JMO

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.

Timed to promote his new series, which starts so late into the season. I, too, hope we get a decent Reid/Morgan scene, referencing Reid's experience in prison.

I actually don't think they should have brought in Matt, since they'd already brought in Alvez. Of all of the various newbies, I've only enjoyed the personalities of Kate and Luke. But, with all of the comings and goings, I've learned not to become too invested in anyone. Except Reid, of course.

Didn't want to go too far off the topic of the episode, so I put my comment on the padding of the team in the 'Criminal Minds Analysis' thread.

I see 'scheduling purposes' as a throwaway line to dismiss bad decision-making by the network execs. This is a show that prides itself on character development (whether or not we agree with the extent to which it happens). The whittling down of the team was actually an opportunity for more in-depth development of each of the remaining characters, because it would have translated into putting each of them into more situations, perhaps taking them out of their comfort zones (a la Reid in prison), would have allowed each of them to demonstrate more insight,...and would have given each of them more screen time, and more time to interact with each of the others. Having extra players as 'insurance' implies that the network sees them as interchangeable. I don't. It might have been interesting to see them function without a traditional muscleman, but I can see them feeling a need to fill that role. I just think they should have filled it with either Alvez or Simmons, but not both. I get that they need a leader, and I don't think any of the current members were ready to step up, so I think it was appropriate to bring in a new person for that role. That the new person was a familiar face was a bonus. Tara technically replaced Kate, who replaced Alex, who replaced Emily. But that has never been a 'function role', like muscleman and leader are. And they'd already padded the profiler group by turning JJ into one of them. I think we could have done without all three Emily replacements. I don't even know what to say about Stephen, except RIP.

It didn’t record, so I had to go out of my way to watch it on demand. I think this happened once last year, when they were bumped by the debates one week, and the titles were thrown off. I hope it catches up next week---can’t stay up til 10 to make sure the DVR starts. Hate watching on demand, because of the ads, and no fast-forwarding. Thought Reid was too back to himself already, but without knowing what happens in the episode that was postponed, I can’t make too much of that yet. (I'll make more of it next week.) Was put off to hear Garcia call Reid ‘Spence’, not just because it’s no longer special, but because she never calls him by his real name. Just waaayyyy too many people on this team. Lines get cut, and I can’t imagine it’s fun as an actor to not be able to say more than a few words at a time. I know MGG can speak volumes with his eyes, but the camera would need to be on his face for that. Norm’s right. They can’t even all fit around the table any more. It’s no fun trying to figure out who the unsub is when the answer requires 30 seconds of convoluted exposition regarding previously unmentioned characters. Okay, now we know who Simmons is. Check. More Reid, please. There are waaaayyyy too many people on this team.

We know we have at least one more episode with this look, as they've switched the airing dates for eps 3 and 4. At least the tie came back. Not sure what to say about the disheveled cardigan of old. I think it's time Garcia and JJ gave him a makeover.

Happy Thanksgiving, Riff, and to all the Canadian CM fans on here!

Welcome, AsYouWish. You'll find those threads up top. I think you'll have company there, as it can be fun to discuss some of the old episodes again.

The team Emily leads is more experienced, and more mature, than the one Hotch led. Even the newbies come with years of experience. Hotch had two twenty-somethings and a spiraling Gideon. It was necessary for him to be more directive, in the beginning. But he began to relax that style as time passed, the team eventually solidified, and his twenty-somethings became thirty-somethings. To me, it makes sense for Emily to lead them more collegially and facilitatively. Being a leader, and being authoritative, are two very different things.

If he did, I missed it. But I hope so, because then that scene would make some sense.

I agree with you re: Prentiss, Riff. She handles the team differently, but I think she is coming into her own, in a way that she didn't, last season. As long as we don't get any more of those hokey "Wheels up" scenes. If we were at the beginning of the series, and not so far into it, I doubt there would be people complaining, because I think she makes a convincing leader. You are way more generous with your Reid-O-Meter than I am with the Reid-meter. I'll give it a 6, for quantity. Quality, not so much. I'm taking off points for that last scene on the plane (and the scruff), and I did not like the beginning scene with the evaluator, because I don't think the emotion rang true. Only the Emily scene was good, for me. While I was glad to see that he could still talk down an unsub, I expected to see him struggle with it a bit more at the beginning, especially after the discussion in that opening scene---and the fact that he fired at every one of his targets during his 'evaluation'.

For me, the only parts of the episode worth commenting on are the Reid scenes. Of those, I thought only the scene with Emily rang true, and was well-played. He seemed to be anxious to return to the team. Was that something that happened gradually, over the six missing weeks, or was it something he'd decided from the beginning? Or did he consider leaving? If so, what changed his mind? Was he put through six weeks worth of evaluation? What might it have involved besides having him shooting at targets? Note to show: it's not too late to put this into flashbacks. I was glad that he found he could still treat an unsub with compassion. I would have expected a closing scene to deal with that, to reflect on the fact that he was still intact, deep inside. Instead, we were told, by Reid, that there might have been something good about his having been in prison---maybe he's not such a germaphobe anymore. Poof! He's cured. Just awful. And the 100/30 deal means he doesn't have to struggle on screen. He can just conduct business as usual until his 100 days are up, and then disappear. And, yes, Norm, still no word on Diana. Not a 'how's your mom like the new place', not 'So glad you get to visit your mom at Rolling Hills'. Nada. Sigh.

Just watched that third 'sneak peek'. At the risk of looking a gift horse in the mouth----because I am happy that Reid will be gone for reasons other than his mother----this 100/30 plan makes no sense to me. Putting him in the field for a few weeks and then re-evaluating him, sure. But taking an extended break after three months in a stressful job is not a guarantee that the very next situation won't evoke a flashback. I hope the man he's meeting with is only his evaluator, and not his therapist. I would rather have seen him in that pattern of required re-evaluation every few weeks, with something coming to a head and then forcing him to take another leave. Would have been more organic, to me, and offered more dramatic potential. Also, does this 100/30 deal mean we risk another disappearance before the season is over?

To me, this picture makes him look like every other vaguely good looking guy. If this had been my first exposure, I would have clicked right on by. Put on the tie, and shave the scruff, and he's Reid. But maybe that's the point of the 'look'. I think we've seen BTS photos of later episodes, with him looking like a slightly scruffier Reid.

Ugh to that stuff under his chin. And I miss the tie.

Who knows if it was ever even in the script. But, if it was, it was edited out, which brings me back to the idea that there was too much time spent with Emily and Scratch, to the detriment of other things. By now TPTB know that fans want to see a logical progression of things, and that we will catch both obvious (like the fact that Morgan and Diana should still both have been in play for Reid) and more obscure things. So I can't help but wonder if they don't mind 'missing' a few details, because it generates discussion. Still waiting to hear how the vehicles ended up in the positions they did. Did Scratch move one of them, after hitting them with his truck? He would have had to pull Rossi or Luke out of the driver's seat first.

Yes, I believe the minimum time period of symptom duration is one month. Before that, it is an acute stress response or disorder.

Good point about the 'running around in the dark', Old Dog. It was the first time in forever that I was able to tell who they were, and what they were doing.

Post-ep 13X01, Wheels Up Absolution https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12669215/1/Absolution

I think we're probably done with Hotch. I still wish they'd been brave enough to kill the character off last year, so there could be an official memorial of sorts. But it would be anticlimactic now. The 'wheels up' thing was just too hokey for me. It reminded me of a scene from last season (which I think I am repressing from full memory---for a reason) with Emily pronouncing something 'meaningful and heavy' in the conference room. It was the kind of thing that had me giving the TV a one-browed 'Seriously?' look---and so did the 'wheels up' scene.

For me, it was a serviceable episode, meaning that it served the purposes of: · Getting rid of Scratch and saying goodbye to Walker · Giving (semi-)finality to the Hotch situation · Introducing Simmons Perhaps because it had so many tasks to accomplish, it felt like one of those jam-packed season finales with way too much crammed into one episode. But the acting was good, and I appreciated the various relationships among the team. Like others, I enjoyed Rossi’s taking charge. But I still don’t understand why no one, especially Garcia, called their actual boss, Mateo Cruz. I realize the actor probably wasn’t available, but we’re talking about a phone call. Simmons was fine, and he’ll work well with the team. Couldn’t help but picture him hanging out on some FBI street corner hoping someone would hire him after the international team disbanded. Is there no structure left to the FBI? Thought (and still hope) we might see some kind of existential crisis for JJ, after she effectively greeted her husband by asking him to ask her to leave the team. Unless they’re going somewhere with this, it would have made sense for it to happen at the end of the episode, or even next week, so they’d both had some time to think about it. Its placement here was odd, and rushed. But maybe that was purposeful? For my taste, there was too much time spent on Emily’s psychological and (fake) physical torture, to the detraction of other scenes. I did like how she kept Reid back at the end. For me, it felt like some kind of watermark for how she will manage the team differently from Hotch. I don’t know if we’re supposed to think that Scratch let go, or that Luke ‘assisted’ him. Affable Luke does have a dark side, which he showed us with Calvin Shaw last season. So who knows? But it looked like Scratch let go. And then, my reason for watching: Reid. It pushed the Reid-meter about half-way, more for quality than quantity. Points off for the weird eye-rubbing thing and for diagnosing PTSS (which, around here, is not a new term for PTSD, but simply considered to be an earlier point on the spectrum) before there’s even been a change of underwear. Kudos for the book-throwing thing and the impatience with his addled brain. And the fact that he spoke in his grown-up voice for the whole episode. Please bring this Reid back next week, and forever more.

Fair enough. We'll see how the Reid-meter™ and the Reid-O-Meter compare.

I believe I've already got the Reid-meter™ trademarked. Would you like to lease it for the season, ReidFan?

I hate illogic. Why pace in front of the elevators instead of calling for backup, if you're going to call for backup as soon as you get in the vehicle? And why call the CMBB new guy and not your own section chief, who wouldn't have the same trouble calling for back up that the tech analyst has? And why are the two SUVs back in their original post-spike chain positions, and not in the positions the truck sent them (unless that's part of the Scratch mystery)?