JMO

I may have to forego 68 Kill. But I am encouraged that Matthew tweeted The Beauty Inside as one of his favorite roles. It's pretty much the only thing I've liked that he's done, besides CM. More, please.

I know we've gotten way off topic here, but I would love to see them film an actual clown car scene for the blooper reel this year. At least it would be an acknowledgement of the situation.

In its prime, the show was so much better at capturing the fallout of things that had happened with the characters. I remember the camera going to Reid for a mere second, to see his eyes shift uncomfortably when the team was discussing addiction. Emily's gaze staying on him just a beat longer than necessary, when he demonstrated such familiarity with the twelve steps. Countless times Hotch would stare at one or another of them, no words spoken, just a hawkish concern for how they were dealing with things. These were all intentional. The actors had to know to act, the camera operators to film, and the directors to include. I can speak only for myself, but I suspect that there are many others who, like me, have no expectations that we'll get all-Reid, all the time (alas). While I can't agree that we've got seven fully-fleshed other characters (and please, show, do NOT fully flesh the newbies, at the expense of the others---not unless you've got another three seasons in you), the bodies are there, nonetheless. They will have lines, and be on screen. We've already bemoaned the size of the team, so I won't do it again here. What I am looking for is that intentionality that we used to get. I don't care that Reid didn't react in the bunker, because that part of the episode was too crowded to even get into it. I do care that he was made to look the awkward fool again in the opening bullpen scene. And I especially care that there wasn't a pregnant pause, and a look of regret, before he announced he'd like to be in Paris with his mom. That would have cost absolutely nothing in terms of time, but been a welcome nod to what mother and son had been through (and may still be going through, who knows---certainly not the audience!). Kudos to AJ/JJ for giving him a sympathetic look about it. Because it was a wide group shot, and would have been included regardess, I wondered if it had been the actress' choice. I guess the whole point is that it's the moments that are woven in, and not the dedicated episodes, that make stories rich and give depth to characters. I miss those moments.

JMO is confused. Just kidding. I tend to think of Reid as living a reflected life, no matter what the state of it. So I would agree that he would be working on integrating his experiences into his life's story. But that's not what PTSD is (or PTSS, or whatever they've decided to call it). PTSD inhibits one, sometimes on a daily basis, and sometimes in unanticipated circumstances. It was certainly not a given that the bunker experience would trigger something. But one can't carry the diagnosis (which the show gave him) without a symptom. If Reid has PTSD, then we should be seeing something. Unless there is a happy announcement, one episode, that he's been healed, after which he takes a trip to the Grand Canyon.

Another post-ep for The Bunker, with minimal spoilers. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12720449/1/Protective-Custody

Yes. This would have been a much more interesting episode if it had been Reid and JJ trying to find a way to get them all out, a la 'Minimal Loss'. There was room to inject a reaction from Reid to being confined, and they could even have expanded on JJ's feelings about her sister, and their mutual support of each other and their friendship (since EM said there would be some of that this season). But it would have required either A) a two-parter or B) them getting into the bunker before 10:50 (yes, I checked the time).

I’ve been trying to think about whether I would have enjoyed this more if the entire premise (and the location of the missings) hadn’t been given away in the promo and sneak peeks, two weeks ago. Maybe. But it had all been given away two weeks, ago, along with any hint of suspense. CM really needs to wrest control of its publicity arm. Since we pretty much already knew the plot, there was really no need to spend so much time down in the bunker with the victims and unsubs. This is a broken record, but there are too many people on this team. This episode, it led to an unusual degree of stilted line delivery, especially by the profilers who were pushed to the sidelines. It’s hard to get much inflection going when you only get to speak eight or ten words at a time. It was fascinating how much the members of the team each knew about the whole doomsday clock idea, including the specific dates of events contributing to it. Fascinating, how they all had to share an exposition that might have once belonged, in its entirety, to Reid. There are times when ‘direction’ can function as its own character in a production. That can be a good thing, or not. I appreciated that Aisha Tyler tried some different things, but I’m not sure those things always contributed positively to the scene. The bodycam technique, so successfully employed by ‘ER’, made me motion sick when it swung around Rossi, Tara, Luke and Matt. The parameters given to Garcia to deduce the unsub and his partner were more preposterous than usual, especially given the instant responses. And Reid. Poor Reid, who continues to be more abused by the writers than he ever was in prison. He’s back to being socially awkward (intruding into a conversation with the ‘I read about a guy who only owned 79 items, including his underwear), and emotionally blunted (his reaction to being trapped in the bunker, ending with the ridiculous thing about not accounting for finger fatigue). Of everything about this episode, I am most disappointed with the treatment of Reid as a caricature once again. I hope this was an aberration, and not a harbinger of things to come. AJ did well with her focus. I expected some final reflection on having been able to return the sister of the woman with whom she'd been meeting, in contrast to her own situation. Since they brought up the whole idea of her being able to relate on that basis. I'd like to offer to help Garcia find an apartment in whichever unnamed location Morgan now inhabits.

My DVR is programmed to record first run episodes for the series. It was NOT planning on recording tonight, because it thinks it recorded 'The Bunker' last week, and isn't programmed to record what it thinks is a re-run. I think it's worthwhile to check your own devices, if you're planning to record.

Norm is right. Let your voice be heard, and if they don't listen to you, show them the door. Tomorrow is Election Day in the US. VOTE! But do your homework first. Critical thinking and logic cannot be overrated.

I think it's been inconsistent. There are times when he is portrayed as being sensitive to what's going on around him, and times when he's portrayed as clueless, even in recent seasons. It comes across as the writers not having a good handle on the character, and falling back to a caricature. The other characters have, to one degree or another, suffered from similar lapses in consistency. My wish, realistic or not, is that, with a writing team of their size, they might have a writer who is deeply familiar with each character, who can adjust the character's actions and reactions to whatever is the given situation. I think it would make for much more interesting storytelling.

There's a lot to love about Derailed, and you've just named it. JJB (I'm lazy). The relationships among the team members were still being delineated, and this went a long way in defining Reid's relationship with Elle and Morgan, and even Hotch. I wonder how much of Reid's backstory the show had decided upon at that point, or if MGG had to keep things purposely vague. I was a late (pre-season 7) arrival to CM, so I can't speak to it, but I wonder how the 'early adopters' interpreted Reid's comments to the schizophrenic unsub and to Elle, before knowing his mother's history. Anyone? I don't know why, except that there seemed to be a contrast with JJ's relationships with Garcia and Emily, but I've always had the sense that JJ and Elle tolerated each other, but didn't necessarily like, or understand, each other. JJB, since you're on a roll, it probably makes sense to go ahead and watch in order until you hit season 12. You'll miss Hotch, as do many (or most) of us, but there is some goodness in the Reid arc. Much missed opportunity, as is often the case, but goodness, nonetheless.

Garcia was gloriously snarky at the beginning and, you're right, she had a healthy ego and didn't mind sharing it. That's the Garcia I might have wanted more of, although I was content to have her play the role she did, with the amount of screen time that she had. I don't remember if 'Exit Wounds' in season five was her first time accompanying the team in the field, but I think so. They did a reasonable job of exploring her reaction to being up close and personal with the violence and loss, and we saw how it rocked her foundation a bit. That would have been appropriate, but it didn't stop there. Ever since she replaced JJ as the presenter of the cases (in my opinion, one of the worst decisions made by TPTB, at both the FBI and CM), Garcia's revulsion for the work has become her schtick, in a broad, buffoonish way. I can't remember if I actually read this, or have just imagined it, but it's as though the show is using her to act as the audience's representative, as though they think that's how we would respond to the work the BAU does. Personally, I think we're a lot tougher than that, which is: a) why we watch the show and b) part of the reason why I find her reactions to be grating (and inexplicably tolerated by her bosses). I do remember reading that a benefit of (if not a reason for) having Garcia present is that is affords the actress the opportunity to work directly with the other cast. But they have an excess of profilers now. Surely one of them can take on the job of presenting the cases, to keep the mood serious. I'm not really in the market for comedy in a show about serial killers. Sorry for that, ReidGirl. I'm still hanging in, hopeful of more fallout for Reid, and maybe some decent storyline for the more familiar cast members. I won't watch enjoy the Reidless episodes, but I remain hopeful of the rest---including hoping that Reid and JJ don't climb down into 'The Bunker' and disappear for the rest of the episode!

So sorry about your friend, HG, and the injury and loss he's suffered. Glad he has you in his corner.

Guess this puts to rest the controversy over whether the World Series impacts viewership. CBS sure seems to think so.

Welcome, JenJen. It's so hard to compare early to late seasons of long-running shows. Of necessity, the early seasons spend time in character development, so we'll know who these people are and choose whether or not to become invested in them. And, especially on a show like CM, there's a lot of exposition about the premise of the show and the process of the task (profiling) the characters are performing. Later seasons should see more character evolution than definition, and we've gotten a little bit of that with long running characters like Reid, JJ and Morgan, but not nearly enough. New characters should get the same kind of definition as the original characters did, way back when. In my opinion, CM did that well with Rossi and Prentiss. But none of the other newer characters have stuck around long enough to become fully defined, and I do think the writers kind of forgot they were supposed to be doing that. The other thing the writers have missed out on is ongoing exposition. Viewers of the early seasons learned about the process of profiling through Gideon's teaching and his quizzing of the other team members, as well as through the giving of the profile. We see less of all of that now, making it difficult for a new viewer to follow what's going on, unless they head to Netflix, as you did. With a succession of newbie profilers, including JJ, there has been ample opportunity to expound on the process of profiling once again, as well as the various types of profiles. That would service the newer viewer, and the older viewer might not mind the refresher. Especially in the case of JJ, I think we would have enjoyed watching her go through the process, and cheer her on. Luke could serve that purpose now.

I have always liked JJ, but think there was too abrupt a change in her when she came back as a profiler. I don't have any issues with her role in the field, only with the fact that we didn't see it evolve. I didn't find anything in her fabricated back story that explained it, either. I do like that the character has been trying to meld her softer side (she was never all that soft, to my eye) and her tougher side in recent seasons. I think it suits her. Garcia, on the other hand, has worn out her welcome with me. The character we saw in the first few seasons was delightfully snarky, and bright, and smugly capable. The character we get now is precious and wimpy and cartoonishly childish. Just as happened for far too long with Reid ('the awkward, rambling genius'), it was as though the writers themselves dismissed her as 'the one who uses unprofessional language and is squeamish', end of character development. Portrayed well, characters evolve. In my opinion, Garcia has devolved. It is unfathomable to me why the actress seems to be content with that.

What Norm said. I could pick at some things, but I liked most of it, except for the Morgan/Garcia bits (and the SWAT commercials). Shemar really doesn't come across as Morgan in these quickie guest spots, so unless he's coming back for a full episode, I think we need to be done with having the character visit in person. I would have wanted a Morgan/Reid scene last spring, but, after two guest stints without one, I'm over it. Rossi looked and acted distinguished. Emily is finding her stride as unit chief. It moved the Reid-meter about three quarters of the way. Luke is still likable, especially with Reid. Simmons was on screen a lot, but doesn't ooze personality for me. Tara seemed very much in the background. JJ was the JJ of old. Good profiling, creepy unsub-by-proxy. Ridiculous having Garcia, and not Reid (and the entire rest of the team, the ME and all of the LEOs, and the kindergarten class) pick up on the missing five fingers. Nice to see a nod to examining the after effects, on the community, of having had a serial killer in their midst. I would watch this one again.

Haven't actually watched it yet, but I was fairly certain they wouldn't touch on this: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12702238/1/The-Things-That-We-Love Post-ep for Lucky Strikes with no real spoilers for the episode.

Exactly. The idea that the prison arc was an expensive shoot-around to accommodate MGG's desire to be off raises more questions than it answers. He was still missing from the expected episodes, shot during October. If the prison arc was designed to accommodate him again, does that mean he would have otherwise been missing from the end of last season? I'd understood that the prison scenes were filmed as a package because of the extensive and longitudinal use of that one set, and set of actors, but it was really because of MGG? Or am I misreading that? Does it mean that they were willing to blow the budget because they thought they were at the end of their run? Can't imagine the studio execs would have been happy about it. How expensive would it be to accomplish a one day shoot of a few classroom scenes, or a few phone-ins (no extras at all) to appear in the otherwise Reid-less episodes? Even less expensive: film him writing in a journal, with a voiceover of his thoughts, as he goes through the healing process, bring him back a little healthier. And it would give us the added bonus of one or two minutes' worth less of unsub time or running around in the dark.

Does it make you wonder what they are thinking about, since they never seem to be thinking about what we're thinking about?

That's about when Reid disappeared. No worries.

I thought the case was interesting enough, and it was a decent episode, marred by that clown car feel to the size of the team these days. Random thoughts: I wondered what Simmons and Reid were doing in the conference room, while everyone else was in the bullpen, in the opening BAU scene. Hopefully, they were looking for that mole. They used their new timeline software twice in the episode. Guessing we'll be seeing more of that. I liked the individual victim/witness pairings with BAU members for interviews. But I kept thinking, 'Are there so many that they don't have enough chairs?' because it seemed bizarre to make traumatized people stand in the middle of the crime scene to tell their story. DHS sent only one agent to the case? Reid did, indeed, look good, and he made a crucial (and obvious) contribution, causing the Reid-meter to move upward with cautious optimism. And then it crashed and burned, after the (patently stilted) delivery of the profile.

We knew Reid would still have the scruff because this week's episode was filmed before last week's. Staying up just long enough to make sure the DVR starts I hope

Overall, there's a lot less of them calling one another by their last names, so they have to call him something. I'm just not used to Garcia using anyone's real name when addressing them. I used to think they called everyone (except JJ) by their last names because it was less likely they'd have confusion in the field, should they get an agent or LEO with the same first name. Then I realized that Gideon, Morgan, Reid, and even Prentiss had last names that were also first names.

Actually, it probably would have helped if they'd defragged the team. I had the impression that it was an okay case, but there were too many moving parts, and too much of it delivered by exposition (including pretty much all of Reid's contribution---we hardly got to see him at work, because there wasn't time to show it) to make it intriguing.