JMO

We’re all showing our various ages here. Those of us around for the sixties know that SJWs changed the world. I think we’re going to see it again. Must be frustrating to those who use it as a pejorative to hear that many accept it a compliment. Back on topic, I think CM could have an unsub who feels incited to violence by a ‘higher power’ who disapproves of a particular social justice issue. The idea sounds familiar, but now I’m not sure if it’s already been a CM plot, or if I’m confusing it with reality.

Thanks for that explanation, Annber. I was wondering the same thing. I’ve never heard that term before, but I like it. It’s a would-be aspersion that I would proudly accept, and proclaim.

I agree with you on their behavior in the episode, jls. They were both written as petulant, which seemed out of character for each. I would have welcomed a serious conversation, and one that involved Hotch as well.

I see it so much differently from you, SSAP. JJ didn't lie to Reid one time. In order to keep the information from him, JJ had to lie to Reid every single day, for seven months. While I can't quite see him crying on her shoulder weekly, I can accept that he sought out the comfort of his best friend, to help assuage what he thought was their mutual grief. To find out that she'd not been grieving Emily at all (but had, one can hope, been grieving the anticipated loss of her best friendship), yet had allowed him to suffer it, was the true betrayal, not the keeping secret of a single ( albeit monumental) fact. The second slap in the face, and it looked to me as though Morgan felt it too, was the implication that those team members couldn't be trusted to keep the knowledge of Emily's status a secret. Where's the proof that says it was necessary to keep it from the team, in order to assure Emily's safety? It seems to me that JJ lost Reid's trust because she'd first demonstrated her lack of trust in him. Even if it came as an order from above, it infiltrated their relationship, and only JJ had knowledge, and thereby control, of that. Of all of them, I think Emily is the only innocent. She was severely injured at the time the plan was hatched, and had no part in making it. For all we know, she might have been in the dark about whether her other teammates were aware of her status, until the very end. It was nice that she reached out to Reid, but I think she was the least responsible for doing so. And then there was that infernal pasta party....

I agree with Kathyk24, that JJ has shown, and continues to show, empathy for victims and families. In the early years of the series, she usually functioned as the case's empathetic touchpoint, to the point of running interference for families. Once she became a profiler, her role in the case process changed, often requiring her to maintain more distance between herself and the families as she participated in the investigation of the case. But that hasn't precluded her continuing to bond with them when she's had the opportunity. We've even seen her empathetic towards the unsub at times, which doesn't seem to come as naturally to her as it does to Reid. I won't disagree that the character has suffered inconsistencies at the hands of the writing team. She has. They all have. But being able to see a trait such as empathy in a character is a function of both the observed and the observer. It depends on what we each bring to the encounter.

We don't know for certain if the show will return for a fifteenth season or not. But it is in elite enough company to have gone fourteen seasons, and over 300 episodes. Those who made it happen have the right to be proud of their work. As Annber said, it will end eventually, regardless. But it will end because of old age, not failure.

You lost me on the season 9 reference there, HG. It’s not ringing a bell.

JJ was benched in 'Nelson's Sparrow'. Emily benched Reid by sending him for evaluation. I find her to be effective and like that she has brought her own strengths to the role of team leader, just as Morgan brought his, during his tenure. To my eye, the only one who looked uncomfortable in the position was JJ.

Emily was entirely correct (and professional) in benching Luke. But it would probably have been more effective to have the conversation a day or two later, in the office, when he would have been more able to hear it. He was too emotional at the scene. I like that she has made the role of unit chief her own, managing the team in a way that suits her personality, and not simply trying to mimic her predecessor. So, who's gotten benched, and who not? Hotch benched Elle and JJ. Emily benched Reid and Luke. No one benched Matt or Rossi (Nelson's Sparrow). Strauss might have benched Hotch, if he hadn't been mourning Haley (and she did bench him for having an ineffective team in Doubt). Hotch might have benched Emily, if she hadn't been near death and then sent into witness protection. He also didn't get to bench Morgan, who abruptly quit the team a day after 'going rogue'. Then we have the reversals, both by Hotch: In 'Penelope', Garcia was suspended for having hidden programs on her computer, and later encouraged (in code) to hack back into the system. Would Garcia have been benched, if she hadn't been shot? And, in 'Zugzwang', he expressly told Reid to stay away, as a material witness, then allowed him to reinsert himself into the case, to the point of entering the loft alone. Would Reid have been benched, if he hadn't lost his love? I guess my point is that, if you're looking for rhyme, reason, or any kind of pattern, you're not going to find it. Nor are you going to be able to pin it to a specific unit chief.

Missed it again, Mislav. But there are only so many ways to say the same thing, so I will accept that I am unable to make my point clear. Over and out.

I don't disagree with some of your quality issues, Mefein, just with the logic of saying Erica has done the show in. Mislav, I think you completely missed my point. It's hardly 'reaching' to count the number of years a show has been on the air under one show runner, and then another. Whether it meets any one particular fan's quality standards is a different thing entirely. It doesn't reach mine. But I don't think quality is what is causing the show to wind down. If that were true, it would have been gone years ago. The point is that it's been on the air longer without the 'quality' some seek, than it was with that 'quality'. So I don't think the absence of that quality, whether blamed on EM or not, can be cited as the cause for the series coming to a close, whether it does so this year or next.

Everyone will have a different take on what is right or wrong with any show. I certainly have my own complaints about character development and continuity with CM, and my own difference of vision from EM's. But, just a point of logic: Criminal Minds came on the air in 2005. EM took over as showrunner in 2011. It's now 2018. The show has been on the air longer under her tutelage than it was without it. In fact, she's gotten a much longer run than most shows. Her vision must have appealed to someone. I don't think she can be characterized as the death knell. Old age is what will ultimately lead to the show's coming to an end.

Apart from the higher ups to whom it was reported, I don’t know who knew/saw/heard anything, so I am not about to denigrate anyone by calling them out by name. It’s entirely possible—-likely, even—- that none of the behaviors took place when anyone the perpetrator considered influential was around. I’m sad that this kind of behavior was tolerated, and that the show will be under the shadow of its failure to protect its workers. And I’m appalled that Glen Kershaw pulled out the ridiculous, and ridiculously dismissive, ‘locker room behavior’ excuse.

I hope they remember they are in the FBI building. If Reid could hear the gunshot from inside, surely another agent could as well. It would actually be a refreshing slice of realism to see a slew of FBI agents pouring into the garage. I absolutely do not want to see a 'Reid needing to be rescued' scenario. Not when he's been saving himself since season one.

Fanfiction.net has a feature where you can search by crossovers. Maybe try that?

I do think it's how he broke in. But there are two windows open, neither broken. Just sloppy.

Just caught the last few minutes of The Fisher King Part 1, and was reminded of something that's always bothered me. Elle comes home to her house, where she uses the key to unlock the door, and then immediately locks it again from the inside. Then she stretches out on the window seat, over which two first floor windows have been left wide open. Seriously? She makes a living fighting serial killers, and leaves her windows wide open when she's not home? Not so smart, Elle.

MGG can do whatever he wants, but I like Reid clean shaven, with a loose tie. I think I wouldn’t mind the scruff so much if the mustache wasn’t so prominent. it just evokes ‘smarmy’ in me.

I'm going to end my part in this conversation, because I don't agree with you on pretty much anything, but I've said all I'm inclined to say.

I don’t think you can consider Reid’s time in prison without factoring in Calvin Shaw. The weak, needing-to-be-protected Reid that you propose would have continued to lap up Shaw’s favor. But Reid figured him out quickly enough, and became his adversary. Hardly weak. I see Reid as someone who knows where he excels and where he doesn’t. He uses his brain where someone else might use brawn. But that should in no way be construed as weakness. It’s smart, and capable and, frankly, more admirable than it would be if he’d beaten his point into someone. If you want to characterize those traits as feminine—-thank you!

Danielg, I can’t agree with you on any of it—-not your analysis of antecedent literature, which serves as a basis for the rest of your opinion, nor your view of how Reid has been portrayed, nor the idea that ‘smart’ and ‘weak’ are antonyms. You are, course, entitled to your own perspective, and I, to my very different one. But ‘perspective’ is all this really amounts to.

I don't know, Danielg. I'm pretty sure we've seen males struggling with repeated tragedies since a story was written about a guy named 'Job'. And there's a host of material in traditional romance literature. I can't agree with you that we haven't seen Reid overcome his obstacles. I think he did so with Hankel, and he did so with the prison arc . I think he was at his most helpless with Maeve. Maybe I missed the gist of your post, because I don't really understand the whole masculine/feminine thing. But I think that distilling Spencer Reid down to a feminine foil is to miss the essence of the character.

That's an interesting analysis, JenJen, and I can definitely see where Maeve was a milestone in his life. Now I think prison will serve as another one. He was delightful with the daughter of a victim in one episode last year---can't remember which. Whether it's his godsons or another little kid, I hope we get to see more of that. Who knows, maybe it would help him to heal.

How ever did I forget Morgan! He, Blake, Gideon, Elle and Hotch all left because of tragedy. Apart from Morgan, who has seemed happy enough on his returns to the show, we don't really know how life has gone for those who've departed the team. Except Gideon, of course. But I get your point, and I don't disagree that we could use more happy Reid. I'm just not averse to being with him when he goes through what he goes through. There was a conversation on another board about whether Reid needs someone else in his life, in order to be happy. I come down on the side of 'no'. I don't think he would turn away from a relationship, should the possibility arise, but I don't think he needs one. He and Maeve found one another through the serendipity of a professional consultation. That took him by pleasant surprise, and I think it opened him up to thinking about his future in a different way (including wanting a child of his own). But I'm not sure that vision of his future survived Maeve, and I don't think he is either actively looking for, or pining for, a relationship. Could he use some more friends? Does he already have them? I'm not sure. We know he's got the chess kids, and we know he frequents film series, so maybe he's at least got some acquaintances. But he's an introvert, and would tend to have a smaller social circle. I think his important friendships are the ones we see on screen. It would be nice to see them in a different setting, perhaps. I would pay extra money to have a Reid/Henry outing.

Here's the thing----there are tragedies we, the viewers, have been witness to, and many more that have happened off screen. I think that's why it feels like Reid is the sacrifical lamb, because we've seen portrayed pretty much all of his tragedies, even the ones of his childhood, courtesy of the flashbacks in Revelations. That doesn't mean the others haven't suffered. Just a list from memory: We saw only a little of what Rossi went through in Vietnam, but there are no doubt a great many stories he's yet to tell. He's lost friends and loved ones, mostly off screen. We saw Hotch lose his marriage, have both his body and his ego assaulted, and then lose his ex-wife in an excruciatingly painful scene. Then he underwent psychological torture and eventually had to leave his job, at the bidding of a serial killer, the latter off screen. We saw Gideon lose his love, and then his moxie (and maybe his mind). We saw Elle nearly killed, and then we saw her so psychologically damaged that she unnecessarily took a life (there's your budding serial killer). We've seen and been told of several of the tragedies of Emily's life---a teenage pregnancy, the loss of her friends (Demonology), the loss of more friends, and her own near death in the Lauren arc. Some on screen, some off. We know that JJ suffered the suicide of her sister when she was still quite young and impressionable. Would it have been more impactful for us to see it, via flashback, than to hear her tell Hotch about it? (though I think that's my favorite JJ scene ever). She was traumatized in Afghanistan and again in DC, and suffers PTSD. She nearly lost her not-yet-husband, who almost cost her the life of her son. We know that Garcia lost her parents in an accident for which she feels responsible, and now we've seen it portrayed. We've seen her shot. And now, God help us, we've seen her kidnapped. As to the newbies: We know Tara has loved and lost, and had a tragic history with her father and brother. We saw her angst with her brother's imposter. We know Luke has a complex history in Iraq and with the fugitive task force, but those stories have not yet been told. We know Simmons has a wife and four kids, and has already been through the requisite 'loved one in trouble' episode. I guess my point is that Reid isn't the only one. He's just the only one we've seen, through all of it. Given the choice between having him go through his ordeals on screen or not, I choose on screen. MGG has been more than capable of portraying each event. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see happy Reid sometimes. But 'happy' goes off screen pretty quickly, and a Reidless screen makes me change the channel.