marascross

I liked the ideas in this episode more than the actual execution. It was a good counterpoint to the "criminal mastermind" premiere to follow up with an episode in which the killer is the most obvious person and just a drugged-out numbskull. It played out in a pretty much by-the-numbers fashion, though. Same with the Daisy subplot - was there ever any doubt she'd land the position? It would have been more interesting if she hadn't and had to forge a renewed determination out of the uncertainty. And as for Hodgins, shaving off an eyebrow really isn't hilarious unless you're drunk. But the prize for bad execution goes to whatever is going on with Max. One hint would have been enough, but we get multiple fatalistic comments, multiple wistful looks, and in case you still don't get it, audience, he drops a hospital bracelet. On the plus side, I did enjoy Brennan's birthday bait and switch. She's a grownup now, and would give much less of a damn about her birthday than what's happening with her friends and coworkers. I also liked the continuity of Brennan's reexamining Zack's case file and schooling herself to remain objective after her little slip up last episode, when she asked Wendell only whether there was evidence of Zack's innocence. However, there's curiously nothing on the reactions of the rest of the Jeffersonian crew to what ought to be big news - that they've solved any number of convoluted cases over the years, but missed the boat on one involving one of their own. That begs the question, are they just not showing the reactions, or do the others simply not know yet? Is Brennan holding off telling them and getting them worked up until she finds some glimmer in the evidence that what Zack is saying now is true?

Let's have Zack act creepy so we'll think it's him. Let's have Faulk act creepy so we'll think it's him. Let's have Delfs act creepy so we'll think it's her. But actually, it's really...........some guy. Well of course we'll never guess it's Dr. Whatsa-whosis, because we know nothing about him! I didn't hate it, but it didn't love it either. They spent way too much time trying to confuse us and way too little time on plot logic or emotional logic. I definitely give them a lot of credit for caring enough about the show to go back and try to fix a failed storyline. Many show runners would simply sweep the embarrassing parts under the carpet when they've gotten to the point of winding down a series. I didn't think that they achieved the satisfying resolution to the Puppeteer arc that they promised, though. The biggest problem was making the villain someone we didn't know, who no sooner is thrown at us than he's disposed of. They leave us with no handle on who he was or why he would become a serial killer, just some babble about conjoined twins and absorbing the other's personality. I'm still stuck on what was supposed to have happened there. Surgery to separate conjoined twins is generally attempted at a young age, not when the subjects are teenagers. I also don't know what surgeon would attempt it when it would surely result in the death of one of them, since he'd be missing the lower half of his body. I could only see it happening if one of the twins died and became a hazard to the health of the other. But then what -- they give you the leftover bits to tuck under your arm and take home to bury or seal up in the wall as you see fit? It just doesn't bear thinking about. I never took seriously the idea that the killer could be Zack, but it would have been more satisfying, even though easier to guess, if it had been Delfs or Faulk or someone else we at least had some history with. I also thought some of the emotional reactions of the characters were off. Last we saw, the Jeffersonian crew still loved Zack and thought of him as manipulated rather than evil. Even in the middle of last season, Hodgins still described him as a "sweet kid" and "a good friend" who received too much exposure to death. So why so ready to accept that he had somehow graduated from brainwashed dupe to full-blown, manipulative, diabolical serial killer? It's not as if they'd never seen a red herring before. I can see Booth being in a lather because his wife is missing, but Hodgins' absolute conviction of Zack's guilt strikes a false note. I would rather have seen a more complex discussion between Wendell and him instead of the silly shenanigans with the handcream sniffer. They could have simply reasoned that since Zack can't drive, and there's no sign of their exiting the building anyway, he couldn't have taken Brennan far, and the basement is a good place to hide. Done and done. I would have also preferred to see Booth's celebrated gut used in a more incisive way. His change of heart about Zack's guilt comes after a scene in which Zack demonstrates caring, empathy, and guilt -- and one would think that anyone would begin to doubt he was a serial killer at that point. Well, except Karen Delfs, apparently, who continues to insist on Zack's guilt and comes up with a completely stupid DID theory despite the fact that Zack confessed to deliberately, consciously killing the lobbyist eight years before. I guess that explains why she was banished to Kansas City. She's absolute shite as a profiler. Anyway, suppose Booth had arrived in time to see Zack pull back from killing Roshan, and was the one to have the insight that if Zack couldn't kill the sociopathic waste of humanity that just tried to murder him, he couldn't have killed the innocent lobbyist years ago, either. That has greater impact than Zack saying it himself. Booth has beaten himself up for years about having been a sniper, and he could identify with Zack's desire to punish himself by staying locked up.

Interesting. It answers one question I've had -- how could Zack kidnap an unconscious Brennan if he can't drive? From the assortment of paintings and whatnot in the background, it appears they're in a storage area and never actually left the Jeffersonian. I also would guess that the order of the photos has been shuffled such that they don't represent the actual sequence of events in the episode. There's also only one photo in which Zack is possibly menacing, and it may be just the camera angle. Also intriguing to see Karen Delfs return. Last we heard, she had been transferred to Kansas City, and it isn't as if they couldn't find another profiler in Washington DC. Does she have some particular expertise on the Gormogan case as well as the Puppeteer? Did she interview Zack before? Did she suss out an inconsistency between Zack's confession and his character?

*shrug* Too vague. The homily could just as well be applied to Virgil Williams. He'd have more support from fans if he hadn't been so rude to them.

So they crank up the media campaign to get us to accept the loss? The problem is, at this point, the show is just not worth it.

Dumpster fire.

That may be true, but what the picture and caption convey is that when life hands him a challenge, he comes out swinging.

Williams is an idiot for posting that picture. It lends credence to the idea that he made a threatening move towards Gibson.

****. What a mess. I haven't been a regular viewer of this show since Season 7, and the occasional episode I did catch was almost always a disappointment, but when I heard Emily Prentiss would be back, I seriously contemplated watching at least her episodes. Sigh. Maybe Thomas Gibson's a hothead. Maybe they're both hotheads. God only knows how long they've been butting heads over whatever. It was Gibson who crossed the line, and Virgil Williams can certainly take his quest for vengeance to its bitter conclusion and get him thrown off the show, but talk about your Pyrrhic victories. It's Gibson who has brought excellence to the show. I have tremendous respect for his ability to play both comic and dramatic material. He really stepped up and grounded the show when Patinkin flaked out on them and left them in the lurch. Not many actors could have pulled off a script like "100", and he knocked it out of the park. Williams, on the other hand, is a mediocre writer. Sometimes he puts out a good script, but mostly they're just unmemorable. I can't place him on a par in terms of creative input with a Bernero or Wilder or a number of other writers from the early seasons. The two parties may yet cool off and handle it like men. Or, the atmosphere may be so poisoned that they are unable to work together again, and even if Gibson isn't fired, Hotch's role may be curtailed for the entire season, not just two episodes. If that happens, it's just not worth coming back for the tepid horse****. I will never watch this show for Williams' writing.