normasm

Yeah, Old Dog, i think that's my point, in the aftermath of all the crap she participated in, I think his affection is pulled back to perfunctory mode. He still loves her, but it's at arm's length now, and with eyes fully open. He can be relaxed and joking with her, as in Persuasion. Everything is forgiven and Reid has moved on, or to paraphrase Willowy, he has let it go. I'm all for that.

The Canadian preview makes this look like (cue the dueling banjos) goin' down South whar all them rednecks are inbreedin' and shootin' each other! To which, as a Southerner, I say, "oy vey!" Maybe there'll be a twist in the plot that will redeem what this seems to be, but i'll believe it when i see it. *sigh*

I feel Reid has forgiven JJ, but this whole thing recently with him intuiting her secretiveness (which he didn't see connected to Cruz like others did, he was just focusing on JJ holding back and not being honest with him. Yet again.) was to show that he does still have a connection to her. It's just a grownup one now. I feel like Reid has grown up a lot, and he just doesn't invest his emotions in her as much any more. The one bit of interaction between them after her rescue in 200 was him embracing her, pulling back, looking her straight in the eye and pursing his lips in that look of his, then immediately she looks away from him toward Cruz and that's it for the Reid/JJ love. I'm glad that she will no longer have that post-adolescent hold on his heart. He's released from his old crush. Speaking again of that scene, look at how much acting that man can do with a medium shot where he is turned 3/4 away from the camera!

missmycat, I agree completely, JJ was being pissy because she knew she was in the wrong and had hurt him deeply. When she said that about his not being able to read their microexpressions, you can see Reid slam on the breaks and get out of the damn car! He was totally trying to sting her back with the dilaudid comment, and she deserved it! And the fact they wrote Prentiss guilt-tripping him gravely disappointed me! She was always the one who understood him (besides Elle), who treated him as an adult, and the Prentiss they brought back didn't seem to have much time for him.

I really appreciate Elle, too, and a lot of it has to do with what you both said about her attitude towards Reid. LDSK is a good one for that, she tries to get Morgan to not mention Reid failing his gun qual, and what does Morgan do? Tries his best to humiliate him. And yes, the hotel room scene in Aftermath is heartbreaking every time. "Then here's to winning." Ouch. I also liked Elle's attitude towards the men. The storied Gideon, she quickly turned into "Dad." Morgan was her mentor to get into the BAU, or at least she made him that. But I like that she didn't seem at all attracted to His Hunkiness. And Hotch. She always seemed to really want to impress him most, partly because he was the leader, and partly because he was something of a grudging Ideal for her. All the yelling that goes on between them is because of sparks, and, in the end, Hotch is extremely sad she messed up. He does feel responsible, although he didn't "get her shot." (Gideon did, hee) She came across as a real woman fighting her way in the atmosphere that's tough enough for a man, twice as tough for a woman. Those writers back then are to a great degree responsible for that complexity of character. Now, JJ has no trouble being super-agent and a mom with a bikini body.

Ah, speaking about fave Reid episodes! I agree with all the ones you listed, except I love Revelations. I also can't not watch Zugzwang, just because he's so gorgeous, I love Beth Reisgraf, and because he's so gorgeous. And nice to look at. And his hair was perfect. As far as Reid/Rossi, I didn't hear a mention of Alchemy, which is probably my fave of season 8. I do have a bit of trouble sometimes with episodes that are Reid-alicious, but I can't stand the unsub story. Alchemy was OK, but i'm glad I have DVR every time I see Slave of Duty or Proof (gag). I'm glad y'all mentioned Damaged, I really love that one! The relationship between Reid and Hotch used to be so precious, so this was a great example. As is LDSK, Revelations, Tabula Rasa, Elephant's Memory, etc. I was so disappointed when there was no Reid reaction to Hotch having complications in Route 66. And in season 8, when it seemed Hotch was the one who could help Reid the most in the aftermath of Maeve, they dropped the opportunity 2 or 3 times.

I agree with your assessment of Paget's performance elevating the written Emily above what was on the page (not terribly much) to one of the essential characters to the show. I think the loss of Emily had much more detrimental affect on the show than did the loss of Mandy Patinkin. And i agree she would still be there if CBS hadn't treated her so shabbily.

The thing that bothers me about the Blake character (and I like JT, and like the character's backstory) is that the Replicator arc had such promise that they didn't develop, because, I guess, they lost courage in the face of the backlash of losing Paget, and not being willing to really give Reid the Maeve he deserved. (Do you realize that if they had just let Reid save Maeve, he could be slowly reconnecting with her and building a nice adult love relationship, without them having to show too much in the way of scenes and exposition??)

This, oh so much!!! I'm really tired of Garcia harping on her being "a genius too!" If the computers were down, or as you say the data hadn't been entered yet, or had been entered erroneously, she would not be able to help solve the case. It would be down to profiling and nothing but. Blake could weigh in on linguistic specifics, Morgan could shine on obsessional crimes as in days of yore, Rossi could be the voice of experience they have not let him be lately, and Reid would pick up everything else. He would remember case files he'd read from Day One. Obscure references from long ago literature and history. He could figure out the chemistry, mathematical probabilities, religious and cult references, and just about anything that didn't require lab results for proof! Yes, I am a Reid fan.