Mislav

Yeah, writing a few episodes without a certain character doesn't take much effort. Especially in a TV show that has actually changed cast members so many times already. Actually giving him a meaningful story arc does. What they should have done is give him some sufficient story arc/character development when he was still available full time. Rather than still not developing his character in any meaningful way AND allowing him not to be present any episode (and why should he be, when his character isn't going anywhere?). Him not being able to find a common language nor staying out of trouble with any prisoners who confronted him (except for one guy who turned out to be working against him), despite his profiling skills and all those situation when he had to talk unsubs out of actually killing someone, him tampering with the drug supply (and thus endangering the health of at least several people, albeit evil people)... those things weren't out of character? Not to mention a sheer ridicioulness of ime character going through all that shit: schizophrenic mother, his father leaving, getting bullied at school, being abducted and tortured, getting addicted to drugs, being abducted again and having his girlfriend killed in front of him, his former mentor (Gideon) getting murdered, his mother developing Alzheimer's, being framed for murder...

Not meaning to sound condescending, but it is kind of a writer's fault for not giving him much to do over the last couple of seasons. Even if they didn't expect Matthew to possibly leave the show at some point (which I still hope he won't do), they could have made sure there was some closure to his character; if not in case he might leave the show, then simply because he's been on the show for ten years already (I'm referring to the season when Spencer Reid's character became especially stagnant) and he deserved some personal storyline or development. If not a love interest, maybe just a good friend outside the BAU, or maybe making clear that he isn't looking for a relationship and is at peace with himself. It might not be completely their fault that he has been absent so much lately, but maybe he wouldn't be if he actually had something to do. Or his character could have had something to do while Matthew 0was still more or less focused on "Criminal Minds" and not all the other projects (thirteen seasons in, can you blame him)? And if he were to leave before the end of the show, fans wouldn't be as upset if his character arc seemed at least kind of complete, if he had something/someone outside of the team (except for his mom, little Henry and Derek). It is not that hard. They finally gave him a story arc in season twelve, but it revolved around him being framed for murder, doing lots of things that were just out of character, and when it ended, it didn't really change anything about the character, except traumatizing him some more. Why not try making him happy for once? It is baffling. They have screen time for him, they are willing to give him a story arc from time to time-but only as long as nothing changes and we get to see him get hurt. Plus, he is a pretty popular character, and lots of his fans do seem pretty active on social media (although maybe not as much as some other, but still). I don't know. It just doesn't make sense.

Oh, a good old "Fisher King"... I will have to "jump out" and admit I have such a love-hate relationship with that episode (well, those two episodes). Yes, we did learn a lot about characters' personal lives, and that was actually fun to watch, and the implementation of "Fisher King" myth into the murders was well done, and acting was great. But some things are just... glaringly... odd. Wrong, I daresay. Lots of things simply don't make sense. No offense, just my opinion. I am going to try and explain it the best I can. #1 Apparently, Randall Garner obtained necessary information about the team members by hacking into Garcia's computer system. Information such as Hotch's phone number, address to Gideon's cabin etc. But her system crashed only after Elle was arrested, Gideon received a package containing a human head, etc. I guess he could have hacked into Garcia's computer system sometime prior, without raising an alarm, and later make it crash intentionally, as a taunt, but it still feels hacky to me. #2 Hotel security didn't even look into the victims' adjoining room until Derek showed up? And Derek kicked the door in without pulling his gun out first? #3 After exonarating Elle and returning to Quantico, they learn that Frank Giles, who booked an adjoining room in that Jamaica hotel, has a criminal record, and is a resident of Quantico. I'm pretty sure that alone would have been enough for a warrant, and they must have found out his latest known address by that point, if they already knew his name and a crimimal record, without Garcia's help. But they don't immediately rush to his residence. They only do that after Garcia informs them she identified Frank Giles as the hacker who hacked into her system. #4 Speaking of which, if Frank Giles had a criminal record for armed robbery, rape and manslaughter, how was he able to travel from USA to Jamaica and then back to USA? There is no way he'd be granted a passport. It is not like he traveled under an alias and/or used falsified documents: it was made pretty obvious that he used his real name. #5 Why were Frank Giles and that other ex-con on a vacation together, anyway? We know why Frank was there-but how did he convince the other guy to come along? How did that work out, exactly? Were they former cellmates? FWBs on a romantic getaway? #6 True, this episode revealed next to nothing about Frank as a character: his exact pathology, how intelligent he was (or wasn't), etc. But would he really be that dumb to travel to Jamaica, and book a hotel room with his would-be-victim, under his real name? Did he plan to just flee and start a new life somewhere after Randall Garner paid him off? What if the police got to him first? #7 Even if Randall Garner was that rich, would he really just leave that bag full of money in Frank Giles' apartment after murdering him? #8 In the second part, they say that forensics recovered a partial fingerprint inside Elle's blood. But Randall Garner was badly burned in a fire, and it was shown that his hands were badly burned as well. True, we only saw that the outer part of his hands was badly burned, but still. Yes, he could still leave a fingerprint, only the one without rigid details, but on that crime scene photograph, it looked like a normal fingerprint. #9 It is also revealed that Randall Garner was institutionalized in the same mental hospital as Spencer's mother. That is how he knew other information about team members, that weren't in Garcia's system (that JJ used to collected butterflies, that Gideon likes baseball, etc.). Spencer heard it from them, he would later mention that in his letters to his mother, and she would share those information with Randall. But Spencer joined BAU in 2004, and records that Garcia pulled up showed that Randall was institutionalized from 1998 to 2001. I guess Randall and Diane could have staid in touch through the letter correspondence, but that part was never explained. It was probably just a mistake on the writer's part/goof though. #10 How did Randall Garner track down Rebecca, exactly? Did he hack into the adoption records too? Without raising any alarm? Like I said, I do like "The Fisher King" due to an insight into the character's personal lives, a very interesting implementation of Fisher King myth into the crimes, and the first appearance of Spencer's mother. And we have seen far worse season finales. But the plot doesn't make much sense. I'm sorry.

I recently rewatched the episode (getting ready for season six). After reading some of the comments on this thread, I am honestly baffled that some posters seem upset by Joan's behavior. Yes, her attitude towards Sherlock was rude, at best. But "signing secret gang leader's death warrant"? I mean, Tyus was basically a gang leader who caused (mostly indirectly, by his orders and actions but still) the deaths of dozens of people, including two children. He belonged in prison. And in the end, the only way to convict him of anything was to contact the rival gang leader and convince him to provide them with his sister's corpse. The part where Joan talks about Tyus getting murdered in prison did seem cold, but it is not like she gave the rival gang an idea to murder him. They would have eventually found out about his involvement anyway, and they already have "their men" in probably every prison in New York. That comment was simply Joan's way of convincing the guy to cooperate. And Tyus DID break the law, multiple times. HE made the choice to murder the rival gang leader's sister and start the war. And they could still place him in solitary confinement/protective custody once he was incarcerated. Yes, the rival leader is the one who actually murdered two children (well, his men did), and he got away with it, but if Joan hadn't reached out to the guy, both criminals would have gotten away. At least that leader hasn't had an immunity deal, so there is still a chance somebody will get him eventually. Not to mention, those murders, too, did happen due to a gang war that Tyus had started. What was she supposed to do; just let the guy get away? And though I agree that Joan was rude to Sherlock, Sherlock had relapsed before, and he could have simply been honest with her (say that he's been having memory loss but doesn't know why and is concerned), rather than just pretend "he lost a track of time" and act like it was not a big deal. She probably would have understood; she was a doctor, after all.

Though, like I said, I wasn't a fan of Spencer's prison arc, now that I think about it... they could have used it to bring some past (albeit minor) characters back. Imagine if some of the victims that the BAU (Spencer included) saved over the years showed up in the courtroom to show their support. I mean, BAU has saved so many people, enough for dozens of support groups... Or, if they didn't organize that themselves... how about having Garcia track them down, explain the matters and convince them to show up? A bit emotionally manipulative, maybe, but it would have at least given Garcia (of all people) something actually useful-and fairly realistic-to do. The amateur arson investigators from 1x02 "Compulsion" were awesome (minus the one who turned out to be the unsub, that is). So was Maggie from 2x22 "Legacy". And many others. Seeing them all come together to show their support for Spencer Reid-and BAU-would have been awesome.

Haven't seen the episode yet, but what I read about it makes it sound really stupid. No evidence against Flloyd? They found ten bodies in his freezer, and his "cookbook" for crying out loud! And he pretty much confessed ("they taste funny", "so is Tracy Lambert"...) Flloyd didn't reappear in sixth episode of season thirteen? That is just wrong. I read that his surviving victim, Sheryl Timmons, reappeared in this episode. If they killed her off, or made her a broken person with PTSD, I'll be really pissed off...

Just rewatched this episode today. It is not that bad when compared to the episodes from seasons eleven and twelve, and it started out promising, but the scene where Kate and Penelope gush about cute animal pictures while Spencer is working on a geographic profile (and has to interrupt them in order to inform them about his findings) was so cringy. And yes, before that, the scene where Kate jokes about beating up a perp after arresting him. What a scumb... I mean, strong, competent, admirable FBI agent she is. And the way they learned about that professor (who turned out to be the victim, not the unsub), and handled that, was just brilliant. The unsub *might* have some medical background. There is *one* medical school in *one* of the universities in the city (was it the one inside the geographic profile? I might have missed that.). *One* professor took a sabbatical shortly before the murders started and still hasn't returned to work. Of course, that is enough to storm into his apartment and search it. And the scene on the plane, when Derek, JJ and Kate joke about how many times they have been hurt on the job, laughing and chilling, when Spencer was shot in the neck literally two episodes prior (to be fair, in a previous season, but still..). I can't even.

Pretty good season with some great episodes like "100", "Uncanny Valley" and "Internet Is Forever", but probably also the season when the show starter getting less and less realistic.

Well, he didn't have any really "new" character arcs or development. Writers just tortured him some more, like they did with Tobias Hankel, and Maeve's death, and Gideon's death. Making him happy for once, maybe exploring his private life, would have been much more interesting. Things like giving him a love interest, or simply a friend outside of the team. Even Rossi has a daughter, a granddaughter, and a love interest, for God's sake! How about actually doing something with the character (Spencer) once you give him more screen time? Pretty much nothing new has happened to him from season nine. Then his mother got Alzheimer's, but he managed to obtain an experimental cure. Then he was framed and he went to prison. He is out now. And... now what? Same old? Or maybe he will have to deal with even more traumas now. Possibly even PTSD. Fun. *sarcasm*

Why would Spencer even consider it though? The child is not his, and it is not like the child's mother is somebody he is in love with, or a friend, or a family member. At the risk of sounding cold, why would he even consider being a part of this child's life? Just to make sure the child won't grow up to be like his/her mother, maybe? But that still seems pretty far fetched. Also, did Lindsay really, well, basically rape Spencer in order to obtain his semen? I guess not, because the child isn't his. But that is still kind of an elephant in the room-I hope they don't go there.

So, Floyd will reappear in the sixth episode of season thirteen? How fitting...

So, "Criminal Minds" has become McDonalds of TV shows? LOL

A fifteen year old girl is raped. A few days later, a twelve year old girl, living just a few blocks away from the first victim, goes missing. The media gets a hold of some information, and they end up blowing the story out of proportion, claiming that a serial rapist/killer is on the loose. Soon enough, a crime wave hits New York City. Another teenage girl is raped, but in a different neighborhood. Soon afterwards, a father and his teenage daughter are found shot to death in his car. The killer left a news clipping about the rapes on the crime scene. The very next day, a teenage girl is found stabbed to death in her home. That same day, the mother of the second victim (the girl who is currently missing) receives a ransom note. The "author" demands that the mother leaves fifty thousand dollars in unmarked bills, on an isolated location in Central Park, within 24 hours, or her daughter dies. In the end, it turns out that the first victim was raped by some creep who'd sometimes deliver food to her house (a registered sex offender/junkie/lowlife variety, nothing special). The second victim was abducted by her father (in the middle of custody battle). The other victims were all raped/murdered by different perpetraitors, and most of them turn out to be the people they knew (friends, coworkers, etc.) The third victim was raped by her (male) friend, who was secretly attracted to her for a long time, and was also a closeted sexual sadist. Victims number four and five, the father and his teenage daughter, were murdered by the father's brother-in-law, because the father was abusive towards his wife. The brother-in-law hated the daughter too, because his sister claimed that her husband never touched her (his daughter); also, she wasn't her biological daughter, but her husband's daughter from his first marriage. (Geez, even I have trouble understanding that...) The sixth victim was murdered by her (female) classmate, because she [the victim] "stole" her boyfriend a few months ago. The ransom note was sent by a desperate young woman who suffered from leukemia, and was in a need for money. She heard about the case on the news and decided to take advantage of it. She actually had nothing to do with any of those crimes, abduction included. All those perps had fantasies/desires about murdering/raping their victims, for a long time. When the media blew the news about the first rape (and a later abduction) out of proportion, claiming that a serial rapist (and, possibly, killer) was on the loose, the creeps in disguise all rushed to carry out their plans, hoping to pin their crimes on "that guy". It just goes to show that, in real life, rapists and killers rarely go after random victims... and how crappy the everyday life can be.

Maeve's death changed Spencer too. It didn't make him darker, but... after all the grieving in season eight, he did seem more sassy and sneaky in season nine. And, that awful Rabies episode aside, he proved himself to be quite capable on the field, despite not being seen as the "physical" type. Like when he shot the unsub in "The Caller" and subduded a suspect in "Edge of Winter". I wish they kept him that way, he was badass. And that looked really stupid and cheesy, to me at least. Not as much as the time she managed to beat up a grown man, few episodes prior, but still...

Real life psychopaths and serial killers are rarely, if ever, like Hannibal Lecter. Cat is actually more realistic than the majority of fictional "psychopaths". Though realistic doesn't necessarily equal good, after everything Criminal Minds has done over the twelve seasons, I do appreciate realism. She is supposed to have a tongue-in-cheek attitude in regards to her own pathology-Thomas Yates was similar in that regard. Also, isn't Hannibal, who you mentioned, also prone to playing mind games with protagonists? And how do you mean "every episode"? She's been in three episodes, and she only appeared for one minute in " Green Light". And what do Aubrey Plaza's interviews have with her performance on "Criminal Minds"? Also, I'm pretty sure her "awkwardness" is a part of her humor/personality. She has a very light hearted worldview and jokes around all the time. When it comes to interviews, she mostly stars in comedy or talk shows. I doubt she'd act the same if she was being interviewed about cancer, or human rights issues, for example (but why would anyone interview her about that?). What exactly do you mean by "Reid deserves much better"? Cat is not a love interest or someone who is subtly hurting Reid while he is oblivious to that. She is a villain, an antagonist. She is supposed to cause trouble. I am not a fan of Reid angst, or Reid being, well, tortured by writers, but, as long as they created that villain and started that arc, might as well bring it to the end. And, hopefully, it will end with Spencer, being a genius, finally defeating the villain and regaining his confidence, which might be exactly what happened in "Red Light", since it is unclear will the writers return to Cat, and the car crash at the end seems to be a continuation of Mr. Scratch arc (the villain that I really liked at the beginning, but he has become much worse than Cat). At the very least, Cat has some legitimite reason to dislike BAU, especially Spencer. He profiled her, leading to the team revealing her identity; he battled wits with her and won, he "figured her out"; he tricked her into surrendering. Peter Lewis... yes, BAU caught him, like they did with Cat, but he must have been expecting that, since he only hacked into their system, looking for that crooked psychiatrist, after he "murdered" all the other victims, knowing her murder, and his computer skills, will lead the investigators to him. And what's with his hate towards Hotchner? In 10x21 "Mr. Scratch", Peter subduded Aaron, drugged him, forced him to hallucinate horrifying things, and was so satisfied with that he didn't even mind being arrested, and said "I won". Why is he so obsessed with Hotchner? Part of that has been added to explain Hotch leaving the show, of course, but still... So, even if Cat is a bad "Criminal Minds" villain, she is hardly the worst.

In "Profiling 202", it was hinted that David and Hayden may break up, or go back to being friends. Thankfully. I'm not against David having a love interest... just not her. Also, Spencer is in a much bigger need for a love interest storyline.

Who is AP? Cat is portrayed by Aubrey Plaza. Pretty good actress. Also, how do you know what she's like in real life?

I may write a longer repy later, I just wanted to point something out. "They would all be caught off guard" They were in a police station, knowing that a spree killer was on the loose and that one of his victims was a police officer. Yes, Spencer should have told them-obviously. It is always better not to take any risks. And trust is important. But it is not like the unsub was planning to murder one of them specifically, on an isolated location, while they were all blissfully unaware of the fact that spree killer was on the loose. Also, it's not like Spencer was sitting on that infornation for days. If I remember correctly, he only figured it out about an hour before Owen showed up (or a few hours). Owen didn't even target any of them specifically. I'd have to watch the episode again to see how was everything organized, but I doubt Owen could have possibly killed many people in that environment. Even if there was no security outside of the station, at the door, he'd likely be gunned down as soon as he entered police station with the shotgun. By that point, all of Owen's enemies were dead, and Jordan abandoned him. Spencer knew that too, and he knew that Owen basically had nothing else to live for. Owen coming to the police station, armed, was more him trying to commit suicide-by-cop than a final mass murder. I believe that factored in Reid's decision as well-knowing Owen was more interested in hurting himself than the others. Also, there is no such thing as being completely off guard when you are a member of the BAU. Not even in their personal lives. By that episode, they had already dealt with Elle getting shot, Reid being abducted, Gideon's girlfriend being murdered and Penelope getting shot.

Well, this "Criminal Minds Wiki" entry is chilling, to say at least. Lindsey Vaughn "Lindsey subduded Reid and then drugged him with what appeared to be powerful dissociative agent scopolamine. As a result, she was able to convince suggestible Reid to stab Nadie to death." Well, that's... I preferred believing that Lindsay murdered Nadie while Reid was drugged and planted evidence against him, with him being present but not actually murdering anyone. Or that Lindsay murdered her before Spencer went to the motel room, then drugged Spencer once he got there, planted the evidence and convinced Spencer to chase after her, leading to his arrest. I mean, I know that it wasn't his fault, even if he actually stabbed Nadie to death, because he was drugged and manipulated. But I wouldn't want him to live with the knowledge that he murdered an innocent woman. Also, would he be allowed to work for the BAU again if that is the case?

I'd like to see Kate Micucci portray an unsub... I don't know what's wrong with me LOL

Really? What about "The Good Earth"? "The Lesson"? "Rabid"? "Blood Relations"? "What Happens in Mecklinburg"? "X"? "The Itch"? "Beyond Borders"? "Protection"? And, "Awake", "Future Perfect", "Drive", "The Bond", "Derek", "Inner Beauty"...

Well, it could have been worse. They could have made her the unsub.

No offense, Hotchgirl, but try imagining how it would be if they, for example, made JJ the unit chief after Hotch left.

Wow, and few years ago we thought that The Replicator and Maeve arc was over the top... Personally, I'd rather have an "ordinary" serial killer as the final villain of this show. Somebody like Frank Breitkopf. Who is resourceful and intelligent enough but is just a sexual sadist who likes playing games and prefers murdering people in "ordinary" ways such as shooting or stabbing. (Or, in Frank's case, vivisection and dismemberment. OK, not really an "ordinary" method, but still...) Speaking of such villains, "Castle" had a good thing going with Jerry Tyson. A fairly intelligent guy but basically a steet thug. A serial killer, but the one targeting women who resemble his mother, who abandoned him. No rape, no torture, no drugging their soulmates with adghhv or whatever so they'd murder them-just strangling them in their homes. But in later seasons they made him way too powerful so that kinda spoiled it. As for Nathan Harris, I had a certain story idea about that. This time, there is somebody like Nathan, murdering prostitutes and their johns, only it is a teenage girl this time rather than a boy. At the end, after she is caught, Reid interrogates her and mentions that there was a boy like her years ago, but he never hurt anyone and he got better. The unsub asks can she talk to him, see how is he better than her, how he managed to help himself. Spencer solemnly replies "That isn't possible", then starts interrogating her about the first murder. The end.

Also, there are some theories that "True Night" was a backdoor pilot for a spin-off, that didn't 'go through. The unsub getting his own show. That would have been awesome.