Criminal Minds Comments thread for "All that Remains"
Here you can post comments about the Criminal Minds episode "All that remains" written by showrunner Erica Messer and directed by Criminal Minds star Thomas Gibson.
I really loved this episode! I thought all the guest stats were terrific! I also loved that finally JJ was a big part of the storyline. AJ did a great job! I happen to favor the episodes that Erica Messer writes .and I thought that's Gibson did a fabulous job in his directorial debut!
Tonight's episode was excellent...loved it!! I agree with anonymous above regarding Erica Messer's episodes. I think they have been very good throughout the years. TG did a wonderful job directing. The pace was great, guest cast was excellent, shots and camera angles all worked really well. Good job Thomas! Nice twist at the end too! Look forward to more TG directed episodes. He was really excited and expressed in his interview that he hopes to have a chance to do it again next year. Reading that made this fan very happy!
I thought Ken Olin was great. Didn't see the daughter as the killer, she was fantastic as well. Great episode and congrats to Thomas on his directing debut.
I tried to walk into this ep with an open mind. Being such a fangirl of Hotch, I didn't want that to get in the way. However, with Erica's absolutely wonderful script, I worried about nothing. It was positively riveting. I commented during a live chat at another site that I couldn't watch TG's directing skills cause I was too mesmerized by the storyline. I'm mean, how many twists can a script take. Yet, that does point to TG's direction. Let the script tell the story and then go film it. AJ and Ken Olin brought the house in this one!! And while I'm a fan of our PA Petite being kissa**, this one had her simply using her profiler skills, which was a nice touch. I loved the scene with JJ and Alex, with her figuring out JJ lost her sister. And how Erica tied that in with JJ's memories of Sera being able to go back to the house. One thing I did catch in TG's directing is focusing on Sera having the shotgun as a left-handed shooter, with her left eye also black. Shotgun recoil with a thumb up on trigger hand can give you a huge black eye. Voice of experience on that one. *red face* Bottom line, this one gets a 10. Mainly because of Erica's awesome script; AJ and Olin's performances, and TG just letting the story come out.
Thomas he is the best. We hope he know we want to see him again to direct an episode and we want him to know that we love him as an actor. I hoped today, he'll smile a lot by reading commantaires this episode. It's really a good job. Congratulations Thomas and Erica.
Great script. Thomas did a good job as well although I did find some of the angles and sound effects distracting. I thought it was still good for his first effort. The writing was amazing though...just fabulous.
Couldn't wait until tonight's episode - and I certainly was not disappointed! Mr. Gibson did an excellent job directing his first Criminal Minds show. With it's different lighting, angles, and sound effects, the twists and turns in the story line, the excellent choice of cast, the attention on details, and no focus on gore, this has to be one of Criminal Minds top episodes! But did we expect anything less from Mr. Gibson who is a phenomenal actor - we knew he would give nothing but his very best! What I also enjoyed was the "behind the scenes" posts on the preparation and planning of this show - it added so much to the dimension of the overall effect and was not only interesting and educational but made me appreciate all the hard and dedicated work of everyone on the set. It was great seeing the interaction of everyone - especially Mr. Gibson. Yes, he does have the right to "feel very proud" of this episode and we look forward to more of his acting and directing excellence in shows to come! Congratulations Mr. Gibson (and Ms. Messer) on a job well done!
Wow interesting story. Thomas did a really good job but I agree with one of the posters that some of the angles and sound effects, especially the jet sounds, were really distracting. Sometimes it just felt like he whipped back and forth really fast with the camera. It was his first time so it's all good. I liked all the actors except for the cop who I thought completely overacted his parts. He was really fake.
I loved the episode last night! Thomas Gibson did an amazing job, and I love how JJ became more involved. I really liked the scene between Blake and JJ about her sister. That episode is definitely in my top 5! It was an amazing show; I love the episodes that Erica Messer writes :)
Liked the episode very much. Exactly as I expected with TG at the helm - no bells and whistles, just good solid story telling. Kenshaw - just what you mentioned about the "whipping back and forth", I agree that it was pretty fast and slightly distracting but this would not be down to TG entirely. The editing process determines this. I generally find the editing on CM pretty good and I found the flow of the scenes in this episode pretty seemless. Of course TG will have been in on the editing/cutting process but bear in mind also the limited time. TG definitely should be back again, and although the writing in this was OK, I would love to see TG direct an episode written by former writers such as Andrew Wilder, Simon Mirren or current writer Jim Clemente/Breen Frazier.
It was OK. The local police guy was so over the top that it was immediately a no-brainer that the father didn't do it even though they threw in the DID to prolong any suspense. Once the daughter turned up she was the obvious unsub. I found the angles and camera panning distracting at times like some of the others. I liked that JJ's sister came up again - we heard about that in "Risky Business" I think, a long while back so it was nice to have continuity there. I wish they had put in one line about poor Reid - he looked pale and drawn but this was the first time we have seen him since he returned to work and a 5 second line at least referring to it would have been nice. I thought it was a good, OK episode but nothing to turn cartwheels for.
Enjoyed the episode immensely. Great writing by Erica Messer, and Thomas Gibson did a wonderful job of directing. The word I keep coming back to is "subtlety" on this episode, especially when Hotch told the Olin character his daughter was dead. Closing the door and then hearing the anguished scream left everything else to our imaginations. The absence of blood and violence in this episode did not diminish the story in the least. Loved the surprise twists as well. Hope to see Thomas direct more episodes in the future, as long as his screen time isn't lessened too much!
I thought it was ok...kind of predictable. Thomas did ok I guess but I kind of agree with others about the distracting camera angles. I don't know what it was but sometimes it made me miss what they were saying and I had to rewind back to it. I kind of wanted to know what exactly happened to the mom which they did not explain. I noticed that Reid was a bit reserved and was in protective mode. I think it's due to how Maeve's death has affected him.
The cop was waaaaaay over-the-top. I just kind of found the episode boring. I was really excited to Thomas' debut but I was left kind of disappointed.
Not a great fan of the writing, but the directing was a like a breath of fresh air. When Gubler directs, he's trying too hard to be different. When Gibson directs, it's...effortless. I couldn't look away despite the trite plot reliance on multiple personalities. There were so many angles that were new visually and character-wise. Gibson's directing style echoes his acting: subtle, sophisticated and powerful in an intellectual way. Wish we could see more of him both before and behind the camera.
Anonymous 7:42 - I agree with you - I, too, enjoyed last night's episode of CM but I couldn't quite find the words to describe Mr. Gibson's directing (and acting) style. But you said it perfectly - subtle, sophisticated and powerful in an intellectual way. Exactly - that's what makes Mr. Gibson stand out from all the others and I hope he gets his wish to direct more CM episodes in the future. I'm looking forward to it! Job well done!
It was an okay episode, but with no sympathetic characters (except Katie). Yet another female serial killer, when the odds are dramatically against it. Yet another episode from Messer where JJ cops her tween-queen superstar attitude and becomes the only person who could possibly solve the case. ROTFL.
ABOUT THOMAS GIBSON, DIRECTOR: Can only copy and paste what somebody else has written, because they've said it better that I could hope to: "the directing was a like a breath of fresh air. [...] When Gibson directs, it's... effortless. [...] There were so many angles that were new visually and character-wise. Gibson's directing style echoes his acting: subtle, sophisticated and powerful in an intellectual way."
I too, need more episodes directed by Thomas! Congratulations, Mr.G!
ABOUT ERICA MESSER'S SCRIPT: Loved it. Every mental disorder has already been covered, it's true. It's true too that as there's no more, it's something that should surprise nobody. What Erica accomplished with "All That Remains" was to give us a different look to DID, and added enough twist and turns that had us all guessing until the very last legs of the episode... and she did so showing us no gore, no violence and no easy answers coming from a magician hat, she gave us the intellectual work based on evidence that profilers do!
ABOUT JJ Was great to see back on my screen the JJ I so loved from seasons past: intelligent and smart, great playing word games, and even greater reading people on the fly and getting the upper hand! Of course, when she has the material to work with, AJ delivered as effortlessly and flawlessly as we all know she can.
One of the best episode of this season. Case was interesting, got me guessing until the end. Ken Olin did a very job playing the father. This episode had very good guest cast.
Excellent writing from Erica Messer.
Someone wrote exactly how I felt about Thomas Gibson directing so will just copy/paste the comment "Gibson's directing style echoes his acting: subtle, sophisticated and powerful in an intellectual way."
Thomas Gibson did a great job and I loved this episode.
I have to disagree with the person who said that when Matthew directs he tries to be too different. I think the scripts he's had requires it and he does a wonderful job. Lauren was less different and more of an action-packed episode and Matthew directed that beautifully. I prefer the creepy scripts he does because I can appreciate the art in his direction. It isn't everyone's cup of tea, I get it, but I think he's just doing the script justice. Mosley Lane was also done really well. When he gets a more regular script, he is able to to a wonderful job with it and I think that's important to remember.
Both Thomas and Matthew are wonderful directors who are able to deliver as per what the writing requires in a beautiful way. I'm a fan of both their styles.
I also really liked this episode. I think TG did a really good job and the camera angles really didn't bother me, in fact I thought it was shot from different angles that were kind of cool. I loved the casting of the guest stars , they were amazing. I also thought AJ did a really good job and I think she needs more of that. And I loved Erica's script, story kept me really interested and I wasn't expecting that ending..I personally think the last three episodes were the best so far this season! And just curious does anyone else think they use the names Katie and Sara alot on this show (and Abby) just saying:)
I agree with the post above, thought AJ did a great job and needs more focus or at least more material to work with to add more depth to her character. (she's one of my favourites so I always like to see more of her), sometimes I think the writers overlook JJ preferring to concentrate on Reid and Morgan for some reason. I know season 5 was basically all about Hotch but even he doesn't seem as developed as Reid, Morgan and Rossi.
TG did great too, this episode was definitely one of my favourites over the last three seasons. I hope we see more episodes like 'All that remains', it's episodes like this one which separate CM from other crime shows.
Okay I loved this episode, I especially like that it was more of a Hotch and JJ episode. I find this had a more of a who done it type feel even though everything was pointing to the father. 9/10 Also I like how Criminal Minds, in my opinion, is one of the only shows that has been consitantly good since their winter hiaitus. Some other shows haven't been quite up to par yet.
One thing I wouldn't mind in a future episode is more of a background on Blake, I am happy people are starting to accept her but come on, I want to know more about her.
Also little side note, loved how Reid brought his gun straight up as soon as Morgan put his down. Maeve's death = protective Reid.
I thought it was well done. I was particularly impressed by the lack of gore and blood. Kudos to Thomas for showing that there can be a riveting story without al that.
I too am delighted to hear him speak of doing it again next year.
I. Agree with the anonymous post above, seeing more backstory for Blake would be good, especially if it could link somehow to Rossi and Strauss, but I don't want to know more about Blake than I do about Garcia, Hotch and JJ, three characters I think we don't know that much about even over 8 seasons.
I loved the last episode, especially the amounts of Hotch and JJ, most of my favourite episodes include the two of them being center stage or having more interaction. It might just be me, but Hotch and JJ come across as the real FBI agents at heart, while the others seem to have a gimmick, trait or persona which could translate to other fields, such as garcia and her computers, Reid and Blake in academia, Rossi and his writing and Morgan idk but a lot of the timeshe doesn't act like how I would have thought an FbI agent would. I don't think I'm explaining this right, but Hotch and JJ come across as the career FBI agents (stereotypical) while the others are sometimes too quirky or unique
What I've wrote is terribly written but I'm writing off a phone. I just wanted to add that JJ and Hotch are my two favourite characters and that I like the fact that JJ and Hotch are the two professional FbI agents. I think their professionalism ties them together a lot and would like to see that area of their personalities to be something they connect with rather than them both being parents. The rest of the team come across as professional FbI agents too but idk it's just different with them, they just have different traits. Sometimes I think the writers try to play on those unique traits too much and it comes across as a little insincere such as Garcia boisterous behaviour or Reid's quirkiness and this episode just showed it was nice to have the different more subtle approach to the characters.
Still not explaining this right but I hope someone ca decipher what I mean!!
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I really loved this episode! I thought all the guest stats were terrific! I also loved that finally JJ was a big part of the storyline. AJ did a great job! I happen to favor the episodes that Erica Messer writes .and I thought that's Gibson did a fabulous job in his directorial debut!
ReplyDeleteTonight's episode was excellent...loved it!! I agree with anonymous above regarding Erica Messer's episodes. I think they have been very good throughout the years. TG did a wonderful job directing. The pace was great, guest cast was excellent, shots and camera angles all worked really well. Good job Thomas! Nice twist at the end too! Look forward to more TG directed episodes. He was really excited and expressed in his interview that he hopes to have a chance to do it again next year. Reading that made this fan very happy!
ReplyDeleteI thought Ken Olin was great. Didn't see the daughter as the killer, she was fantastic as well. Great episode and congrats to Thomas on his directing debut.
ReplyDeleteI tried to walk into this ep with an open mind. Being such a fangirl of Hotch, I didn't want that to get in the way. However, with Erica's absolutely wonderful script, I worried about nothing. It was positively riveting. I commented during a live chat at another site that I couldn't watch TG's directing skills cause I was too mesmerized by the storyline. I'm mean, how many twists can a script take. Yet, that does point to TG's direction. Let the script tell the story and then go film it. AJ and Ken Olin brought the house in this one!! And while I'm a fan of our PA Petite being kissa**, this one had her simply using her profiler skills, which was a nice touch. I loved the scene with JJ and Alex, with her figuring out JJ lost her sister. And how Erica tied that in with JJ's memories of Sera being able to go back to the house. One thing I did catch in TG's directing is focusing on Sera having the shotgun as a left-handed shooter, with her left eye also black. Shotgun recoil with a thumb up on trigger hand can give you a huge black eye. Voice of experience on that one. *red face* Bottom line, this one gets a 10. Mainly because of Erica's awesome script; AJ and Olin's performances, and TG just letting the story come out.
ReplyDeleteThomas Gibson did a wonderful job directing. I love him.
ReplyDeleteLoved it. Great show. Tg did a great job.
ReplyDeleteThomas Gibson did an AMAZING job!! So did Eica Messer!!! One of my favorite episode this far!! Love them all <33
ReplyDeleteThomas he is the best. We hope he know we want to see him again to direct an episode and we want him to know that we love him as an actor. I hoped today, he'll smile a lot by reading commantaires this episode. It's really a good job. Congratulations Thomas and Erica.
ReplyDeleteGreat script. Thomas did a good job as well although I did find some of the angles and sound effects distracting. I thought it was still good for his first effort. The writing was amazing though...just fabulous.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't wait until tonight's episode - and I certainly was not disappointed! Mr. Gibson did an excellent job directing his first Criminal Minds show. With it's different lighting, angles, and sound effects, the twists and turns in the story line, the excellent choice of cast, the attention on details, and no focus on gore, this has to be one of Criminal Minds top episodes! But did we expect anything less from Mr. Gibson who is a phenomenal actor - we knew he would give nothing but his very best! What I also enjoyed was the "behind the scenes" posts on the preparation and planning of this show - it added so much to the dimension of the overall effect and was not only interesting and educational but made me appreciate all the hard and dedicated work of everyone on the set. It was great seeing the interaction of everyone - especially Mr. Gibson. Yes, he does have the right to "feel very proud" of this episode and we look forward to more of his acting and directing excellence in shows to come! Congratulations Mr. Gibson (and Ms. Messer) on a job well done!
ReplyDeleteWow interesting story. Thomas did a really good job but I agree with one of the posters that some of the angles and sound effects, especially the jet sounds, were really distracting. Sometimes it just felt like he whipped back and forth really fast with the camera. It was his first time so it's all good. I liked all the actors except for the cop who I thought completely overacted his parts. He was really fake.
ReplyDeleteI loved the episode last night! Thomas Gibson did an amazing job, and I love how JJ became more involved. I really liked the scene between Blake and JJ about her sister. That episode is definitely in my top 5! It was an amazing show; I love the episodes that Erica Messer writes :)
ReplyDeleteLiked the episode very much. Exactly as I expected with TG at the helm - no bells and whistles, just good solid story telling. Kenshaw - just what you mentioned about the "whipping back and forth", I agree that it was pretty fast and slightly distracting but this would not be down to TG entirely. The editing process determines this. I generally find the editing on CM pretty good and I found the flow of the scenes in this episode pretty seemless. Of course TG will have been in on the editing/cutting process but bear in mind also the limited time. TG definitely should be back again, and although the writing in this was OK, I would love to see TG direct an episode written by former writers such as Andrew Wilder, Simon Mirren or current writer Jim Clemente/Breen Frazier.
ReplyDeleteIt was OK. The local police guy was so over the top that it was immediately a no-brainer that the father didn't do it even though they threw in the DID to prolong any suspense. Once the daughter turned up she was the obvious unsub. I found the angles and camera panning distracting at times like some of the others. I liked that JJ's sister came up again - we heard about that in "Risky Business" I think, a long while back so it was nice to have continuity there. I wish they had put in one line about poor Reid - he looked pale and drawn but this was the first time we have seen him since he returned to work and a 5 second line at least referring to it would have been nice. I thought it was a good, OK episode but nothing to turn cartwheels for.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the episode immensely. Great writing by Erica Messer, and Thomas Gibson did a wonderful job of directing. The word I keep coming back to is "subtlety" on this episode, especially when Hotch told the Olin character his daughter was dead. Closing the door and then hearing the anguished scream left everything else to our imaginations. The absence of blood and violence in this episode did not diminish the story in the least. Loved the surprise twists as well. Hope to see Thomas direct more episodes in the future, as long as his screen time isn't lessened too much!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was ok...kind of predictable. Thomas did ok I guess but I kind of agree with others about the distracting camera angles. I don't know what it was but sometimes it made me miss what they were saying and I had to rewind back to it. I kind of wanted to know what exactly happened to the mom which they did not explain. I noticed that Reid was a bit reserved and was in protective mode. I think it's due to how Maeve's death has affected him.
ReplyDeleteThe cop was waaaaaay over-the-top. I just kind of found the episode boring. I was really excited to Thomas' debut but I was left kind of disappointed.
Not a great fan of the writing, but the directing was a like a breath of fresh air. When Gubler directs, he's trying too hard to be different. When Gibson directs, it's...effortless. I couldn't look away despite the trite plot reliance on multiple personalities. There were so many angles that were new visually and character-wise. Gibson's directing style echoes his acting: subtle, sophisticated and powerful in an intellectual way. Wish we could see more of him both before and behind the camera.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 7:42 - I agree with you - I, too, enjoyed last night's episode of CM but I couldn't quite find the words to describe Mr. Gibson's directing (and acting) style. But you said it perfectly - subtle, sophisticated and powerful in an intellectual way. Exactly - that's what makes Mr. Gibson stand out from all the others and I hope he gets his wish to direct more CM episodes in the future. I'm looking forward to it! Job well done!
ReplyDeleteIt was an okay episode, but with no sympathetic characters (except Katie). Yet another female serial killer, when the odds are dramatically against it. Yet another episode from Messer where JJ cops her tween-queen superstar attitude and becomes the only person who could possibly solve the case. ROTFL.
ReplyDeleteABOUT THOMAS GIBSON, DIRECTOR:
ReplyDeleteCan only copy and paste what somebody else has written, because they've said it better that I could hope to: "the directing was a like a breath of fresh air. [...] When Gibson directs, it's... effortless. [...] There were so many angles that were new visually and character-wise. Gibson's directing style echoes his acting: subtle, sophisticated and powerful in an intellectual way."
I too, need more episodes directed by Thomas! Congratulations, Mr.G!
ABOUT ERICA MESSER'S SCRIPT:
Loved it. Every mental disorder has already been covered, it's true. It's true too that as there's no more, it's something that should surprise nobody. What Erica accomplished with "All That Remains" was to give us a different look to DID, and added enough twist and turns that had us all guessing until the very last legs of the episode... and she did so showing us no gore, no violence and no easy answers coming from a magician hat, she gave us the intellectual work based on evidence that profilers do!
ABOUT JJ
Was great to see back on my screen the JJ I so loved from seasons past: intelligent and smart, great playing word games, and even greater reading people on the fly and getting the upper hand! Of course, when she has the material to work with, AJ delivered as effortlessly and flawlessly as we all know she can.
One of the best episode of this season. Case was interesting, got me guessing until the end. Ken Olin did a very job playing the father. This episode had very good guest cast.
ReplyDeleteExcellent writing from Erica Messer.
Someone wrote exactly how I felt about Thomas Gibson directing so will just copy/paste the comment "Gibson's directing style echoes his acting: subtle, sophisticated and powerful in an intellectual way."
I'll give this episode a 9.5/10
Thomas Gibson did a great job and I loved this episode.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with the person who said that when Matthew directs he tries to be too different. I think the scripts he's had requires it and he does a wonderful job. Lauren was less different and more of an action-packed episode and Matthew directed that beautifully. I prefer the creepy scripts he does because I can appreciate the art in his direction. It isn't everyone's cup of tea, I get it, but I think he's just doing the script justice. Mosley Lane was also done really well. When he gets a more regular script, he is able to to a wonderful job with it and I think that's important to remember.
Both Thomas and Matthew are wonderful directors who are able to deliver as per what the writing requires in a beautiful way. I'm a fan of both their styles.
I also really liked this episode. I think TG did a really good job and the camera angles really didn't bother me, in fact I thought it was shot from different angles that were kind of cool. I loved the casting of the guest stars , they were amazing. I also thought AJ did a really good job and I think she needs more of that. And I loved Erica's script, story kept me really interested and I wasn't expecting that ending..I personally think the last three episodes were the best so far this season! And just curious does anyone else think they use the names Katie and Sara alot on this show (and Abby) just saying:)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the post above, thought AJ did a great job and needs more focus or at least more material to work with to add more depth to her character. (she's one of my favourites so I always like to see more of her), sometimes I think the writers overlook JJ preferring to concentrate on Reid and Morgan for some reason. I know season 5 was basically all about Hotch but even he doesn't seem as developed as Reid, Morgan and Rossi.
ReplyDeleteTG did great too, this episode was definitely one of my favourites over the last three seasons. I hope we see more episodes like 'All that remains', it's episodes like this one which separate CM from other crime shows.
Vi
Okay I loved this episode, I especially like that it was more of a Hotch and JJ episode. I find this had a more of a who done it type feel even though everything was pointing to the father. 9/10 Also I like how Criminal Minds, in my opinion, is one of the only shows that has been consitantly good since their winter hiaitus. Some other shows haven't been quite up to par yet.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I wouldn't mind in a future episode is more of a background on Blake, I am happy people are starting to accept her but come on, I want to know more about her.
Also little side note, loved how Reid brought his gun straight up as soon as Morgan put his down. Maeve's death = protective Reid.
I thought it was well done. I was particularly impressed by the lack of gore and blood. Kudos to Thomas for showing that there can be a riveting story without al that.
ReplyDeleteI too am delighted to hear him speak of doing it again next year.
I. Agree with the anonymous post above, seeing more backstory for Blake would be good, especially if it could link somehow to Rossi and Strauss, but I don't want to know more about Blake than I do about Garcia, Hotch and JJ, three characters I think we don't know that much about even over 8 seasons.
ReplyDeleteI loved the last episode, especially the amounts of Hotch and JJ, most of my favourite episodes include the two of them being center stage or having more interaction. It might just be me, but Hotch and JJ come across as the real FBI agents at heart, while the others seem to have a gimmick, trait or persona which could translate to other fields, such as garcia and her computers, Reid and Blake in academia, Rossi and his writing and Morgan idk but a lot of the timeshe doesn't act like how I would have thought an FbI agent would. I don't think I'm explaining this right, but Hotch and JJ come across as the career FBI agents (stereotypical) while the others are sometimes too quirky or unique
Sorry me again, Fran the anonymous list above!
ReplyDeleteWhat I've wrote is terribly written but I'm writing off a phone. I just wanted to add that JJ and Hotch are my two favourite characters and that I like the fact that JJ and Hotch are the two professional FbI agents. I think their professionalism ties them together a lot and would like to see that area of their personalities to be something they connect with rather than them both being parents. The rest of the team come across as professional FbI agents too but idk it's just different with them, they just have different traits. Sometimes I think the writers try to play on those unique traits too much and it comes across as a little insincere such as Garcia boisterous behaviour or Reid's quirkiness and this episode just showed it was nice to have the different more subtle approach to the characters.
Still not explaining this right but I hope someone ca decipher what I mean!!