Enjoy tonight's episode, and again remember that we'll have a new episode every week from now on until the finale!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Criminal Minds Comments Thread for episode 8.21 'Nanny Dearest'
Enjoy tonight's episode, and again remember that we'll have a new episode every week from now on until the finale!
Loved this episode! Season 9 needs JJ! AJ deserves to get paid the same as the rest of the cast male or female! JJ is a huge part of this show and like we saw in season 6, it's not the same show without her!
ReplyDeleteVirgil deserves two thumbs up for this episode. It reminded me very much of old school CM.
ReplyDeleteI really loved that they focused on the team and not the unsub. I was so happy the unsub wasn't revealed until the last 15 minutes of the show, that is the way it use to be.Also even though Morgan and JJ got a bit more screen time. I didn't going away feeling that any of the team members had been neglected.Another thing that made me happy is they seemed to rely a bit less on Garcia's computer skills in this episode.And I was extremely happy that Reid was the one who made that dicovery about the dog parks,which probably played a big part in helping to break the case.And I really liked that they paired Reid and Rossi together again.
Honestly if we get a ninth season of CM,which I admit doesn't look good right now, I hope we get more episode similar to this one.
I totally agree with the person above! It felt like I was back in seasons 1-4. Also even though it was JJ episode it still felt like the whole team was involved with the case. I hope other writers on CM take this as an example of a really good episode on balancing team profiling, a member outside of work, and an unsub (along with the victims).
ReplyDeleteAlso I like the pairings for partners; Rossi and Reid, Morgan and JJ, Hotch and Blake. I feel like these are much better pairings and that the actors play off of each other like that though I do kinda miss the Hotch and JJ paired but oh well.
Anyway I liked the Unsub was unknown for most of the episode and it wasn't really gory either. These are the episodes I like the most because we don't see the team as much as profiling but more relying on Garcia to get information and then they try and thread that together while we watch the unsub prolong his killings by keeping a victim throughout the episode.
But all in all this was a great episode, I tip my hat to you Virgil.
-KJ
This was classic CM and Virgil rocked the house. So did Doug A., the director. His camera shots of Tara's eyes watching the lights was spellbinding. I had been warned by some Canadian friends about the rest of the team disappearing towards the end, but I have to agree with one of the reviewers. It fit.
ReplyDeleteGreat team profiling and work to get Garcia the final clue rather than her solve most of it from her lair. ;)
And I loved the luvs at the Jareau-LaMontagne home! OMG how Mekhai has grown!! He's getting right up there with Cade!
Virgil, Doug A., the cast and crew brought it with this episode. And after last week's disaster (IMHO - don't shoot me MGG lovers) this was much needed in my world.
And to those of you worrying about CM's renewal and the contracts. The deadline was set for Tuesday night. With no word yet, I'm feeling they are getting close so that's why there's no word. At least I hope that. Fervently!
Well I happened to love this episode and the one from last week too bc of the focus on Reid. Plus I really loved the scenes between Reid and Rossi in last week episode.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind creepy episode like Alchemy, but I'd much prefer that they'd be the exception, maybe a couple per season,after all those are the kind of episodes Matthew likes to direct.
However I am really hoping that episodes like tonight's episode will become the norm, should we be fortunate enough to get another season.
The episode was OK with at least some decent profiling. However, the new JJ just sets my teeth on edge and I just do not see how she merits all the adulation. It wouldn't bother me if she decides not to return.
ReplyDeleteI loved this episode. Everyone above is right, it felt like a classic CM episode and even though it centred on J J it wasn't dominated by JJ, we saw the ores, there was plenty profiling techniques and the Unsub/victims dint take over. The episode went so quickly too.
ReplyDeleteIf I had one little annoyance, it's a little thing, I'm not keen on JJ and Morgan pair up, Morgan acts like her supervisor too much. I know he's her senior agent and she asked him for help with training before, but JJ was a field agent when she was a liaison, and she has shot people before, so I don't why I feel like he acts as though he's mollycoddling her sometimes but I do. I think like KJ I miss Hotch and JJ rare pair ups.
I thought this episode was great, I preferred it loads over last week and it was the first time I saw chemistry between JJ and Will (yeah the wedding was cute but I didn't think they needd to be married and felt as though it was based on the bank robbery and not something JJ would have done otherwise) but I got why people like Will in this episode. And even though those cones were bookended it fit in with JJs storyline so it didnt feel out of place.
This episode really made me want JJ to stay, especially if we get more insides like that (I didn't even mind the fact that JJ had some mommy issues because she was kickass as well as caring and good old JJ, this is how I want JJ to be)
Love when I love this show!
Kat
If we get a 9th season, please let it be that kind of old school CM. This is exactly what the show is about: not knowing who the unsub is and profiling!! Well done Virgil!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI thought the episode was good, as are most of the episodes this season. The JJ relationship dynamic is always a positive for me, because there needs to be someone on this team involved in a happy, healthy relationship. I understand the term "casualty of the job", but the show takes it literally. The profiling was stronger and fleshed out, which makes for a better episode. I always wonder how the team would a solve a case without Reid or Garcia. I did think that the elevator scene between Hotch and the mother would've lead to Hotch revealing something to her. Nice episode, but I am waiting for the season finale like everyone else.
ReplyDeleteWith the two female leads turning down the offers from CBS, I'm confident they'll be re-signed but I wonder how they'll be handled storyline wise.
What a welcome return to the CM of Seasons 1-4. Lots of profiling, an interesting unsub and backstory, great guest casting and lots of suspense. Unlike too many recent eps, this wasn't any particular character's episode...meaning it was not a "JJ episode," but rather she was the heroine, yet we still saw plenty of the rest of the cast and everyone contributed. Great scenes for Hotch and for Morgan too. Reid acting like a grown-up...hooray!
ReplyDeleteHoping the magic is back for good. This episode tells me that the show making team still has it...which will make it all the more frustrating if they don't keep up this level of quality going forward.
I liked the episode..it was really good.
ReplyDeleteIs it me or does SuperbadassJJ bug anyone else. She's great but seriously how did she shoot a moving target between the eyes?
Bonus: Reid with a map...always gotta love that. Reid also seems to be in better spirits.
Bonus #2: Henry/Mekhai is sooooo adorable!
JJ shot three moving dogs, who were practically jumping at her, in the dark after seeing them rip a part a woman and knowing there was an unsub in the vicinity while Reid decided to run off not allowing her a chance to question him.
ReplyDeleteShe also shot Garcias shooter point blank, through thick glass while avoiding Kevin and I'm sure JJ has been in other shootings, but the others were involved too, so I don't think it was a departure of JJs character to be a good shot. Hotch shot a dude under water and from a moving train, so I think they're both probably the best BAU shooters.
I think last season JJ's badassness stood out more, especially as JJ, Morgan and Prentiss were basically the same agent, but I think this episode finally got New personality JJ right and can't wait for more!
Shot in the head is just too much (and it's execution. Why do you have to shoot in the head in this station, I don't understand). Super!Badass!JJ! is becoming too much and to the point of comedic. I want this show to be bit more realistic like it used to be.
ReplyDeleteShot in the head is just too much (and it's execution. Why do you have to shoot in the head in this station, I don't understand). Super!Badass!JJ! is becoming too much and to the point of comedic. I want this show to be bit more realistic like it used to be.
ReplyDeleteFBI agents are trained to shoot to kill, specially after they've been shoot at.
As another commenter has already detailed, JJ has been a good shoot since the beginning of the series, and like Hotch in his 2 more surprising kills (underwater & moving train), she too needed several tries. Plus in all cases, the fact that 1 of those bullets ended being a head-shoot probably would be coincidence in real life, but still a possibility; and being the most shocking of all, why the show decided to use that option.
That said... CONGRATULATIONS, VIRGIL!! Of all the current-but-not-in-the-early-seasons writers, you're fast becoming my favorite, as you're the one that seems to understand where the greatness of our show comes from best!
Despite the fact I gave this episode 2 thumbs up count me among those who can't stand the new bad ass JJ.And the constant adulation for this character from the other characters makes me want to puke.
ReplyDeleteHowever I do not have any problems with JJ being able to shoot that guy the way she did.JJ has always been a crack shot.
In fact I'm grateful that Virgil didn't come up with some ridiculous scenario that had JJ laying her gun down and taken the unsub on in hand to hand combat like they did in "Closing Time"
I agree that this one was closer to oldschool CM. It held my interest and I think there was a good amount of sympathy for the victims.
ReplyDeleteI liked that Hotch actually talked to the mother of the missing child (Phoebe). I do wish we could have seen more of the conversation he had with her in private. That would have been nice.
I felt that the characters were all used rather well.
I liked the transition from the tub of water with the victim to Henry in the tub. Some people didn't like it, but I liked that we got to see how much weight AJ lost and that her tummy is very toned. The men have shown a LOT more skin on the show.
I do have some minor nitpicks:
1. The opening tub scene with the victim being dunked lasted too long and something seemed off-- why would she keep her eyes open in scalding water? That part could have been much shorter.
2. JJ said that she and Morgan did the cognitive interview three years ago-- JJ wasn't a profiler then. Unless she meant that she sat in on it because they wanted a female present. But wouldn't it have made more sense to have Prentiss there instead?
3. I'm ok with the format where the team gives the profile to the police and they finish each other's sentences, but I didn't like it in the format of giving a press conference. I also wish JJ had actually done the press conference instead. Just because she's a profiler now doesn't mean she lost her media handling skills. And then of course superJJ got the mention from Morgan that the press thing was her idea. Uhh. What about Hotch? He's the leader and he's the one who usually makes these decisions. I keep feeling like they are trying too hard to validate JJ as a great profiler. She's there as one, we don't need to be reminded of how awesome the writers think she is. Just use her skills and don't make a big deal out of it.
4. Speaking of making a big deal, I felt the thing at the dog park where the witness called out to what many family members probably thought was a girlfriend/wife and it turned out to be a man seemed way too obvious. It could have been far more subtle if they'd had them standing together instead of having the surprise to make it really obvious that they were making a deal out of it. I think it is much nicer when things involving gay couples are handled matter-of-factly instead of drawing attention to it.
5. In past episodes whenever some event has occurred on a specific date, the team usually has Garcia look up old news articles on events that happened in the area on said dates. Since it pertained to nannies, perhaps they should have told her to check for things that happened with nannies and that possibly involved scalding water or drowning. She could have found the story about the nanny and the baby drowning much sooner.
6. I will note that vet records (like human medical records) are private. Unlike human records, many places do not have some online database. You would have to call to individual vet offices to get info-- IF they were able to release the info. But since the BAU has its own jet and the team apprehends people, we can pretend that most things are actually online and that Garcia has access. But why, oh why, did Morgan neglect to tell Garcia the dog's name? Watch the scene again. He says the owner is John or Johnny and that the dog is a rottweiler. He NEVER says the dog's name was Rosco. I think that was an oversight.
A few more thoughts:
ReplyDeleteWhy would the guy's nanny dying trigger him to rape, torture, and kill these other nannies?
Why not some other event like a story in the paper of a child dying in a nanny's care that brought it back to him and triggered the memory? How would he even have known about the nanny's death? Was he keeping tabs on her?
Other than that nanny allowing his sister to die, did she abuse him in any way? Did she put cigarettes out on him? Did she scald him with water?
How did the guy know for sure that the women were nannies? What if they were the mothers?
It was amusing to see Reid with maps again though. I'd like to see more pairings of Rossi and JJ in the future instead of Morgan and JJ. There is something about that dynamic I don't like and I don't know why.
I forgot to mention that one of the good things is that Blake sounded more conversational instead of doing a put-on voice.
For me Morgan and JJ don't work because morgan and prentiss had a very equal/balanced partnership but with Morgan and JJ they've made JJ the subordinate always getting validation or support from Morgan and overlook the fact that she was a field agent before she became a profiler. If she were in the field with Hotch or Rossi, I don't think it would stand out as much. We also don't really see Morgan like that with anyone else. Also while JJ and Morgan were friendly before, they were never really that close IMO, and now it feels a little too acted if you know what I mean. I might read too much into this because I used to like when Morgan questioned mediaJJ's choices and there was a little, not rift but not much closeness with them. I also hated unit chief Morgan and when he interacts with JJ I get flashbacks to that period :( I think if prentiss were still here, JJ would rarely be paired with Morgan and I would like to see JJ paired with Hotch more. In my head JJ asked Morgan for help with her combat skills because of prentiss 'dying' and Hotch knowing how angry hE was asked JJ to get through to him and know JJ and Morgan have a sibling bond but I that's for fanfic and on the show, I just get the impression that the writers are trying to distinguish Morgan as the senior agent and JJ as the junior :(
ReplyDeleteMy biggest problem with "new JJ" is there's almost nothing in new her to indicate that she was once a liaison (damn good one). She hardly ever gives insight for that aspect or handles media even when she was available. I don't think she even remembers once she was a liaison and had pride for her job. The special connection once she had with Hotch (like AJ once talked about in season 5 DVD) is now almost completely gone. She is now just a field agent and great profiler with super combat skill and super shooting skill (when she shoots unsubs she always gives a head shot to make sure unsubs are dead) and great mom and wife. Yeah. I think I should consider new JJ as totally different person from old JJ, just happens to share a same name, then I can be a bit more acceptable of her (though I'm not into super!badass!woman! in general).
ReplyDeleteI still see elements of old JJ in her behaviour just not in what job she now does. I don't think it was such a jump for JJ to become a profiler, especially if that was the only way for her to come back, I just don't think the writers gave us a good explanation or a good enough reason for the job change. AKs return was defiantly overshadowed by the fact that Paget returned. The writers focused so much on returning Prentiss back from the dead that we only got one or two lines about JJ taking the classes and it had to be good enough for us that everything happened off screen. I think if they had giving us a bline in season seven aboutvJJ hating the politics of the DOD job or realising how unhappy she was in the other job instead of her b line about Henry being ill and not being there for him, I think we would have seen how desperate she wanted to come back to the BAU even if it meant taking the classes. If they had shown us JJs ease at taking the classes and had her bring I more of her media/victim skills, even if they had retained JJ presenting the cases, I think it would have flowed better. I agree JJ has changed (I don't think as much as some other people do) but if we understood why she felt she had to become badass, as they keep saying, it wouldnt feel as though she had changed too much. Even if JJ had said at the beginning that she felt inadequate at being a profiler Or wanted the rest of the team to take her serious as a profiler After years of knowing her in a different role, that she try's to hide her emotions more now, or that keeping prentiss secret made her become more closed off, I would have been a little happier. I still love JJ, she's one of my favourites but I think the writers let her down often but this episode I did like for JJ.
ReplyDeleteAs for Morgan and JJs misconnection, Morgan has a very different relationship with JJ compared with every other relationship he's had with the other females on the show (I don't know aboutbSeaver, I didn't see much of S6) but with Emily, Elle, Garcia and Jorden he's always been flirty and friendly and protective, with Blake, I don't think he's connected yet but he respects her the same as Strauss although she's the boss, but with JJ they've never really had the flirty, fun or instant relationship that he's had with others. Earlier in the show, Ed Bernero would say JJ was a cousin while the others were wither a parent or a sibling, I think this explains JJs relationship with Morgan, they're connected because of the team and they get a long well enough but there isn't a depth in their friendship. Morgan might be protective of her from time to time but it often seems like he's testing her or keeping to much of a close eye on her, like he doesn't quite know what to make of her being in the field. The way he acts to JJ is the way Hotch acted towards him in the earlier years, when Morgan would call Hotch a drill sergeant, of that makes any sense.
IMO Morgan is not acting like a superior to JJ when he is complimenting her. It is just that the writers obviously constantly feel the need to tell us how super awesome great badass perfect JJ is. It is not only Morgan who has to complment her and it has been going on throughout the series and just got worse since she is back as a profiler. Reid also had to tell us how awesome she is with his "size zero valedictorian" speech, Emily had to point out that JJ was of course "the best agent ever who took the profiler classes" and Garcia`s "JJ`s genius strikes again" makes me still cringe. And not to forget the "JJ" episode...
ReplyDeleteI would like JJ much better if the writers would not make her such a perfect Mary-Sue who never misses a shot and never loses a fight and who never makes a mistake that has lasting consequences. A few flaws make a character more realistic and far more interesting IMO.
I don't think she is perfect, she's just never really had an opportunity to have flaws like the others. She comes across as the most normal person on the team with the most normal personal life and for some that's boring especially in comparison to Reids messed up life for instance.
ReplyDeleteI think she's made little blunders but in the early years, I don't think the writers thought of JJ as a necessity that needed developing as they did with the others. She's only ever had three on screen shootings and two fights (the first being very unnecessary and only put in because the writers and AJ wanted to portray her being badass which failed IMO). I think the flaws that we have seen have been subtle, like promising victims/families things which give false hope or being caught out by a witness/victim turned unsub, or her being a mother who can't be with her kid when he needs her. Her flaws are ordinary little things that get overlooked or not played out properly. I think her making a shot is in line with old JJ and not necessarily out of the ordinary, just look at her previous shootings or even her playing darts back in season 2.
I'm biased, I like JJ and I think she is an important part of the show. I think her purpose on the team pre season6 was background stuff, that was never meant to be prominent to the storyline although I thought was a missed opportunity, I would have liked to see her pick the wrong case, or have an angry family member or cop confront her or even see her take on some of the politics for the team. She was/is supposed to be great at her job, because shes aids and elite team and is expected to get things done without recognition. But that got AJ fired and so they needed to make her more in line with the others to bring her back. JJ had the same training as the others, so whose to say she can't shoot like Hotch or fight like Morgan (not everyone has to like it) she should be smart, she's on an elite team and she's had
the same experiences as the others and picked up on a lot. It makes more sense for her to be able to fly through the classes, way more sense in comparison to Seaver,
I hope season 9 does show us her flaws, you're right it makes more interesting and realistic characters, I just don't think the wroters have given JJ the chance to develop without making the storyline about someone else or creating a redundant storyline, that no one really wanted to see in the first place. This episode saw that they could balance JJ between being a profiler and mom but I would like to see JJ being developed as a strong, kickass agent while remaining true to her character that I already see her as without making her flaws about being a mom or something we already know and doesn't really have impact.
I feel when they do JJ focused story, all they are doing now is to show us how badass kickass JJ is and its tiresome to be honest. I can just imagine how super! badass! JJ! is going to be, when we have JJ's "undercover arc" in season 9.
ReplyDeleteI hope they do that arc justice.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd like it if they sent JJ to investigate something at her old job in the DOD, where everyone knows who she is but doesnt know why she is really there and gets double crossed or something which leads to her being kidnapped or she gets hurt and has to do something which could get her in to trouble or do something that is so against her character and we get to see the fallout.
Too much to ask? :p
I juts don't want to see something for the sake of seeing JJ getting into a fight. I want to see her suffer (morbid I know) but I want to see her have a good storyline for once which isn't a copy of other storylines or is about someone else. I don't want to see her in an unrealistic situation, there should be an appropriate reason for her being in an undercover setting, but also let the writers be aware that if someone tried hard enough they could find footage of JJ online or that do a total one eighty of who JJ is and not a superset like Prentiss (which totally ruined the character for me).
anonymous said :"I think the flaws that we have seen have been subtle, like promising victims/families things which give false hope or being caught out by a witness/victim turned unsub, or her being a mother who can't be with her kid when he needs her. Her flaws are ordinary little things that get overlooked or not played out properly."
ReplyDeleteYes, you could say that are flaws. But they had never any consequences in the end. She could blame Henry being ill on Will, when she gave victims families false hopes or made them promises, she could always keep those promises and was again "perfect".
And yes, she had the same training as the others but size zero JJ outfighting an unsub who is twice her weight is still unrealistic. There are weigth categories in any combat sport competitions for a reason. When JJ shows some flaws she can always correct them and that makes her IMO a Mary-Sue character.
The writers did a great job with JJ in "Restoration" because there she was not perfect. She was sympathetic and wanted to help but her cognitive interview with Morgan did not work and she was also not able to comfort him. But it didn`t hurt their friendship at all as could be seen in their plane scene at the end of the episode. I liked JJ a lot in "Restoration".
NONE of these characters make mistakes with lasting consequences so in that sense they are ALL “perfect”. Prentiss was just as flawless, professionally and personally, dare I say more so than JJ since I really can’t think even one subtle flaw for her, and never made any mistakes so obviously she was also a Mary Sue. Oh and she was also a super awesome super-spy!
ReplyDelete“And yes, she had the same training as the others but size zero JJ outfighting an unsub who is twice her weight is still unrealistic. There are weigth categories in any combat sport competitions for a reason.”
No it’s not unrealistic and it’s definitely not comparable to sports. If that was case then there wouldn’t be any female officers allowed in the field because chances are that their opponents would be much bigger than them. It’s situations like this that training takes effect vs an opponent who doesn’t have any training.
“…I just don't think the writers have given JJ the chance to develop without making the storyline about someone else or creating a redundant storyline, that no one really wanted to see in the first place.”
also
“... I don't think it was such a jump for JJ to become a profiler, especially if that was the only way for her to come back, I just don't think the writers gave us a good explanation or a good enough reason for the job change. AJs return was defiantly overshadowed by the fact that Paget returned. The writers focused so much on returning Prentiss back from the dead that we only got one or two lines about JJ taking the classes and it had to be good enough for us that everything happened off screen.”
WORD and WORD on all of the above!
The writers really failed JJ’s character – again - in season 7 but at least in season 8 we had two really good episodes (All that remains and Nanny Dearest) that showcased how great JJ’s character is. And I really still hope for a scene, even now in season 9, where JJ has a chance to discuss her coming back as a profiler, preferably with Hotch since he was the one that first suggested she could become a profiler way back in season 2 and because I really miss the awesome interactions between Hotch and JJ.
Does anyone else think as sad as they were to see AJ go, the writers/show runners were shocked how much the CM fans wanted JJ to return that when she did they had no idea how to do it so they just made her a profiler?
ReplyDeleteIt's like they have so much potential in one character but none of them really know how to develop it. I've read fanfiction with better characterisations of JJ and what JJ could do than what I've seen in the show.
I too hope in season 9 we get some gooood JJ and Hotch interaction. I can't remember them having one conversation that wasn't about a profile and even when they paired up it was for a ll of five minutes this whole season so far :/
My hopes for season 9 is that the writers stick to developing the teams friendships and interactions with each other, sure mention their personal lives but I want to see team dinners, girls nights, boys nights out, sports nights, talks about each other, I want some conflict - not something serious just something to show the stress of working with the same people in stressfull scenarios in small places over lengths of time, seriously I can't go through a presentation with friends I've known for years without bitching about someone, you would have thought their would be the odd spat every now and again. I also want to know more about JJ, Garcia and Hotch, that has nothing to do with personal relationships, parenthood or something trivial, I want to know their backgrounds and why they do the jobs that they do. I think JJ and Garcia are the least developed, but Garcia has a very standout character, so I think JJ needs to be the one developed more. W know little things about her, but her marriage and child kind of define her the most, which isn't a bad thing, I actually didnt mind Will that much in the last episode, but I'd like to know more about JJ as an agent or as a sister or daughter even.
I
Just for the record AJ has said in interviews that when the writers , show runners and cast meet before the season to discuss character development she wanted JJ to be more badass and to go undercover. Of course as an actress she would want to do different things after playing the same character for eight years. I love the character of JJ and I hope we see a lot more story lines for her!
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to think all AJ wants (wanted) for JJ is being more and more "badass". I feel AJ is the one who doesn't respect or care JJ's former work the most. That's so sad because I loved liaison JJ and almost feel sorry for old JJ.
ReplyDeleteI think JJ will be fine. She is not just badass she also has a lot of compassion. All that remains's was great for JJ. When she was old JJ there wasn't that much for her and she was in the backrouns a lot .But I love old JJ and new JJ. I like the way this character has developed and you can't blame AJ for wanting this character to grow, I think AJ is proud of JJ and I do think she care. Anyway maybe season 9 will bring a good mix of old and new, either way we will have fun watching!!
ReplyDeleteI really liked Hotch and Mrs. Payton's scene in the elevator. I wish they showed a following conversation of them on the show. And it would have been very nice if there were an interaction between them at the end of the case.
ReplyDeleteI think season 9 has found the balance between "old" JJ and "new" JJ.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is a huge difference between the two JJs but there was definitely a change. You can understand AJ wanting her character to grow, she's been playing the same character for eight years and has had little focus on the show and got fired. AJ and the writers would obviously want to make JJ essential to the naysayers and for those reasons, they made her the same as every other character, a profiler, because that's what the shows about (not that I agree with that, I like when we get media conferences etc) and as for Garcia, she's the exception, who is obviously there for comedic relief or whatever. I wish we had a better understanding for why JJ became a profiler, because for me the transition was because of what was going on in real life with the show rather than plot line. Yes prentiss returning was a big obstacle that needed addressing, but they could have easily spent the first few episodes of season seven telling the story of Prentiss coming back from the dead without rushing the storyline and giving JJ a better return story and Seaver a better exit story. I still don't understand why Hotch was in Pakistan other than the fact EM wanted some Hotch beard. Nor do I remember why a bunch of politicians were interested in the team. Returning To the Doyle storyline through Morgan seemed a little out of the blue and I can't really remember what everyone else was up too. I think a lot of the things we complain about, such as JJ becoming a profiler is because the writers try to rush through storylines so they can get back to weekly cases. Yes that's the structure of the show and when watching reruns it's nice to just watch a random episode without waiting ages for the part two. But I think if more time was spent on storylines, things would be more valid. JJ becoming a profiler would make sense to us as would why she feels the need to be more badass. For me the replicator would feel more intense storyline if more time was spent on the team being worried about him or seeing the extent of the replicators actions throughout the season instead of forgetting all about it during a few episodes then rushing to conclude it all in the finale so we can start a new arc next season. I don't want storylines like the replicator or Doyle or JJs return to overtake every episode but if things weren't rushed or at least explained a bit better, I wouldn't feel so deflated with some storylines.