happen. This isn't supposed to be fantasy. And why, oh why, can't they give each member of the team something significant in each episode? The writers in seasons 1-4 were able to do that. Why can't these writers write for the whole team?
I agree with you completely, Jonishackley. They really need more quality control. I know it isn't easy and they have to contend with CBS putting their 2 cents in.
ReplyDeleteI do think that one of the things the writers suffer from is something that I've caught myself doing when writing-- forgetting that the audience isn't privy to all of the details and forgetting to show those details that are essential for understanding the plot.
This is when they need someone who does not know everything behind the plot to read a screenplay (that doesn't have the details that won't be on screen written down) so they can determine whether or not it actually makes sense. This way they can avoid some of those plot holes before filming.
In this episode's case, that someone could have said things like "Wait, why are the kids on the bus at 1:15?" and "How did these two unsubs get their hands on all of this equipment- particularly the guns" or suggest alternatives like maybe throwing in a note that there were crimes of people being kidnapped by men in gas masks and then shot with paintballs or something.
Actually, I think it would have been more interesting if they were using paintball guns instead of real guns in this episode because I felt there was some disconnect in the leap from video games to actually killing. And then maybe the unsubs would have found the paintball thing to not be as satisfying and moved on to real guns-- but establishing how they got the guns would have been nice.
I miss the days when the team used to talk out the crime and say "Ok, I'm the unsub and I'm looking at this house. What am I thinking?"