ForeverAlone

Yes. One of the things that consistently pisses me off about this show is the wrong geography just to fit a story. Trying to pretend that the way between Seattle and Tacoma has some isolated backwoods, rather than the heavily built up urban interstate highway it really is. Now if they wanted to put in bumper to bumper backup that would be believable. But not the crap they keep coming up with. There are isolated parts of this state, but it's certainly not between Seattle and Tacoma.

I am intrigued at the possibility of a revival until I read Erica Messer was going to be the showrunner again. I just didn't like a good majority of the episodes under her tenure, and would rather have a more hard boiled version of serial killer storytelling. As for characters, Rossi really can't come back in any official capacity, since he is long past the age of mandatory retirement. Penelope needs to be far, far away from this revival in my opinion. I would hope that about half of the team is replaced. Maybe one of them (like JJ) could be running a field office and working with the BAU on the case. If there isn't much a difference in characters or storytelling, it's like what is the point of a revival?

I enjoyed this episode. It was like a good old fashioned SVU case, with some Amanda Knox style hijinks thrown in to boot. I guessed the actual killer, just because I figured there was some sort of twist involved. I too like the return of Melinda and some actual investigative work. And be still my heart at the return of Barba. Hopefully the writers will simply ignore the abomination that was his exit story, and pretend it never existed.

I knew what was going to happen before I watched this episode (in fact that is why I chose to watch it, after missing many of the last few episodes, because I was struggling to maintain my interest in the show). I can see that what Alex did was a bit out of character for who he became, but I didn't hate how it all turned out. I preferred that to the way they wrote out George and Derek and Mark and Lexie. It didn't feel THAT false to me. Plus I liked seeing all the clips from the first several seasons, when the writing and characterization of the show was much better than it has become. I was never a hardcore Alex/Izzy shipper, but I also wasn't a Jolex shipper. So I can't say that I am devastated that they broke up. I am curious how Jo will deal with this all, but I just hope she doesn't devolve into another major depressive episode. Of course I REALLY hope that the writers don't use this turn as an excuse to pair up Linc and Jo. I really do like Linc and Amelia together, and I really, really hope Owen isn't the father of Amelia's baby. So I will likely scream bloody murder if the show goes down that road.

At the rate this show lasts, Olivia will be forced into mandatory retirement. 😂😂😂

I blame the writers and producers for the mess that is Amelia and Linc. Every dumpster worthy thing that is going on between the two of them is because the writers made conscious choices to create cheap, needless drama. I loved Amelia and Linc together, but now that they had to throw "who is the baby daddy drama" into the mix, I find that I can't even get behind them as a couple. The writers could have gone a different path, but they chose this one, and it pisses me off.

Hmmm...well at least there was more team in the second hour, but of course they had to bring Lynch back for one final, ridiculous turn. I can't believe they actually were allowed to sacrifice the private jet just to get him. And the FBI just gifted them a new one? Yeah, sure, okay. Emily should be glad she still has a job after that screw up with the SWAT team. But no more director consideration for her. Did Reid not go to the hospital after the explosion, even though he was thrown to the ground and likely would have had TBI? I found it unbelievable that they didn't do a thorough examination of him and caught an intracranial brain bleed. Shoddy storytelling on their part. The fact that Rossi didn't actually retire is nearly as ridiculous as the jet thing. I mean, let's be real. He is LONG past mandatory retirement age. Depending on which age you want to consider canon, he is either 64 or no younger than 70. So stupid. Finally Penelope's mind can be free by moving to Silicon Valley and making gobs of money without having to flit about looking at murder scenes she should have gotten used to years ago. Overall, it was okay. It certainly could have been worse. I liked Reid's scenes with Maeve, and it just drove home that the writers screwed up by killing her off for cheap shock drama. I assume he is still dating Max, but no mention of her, so who knows (and honestly, even though I liked her, I don't really care). Of the new characters, I really only LOVED Tara, even though the others were fine. But some of the camaraderie felt forced at times.

I keep checking the clock while watching the finale, and that is never a good sign. There is WAY too much unsub in this endeavor and too little team so far. I don't give a rat's ass about Everett Lynch or his daddy issues or Roberta and her abuse issues. Boring as all get out. I hope this improves in the second half.

The FBI has never promoted directly from within for the director, since it is the one political appointee position in the bureau and that recommendation would come from the president, or the Department of Justice at a minimum. It's not to say that previous directors have never worked in the FBI. Only that they didn't come directly from within. Besides, if they were going to promote directly from within, you would think they would elevate the deputy director or the associate deputy director, and not reach down into the tiny section that is the BAU. There are field offices that have bigger profiles and work forces than the mere BAU. That's not even getting into the real world political drama that surrounds the FBI, which this show has (probably wisely) never touched in the slightest. If the show was going for such a huge promotion for Emily, it would make sense if it was the associate deputy director, so she is elevated to the number three position in the Bureau, which is still a huge deal.

The second episode would have been more fun if it was a crossover with "Evil" considering the talking beast. It certainly would have been more interesting, but it could have been worse.

I hope the show continues to lean into the dark, gallows humor, because I think that is a good tone for this show. No need for dreary realism, when it can be batshit crazy fun.

I liked this episode, especially after tuning out Penelope being a flibbertygibberty Penelope. I enjoyed the relaxed vibe among the team, even when they were working the case. I enjoyed the humor, because it didn't feel forced or corny like it often has in more recent years. Tara and JJ had great team work, and it was a nice return to form for Emily. Reid was great and had good chemistry with Maxine. I'm not jumping up and down at the coupling, but it is certainly better than murdering her in front of Reid. I personally don't understand the hatred for the red crib, but I like bright baby colors.

Meh- the writers bring back a great, classic episode, but only to make it a ridiculous revenge fantasy centered on the two most recent characters. Bah. Don't soil the memory of "LDSK" with this crap.

The question I had that I didn't think the show addressed (or maybe I just missed it), is how the unsub actually tracked down the names of these people on the road trip. That would seem to be a bit of a Herculean effort, and then the additional time and effort of tracking down the group's families. If this guy was that talented, he could actually do something with his life, than being a loser criminal. All because one woman accidentally stepped on some flowers? If anything, his rage should have been directed at that Collin guy who was posing like an ass in front of the murder house. While the idea of the episode was interesting, I don't think it was adequately explained how the entire thing actually happened. The whole thing just seemed to be a reach in its execution.

Hmmm...I felt the hostage situation was ridiculous, overblown, and unnecessary. And all that time spent on the Amanda and Bucci talking it out left us with a Getz story that skipped some needed steps. There is no reason why he would have killed himself at that juncture of the case, when he likely would have gotten some sort of deal. Or at least if they were going to the die in prison route, at least make his death ambiguous. But I see no reason whey they had to show him definitively killing himself in prison, without a solid reason for doing so at that time.