pumpkin

Haha fair enough :P Maybe a more accurate thing to say would be an opinion I wish wasn't true and want to unpack further? Its true of most of the long running shows I've watched but CM held out quality wise for a pretty long time and had some team member shifts that were pretty smooth in the early seasons. I would agree with this I think theres definitely been a concept shift in the show, and the characters, while not necessarily ever super well defined, used to feel like we were sort've getting to know them nonlinearly like you would with a friend. I guess my main issue now is they feel a little bit more like characters then like people :/ maybe im just having trouble suspending my disbelief what with all the changes that have been thrown there way since their original conception so to speak. My main issue with Reid is in the they've always been okay throwing challenges his way, like the drug problem and his moms mental illness and being reunited with his father, etc but recently they've just been like lets have every bad thing possible happen to him. Gideon dies in a practically throw away episode, (though I will admit i loved seeing young Gideon/Rossi flash backs!) Morgan and Hotch leave (which shouldve been a big deal for him even though the writers sortve didnt give him room to be upset about it since its a casting thing more then a writing choice) Mauve is murdered in front of him and then he goes to jail for a while, Idk I just feel like they've really been giving him a hard time with out bounce back. I also feel like something is missing in the writing they've been doing for him, whether it be his previous dorky cheerfulness or a lack of show case of his intelligence I cant really put my finger on it. I'm not sure what I wanted to see out of Garcia, I was v nervous for her character when Morgan left because she has a lot less of an outlet, and her love hate thing with Luke highlighted rather then filled that hole for me. I hear what you're saying about Emily... it would be cool to see a little more of that reconciliation addressed you know? Like if she could have a seen with Rossi about how she doesn't have to be Hotch. I also think part of it is that with all the new cast members plus a crime of the week or seasonal arch or whatever theres not a ton of room for her to take off her boss face and be Emily, confidant and friend the way she used to be. I liked JJ in early seasons, I'm not really sure when I started to have animosity to her. It's not that I don't think she could profile, that shes not smart enough, or even the shark jumping with her being a covert ops super agent. I think its possible just to write it off the changes to her as the character having become jaded after everything she's been through, but she used to have this odd combination of a kind of humility and a kind of fire. And even more then empathy I would say she had a thoughtful common sense like in the midst of something terrible she would be the one to say to the family member 'have a seat, let me get you some water.' this was something born of the original concept that each member of the team had something unique to offer, and with out these aspects she feels a lot more interchangeable and unlikeable to me, or at least closed off. I think there would've been a way to give her that agent status without loosing that humility and mindfulness towards others that made her unique and toned down her 'mean girl'-ness. Also, ****SPOILER**** i really don't see her as a unit leader

Guys what is going on i feel like they haven't made an actual profile this whole season! there was a point this episode where Reid and Garcia are like oh the victims son fits the profile- what profile you guys never made one! Its moments like that that I miss Hotch's leadership dudes favorite words were stick to the profile Also ugh not more bureau bureaucracy god!

my UO is that this show peaked seasons ago! They used to have fairly believable (if underwritten) FBI agents doing their jobs, solving a fascinating (if over the top) crime of the week using with fast paced profiler lingo and the occasional cute personal moment between the core cast members. Now Hotch is gone, Morgan is gone, Reid has been through the wringer and is almost unrecognizable, Garcia is super over the top and its not so cute, JJ traded in her humble head and compassion to become the token perfect blonde ice queen, Prentiss is so busy being Hotch that its like shes not even back (and yes shes always been an inconsistent enigma but she had a sparkle and I miss the sparkle), I'm luke-warm towards all the new characters, and everyone is always in everyones business! (Rossi is okay :) they sometimes do a cheesy old timer thing with him but I still like him at least he's consistent) The show used to have a lot more subtly and a lot more showing not telling, now it feels like the writers don't really know what to do with/how to write for half of them. I really only watch the newer episodes because I've seen the old ones too many times! one more UO: like are we out of 'normal' serial killers? the crimes of the week have gotten pretty gimmicky

This episode felt really all over the place to me:/. It sort've seemed like they had no idea what they wanted to do with it so they brought in the opioid boogey man. And yes, opioids are really big problem and there are a lot of issues around addiction, drug supply and drug criminalization in this country that need to be addressed and rethought. But they weren't saying anything new here, they were basically just like people use drugs because they're sad inside and it's a current hot button topic and total bummer. Not exactly an intricate picture of drug users, with no offered solutions aside from if your loved one is using you should be a jerk to them... how about that narcan that the EMT administered, saving a life? nah its too late because we ran out the clock with other plot lines. Which brings me back to the all over the placeness! I was really surprised to see that by like half way through the episode they were still on red herrings. Wheres the meat CM?? There was so much going on we barely had time to become invested in any of the characters. Were they stalling on the drug part of the episode till Reid got back since he's a recovered opioid abuser? (Not that they even really brought that up either. Oh drugs aren't the answer? Oh okay my bad) Even the team was scattered all over the place! Some people were still Quantico and some people were in the field and of the field people they were like oh for sure we should send in Garcia to sit on her laptop at the hospital? Add that to the fact that the episode title was literally a throw away line and that theres not really a reason this was even a BAU case you just get a whole lot of whaaat? There wasn't even any profiling! It's a shame because CM has definitely brought up social issues like this before but in a much more nuanced way. And because one of the things I've enjoyed about this show over time is how tight they keep their episode plot lines! This just felt like they ran out of red herrings and were like THE BAD GUY WAS DRUGS ALL ALONG

I really like stories that focus on jack and rebecca and i really like stories that focus on randall and beth, but these last three episodes sortve highlighted to me that theres really not enough story here for kevin and kate. I want to be interested in them, but full episodes focused on them just didnt draw my interest in the organic way as when other characters are the center of attention. kate needs more story aside from her weight, and kevin is really at his best when interacting with others yet he spent his whole episode brooding w strangers. I know these episodes were an attempt to flesh them out more, but some how they still seem sortve surface level. I'm not sure if theyve found a depth to them outside of belonging to 'big three' yet

Idk, at first i was really into the mystery of wtf pride is up to but now i feel like its gotten overly complicated. i think they might have bit off more then they can chew what with making the big bads more sympathetic. I also feel like theyre trying tone down some of the most comicbooky stuff and make things more believable but i think just being like whatevs guys its magic actually lets me suspend my disbelief more then when they try and explain me science magic... is that just me?

i think they may have lost me w this episode... just movin too slow. I hope theyre building up to something, and i felt like they were in the first few episodes. i was even one of the defenders of the slow pace! but the more bread crumbs they drop (and the longer they take to drop them) the less intriguing the mystery is. i think i wouldnt even mind a show just about the parents getting roped into pride at this point. i know the show is supposed to be about the teens but based on this episode, im not feeling like their dynamic is compelling enough to carry the show on its own.

I don't know, I think the cliffhanger of waiting to find out how the show will deal w the changes is pretty impactful for me. Especially because, as a lot of people have mentioned, the show hasn't really been dealing with the timeline shifts that should be happening because of the actions of our heroes or addressed what time travel theory we're working with here since the Lucy's sister business. (Don't think that was by design but I guess its possible they've been limiting the timeline shift impact to make this shift seem even more huge) Also I think the Lucy kidnapping thing is interesting mostly from a 'how will she interact with Flynn during this time'/'how will this effect the future of the character development' standpoint more so then from a 'omg when will we get her back we're so worried' standpoint, especially since interviews with production team seem to indicate she's gonna be rescued pretty quick. I will agree though that they could've done more visually with that moment to make it more exciting. Like she barely put up resistance and he didn't even have his gun on her or anything- I kept thinking GO DEAD BONES GIRL! COME ON!

they definitely should've caused more butterfly effect type situations by now- they threw in the lucy's sister stuff and that was cool to see some effects because of their actions, but the fact is we can't possibly know what changes should've happened in history and to their present because of all those people who survived when they should've died or died when they were meant to go on and have kids and influence others and lord knows what else. in either of the possible time travel theories we're working with (quantum fork or overwrite), this stuff should have a greater and more widespread effect then changes to a few lines of the wiki page that the ground team pull up to show the travel team about the specific event they were just a part of upon their return. but ive let all that stuff slide bc the show is fun and its TV and it would be asking this show to be a lot smarter and better thought out then it is to have them account for all that stuff (though it did piss me off when they let flynn mess with his own family history, thats seriously pushing it there-one person who survived on the hindenberg by accident caused lucy's mom never meet her step dad thus her not having a sister, her mom not being sick and her having a fiancé but despite the millions of changes to flynns moms life that having a kid vs having a dead kid entails she still meets flynns dad and has flynn? come on!) I'm excited to see where they go with it from here because a) i like the team even if some characters are a bit cliche, and b) I'm curious to see how the writers get themselves out of the time travel plot problems they create! if flynn succeeds in destroying rittenhouse, he erases not only the need for him to steal a time machine in the first place, but also the financial resources for there to have ever been a time machine since rittenhouse bankrolled the thing in the first place! how ya gonna deal, writers?? just gonna let the rittenhouse organization live? it'll be fun to see :)

so pumped for roman/ian and jane to be their own mini family!! he is the most intriguing character as far as I'm concerned, I'm way more invested in him then i was in janes boyfriend last season. maybe now he'll join FBI family? if reade doesn't die? I do think though they mentioned in the past they had to give jane a ton of the memory wipe stuff to wipe her whole system, didn't look like she actually gave him that much but i hope it has enough of an effect that they can integrate him into team FBI, or at least give him a shot at a less fucked up life and a repaired relationship with jane. it was awesome when roman turned on shepard, that women is psycho. i liked the twist w the lack of bullets though bc i think if he'd just shot her outright it would've been too easy. i think he later used that gun to actually shoot her though so idk if it actually had no bullets or if shepard had just strategically removed the one up next... maybe he shot her with a different gun idk who does everyone think got shot at the end? It has to be borden right? it seems like he's still loyal to sandstorm but i really do think he was starting to love patternson though :/ also i think i remember an episode a while ago where jane was starting to remember some things he and was v concerned about it which struck me as odd at the time but then i forgot (XD) even so we all knew it was him making the reveal pretty underwhelming... the flashback more then made up for it though i felt it was really well done, nice to watch some happy functional people in a colorful setting for a change even if one of them got blown up at the end of the cutaway--- but then again as was pointed out earlier: im also glad to see sandstorm has suspected jane's real motives this whole time bc she was skating on some pretty thin excuses most of the time and i was surprised sandstorm kept swallowing them so its nice to see that sandstorm is better then that-- felt like this episode did a pretty good job of establishing that sandstorm had their shit together a little bit more then was previously indicated, gotta say though seemed pretty unnecessary to have weller out of the way for the explosion, kinda wondering what the 'something else they had planned' was supposed to be. maybe they still need him for something, after all they never explained that surveillance tape of him in the military academy feels like the season is starting to hit its stride! i wasn't super impressed with a lot of the earlier episodes this season bc it felt like a lot of telling not showing and filler plot and awkward rushed build up that could've flowed better if they'd cut some side plot out and put in a little more effort to the interpersonal relationships and the main story, but feeling that less from the last two episodes so yay :)

^totally with you on this its been driving me nuts all season I think i have a different opinion of the whole Nas key card hand off though... i mean she pretended not to be freaked by this lawyer guy coming after her badge but could it be she's actually worried and cluing patterson in could be a way to make sure her work on sandstorm continues even if mr eyebrows takes her down?

I thought the procedural plot was fun! last week rich dot com, this time some fun twists with the guest characters on the heist crew... I like jane, i like nas, I like patternson, I'm even starting to be able to deal w weller again, but this reade and zapata shit... i don't know are they building up to something thats gonna come around to bite them in the ass like last season with mayfair? because if not I'm pretty annoyed with the fact that we spent half the episode on their drama when there was a huge roman/ian bombshell that wasn't even addressed I'm like are you guys just killing time with b plot? like I'm sorry on another show this might be a 'page turner' so to speak but I'm not devoted enough to the characters to care and it all just pales so heavily in comparison to the rest of the episode and most of the other plot lines (baby weller I'm looking at you) i thought it was cool that jane and weller finally addressed the whole jane has no friends situation, and also that they did one of those little team parties like in season one only this time how jane looked totally uncomfortable and separated. I'm glad that the show seems to be acknowledging that its not 'family FBI' verses 'family Sandstorm' and we know to root for family FBI bc they're the 'good guys.' it's more like jane surrounded by co workers on all sides but being emotionally isolated and doing what she's gotta do either because its right or because she has no choice but not nessisarly based on team loyalty. (except the way ian spoke at the end makes me think she might finally have a real friend! i mean patterson is nice to her but she hasn't had a deep relationship or a real ally since weller turned on her) I think i have a different opinion of the whole Nas key card hand off though... i mean she pretended not to be freaked by this lawyer guy coming after her badge but could it be she's actually worried and cluing patterson in could be a way to make sure her work on sandstorm continues even if mr eyebrows takes her down?

plot lines i don't want to hear about anymore: reade's abuse, baby wheller, whellers love life (DO NOT HOOK HIM UP W NAS), whatever reason wheeler is emotionally falling apart this week, jane's love life plot lines i do want to hear about: Jane's shadey past, why shepherd lied, what's the deal w nas, tell us borden is the mole if he is this show is lucky i have so much work to procrastinate or id probably stop watching so much time devoted to B plot. also i honestly think devoting more time to watching patternson crack tattoos or something like that would be better then the half baked crime of the week they have to stop. more like shoot out of the week honestly, its so unsatisfying that they all just end in massive shoot outs. maybe if half the episode wasn't B plot they could make the procedural aspect of the show more interesting. ^ read my mind that was wild and free actually you know what? I'm mildly interested to see what happens to reade now that he probably killed a guy. but it still though it sort of feels like his plot line is taking place on a different show i feel like this show just tries to do too much

I always feel like they gloss over building bonds between the team members on this show... in most crime team procedurals the team bonds are the bones. I know this shows trying to be a little more high concept but I can't help but think they didn't spend enough time building that foundation. also feel like i could be getting more from the sound track... why is it all high intensity instrumental all the time?!

I like this show but I hope they devote a little more time to developing the relationships between the characters this season, especially between the team members and between them and jane. I wanna rely a little less on what were told the dynamic is by the characters and a little more on chemistry we can see you know? now they're down a member after mayfairs death, and they all seem so hot and cold I'm having trouble believing they can work together at all let alone with jane! and now this episode set up this whole family versus family dynamic when the friendship/loyalty baseline between jane and the team was rushed and confused in the first place? i feel like they're leaning on having established that the team 'took her in' in season one a little bit more then i remember them having done and poor jane has no friends :/ also while i enjoy that they have so many subplots, its hard to maintain that level of b story when you're also doing the quasi procedural thing, i just hope the episodes don't get too crowded with plot lines i don't care about!